Space For Dialogue Research Articles

The Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph: community participation, collective memorialisation and social cohesion

Purpose Online/Digital cultural heritage platforms have the potential to serve as empowering sites and tools for democratic participation, and for promoting social cohesion, acting as convergence points for diverse societal groups. They enable the gathering of multiple voices, including those of minorities and groups often marginalised in mainstream cultural heritage documentation. This research paper examines the ways in which these aspirations of cultural heritage platforms as meeting, learning and dialogic spaces for connecting and empowering online communities have been realised. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative design, interviews were conducted with users of New Zealand’s Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Online Cenotaph. Participants shared their experiences with the platform, perceptions of it as a collective social history resource and views on its role as a participatory space for online communities. They also discussed their expectations for its development as an online space for collective memorialisation. Findings Interviews revealed that users value Online Cenotaph for placing personal, publicly contributed memories and narratives alongside primary military sources. Participants expressed feelings of civic responsibility, social awareness and a sense of identity and connection through their use and contribution to this online commemorative space. The shift from a one-way flow of information from the Museum towards embracing public contribution embodying a high-trust approach, was a notable finding. Originality/value This research underscores the evolving role of museums and other GLAM institutions in recognising the importance of inclusivity, diversity and community participation. It provides insights into how digital cultural heritage social platforms can contribute towards these goals and promote social cohesion. This research is also a starting point for further studies on crowdsourcing and social Web activities on digital cultural heritage platforms as sites of community building through public participation and engagement in historical/cultural heritage narratives.

ESL teachers’ experiences in engaging with published research findings: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

ABSTRACT Purpose Despite the growing interest in the applicability and value of educational research for improving educational policy and practice, few studies have demonstrated how English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers apply research findings in their second language (L2) teaching. This paper reports on a study in which four Hong Kong ESL teachers were given research findings about L2 vocabulary teaching and learning and how they engaged in professional development (PD) sessions with a researcher specialising in vocabulary teaching and learning to make sense of the research findings. Methodology In addition to the dialogues between the researcher and teachers, individual semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers were audio-recorded and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings Our analysis revealed how ESL teachers made sense of the research literature to inform their L2 vocabulary teaching practices by (1) bridging the gap between the school culture and practices and empirical research findings; (2) connecting the researcher's explanations of the theoretical literature to real-life pedagogical practices; and (3) explaining how research findings can be applied to future classroom teaching and learning. Originality/Value Based on the findings, we argue that professional dialogues between teachers and a researcher can facilitate the creation of a dialogic space for teachers to deploy their knowledge, including but not limited to pedagogical knowledge and beliefs, prior language learning experiences, and teaching experiences, to better understand research findings, thereby challenging their existing thinking and teaching. Such a dialogic space provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their pedagogical practices, which can promote quality teaching.

Unveiling Pathways to Enhance Social Learning Processes in Water Struggles

To advance actionable knowledge production in the context of water struggles, this article identifies ways to strengthen transformative learning processes within riverine social movements. The complex challenges associated with water struggles point to an increasing need to explore ways in which these processes can be shaped and to promote changes in the worldviews that inform how water and riverine environments are perceived and structured. This study draws on the grassroots movement for the social-ecological regeneration of the Taquara Stream in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Research on this case has shown that the actions conducted by this movement fostered learning processes through the creation of innovative forms of involvement that brought together multiple actors. A panel of experts conducted an in-depth analysis of the learning practices observed in this case. This article discusses five aspects of the learning process, which have been identified by the experts, that are essential to expanding the transformative potential of water-related social movements: (1) building relationships of trust between actors, (2) building links with and between key actors in the process, (3) creating dialogue spaces that promote the co-creation of actionable knowledge, (4) engaging actors spontaneously, proactively, and co-responsibly in the process, and (5) bringing participatory research into local processes.

Blurring the boundaries: Opening and sustaining dialogic spaces

ABSTRACT Dialogic educators have designed strategies to facilitate dialogic teaching, such as establishing ground rules, employing talk moves, and structuring discussions. Though productive, such strategies rarely open dialogic space, in which shared meaning is created through an interaction that blurs the boundaries between participating voices. Dialogic space is facilitated by tension between perspectives; openness to others, which is facilitated by ego suspension, authority relaxation and respect for and interest in others; and acceptance of dialogue’s inherent unpredictability. We explore classroom episodes in which dialogic space did and did not emerge, highlighting the importance of playfulness and mutual attunement for maneuvering within dialogic space. These cases also point to 4 challenges that dialogic space poses: tension between curricular coverage and dialogue’s unpredictability; the demands such unpredictability makes on teacher flexibility, knowledge and judgment; equity in the distribution of teacher attention and student participation; and the threat of losing control.

Dialogic space as liminal space for love: How one elementary teacher opened doors for widening community and perspective through letter writing

ABSTRACT What is the role of teachers in constructing loving dialogic space that is liminal in nature? How can curricular boundary objects catalyze new dialogic spaces connecting people in different social locations? Illuminating these questions, Ms. Thompson opened new doors for elementary students in an urban Reformed Christian school community, inviting them to dialogue—via letters—with her uncle who was incarcerated and thus corresponding with students from prison. These letters engaged student writers and Mr. Thompson sharing about their experiences with one another, asking questions about one another’s lives, and making spiritual connections through biblical referencing. Examining and questioning how letters functioned as boundary objects may suggest how other teachers can create expansive and inclusive liminal dialogic space enabling diverse people to commune with one another in between boundaries.

Place-oriented digital agency: Residents’ use of digital means to enhance neighbourhood change

The smart city literature mostly focusses on digital initiatives from above. However, digitalisation also reshapes the city from below. Residents use digital means and platforms to empower their agency in the city. This paper aims to explore how residents utilise digital tools to activate their agency and influence local politics. The paper focusses on one neighbourhood in the city of Tel Aviv where different groups of residents struggle to promote their desired political-spatial vision. The main question is whether digitalisation produces new forms of agency on the neighbourhood scale. The paper argues that: (1) digitalisation provides residents with new forms of connective action, creating digital networks at different scales, using representational practices and forming new spaces for political negotiation; (2) through these practices, they manage to influence the symbolic and political status of the neighbourhood and reframe the struggle over its character and future; (3) groups with higher digital agency gain wider visibility of their claims and needs with politicians, the media and public officials. Importantly, this does not only serve middle-class groups. (4) Ultimately, residents become predominant political actors through digital agency. Methodologically, this paper includes two methods: (i) interviews with residents and municipal workers and (ii) social media analysis and online ethnography. The conclusion elaborates the concept of place-oriented digital agency as a particular type of agency aimed at determining change in a specific locale.

Opening, deepening, and widening dialogic space in argument classrooms

ABSTRACT Given the importance of teaching and learning argumentation, across disciplines for participation in academic and civil discourse, this article examines how dialogic space is created and sustained in classrooms where argument is taught and learned and, when it is created, what affordances it brings to learning argumentation. Dialogic space is a shared space of mutual resonance where we see, feel, or think things from at least 2 points of view at once. While any instructional setting has the potential to create dialogic space, this potential is not always realized. Using data from previously published research on classroom discourse around argumentation in secondary English language arts classrooms, I present how dialogic space can be opened, deepened, and widened as well as how teachers can engage students in argumentation within this space. I conclude by briefly discussing the contexts and affordances of creating dialogic space in argument classrooms.

The role of provisional language in dialogic space

ABSTRACT This article argues that provisional language is important for creating a dialogic space between speakers, where ideas are open for discussion; where participants respect each other’s viewpoints; and where the goal is to encourage and explore multiple perspectives. Whilst much of the research on children’s talk in the classroom focuses on the language of reasoning (for example, “I think ... because”) less attention has been given to the role of more provisional language (“might,” “could,” “maybe”) as students think together. Drawing on previously published research in elementary classes, the article innovatively uses rich examples of children’s classroom dialogue to make the case that there is more to idea-sharing than justification and reasoning, and that being “provisional” in language enables a productive and collaborative learning space. The article argues that provisional language deepens and extends a metaphorical dialogic space by enabling creative thinking, epistemic modality and social cohesion.

“When anybody speaks, we all need to be involved”: Classroom conditions that support dialogic space

ABSTRACT This article discusses classroom conditions that support the co-creation of dialogic space—where our different ideas and perspectives are in conversation with others such that we might take in what other people are saying and be open to it affecting our thinking. Drawing on ethnographic case study data, we provide context to illustrate ways this classroom community was committed to practicing behaviors that support the likelihood of dialogic space. We then focus on a whole-class lesson to elucidate ways 2 related discourse practices—response-able talk practices and language of possibility—signal a dialogic discourse modality that supports exploration of differences in ways that can deepen and widen our understandings.

Rural credit for aquaculture: the development of the activity with resources from the plano safra (literature review)

Among the available proteins, fish is the most consumed on the planet, with ample space for negotiations in the world. In this sense, aquaculture represents a possibility to meet the growing world demand for food and has presented successive expansion in its annual production. In Brazil, the growth of aquaculture production still does not follow the rest of the world, despite its potential due to water availability and favorable climate. The objective of the study is to analyze the possibilities of promotion for the development, technological modernization and expansion of aquaculture in the country from resources coming from the Safra Plan. The methodology is a bibliographical review, based on the analysis of articles, scientific works and official databases of the Federal Government, to verify if the resources made available by the Safra Plan to finance aquaculture have enabled the growth of production of this activity. of cultivation in the country. The results indicate that the granting of credit has increased for aquaculture and fishing, in the same way, there have been advances in production in the sector. However, this policy of financial incentive to the aquaculture sector must be associated with other initiatives to increase the participation of fish in the market.

Financial geography has come of age: making space for intradisciplinary dialogue

Financial geography has come of age: making space for intradisciplinary dialogue

Students’ and facilitators’ experiences with synchronous and asynchronous online dialogic discussions and e-facilitation in understanding the Nature of Science

The existing literature lacks a precise understanding of how online facilitation and dialogic discussions can positively impact students’ comprehension of the Nature of Science (NoS). This study delves into the experiences of students and facilitators engaged in synchronous and asynchronous online dialogic discussions and e-facilitation to enhance our understanding of NoS. An innovative experiment employed a digital dialogue game to engage postgraduate students in a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary science course. The participants included sixty-five PGCE science students and three lecturers specializing in different science disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology). Qualitative data collection methods and analysis, including transcripts of online discussions about NoS topics, were followed by critical event recall interviews to identify specific online dialogue events that significantly contributed to the comprehension of NoS. The findings contribute significantly to comprehending students’ processes in grasping complex and debatable topics such as Nature of Science (NoS) within online dialogic discussions supported by e-facilitation. They emphasize the importance of establishing an open and expansive dialogic space, with a focus on the crucial roles of e-facilitators. The results also highlight a tension between active and passive roles in both synchronous and asynchronous online discussions. Additionally, the study sheds light on the influence of space, time, and texts in understanding NoS through e-facilitated online dialogic discussions. Notably, the research emphasizes the live chat room’s significance within Interloc, accentuating its role as a social space fostering a sense of community and a safe environment for inquiry in online dialogue which supported understanding NoS.

Seeking Refuge, Resisting beyond Borders: On Security, Recognition and Rights in Dina Nayeri’s Refuge and The Ungrateful Refugee

This article examines the nuanced discourse of hospitality in Dina Nayeri’s works Refuge (2017) and The Ungrateful Refugee (2019), attending to the ethics of interdependency that transcend beyond borders of different natures. By making the limits of hospitality evident, both texts bring forth the ethical implications beyond borders that are present in opposing, yet equally significant paradigms: security and danger—depending on whose interests prevail; recognition and non-recognition—attending to the precarious conditions that potential guests are requested to endure or fulfil to be acknowledged and hosted; and rights and duties—considering borders as exclusive and independent rather than as contact zones. Following Jacques Derrida (2000) Jeffrey Clapp and Emily Ridge (2016), and Judith Butler (2009, 2015, 2016), among others, I will consider the complexities of locating home after forced displacement and the (dis)connection between belonging and identity. In both of Nayeri’s works, the direct experience of displacement becomes key to understanding the need for refuge in the recreation of a home-like experience beyond home and borders. This is particularly evident in the negotiated spaces of vulnerability and resistance that refugees inhabit.

Can We Teach Methods That Transgress? Emancipatory Perspectives and the Praxis of Research

Research concerned with advancing the goals of social justice can have a profound impact on the use of qualitative methods. The purpose of this research was to examine ways doctoral students challenge, embrace and consider epistemology, impact, and validity in designing qualitative research studies. Doctoral students are at a unique advantage when it comes to exploring epistemological paradigms in emerging research. The nature of shared dialogic spaces allows for uninhibited conversations to occur that access long-standing debates over validity and criticisms of subjectivity in qualitative research. Doctoral students engage in discussions about research and grapple with ontologies, epistemologies, and axiology of research questions. In turn, this strengthens their understanding of the impact of emancipatory perspectives in research.

Unpacking the complexities, challenges, and nuances of museum community engagement practitioners' narratives on knowledge production in Scotland

AbstractThis paper explores how community engagement practitioners understand their knowledge production work in facilitating and choreographing dialogical spaces (Freire, 2005) within which “organic intellectuals” (Gramsci, 1971) and “alternative” knowledge emerge. Using a qualitative, phenomenological research strategy, data were generated through semi‐structured interviews with community engagement practitioners in Scotland. Practitioners emphasize the importance of equity in the relationship with project participants in knowledge production. Practitioners' narratives reveal how those relationships are realized and how these inform their own and the museum institutions' practice. We acknowledge that community‐based project participants' expertise is prioritized by practitioners as critical to effective community engagement. We argue for a nuanced conceptualization—and appreciation—of the complexities inherent in museum community engagement practice, which is often absent in museum studies work. This conceptualization is embedded in practitioners' subjective experiences and reflections, as well as structural contexts, which simultaneously enable and constrain meaningful community engagement work.

Essentialist traps and how to avoid them

Through the monolingual bias and essentialist understandings of language in education, multilingual youth across the globe have consistently been portrayed as deficient based on their linguistic practices. Deficit approaches in education stem from a colonial project meant to silence the voices and erase the experiences of the Other, and although there is a long tradition of pedagogies that try to counteract this form of discrimination, these attempts are typically built on principles and assumptions that reproduce essentialism and dynamics of marginalization. In this position paper, I argue that it is necessary for educators to engage with non-essentialist understandings of language and multi-sided perspectives on multilingualism to develop pedagogies that are empowering for multilingual youth in Sweden. By engaging with the decolonial notion of linguistic citizenship, educators in Sweden can allow fluid understandings of multilingualism to enter the classroom, creating spaces for socio-political participation and dialogue at the margins of institutional arenas in which language can be negotiated. This measure creates opportunities for empowerment for all students, engaging them in the reconstruction of language and giving voice to stories that would otherwise remain silent.

Reimagining Groups: A Phenomenological Investigation of Affinity Groups in Schools

This study provides insight into the role of affinity groups within educational environments focusing on the perspectives of school counseling practitioners who facilitate these groups. Affinity groups, designed to bring together students with shared identities or interests, serve as spaces for supportive dialogue, learning, and empowerment. The research study utilizes a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach to capture the subjective realities shaped by participants’ unique intersecting identities and social contexts. Through in-depth narratives gathered from consenting school counseling practitioners, the study addresses key questions about the definition, operationalization, and implementation of affinity groups in educational settings. The analysis identifies six consistent themes: affinity groups at the Tier 1 level, evaluation, connection, agency, stigma, and safety. Participants’ individual stories enrich the exploration of these themes, shedding light on the varied experiences within affinity spaces in educational environments.

Can dialogic eventness be created?

ABSTRACT Turning educational ideas into meaningful learning requires planning for uncertainty. This article presents Bakhtin’s key concept of eventness as an essential aspect of defining dialogic space. To Bakhtin an event is something happening here and now, with a degree of open-ended uncertainty tied to what will happen next. Acknowledging this uncertainty—or eventness—might help researchers and practitioners grasp and support the spirit of dialogue in activities aiming for genuine student participation, which is a core concept in recent curricular reforms in Norway. This article discusses eventness as a hub for dialogic principles, illustrated by examples from student group conversations on literature in Norwegian lower secondary school. The challenge of creating dialogic space is discussed with reference to Bakhtin’s general idea of authorship.

Speaking the Right Language: Transnational Rule and Symbolic Power in Dialogue Forums

ABSTRACT This article argues that the opening up of international organisations (IOs) to the participation of civil society organisations (CSOs) has not only failed to dismantle structures of rule. Rather, it should be understood as a perpetuation of rule, re-enacted in and through the everyday practices of IO-CSO interactions in dialogue forums. To make this argument, I build on Bourdieu's notion of symbolic power to conceptualise rule as a hierarchical relationship of mutual recognition, characterised by compliance and actualised through (discursive) practices. In dialogue forums, rule is enacted through the ability of dominant actors to impose meanings (classifications, categories, normative standards) as legitimate. By analysing the Civil Society Policy Forum, I show how the institutions have managed the criticism emanating from CSOs through discursive assimilation, i.e. by both opening up space for dialogue and delimiting the boundaries of political discourse, leading CSOs to accept the conditions for reproducing the institutional discourse.

Afterword: Dialogic space

ABSTRACT This final article in this special issue on dialogic space discusses some of the themes raised and points towards the future. It begins with a brief recollection of how the idea of dialogic space as a guide to teaching began in the 1990s in research on classroom talk. The articles in this issue show some of the ways in which the use of dialogic space has expanded since then to provide a range of pedagogical tools and insights in different contexts. While rooted in practice, dialogic space also suggests a new theory of education pointing to the importance of not just transmitting knowledge and skills but also expanding dialogue. Challenges to the application of dialogic space theory in education are reflected upon, and the growing role of technology is considered. The paper ends with the relevance of research on dialogic space in education as a way of responding to some of our most pressing problems.