Faculty Publications
Method as Meaning Making: Critical Friends’ Collaborative Inquiry
Document Type
Article
Keywords
Collaborative inquiry, creative methods, critical friendship, meaning making, self-study
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Studying Teacher Education
Abstract
This self-study explored novice self-study researcher Meg's professional development and self-study methods evolution through her writing of five self-studies with the support of critical friends. Meg and her critical friends tried to understand how and in what way support from critical friends empowered Meg to go beyond the ‘so what’ of research. They aimed to display the evolving process of Meg's self-study methods and critical friends’ support to develop new knowledge about her self-study experiences. The studies of the Castle Conference experiences and community of practice theoretically framed the study. Meg’s five self-studies were the primary data source of this larger self-study. Data were analyzed with critical friends' inquiry. The findings illustrated the three critical nodal moments that Meg experienced with her critical friends. Collaborative dialogue with critical friends enabled Meg to gain self-study knowledge, methodological and writing skills and resiliency to conduct complex research. Critical friends’ professional, academic and personal support empowered Meg to grow as a confident self-study researcher. These experiences helped her to develop an S-STEP community within a Japanese professionals’ community as their critical friend. This study contributes to developing professional knowledge regarding the power and importance of critical friendship. A novice researcher was able to engage in rich learning experiences both in research design and data analysis with experienced researchers as critical friends. This critical friendship dynamic embraced professional collaboration in a way that allowed the novice researcher to experience meaningful learning experiences and in the process come to understand valuable research knowledge.
Department
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Original Publication Date
12-25-2024
DOI of published version
10.1080/17425964.2024.2440381
Recommended Citation
Nishida, Megumi; Guðjónsdóttir, Hafdís; and Tidwell, Deborah, "Method as Meaning Making: Critical Friends’ Collaborative Inquiry" (2024). Faculty Publications. 6742.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/6742
