Gender, Feminism, and Queer Theory in the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices

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2 Gender, Feminism, and Queer Theory in the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices

3 Professional Learning Volume 17 Series editor: J. John Loughran, Monash University, Clayton, Australia Editorial board: Renee Clift, University of Arizona, USA Ruth Kane, Ottawa University, Canada Mieke Lunenberg, VU University, The Netherlands Anthony Clarke, University of British Columbia, Canada Donald Freeman, University of Michigan, USA MOK, Mo Ching Magdalena, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Max van Manen, University of Alberta, Canada Rationale: This series purposely sets out to illustrate a range of approaches to Professional Learning and to highlight the importance of teachers and teacher educators taking the lead in reframing and responding to their practice, not just to illuminate the field but to foster genuine educational change. Audience: The series will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators and others in fields of professional practice as the context and practice of the pedagogue is the prime focus of such work. Professional Learning is closely aligned to much of the ideas associated with reflective practice, action research, practitioner inquiry and teacher as researcher.

4 Gender, Feminism, and Queer Theory in the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Edited by Monica Taylor Montclair State University, USA and Lesley Coia Agnes Scott College, USA

5 A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: (paperback) ISBN: (hardback) ISBN: (e-book) Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved 2014 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

6 To Rose and Amy

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8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix Series Editor s Foreword xi Introduction 1 Addressing Gender, Feminism, and Queer Theory Through Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices: A Literature Review 11 Monica Taylor & Lesley Coia Exploring and Connecting Lines of Flight in a Self-Study Community 31 Kathryn Strom, Rabab Abi-Hanna, Linda Abrams, Charity Dacey & Jacqueline Dauplaise Interpretation and Gender Within the Zone of Inconclusivity 45 Mary Lynn Hamilton & Stefinee Pinnegar Feeling: Feminist? A Self-Study of Emotion as a Feminist Epistemology in Education Practice 61 Rachel Forgasz & Allie Clemans Disturbing Masculinities: Epistemology, Outlaw Emotions, and the Gendered Self In Self-Study Research 77 Jeffrey J. Kuzmic Familial Reality Engendering Feminism: The Impact of a Matriarchal Upbringing on Thinking about Teaching and Learning 93 Deborah L. Tidwell with Pamela T. Schwartz & Janet T. Dunn Gendered Discourse in the Evangelical South: Fashioning a Conservatively Critical Pedagogy of Teacher Education 111 Nathan D. Brubaker Inqueeries into Self-Study: Queering the Gaze on Teacher Educator Identity and Practice 127 Julian Kitchen From Adam and Eve to Dick and Jane: A Literary Nomadic Inquiry on Gender and Sexuality In Teaching and Teacher Education 143 Adrian D. Martin A Co/Autoethnography of Feminist Teaching: Nomadic Jamming into the Unpredictable 157 Lesley Coia & Monica Taylor Biographies 171 vii

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10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing, editing, and getting a collection of papers ready for publication requires the support of many more than the authors and editors. We would like to briefly acknowledge Samantha Stiner whose work on formatting the chapters was rapid, accurate, careful, and reliable. We cannot thank her enough. We are also very appreciative of Michel Lokhorst from Sense Publishers, and John Loughran, editor of the Professional Learning Series, who welcomed the idea of the book from the outset and helped us throughout the process. Editing a collection such as this always takes more time than one thinks. There is always work to be done, and not only during times that are convenient for others in our lives. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our partners, Patrick and Mark, and Monica s sons Michael and Griffin. Their love and understanding have made the editing of this volume possible. ix

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12 SERIES EDITOR S FOREWORD It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to write the foreword for this book by Taylor and Coia. As their introduction makes clear, the nature of the self-study community has been important in shaping their professional lives as it has helped to create a home for their academic endeavors. In a similar way, they have now extended that form of development to others by leading the way in the project that has led to publishing this book. Self-study has proven to be quite alluring to many teacher educators because of its central concern to better align teaching intent and action. As a consequence, an underlying purpose of self-study - researching the development of pedagogy in ways that might better reflect the complexity of the teaching-learning relationship is again highlighted as crucial if teacher education is to go beyond a technical-rationalist approach to practice. The manner in which Taylor and Coia have done that through this book is strong and clear. They have brought together an impressive group of authors to offer insights into gender, feminism, and queer theory through self-study in a productive way that illustrates a nice array of thinking and methodology to challenge the reader. As they have done all of this, they have also reinforced the place of community that is so important to self-study through the ways in which they have collaborated, shared, and developed new learning opportunities for their team as a whole; the fruits of that labor now being available to others through this publication. They have demonstrated what it means to lead. The focus on gender, feminism, and queer theory addresses a concern to pursue issues of educational change for social justice and demonstrates how the editors understanding of the sense of community within self-study matters in supporting scholars to push the boundaries of their work to genuinely seek to make a difference. It would be fair to say that, through this book, the editors and authors have created a text that may well prove to be the touchstone for others and further encourage the community to strategically pursue self-study in thoughtful and well-reasoned ways; a clear sign of scholarship. Taylor and Coia have put a lot of thought into the way the book is organized. As an edited volume they have brought together authors with something to say; and they say it well. The work is well situated within the literature but it is not confined to the literature. Although the editors have put the chapters together in a particular way to create connections, as they say themselves, there are also other connections open for exploration. In so doing, the ideas, issues, and approaches offered in the book combine in interesting and engaging ways to create opportunities for the reader to reflect upon the research and writing and think again. That approach then encourages reframing (Schön, 1983 ) and creates a heightened sense of the value of noticing (Mason, 2002, 2009 ) ; two key components of quality in pedagogical reasoning and practice. In seeing this book come together from an initial idea into the quality product offered as a consequence of the fine mix of authors and the clear leadership, xi

13 FOREWORD direction, and support from the editors, it highlights the place of collaboration, the generosity of spirit, and the value of sharing learning in open and meaningful ways. Although the editors have worked hard to create a text of value, it is the shared sense of purpose, the collaborative effort, and the overall strength of ideas that makes the sum greater than parts for this book. That is not always easy to do in an edited collection, but when achieved, as is obviously the case here, it makes clear why it is that developing new knowledge must be at the heart of scholarship in teacher education. Reading this book reminded me that self-study cannot simply be about our lives, our practices, our histories. It must also understand these in relation to and through the lived realities, experiences, and perspectives of those with whom we are involved ( Kuzmic, 2002, p. 233 ). This book helped reinforce that message for me. I trust it is the same for you. John Loughran Monash University Melbourne, Australia REFERENCES Kuzmic, J. J. (2002). Research as a way of knowing and seeing: Advocacy for the other. In J. Loughran & T. Russell (Eds.), Improving teacher education practices through self-study (pp ). London: RoutledgeFalmer. Mason, J. (2002). Researching your own practice: The discipline of noticing. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Mason, J. (2009). Teaching as disciplined enquiry. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 15(2), Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books. xii