Teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy on economic justice education

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examined the relationship between social studies teachers’ beliefs about economic justice education and their pedagogy on economic justice. Prior to the actual empirical research, I discussed what I have called the ‘mainstream Subject-oriented approach’ to economic justice and the alternative ‘Others-oriented approach’ to construct a theoretical framework through which the study could explore teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy. In doing so, this study suggested an economic justice education to respond to the vocation of the Others, and citizenship education to attend to the alterity of the Others.
To determine the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy, an ‘explanatory-convergent’ design of mixed methods research was employed. The first stage of quantitative research identified six clusters based on cluster analysis, and the analysis of variance showed that social studies teachers’ beliefs on economic justice education differ according to the clusters. For the second stage of qualitative research, three particular clusters were selected: an Average-group, a Subject-oriented group, and an Others-oriented group. Three teachers (one from each cluster) were sampled from the three clusters to represent each, and a multiple case study was conducted with them. The qualitative examination of three teachers’ worlds revealed diverse but complicated relationships between beliefs and pedagogy.
However, with all the quantitative and qualitative explorations and the detailed research findings, I could not convince myself that the findings fully explored the research question, and I had to return to square one to address the question of what the deeper relationship between teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy is. This question pushed me towards an ontological exploration.
Deleuzian ontology was an essential lens to re-interpret the collected data. From the Deleuzian perspective, teaching is an event, an event of surge. Potential changes which have been unnoticed suddenly soar up into the classroom. This surge is the actualization of what was subsisting/insisting at the level of virtuality.
As we understand the ontology of teaching as an aleatory point, empty place, singularity, and an event of surge, we can eventually reimagine the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy as ‘event of surge.’ As teachings arise into the classroom, a teacher’s beliefs also surge into his/her teaching. In the springing up events of teachings, beliefs reveal and expose themselves tearing off the ontological rigidity.
This ontological understanding of teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy presented the significance of teachers’ beliefs: they keep pedagogy active and alive. The moment teachers’ beliefs stop moving around and being alive, pedagogy remains virtual and fossilized. The importance of teachers’ beliefs in pedagogy and the significance of an ‘event of surge’ is that without it, pedagogy is no better than dead.
But the empty place cannot remain ‘empty’ for long. As Levinas (1969) reminds us, the metaphysical desire for the Other awakened by the face of the other should be situated in the aleatory points and empty places that will move around the structure. The reconciliation of soaring up events of teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy with Others-oriented approach to economic justice education occurs here. The pedagogy to respond to the vocation of the others, and to attend to the alterity of the Others, can gain a life when the beings and beliefs of teachers soar up and permeate the classroom, and thereby affect students, and therefore hopefully, change the world.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1
• 1. Economic justice in crisis 1
• 2. Economic justice education afoot 2
• 3. Research question 3
• CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 6
• 1. Mainstream approach to economic justice 6
• Principle of desert 7
• Principle of needs 8
• Principle of equality 9
• Utilitarianism 10
• The difference principle 11
• Libertarianism 12
• 2. Critical review on the mainstream approach to economic justice 13
• 3. Others-oriented approach to economic justice 18
• Justice as unconditional hospitality for the Other 18
• Unconditional hospitality and asymmetric responsibility 22
• Economic justice education as a response to the vocation of the Other 24
• 4. Comparison of the two approaches 28
• 5. Teachers’ beliefs and pedagogy 32
• Teachers’ beliefs: Meanings and significance 32
• Relationship between belief and pedagogy 34
• 6. Deleuzian Ontology 39
• CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 42
• 1. Overview of the research: Mixed methods research 42
• The philosophical foundation of mixed method 43
• Rationale for the mixed method 45
• Challenges in using mixed method 48
• 2. Research design 49
• 3. Research procedure 53
• Quantitative phase 54
• Qualitative phase 61
• CHAPTER 4. RESEARCH RESULTS 70
• 1. Quantitative research results 70
• Demographic information 70
• Teachers’ beliefs about economic justice education: Descriptive statistics 73
• Cluster analysis results 77
• Analysis of variance results 91
• Sampling for the qualitative case study 93
• 2. Qualitative research results 95
• The story of Y (Cluster 1: Average Group) 97
• The story of S (Cluster 3: Others-oriented group) 119
• The story of H (Cluster 5: Subject-oriented group) 146
• Converged story: The results of the qualitative case study 166
• CHAPTER 5. REIMAGINING THE ONTOLOGY OF PEDAGOGY 170
• 1. Aporia: What is the answer? 170
• 2. Beyond the representational thought about pedagogy 171
• 3. Beliefs and pedagogy as an event 174
• Ontology of event 174
• Teaching: an event of surge 176
• Teaching: an aleatory point 178
• Reimagining the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and pedagogies about economic justice education 182
• 4. Ethics of pedagogy 185
• CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 189
• Reference 194
• Appendix A: ‘Learning to teach for social justice-beliefs’ scale 215
• Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire 216
• Appendix C: Descriptive Statistics of 6 Clusters 219
• Appendix D: Email Message to social studies teachers with Link to
• Online Survey 243
• Appendix E: Information/Consent Letter for Interviewees 244
• Appendix F: Interview Question Guide 246
• Abstract in Korean 248