introductory framing statement
As I embarked on my journey in the M.S. Ed. here at Indiana University, I had visions of making members of my workforce more marketable. After all, I’d spent the previous 18 years in leadership positions through which I facilitated the coaching and development of thousands of employees. Some of my efforts resulted in individuals finding professional success either within our department or through promotions into new roles. Other times, I found my efforts insufficient. I hoped the adult education program would provide a framework to better direct my trainings and allow a higher percentage of my staff to find increased marketability. In this thinking, I sold the merits of the field woefully short. As I reflect back, I see now I possessed a narrow vision of what I was capable of as an educator, and, more importantly, I failed to recognize the power we all possess to break free from forces seeking to keep the populace in place and fight to create a more just society. As a result, it is evident the theme which defines the journey—and the destination— is emancipatory dialogue.
There are many ways emancipatory dialogue will be presented throughout, though they all relate to my journey from someone believing adult education only concerned the manner of, and approximation to, professional growth within organizational structures to an individual definitively stating adult education is an exercise dedicated to providing learners methods to move from autonomous learning into the realm of being change agents, capable of critically reflective meaning-making. Human resource development can both improve efficiency and lead to a social reordering. This will be demonstrated in some artifacts as a shift in focus on the application of adult education methods. As I progressed in the program, I also became more engaged in local politics, focusing on helping marginalized groups find power and voice. So in addition to artifacts related to adult education being applied in the workplace, I explore other uses with more rigor. Other artifacts will dive into theoretical debates on how we synthesize dialogue in our effort to liberate oppressed learners. Finally, emancipatory dialogue is decidedly radical. As a result, you will see a dramatic shift in language with more critically reflexive components in my writings. As I read and discussed more, my voice grew. I felt less and less inclined to stay silent because it was the “right” thing to do.
This personal growth is thanks to interactions with peers, professors and the works of several prominent adult education practitioners, specifically Paolo Freire and Stephen Brookfield. Two examples stand out. First is when Freire wrote, “The role of adult education is, through dialogue with learners, to facilitate acquisition of critical consciousness. Once learners become conscious of the forces that control their lives, they become empowered, and empowerment leads to action” (Merriam & Brockett, 2007, p. 43). I read this early in my program and was not fully aware of the power present within these words. We can foster dialogue and share in a journey of learning which leads to an awareness capable of emancipating learners and changing the status quo. This is powerful. Something else I read early on and only came to understand as the program progressed is from Brookfield (2005): “Lulled into stupefaction by the possession of consumer goods, we believe ourselves to be living in democratic freedom, when our needs have actually been manipulated to convince us we are happy” (p. 188). Taken together, this means dialogue is the essential component in facilitating empowerment and even those with the financial means to fully participate in a consumer society are victims of hegemonic forces. What does this mean, then, for individuals without access to capital? What does it mean for individuals without access to education or community resources? What does this say about all marginalized groups? All of this is discussed in more than one artifact and lines up well with my academic goal of continued growth, exposure to varying viewpoints and self-appraisal, as well as my professional and political goal of helping oppressed groups make radical social change in their communities.
If I have an opportunity in all of this, it is I am sometimes too passionate and rigid in my interpretations. Everywhere I look, I see oppression taking place. It colors the way I interact with colleagues in leadership. And because I am so passionate, people will sometimes overlook or ignore what I am saying because they take offense at the very idea they might be part of the problem. To be sure, calling attention to ways in which associates further oppression is a worthwhile endeavor. That said, I need to be better at contextually framing feedback so as to allow my thoughts to reach the intended audience. If they don’t hear me, they can’t take what I say into consideration, and this prevents the potential for meaning-making and change. I have also not fully formed how to accomplish the task of infusing radical education theory (in which emancipatory dialogue resides) into professional spaces. Everything I read or discuss now has an underlying focus on what can be applied in capitalist organizations so that learners actually become aware of oppressive institutional forces and then have agency to affect change. This is a gap I must fill for without it, I am not a contextually effective educator.
As my cohort colleagues and faculty move from one artifact to the next, you will find assets which are applied purely in workplace settings. Others will be community- or politically-based pieces. And some will attempt to fuse the two in a manner which increases efficiency and creates an engaged workforce, willing to organize and exert their voice.
The first artifact is the final paper from my first course in the program. In it, you will see my early take on using dialogue as a means to make corporate benchmarks more palatable. There is an undertone, however, in which I begin to see the charade I am a part of. The second artifact focuses on contextualized learning and communities of practice. This is important because it demonstrates how we are all connected and have the ability to influence one another to varying degrees, including the ability to foster organizational change.
The third artifact reflects an early group project which attempts to infuse critical thinking in the workplace through problem-based learning. This is one of my first attempts to introduce emancipatory dialogue in workplace settings. The fourth artifact is the beginning of a recognition of oppressive systems woven throughout higher education and focuses on performance-based funding. So not only is oppression present in professional and consumer settings, but our education system is being corrupted in the name of organizational efficiency.
The fifth artifact is an exploration of self-oppression. In it, I search to find my voice through self-reflection. The sixth artifact once again touches on communities of practice, though the tone is decidedly shifting toward radical education theory.
The seventh artifact is the text of my first foray into direct discourse on ideology and represents the next step in me breaking away from centrist interpretations of education theory. There are radical applications in most of what we read. Finally, the eighth artifact is the culmination of my journey, demonstrating my current view on what represents the most pressing issue in our field, namely emancipatory dialogue.
My hope as you progress through the portfolio is to see a change in the way I look at our responsibilities as adult educators. I hope you see an individual finding his own voice so that he may work with others as they find theirs. My hope is you will see the immense opportunity emancipatory dialogue possesses.
References
Brookfield, S.D. (2005). The power of critical theory: Liberating adult learning and teaching. San Francisco, CA: Wiley & Sons.
Merriam, S. B., & Brockett, R. G. (2007). The profession and practice of adult education: An introduction. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
There are many ways emancipatory dialogue will be presented throughout, though they all relate to my journey from someone believing adult education only concerned the manner of, and approximation to, professional growth within organizational structures to an individual definitively stating adult education is an exercise dedicated to providing learners methods to move from autonomous learning into the realm of being change agents, capable of critically reflective meaning-making. Human resource development can both improve efficiency and lead to a social reordering. This will be demonstrated in some artifacts as a shift in focus on the application of adult education methods. As I progressed in the program, I also became more engaged in local politics, focusing on helping marginalized groups find power and voice. So in addition to artifacts related to adult education being applied in the workplace, I explore other uses with more rigor. Other artifacts will dive into theoretical debates on how we synthesize dialogue in our effort to liberate oppressed learners. Finally, emancipatory dialogue is decidedly radical. As a result, you will see a dramatic shift in language with more critically reflexive components in my writings. As I read and discussed more, my voice grew. I felt less and less inclined to stay silent because it was the “right” thing to do.
This personal growth is thanks to interactions with peers, professors and the works of several prominent adult education practitioners, specifically Paolo Freire and Stephen Brookfield. Two examples stand out. First is when Freire wrote, “The role of adult education is, through dialogue with learners, to facilitate acquisition of critical consciousness. Once learners become conscious of the forces that control their lives, they become empowered, and empowerment leads to action” (Merriam & Brockett, 2007, p. 43). I read this early in my program and was not fully aware of the power present within these words. We can foster dialogue and share in a journey of learning which leads to an awareness capable of emancipating learners and changing the status quo. This is powerful. Something else I read early on and only came to understand as the program progressed is from Brookfield (2005): “Lulled into stupefaction by the possession of consumer goods, we believe ourselves to be living in democratic freedom, when our needs have actually been manipulated to convince us we are happy” (p. 188). Taken together, this means dialogue is the essential component in facilitating empowerment and even those with the financial means to fully participate in a consumer society are victims of hegemonic forces. What does this mean, then, for individuals without access to capital? What does it mean for individuals without access to education or community resources? What does this say about all marginalized groups? All of this is discussed in more than one artifact and lines up well with my academic goal of continued growth, exposure to varying viewpoints and self-appraisal, as well as my professional and political goal of helping oppressed groups make radical social change in their communities.
If I have an opportunity in all of this, it is I am sometimes too passionate and rigid in my interpretations. Everywhere I look, I see oppression taking place. It colors the way I interact with colleagues in leadership. And because I am so passionate, people will sometimes overlook or ignore what I am saying because they take offense at the very idea they might be part of the problem. To be sure, calling attention to ways in which associates further oppression is a worthwhile endeavor. That said, I need to be better at contextually framing feedback so as to allow my thoughts to reach the intended audience. If they don’t hear me, they can’t take what I say into consideration, and this prevents the potential for meaning-making and change. I have also not fully formed how to accomplish the task of infusing radical education theory (in which emancipatory dialogue resides) into professional spaces. Everything I read or discuss now has an underlying focus on what can be applied in capitalist organizations so that learners actually become aware of oppressive institutional forces and then have agency to affect change. This is a gap I must fill for without it, I am not a contextually effective educator.
As my cohort colleagues and faculty move from one artifact to the next, you will find assets which are applied purely in workplace settings. Others will be community- or politically-based pieces. And some will attempt to fuse the two in a manner which increases efficiency and creates an engaged workforce, willing to organize and exert their voice.
The first artifact is the final paper from my first course in the program. In it, you will see my early take on using dialogue as a means to make corporate benchmarks more palatable. There is an undertone, however, in which I begin to see the charade I am a part of. The second artifact focuses on contextualized learning and communities of practice. This is important because it demonstrates how we are all connected and have the ability to influence one another to varying degrees, including the ability to foster organizational change.
The third artifact reflects an early group project which attempts to infuse critical thinking in the workplace through problem-based learning. This is one of my first attempts to introduce emancipatory dialogue in workplace settings. The fourth artifact is the beginning of a recognition of oppressive systems woven throughout higher education and focuses on performance-based funding. So not only is oppression present in professional and consumer settings, but our education system is being corrupted in the name of organizational efficiency.
The fifth artifact is an exploration of self-oppression. In it, I search to find my voice through self-reflection. The sixth artifact once again touches on communities of practice, though the tone is decidedly shifting toward radical education theory.
The seventh artifact is the text of my first foray into direct discourse on ideology and represents the next step in me breaking away from centrist interpretations of education theory. There are radical applications in most of what we read. Finally, the eighth artifact is the culmination of my journey, demonstrating my current view on what represents the most pressing issue in our field, namely emancipatory dialogue.
My hope as you progress through the portfolio is to see a change in the way I look at our responsibilities as adult educators. I hope you see an individual finding his own voice so that he may work with others as they find theirs. My hope is you will see the immense opportunity emancipatory dialogue possesses.
References
Brookfield, S.D. (2005). The power of critical theory: Liberating adult learning and teaching. San Francisco, CA: Wiley & Sons.
Merriam, S. B., & Brockett, R. G. (2007). The profession and practice of adult education: An introduction. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.