Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Making Connections in and Through Arts-Based Educational Research pp 227–239Cite as

Polyvocal Poetic Play Through Self-study Research: Challenging the Status Quo to Improve Professional Practice

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Studies in Arts-Based Educational Research ((SABER,volume 5))

Abstract

In self-study research, numerous approaches are used, including collaboratively creative poetic inquiry. In this chapter, two teacher educators and self-study scholars consider how their polyvocal poetic play has helped challenge the status quo of method in researching professional knowledge and practice over the years. Looking specifically at their polyvocal poetic play within their larger corpus of the diverse self-study methods they enacted, a word cloud of frequently used words in publication titles made this work’s central features visible. Juxtaposing their word cloud with two more that included others’ poetic self-study scholarship allowed them to examine their work as a duo in the context of two decades of poetic self-study research. The words bricolage, polyvocal, creativity, play, transdisciplinary, virtual, and place are featured distinctively in the titles of their scholarship. The “why” and “so what?” of their poetic self-study were clarified by interweaving their thoughts prompted by these phrases to produce a double voice poem, followed by letter writing. This chapter illuminates how co-creative self-study can grow possibilities for expansive learning, providing diverse epistemic options for bringing us to new understandings of professional activity, and changing professional ways of knowing and being.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allender, J., & Allender, D. (2006). How did our early education determine who we are as teachers? In L. M. Fitzgerald, M. L. Heston, & D. L. Tidwell (Eds.), Collaboration and community: Pushing boundaries through self-study. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Self-study of Teacher Education Practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England, July 30–August 3 (pp. 14–17). University of Northern Iowa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allender, J. S., & Manke, M. P. (2002). Reflecting and refracting self-study artifacts: Jazz poetry. . In C. Kosnik, A. Freese, & A. Samaras (Eds.), Making a difference in teacher education through self-study. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England (Vol. 1, pp. 15–19). OISE, University of Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics. In C. Emerson (Ed.), University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1

  • Buchanan, R., Mills, T., & Mooney, E. (2020). Navigating stranger things: Creating bricolage in the upside down. In C. Edge, A. Cameron-Standerford, & B. Bergh (Eds.), Textiles and tapestries: Self-study for envisioning new ways of knowing (pp. 125–135). Equity Press. https://equitypress.org/textiles_tapestries_self_study/chapter_4

  • Ciuffetelli Parker, D. (2006). Literacy narrative relationships: Self-study in collegial letters. In L. M. Fitzgerald, M. L. Heston, & D. L. Tidwell (Eds.), Collaboration and community: Pushing boundaries through self-study. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Self-study of Teacher Education Practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England, July 30–August 3 (pp. 198–202). University of Northern Iowa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davey, R., & Ham, V. (2009). Collective wisdom: Team-based approaches to self-study in teacher education. In C. A. Lassonde, S. Galman, & C. Kosnik (Eds.), Self-study research methodologies for teacher educators (pp. 187–203). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087906900_012

  • Dhlula-Moruri, M. N., Kortjass, M., Ndaleni, T., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2017). A stove, a flask, and a photograph: Learning together through object inquiry in self-study research. In D. Pillay, K. Pithouse-Morgan, & I. Naicker (Eds.), Object medleys: Interpretive possibilities for educational research (pp. 81–98). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6351-194-0_6

  • Edge, C. U., & Olan, E. L. (2021). Learning to breathe again: Found poems and critical friendship as methodological tools in self-study of teaching practices. Studying Teacher Education, 17, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2021.1910807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, A., Paugh, P., & Mills, G. (2004). Self-study through action research. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 943–977). Kluwer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6545-3_24

  • Fleischman, P. (1988). Joyful noise: Poems for two voices. HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gísladóttir, K. R., & Óskarsdóttir, G. (2020). Envisioning new ways of knowing: Toward a shared vision of multicultural teacher education through collective self-study. In C. Edge, A. Cameron-Standerford, & B. Bergh (Eds.), Textiles and tapestries: Self-Study for envisioning new ways of knowing (pp. 478–489). Equity Press. https://equitypress.org/textiles_tapestries_self_study/chapter_104

  • Hiralaal, A., Matebane, R., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2018). Learning through enacting arts-informed self-study research with critical friends. In J. K. Ritter, M. Lunenberg, K. Pithouse-Morgan, A. P. Samaras, & E. Vanassche (Eds.), Teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology: Unraveling a complex interplay (pp. 295–312). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8105-7_26

  • Hopper, T., & Sanford, K. (2008). Using poetic representation to support the development of teachers’ knowledge. Studying Teacher Education, 4(1), 29–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • John-Steiner, V. (2000). Creative collaboration. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johri, A. K. (2015). Multiple narrators: Using double voice poems to examine writing personas. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 173–196). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-220-2_10

  • LaBoskey, V. K. (2004). The methodology of self-study and its theoretical underpinnings. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 817–869). Kluwer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6545-3_21

  • Langer, C., & Furman, R. (2004). Exploring identity and assimilation: Research and interpretive poems. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5(2) (Article 5). http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/609

  • Loughran, J. J. (2004). A history and context of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 1, pp. 7–39). Kluwer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6545-3_1

  • Meskin, T., Van Der Walt, T., Scott, L., De Beer, C., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2017). Shoes, suitcases, stones: Creative engagement with ourselves as artist–researcher–teachers through object inquiry. In D. Pillay, K. Pithouse-Morgan, & I. Naicker (Eds.), Object medleys: Interpretive possibilities for educational research (pp. 175–196). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6351-194-0_12

  • Mitchell, C., Moletsane, R., MacEntee, K., & de Lange, N. (2020). Participatory visual methodologies in self-study for social justice teaching: A reflexive eye. In J. Kitchen, A. Berry, H. Guðjónsdóttir, S. M. Bullock, M. Taylor, & A. R. Crowe (Eds.), 2nd International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 683–712). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1710-1_23-1

  • Mittapalli, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2008). Madhubani art: A journey of an education researcher seeking self-development answers through art and self-study. The Qualitative Report, 13(2), 244–261. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1597

  • Pinnegar, S., & Hamilton, M. L. (2009). Self-study of practice as a genre of qualitative research: Theory, methodology, and practice. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9512-2_4

  • Pithouse, K., Mitchell, C., & Weber, S. (2009). Self-study in teaching and teacher development: a call to action. Educational Action Research, 17(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650790802667444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., Chisanga, T., Meyiwa, T., & Timm, D. N. (2018a). Flourishing together: Co-learning as leaders of a multicultural South African educational research community. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 20(3), 102–125. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v20i3.1607

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., Coia, L., Taylor, M., & Samaras, A. P. (2016). Exploring methodological inventiveness through collective artful self-study research. LEARNing Landscapes, 9(2), 443–460. https://doi.org/10.36510/learnland.v9i2.786

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., Masinga, L., Meyiwa, T., Naicker, I., Pillay, D., & Van Laren, L. (2018b). Unfolding the “mysterious truth” of emotional entanglements in supervising self-study research: A collective arts-informed self-study. In D. Garbett & A. Ovens (Eds.), Pushing boundaries and crossing borders: Self-study as a means for researching pedagogy (pp. 83–90). Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., Muthukrishna, N., Pillay, D., Van Laren, L., Chisanga, T., Meyiwa, T., Moletsane, R., Naicker, I., Singh, L., & Stuart, J. (2015). Learning about co-flexivity in a transdisciplinary self-study research supervision community. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 145–171). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-220-2_9

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2015). The power of “we” for professional learning. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 1–20). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-220-2_1

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2017). Thinking in space: Virtual bricolage self-study for future-oriented teacher professional learning. In D. Garbett & A. Ovens (Eds.), Being self-study researchers in a digital world: Future-oriented research and pedagogy in teacher education (pp. 133–150). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39478-7_10

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2018). “Many stories matter”: Taking a polyvocal stance in learning about teaching of self-study. In J. K. Ritter, M. Lunenberg, K. Pithouse-Morgan, A. P. Samaras, & E. Vanassche (Eds.), Teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology: Unraveling a complex interplay (pp. 313–328). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8105-7_27

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2019). Polyvocal play: A poetic bricolage of the why of our transdisciplinary self-study research. Studying Teacher Education, 15(1), 4–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2019.1580008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2020a). A sense of place: Exploring place and identity through virtual bricolage self-study research. In E. Lyle (Ed.), Identity landscapes: Contemplating place and the construction of self (pp. 20–33). Brill | Sense. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004425194_003

  • Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Samaras, A. P. (2020b). Methodological inventiveness in writing about self-study research: Inventiveness in service. In J. Kitchen, A. Berry, S. M. Bullock, A. R. Crowe, M. Taylor, H. Guðjónsdóttir, & L. Thomas (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education (2nd ed., pp. 427–460). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1710-1_13-1

  • Racines, D., & Samaras, A. P. (2015). Duality of practice and mentorship of an English language instructional coach. In K. Pithouse-Morgan, K., & A. P. Samaras, A. P. (Eds.). Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research. (pp. 111–125). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-220-2_7

  • Samaras, A. P. (2010). Explorations in using arts-based self-study methods. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23(6), 719–736. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390903426212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A. P. (2011). Self-study teacher research: Improving your practice through collaborative inquiry. SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A. P. (2013). Twelve shells: Learning by leading cross-disciplinary faculty self-study of professional practice. Reflective Practice, 14(4), 519–535. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2013.808181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A. P., Adams-Legge, M., Breslin, D., Mittapalli, K., O’Looney, J. M., & Wilcox, D. R. (2008). Collective creativity: A learning community of self-study scholars. In A. P. Samaras, A. R. Freese, C. Kosnik, & C. Beck (Eds.), Learning communities in practice (pp. 133–147). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8788-2_10

  • Samaras, A. P., & Freese, A. R. (2006). Self-study of teaching practices primer. Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A., & Freese, A. (2009). Looking back and looking forward: An historical overview of the self-study school. In C. A. Lassonde, S. Galman, & C. Kosnik (Eds.), Self-study research methodologies for teacher educators (pp. 3–19). Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A. P., Hjalmarson, M., Bland, L. C., Nelson, J. K., & Christopher, E. K. (2019). Self-study as a method for engaging STEM faculty in transformative and sustainable change to improve teaching. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 31(2), 195–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A. P., Karczmarczyk, D., Smith, L., Woodville, L., Harmon, L., Nasser, I., Parsons, S., Smith, T. M., Borne, K., Constantine, L. S., Mendoza, E. R., Suh, J., & Swanson, R. (2014). The shark in the vitrine: Experiencing our practice from the inside out with transdisciplinary lenses. Journal of Transformative Education, 12(4), 368–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344614551637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samaras, A. P., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2020). Polyvocal self-study in transdisciplinary higher education communities. In J. Kitchen, A. Berry, H. Guðjónsdóttir, S. M. Bullock, M. Taylor, & A. R. Crowe (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education (2nd ed., pp. 1291–1322). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1710-1_43-1

  • Samaras, A. P., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (2021). Nourishing wholehearted faculty professional living through co-creative play. The Educational Forum, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2021.1912869

  • Samaras, A. P., Pithouse-Morgan, K., Chisanga, T., Conolly, J., Constantine, L. S., Meyiwa, T., Smith, L., & Timm, D. N. (2015). Breathing under water: A transcontinental conversation about the “why” of co-facilitating transdisciplinary self-study learning communities. In K. Pithouse-Morgan & A. P. Samaras (Eds.), Polyvocal professional learning through self-study research (pp. 231–252). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-220-2_13

  • Samaras, A., & Sell, C. (2013). Please write: Using Critical friend letter writing in teacher research. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(4), 93–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L., Constantine, L., S., Sauveur, A., Samaras, A. P., Casey, A., Evmenova, A., Hudson, S., Lee, S., & Reid, E. S. with contributions from Ericson, R., Ewell, M., Lukes, L., Muir, S., Nelson, J., & Poms, L. (2018). Dwelling in the question: Professional empowerment through complex visual self-study (pp. 275–294). In J. K. Ritter, M. Lunenberg, K. Pithouse-Morgan, A. P. Samaras, E. & Vanassche, E., (Eds.), Teaching, learning, and enacting self-study research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8105-7_25

  • Sweet, J. D., Nurminen, E., & Koro-Ljungberg, M. (2020). Becoming research with shadow work: Combining artful inquiry with research-creation. Qualitative Inquiry, 26(3–4), 388–399. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419857764

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M., & Diamond, M. (2020). The role of self-study in teaching and teacher education for social justice. In J. Kitchen, A. Berry, S. M. Bullock, A. R. Crowe, M. Taylor, H. Guðjónsdóttir, & L. Thomas (Eds.), 2nd International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 1–35). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1710-1_16-1

  • Van Laren, L., Pithouse-Morgan, K., Chisanga, T., Harrison, L., Meyiwa, T., Muthukrishna, N., Naicker, I., & Singh, L. (2014). ‘Walking our talk’: Exploring supervision of postgraduate self-study research through metaphor drawing. South African Journal of Higher Education, 28(2), 639–659. https://doi.org/10.20853/28-2-346

  • Van Laren, L., Pithouse-Morgan, K., Volks, C., & Alves, S. (2016). Scrapbooking as a tool for transdisciplinary professional learning about HIV and AIDS curriculum integration in higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(4), 74–93. http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/download/674/366

  • Van Laren, L., Pithouse-Morgan, K., & Masinga, L. (2019). Containing HIV and AIDS: Creating a readers’ theatre script for professional learning in higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(3), 222‒240. https://doi.org/10.20853/33-3-2964

  • Weber, S., & Mitchell, C. (2004). Using visual and artistic modes of representation for self- study. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 979–1037). Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, J. (2004). What counts as evidence in self-studies of teacher education practices? In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (Vol. 2, pp. 871–903). Kluwer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6545-3_22

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan

  2. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Anastasia P. Samaras

Authors
  1. Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anastasia P. Samaras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. King’s University College, London, ON, Canada

    Hala Mreiwed

  2. Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Mindy R. Carter

  3. Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Sara Hashem

  4. Equitas—Centre international d’éducation aux droits humains, International Centre for Human Rights Education, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Candace H. Blake-Amarante

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Pithouse-Morgan, K., Samaras, A.P. (2023). Polyvocal Poetic Play Through Self-study Research: Challenging the Status Quo to Improve Professional Practice. In: Mreiwed, H., Carter, M.R., Hashem, S., Blake-Amarante, C.H. (eds) Making Connections in and Through Arts-Based Educational Research. Studies in Arts-Based Educational Research, vol 5. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8028-2_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8028-2_17

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-19-8027-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-19-8028-2

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation