From: swaroop rawal <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: educational values
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, 19 October, 2009, 7:18 AM

I would like to  add to this stimulating conversation by saying that .....All through my doctoral research I was inspired by the concept of the living ‘I’ at the centre of the enquiry( Whitehead,1998)…and I continue to use it as a source of my inspiration. I believe that my theories should emerge from beliefs grounded my own understandings about my world through my experience of it. This is what stops me from being a stranger to my research. Moreover, I believe education is a value-driven activity. And that AR is and should be a value driven research as our social and educational values provide a blueprint for professional action ( Lomax, 1994).

Swaroop

---

Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:17:13 +0100
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: educational values
To: [log in to unmask]

On 18 Oct 2009, at 16:26, BRENDAN CRONIN wrote:

I'm not trying to change the subject but wondered why the describing and analysis of  one's educational values is so important in action research living theory.

Hi Brandan (and all), It is because of the value-laden nature of what is educational. Action research is a form of research that is concerned with improving practice. To distinguish something as an improvement means making a value-judgment. So values are necessary in explaining our educational influences in learning and in judging what counts as an improvement.  Whenever I explain my educational influence in my own learning and in the learning of others my explanatory principles are values-laden. For example in some of my earlier writings I explained my learning as I responded to what I experienced as constraints on my academic freedom in the workplace. My value of academic freedom became an explanatory principle in the explanation I gave for my own learning. 

In all of the living theory doctorates at http://www.actionresearch.net/living.shtml and in the masters writings at http://www.actionresearch.net/mastermod.shtml individuals explain their educational influences in their own learning using their ontological values. By this I mean the values they use to give meaning and purpose to their lives. I'll pause here to ask if this is an adequate explanation as to why describing and analysing one's educational values is important in the generation of living educational theories?

Love Jack.

---

From the events that change the world, to the ones that just shouldn’t be missed. Catch it all on MSN India. Drag n’ drop