“Without Hermeneutics I’m Stuck in My Own Thinking”: Preservice Teachers Adopt a Hermeneutical Stance Toward Action Research

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Action Research Approaches in the Professional Development of Educators

Abstract

Pre-service teachers need to question their taken-for-granted beliefs and biases about their students. Hermeneutics is a philosophical perspective that uncovers the subjectivity of our perceptions and can help students understand the necessity of questioning biases. This study explored what happened when pre-service teachers undertook an action research project with their students and analyzed qualitative data with a hermeneutical stance. Data consisted of audio-recorded class dialogues about readings on hermeneutics, interviews, student papers, and pre and post surveys. The data revealed that hermeneutics helped pre-service teachers: become aware of their biases; question their initial interpretations; and assume a self-reflective stance toward teaching.

Authors

• Colette Rabin, San José State University

• Grinell Smith, San José State University