Dear Joan

I have finally read your email properly after 4 attempts during the day!!! I am sooooooooooooooo excited I could POP!!! Your powerpoint says it all so well. I am going to share it with the SeStuTHE group on Friday if I may. And your account of the dynamics in the university are fascinating and recognizable. I am hearing that many presentations allow the significance of such initiatives to become understood ...

Until later

Joan

Dear Andy, Joan-Africa, and everyone,

Joan - I think finding ways of influencing those who have the power to make the truly signficant local and global decisions is the essence of the challenge. 

Andy - on  re-reading your very rich and detailed account of your core values and beliefs, what I hear you essentially saying is that you seek to improve the world;  that you seek to do that making the best use that you can of your own particular gifts and talents;  that you remain as mindful and aware as possible in each moment that you are doing what you can to make best use of your gifts and talents;  and that you are open to being fully accountable to others as to what you are doing, seeking constructive feedback and committed to reflecting on and modifying what you do in the light of what you learn through the feedback you receive.  

This is a simplistic and not necessarily well-worded summary of your rich account - but I have picked out the essence of what I hear you saying, as I want to see if you feel they connect with what I am currently trying to do.  

I am becoming ever more committed to the notion of seeking to transform people's approach to research so that there is much more emphasis on prioritising research that aims to improve the world not just explain or interpret it.  In setting up the Centre for the Child and Family, I am explicitly saying that it is research of this kind that it should primarily be about.  It is generating quite a substantial debate.  This week is the University's research week - and I was asked to do a presentation about the centre, which I did yesterday - my proposed title of 'Developing the CfCF as a participatory research project' was accepted.  So that is what I did.  I attach my powerpoint presentation - my slides are 1-13.  (As an aside, but to make sense of the whole pp, Linda Rush heads up the teacher education side of the faculty, and is leading a specific project that she wanted located within the centre, the third stage of which will be me working with the teachers and others to look at how they can 'improve their practice' in relation to partnership working within an integrated children's services provision.)

I obviously filled out somewhat on what is included in the pp - but basically I was giving a strong rationale as to why we should prioritise research that 'improves the world, does not just explain and interpret it' - and gave a rationale as to why we should (which included points which resonate with aspects of what you write in your 'context', Andy).  The quote from Peter Reason and Hilary Bradbury is a shortened version of one I often use to justify action research as being the primary research methodology, and to make the point that it really can be about scholarship as much as about practice.  I also developed Jack's idea of living theory rather more than the shortened framework on the slide, to include an explanation of 'living contradiction' plus its significance in the overall scheme of things.  When looking at Nigel Harrison's proposed title for his PhD, I explained how he is seeking to account for his influence on the young people his service exists to serve, whilst at the same time develops an understanding of how to create a learning organisation, exploring the nature of the interconnections between 'micro' and 'macro', with him developing his own living educational theory to give an account of his influence at each level of the organisation (and on their interconnections).  I also absolutely emphasised that in research of this order, we not only acknowledge that research cannot be value free, but actually we need to develop and live to a very clear set of core values and principles (in the way that you have done, Andy). 

The response afterwards was interesting.  The Dean of Learning and Teaching was very enthusiastic - basically saying that each time she either reads or hears what I am trying to do, she 'gets it' a little bit more each time - how radical it is - she is completely supportive - but what an enormous task it is!

The Dean of Education (who is a committed Catholic) was sitting next to the Director of the Centre for Christian Educaiton - and afterwards they were positive about the presentation - and making the point that they felt there was a strongly 'spiritual' basis to what I was saying (which I am not unhappy about) - but then went on to indicate that I was really giving a Christian message but using secular language.  On one level they might be right (but that would apply to the essential message of any religious /spiritual philosphy) - but the whole point in not connecting it to any religious belief system is that they are faith based - in the main, people are required to accept the beliefs without question (with the possible exception of Buddhism) - and that in my experience, Christians do not sign themselves up to creating and living by the kind of statement of beliefs and values that Andy has created, or develop their own 'living theory' in the way that Jack encourages.  So we had quite a lively discussion, which could have gone on a lot longer than it did!!

So - there is at this point in time an ongoing debate as to what this Centre for the Child and Family should look like.  I am hopeful that, with Jack and other's support, we will be able to develop it in the kind of way that it can provide support for the values and principles that you articulate so clearly, Andy - and that over time, we can influence the nature of research, so that one day, the ministers and directors see the value in reading and noting and acting, Joan!

With love and best wishes to all, 

Joan - LHU

Dear Andy-hi

I very much believe that creativity raises confidence levels and with that help 

to develop aspirations. I know this because I was one of those funny kids in 

junior school that didn't belong, picked on,(sob, sob)(I laugh at my self!) and 

was only happy on my own in the bush. (I grew up in Zimbabwe on a farm) Because 

I was so 'alone', I, at the age of 9 in standard 3, was failing and the thought 

of being held back a year was devastating. Then something happened, I discovered 

I could do something better than anyone else, I could draw and paint and the 

kids in my class now looked up to me. Because of this recognition I passed std 3 

and have not stopped creating since then. Being a creative person and being an 

artist and acknowledging I am an educator, is a life style. My sense of well 

being/self worth is very much connected /intertwined with being an artist. I 

want people to feel good about themselves , even in the minutest way, so they 

can grow and be able to face the challenges of life.

 That belief in self that was fostered in those young years because of that one 

monumental, yet very small incident( I can still see the painting in my head 

that I was working on in class that day), has stayed with me. I want to and do, 

I think, foster in people this sense of self worth that I believe happens with 

the actions of being creative.

Thank you for sending your core values and principles.

With love from another 'living contradiction'! I like being a living 

contradiction-soooo kool!

Cheers

lee

-----Original Message-----

From: Practitioner-Researcher [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On 

Behalf Of Andrew Henon

Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 1:14 PM

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Re: Educational influences

Dear Jack and the practitioner researcher forum

I have been working with an action learning set convened by Arts Council

England South West. A group of the foremost practitioners in the field of

socially engaged arts and work with Children and young People specialism. We

have now had 5 days residential and will reconvene on 11th March to decide

the future direction our work together may take, or not?

Since my first studies in Design and Fine Art. The discipline required that

someone embarking on a career as and artist or designer write their own brief

first. This is for a number of reasons primarily because it was considered that 

a

designer or artist has significant influence in the world by what they bring 

into

being and that one had to have a clear ethical view or direction in your work in

order to decide the levels of compromise you are willing to accept or not with

a commissioners of your services, process or products. Here responsibility for

bringing work into the world lies jointly between the designer and the

commissioner as embodied values, implicit in the work and explicit in it's use.

In education there are for me extra layers to be considered with regard to

meaning and purpose some of which I hope are clearly stated in the attached.

I offer the attached for any comment and feedback but as a contribution

regarding educational influences and the link between 'Intent' and 'Influence'

With love and best wishes Andy

"This e-mail is subject to our Disclaimer, to view click http://www.dut.ac.za"

--
Dr Joan Walton
Faculty of Education
Liverpool Hope University
Hope Park
Liverpool
L16 9JD

Phone: 0151 291 2115
Email: [log in to unmask]