Book Discussion Forum
Have you read a particularly helpful book and would like to suggest it to others? Are you looking for an excellent book on a certain topic? This is the place to exchange those ideas.
Kent State University Doctoral Student and Candidate Forum
A community for doctoral students
If you are interested in Narrative Inquiry as a methodology (and method–it is both!), then I would recommend some of the following texts:
Handbook of Narrative Inquiry by D.J. Clandinin (editor), (2007)
Narrative Inquiry by Clandinin & Connelley (2000)
Narrative Research by A. Lieblich, R. Tuval-Mashiach & T. Zilber (1998)
Narrative Inquiry in Practice by N. Lyons & V.K. LaBoskey (2002)
Those are a great start. If interested, email me and I can give you others or I’d be glad to talk to you more about narrative inquiry:)
Maria
I know many of you will cringe upon seeing the name of the book I recommend. Get ready, set, go!
It’s Ralph Tyler’s Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction (1949).
Read it from the lens of a transformative curriculum leader whose desire is to engage all ’stakeholders’–the students, teachers, admin and community in which the school resides–in an alternate view of learning and education, and you will find some remarkable gems. Expand your definition of ‘objectives’ while recalling the time period in which he was writing, then reflect on Tyler’s vision.
If I might be so bold (and I will), seems to me that Tyler’s vision of curriculum theory preceded Henderson’s 3-S model. It’s in his ‘Form of Objectives’ section. Look carefully at the behavioral objectives categories in the chart (p50), particularly the heading of the 7th column. Then read p54 and Tyler’s discussion on what he means by “social attitudes” and its relationship to his view of student learning.
And then, just for giggles, try out his 1976 book “Perspectives on American Education: Reflections on the past…challenges for the future.”
Here’s one Tyler teaser to whet your appetite:
“It is now becoming clear that the lives of all citizens will be increasingly dominated by the federal government and that the freedom of the local community for independent action will be greatly reduced” (p129).
So much for what we’ve been–or haven’t been–told about that bad-boy!
Last challenge, if you dare. Carefully read Franklin Bobbitt’s infamous book “The Curriculum” (1918) and then tell me what you think (or rethink) about his vision of education.
Anita
Anita,
I will most definitely put those on my “must read after comps” list! Thanks!
Maria
A few books that were great reads outside of the curriculum track but graciously related:
Kwame Anthony Appiah: Ethics of Identity
Kwame Anthony Appiah: Cosmopolitanism
Other books for those of you interested in democratic dialogue in classrooms:
Matthew Lipman, Margaret Ann Sharp, Frederick Oscanyan: Growing up with Philosophy, Philosophy in the Classroom
Gareth Matthews: Philosophy and the Young Child
Dialogues with Children
The Philosophy of Childhood
Philip Cam:Thinking Together: Philosophical Inquiry for the Classroom
Many more of these if interested
I was at state summit conference last month and picked up a short book by Janet L. Miller (1990). Creating Spaces and Finding Voices: Teachers Collaborating for Empowerment. For us Teacher Ed folks, I would recommend this book to teachers of preservice teachers, as it discusses finding the place, space and time to discover personal and social changes needed in and out of the classroom, and to view teaching as a form of research. “If we see ways in which our own researching can inform our teaching as well as empower our roles within the educational community and society, then what changes must we address in our personal and professional constructs of teaching and research, and the relationships inherent within those constructs? (21)
Another must read for all teachers is Jonathan Kozol (1967/1985) Death at an Early Age. This book presents the theme of how urban schools are taking away from the children their creativiness, and cultural understandings about life, and stiffling it through a lack of understanding of what children need to live and learn in the urban schools and community.
Two other books that may appeal to your sense of exploring self are by Malcolm Gladwell. One is: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), and Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (2002). Both are light reading, but important to giving you some insight as to how you or others make decisions about life.
And for those of you new to doctoral studies and qualitative research, Schwandt’s Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry is a “must read”! If you are confused about all the terms you are hearing in the program such as epistemology, ontology and so forth, then this book will be a valuable asset to you!
ISBN 0-7619-2166-4