Reflexivity in Narratives on Practice

• In Event: How is Knowledge Coproduced in Dialogue Through the Harnessing of “Difference”? Investigating Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in the “Co” of Coproduction

Abstract

Helle Merete Nordentoft, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Aarhus University
and Birgitte Ravn Olesen, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies, Roskilde University
Previous research has shown how reflexivity is a precondition for knowledge co-production through productive dialogue in organisational contexts because it entails a re-ordering, re-arranging and re-designing of what one knows and therefore creates new angles of vision. In this paper, we draw on Bakhtinian dialogic communication theory and discursive psychology to investigate the written practice narratives of 23 students on a Masters Degree Programme in Educational Studies, focusing on how the process of writing narratives accentuates reflexivity. Our findings indicate that the narratives invite a dialogic conception of practice as they entail a conceptual reframing of key elements in practice. In addition, the narratives expose a situational and relational, rather than normative, focus which allows for reflections on emotional and bodily experiences. In conclusion, we argue that practice narratives have the potential to bring about productive learning in organizational contexts since they appear to stimulate participants’ relational engagement and reflexivity.

Authors

• Helle Nordentoft, Aarhus U

• Birgitte Olesen, U of Roskilde