Ccontemporary Epistemological Research in Education: Reconciliation and Reconceptualization of the Field
Contemporary Epistemological Research in Education Reconciliation and Reconceptualization of the Field
Authors: Theo Niessen, Tineke Abma, Guy Widdershoven, and Cees van der Vleuten, Sanne Akkerman
ABSTRACT. In this article the authors challenge contemporary epistemological research within educational settings. After a reconciliation of the current models which treat epistemological beliefs as static and mechanical, the authors present a teaching experience to illustrate their enactivist view that epistemological beliefs should be conceptualized as fluid and dynamic constructs, emerging in web-like configurations. Answers to epistemological questions unfold within the interstices and mutual interactions between people and their environment. Boundaries between student–teacher, individual–community, cognition–bodily experience are becoming blurred. From this enactivist perspective the researcher’s role changes considerably. Instead of determining teachers’ personal traits and epistemological make-up, the researcher should sensitize teachers to the subtle ways epistemological beliefs are enmeshed within their day-to-day professional lives, focusing on the complex fabric of the teaching practice. KEY WORDS: contemporary epistemological research, education, enactivism, lived experiences, personal epistemology
We rehearse information, but perform meaning. Information is like the web of links in a wire fence; Meaning is like the cascade of waves on a mountain stream. Cliff Crego (2002) © 2002 picture-poems.com
THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY Copyright © 2008 Sage Publications. VOL. 18(1): 27–45 DOI: 10.1177/0959354307086921 http://tap.sagepub.com
Downloaded from http://tap.sagepub.com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008 © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
28
THEORY
& PSYCHOLOGY 18(1)
What is the true nature of knowledge, and how does a person come to know? These questions first
Authors: Theo Niessen, Tineke Abma, Guy Widdershoven, and Cees van der Vleuten, Sanne Akkerman
ABSTRACT. In this article the authors challenge contemporary epistemological research within educational settings. After a reconciliation of the current models which treat epistemological beliefs as static and mechanical, the authors present a teaching experience to illustrate their enactivist view that epistemological beliefs should be conceptualized as fluid and dynamic constructs, emerging in web-like configurations. Answers to epistemological questions unfold within the interstices and mutual interactions between people and their environment. Boundaries between student–teacher, individual–community, cognition–bodily experience are becoming blurred. From this enactivist perspective the researcher’s role changes considerably. Instead of determining teachers’ personal traits and epistemological make-up, the researcher should sensitize teachers to the subtle ways epistemological beliefs are enmeshed within their day-to-day professional lives, focusing on the complex fabric of the teaching practice. KEY WORDS: contemporary epistemological research, education, enactivism, lived experiences, personal epistemology
We rehearse information, but perform meaning. Information is like the web of links in a wire fence; Meaning is like the cascade of waves on a mountain stream. Cliff Crego (2002) © 2002 picture-poems.com
THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY Copyright © 2008 Sage Publications. VOL. 18(1): 27–45 DOI: 10.1177/0959354307086921 http://tap.sagepub.com
Downloaded from http://tap.sagepub.com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008 © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
28
THEORY
& PSYCHOLOGY 18(1)
What is the true nature of knowledge, and how does a person come to know? These questions first
Citations: (this article cites 33 articles hosted on the SAGE Journals Online and HighWire Press platforms): http://tap.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/18/1/27 Downloaded from http://tap.sagepub.com at Universiteit Maastricht on August 6, 2008 © 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.