On Discipline Stripping: Difficulties in the Application of Humanistic Metaphors to Educational Phenomena
Keywords:
educational research, humanities, research methodologyAbstract
Despite the work that has been done in recent years by educational researchers using metaphors derived from the humanities rather than the social sciences, the body of criticism concerning their achievements is not large. In this paper, two major difficulties are identified. First, little recognition has been given to the great variety of metaphors that may be derived from a single discipline within the humanities (drama is used as an example), and, as a consequence, no criteria are available to assist in the selection of one metaphor rather than another. Second, little attention appears to have been paid to an inherent problem in transferring systems of discourse from a humanity to education in conditions in which the receiver is unfamiliar with the original source. Given these two difficulties, a note of caution is expressed on the direction being taken by contemporary researchers using such alternative metaphors.
References
Barone, T. E. Effectively critiquing the experienced curriculum: Clues from the "new journalism." Curriculum Inquiry, 1980, 10, 29-53.
Barone, T. Education as aesthetic experience: "Art in germ." Educational Leadership, 1983, 40(4), 21-26.
Beckerman, B. Dynamics of Drama: Theory and method of analysis. New York: Knopf, 1970.
Bentley, E. What is theatre?: A query in chronicle form. Boston: Beacon Press, 1956.
Bentley, E. The life of the drama. New York: Atheneum, 1965.
Bentley, E. The playwright as thinker. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1967.
Berne, E. Games people play: The psychology of human relationships. New York: Grove, 1964.
Black, M. Models and metaphors: Studies in language and philosophy. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1962.
Bowers, C. A. Curriculum as cultural reproduction: An examination of metaphor as a carrier of ideology. Teachers College Record, 1980, 82, 267-289.
Brown, R. H. A poetic for sociology: Toward a logic of discovery for the human sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Burns, E. Theatricality: A study of convention in the theatre and in social life. London: Longman, 1972.
Courtney, R. The dramatic curriculum. London, Ont.: University of Western Ontario, 1980.
Crane, R. S. The varieties of dramatic criticism. In R. W. Corrigan & J. L. Rosenberg (Eds.), The context and craft of drama: Critical essays on the nature of drama and theatre. San Francisco: Chandler, 1964.
Dawson, S. W. Drama and the dramatic. London: Methuen, 1970.
Donmoyer, R. The evaluator as artist: A discussion of premises and problems with examples from two aesthetically based evaluations. Unpublished paper presented at AERA, San Francisco, 1979. (ED 173374)
Eisner, E. W. Educational connoisseurship and educational criticism: Their forms and functions in educational evaluation. Unpublished paper, n.d.
Eisner, E. W. The perceptive eye: Toward the reformation of educational evaluation. Unpublished paper presented at AERA, 1975.
Eisner, E. W. On the uses of educational connoisseurship and criticism for evaluating classroom life. Teachers College Record, 1977, 78, 345-358.
Eisner, E. W. Foreword. In G. Willis (Ed.), Qualitative evaluation: Concepts and cases in curriculum criticism. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan, 1978.
Eisner, E. W. The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs. New York: Macmillan, 1979.
Eisner, E. W. Artistic thinking, human intelligence and the mission of the school. The High School Journal, 1980, 63, 326-334.
Eisner, E. W. The art and craft of teaching. Educational Leadership, 1983, 40(4), 4-13.
Elbaz, F., & Elbaz, R. Literature and curriculum: Toward a view of curriculum as discursive practice. Curriculum Inquiry, 1981, 11, 105-122.
Esslin, M. An anatomy of drama. London: Temple Smith, 1976.
Fyfe, W. H. Aristotle's art of poetry: A Greek view of poetry and drama. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940.
Gage, N. L. The scientific basis of the art of teaching. New York: Teachers College Press, 1978.
Gehrke, N. J., & Bravmann, S. The application of dramatistic criticism to curriculum evaluation. Unpublished paper presented at AERA, Los Angeles, 1981. (ED 208498)
Gibson, R. Curriculum criticism: Misconceived theory, ill-advised practice. Cambridge Journal of Education, 1981, 11, 190-210.
Goffman, E. The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday, 1959.
Grumet, M. R. Curriculum as theater: Merely players. Curriculum Inquiry, 1978, 8, 37-64.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. Effective evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981.
Hamilton, D., Jenkins, D., King, C., MacDonald B., & Parlett, M. (Eds.). Beyond the numbers game: A reader in educational evaluation. London: Macmillan, 1977.
Harris, A. Intuition and the arts of teaching. In H. Sockett & A. Harris, Rationality and artistry. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1976.
Jenkins, D. Business as unusual: The "skills of bargaining" course at LBS. In G. Willis (Ed.), Qualitative evaluation: Concepts and cases in curriculum criticism. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan, 1978.
Jenkins, D., & O'Toole, B. Curriculum evaluation, literary criticism, and the paracurriculum. In G. Willis (Ed.), Qualitative evaluation: Concepts and cases in curriculum criticism. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan, 1978.
Kelly, E. F. Curriculum evaluation and literary criticism: Comments on the analogy. Curriculum Inquiry, 1975, 5, 87-106.
Kuhn, T. S. The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.
Langer, S. K. Feeling and form: A theory of art. New York: Scribner's, 1953.
Lessinger, L., & Gillis, D. Teaching as a performing art. Columbia, S.C.: Crescendo Publications, 1976.
Lyman, S. M., & Scott, M. B. The drama of social reality. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.
MacDonald B. The portrayal of persons as evaluation data. Unpublished paper presented at AERA, 1976.
Mann, J. S. Curriculum criticism. In W. Pinar (Ed.), Curriculum theorizing: The reconceptualists. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan, 1975.
McPeck, J. E. The dilemma facing educational research. CAUT/ACPU Bulletin, 1981, 28(6), 18-19.
Milburn, G. Derivation and application of a dramatic metaphor for the assessment of teaching. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto, 1982.
Oram, R. An action frame of reference as a register for curriculum discourse. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 1978, 10, 135-149.
Oram, R. In defence of curriculum criticism. Cambridge Journal of Education, 1983, 13(1), 7-13.
Ortony, A. Why metaphors are necessary and not just nice. Educational Theory, 1975, 25, 45-53.
Pagano, J. A., & Dolan, L. Foundations for a unified approach to evaluation research. Curriculum Inquiry, 1980, 10, 367-381.
Pratte, R. Metaphorical models and curriculum theory. Curriculum Inquiry, 1981, 11, 307-320.
Reid, W. A. Thinking about the curriculum: The nature and treatment of curriculum problems. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978.
Rico, G. Metaphor and knowing: Analysis, synthesis, rationale. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, 1976.
Roberts, D. A. Theory, curriculum development, and the unique events of practice. In H. Munby, G. Orpwood, & T. Russell (Eds.), Seeing curriculum in a new light: Essays from science education. Toronto: OISE Press, 1980.
Shank, T. The art of dramatic art. Belmont, Cal.: Dickenson, 1969.
Simon, R., & Dippo, D. Dramatic analysis: Interpretive inquiry for the transformation of social settings. The Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 1980, 2(1), 109-134.
Snow, R. E. Theory construction for research on teaching. In R. M. W. Travers (Ed.), Second handbook of research on teaching. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1973.
Stake, R. E. Evaluating the arts in education: A responsive approach. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1975.
Stewart, J. D. Metaphors, models, and the study of the concept of teaching. Unpublished master's dissertation, University of Toronto, 1967.
Styan, J. L. The elements of drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963.
Styan, J. L. The dramatic experience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965.
Styan, J. L. Drama, stage and audience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Tom, A. R. Teaching as a moral craft: A metaphor for teaching and teacher education. Curriculum Inquiry, 1980, 10, 317-323.
Turner, V. Dramas, fields and metaphors: Symbolic action in human society. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1974.
Vallance, E. Aesthetic criticism and curriculum description. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, 1975.
Vallance, E. The application of aesthetic criticism to curriculum materials: Arguments and issues. Unpublished paper presented at AERA, 1976.
Vallance, E. Scanning horizons and looking at weeds: A critical description of "The great plains experience." In G. Willis (Ed.), Qualitative evaluation: Concepts and cases in curriculum criticism. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan, 1978.
Vallance, E. The critic's perspective: Some strengths and limitations of aesthetic criticism in education. Unpublished paper presented at AERA, Los Angeles, 1981. (ED 201557)
Werner, W. Editorial criticism in curricular analysis. Curriculum Inquiry, 1980, 10, 143-154.
Willis, G. M. Curriculum criticism and literary criticism. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 1975, 7, 3-17.
Willis, G. (Ed.). Qualitative evaluation: Concepts and cases in curriculum criticism. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan, 1978.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Canadian Journal of Education follows Creative Commons Licencing CC BY-NC-ND.
