I am currently an Associate Professor in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy. My key research interests are in complexity, teacher education pedagogy and methodologies for self-study research. This extends into three projects at the moment that include exploring innovative pedagogies in teacher education, understanding how technology can support pedagogy, and examining teachers professional learning networks.
Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks studen... more Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks student teachers learn on practicum. This self-study is a collaborative endeavour between eight Brazilian teacher-researchers who work in multiple teaching positions and settings in different regions of the country. Our assumption within the broader research scope is that being a teacher-researcher has commonalities related to social justice whether teaching in K-12 schools or higher education. We have reconfigured a collaborative, four-stage methodological approach to practitioner research. In this paper, we investigate how one teacher-researcher and university professor – Luiz, the first author – has been transforming his practice towards social justice through the self-study of teacher education practices. His initial dilemma concerned his students’ practicum experiences. Through the prompting of his co-authors and critical friends, Luiz reflected on his decisions and assumptions. He presen...
The myopia of the Part One limits the vision and effectiveness of Part Two. I have no doubt that ... more The myopia of the Part One limits the vision and effectiveness of Part Two. I have no doubt that many of the strategies outlined in the behavioural, cognitive and management approaches and the discussion of teacher behaviours and perceptions would contribute to more compliant students and controlled classrooms. Whether such approaches will prove equal to the task of maintaining institutional equilibrium against the tide of history is a question not confronted. This is not to say that there is little that is useful in this text. The discussion of teacher behaviour and perceptions is most worthwhile. My impatience wells around its disconnection from more searching analysis of the construction of schools, teachers and students. These comments will not detract from the popularity, I fear, of this teacheroriented text. Canadian film-maker Denys Arcand's Jesus ofMontreal springs to mind as a metaphor for the impact of texts such as this, and there are many. The film depicts a revisionist staging of the Passion Play. A group of young actors are commissioned to rewrite the crucifixion of Christ. They reach beyond the intentions of the church which simply seeks modernisation to broaden its appeal (apologies to Harry M. Miller). Their's is a play that demonstrates irony upon irony in the production of a religious tract. In its first staging a woman, mesmerised by the performance of 'Jesus', embraces him and declares herself as a true believer. Unable to read between the lines, to grasp complexity or irony, she is taken by what she believes she is witnessing. So too, I suspect, for many readers of Fontana's book. Many will see more in this book than is actually written.
For some time now I have considered myself very fortunate. I work in a setting where I can combin... more For some time now I have considered myself very fortunate. I work in a setting where I can combine my love for physical education with an opportunity to work with very capable and committed students, and be an advocate for criticality in our field. I also feel fortunate that across New Zealand my fellow teacher educators are also similarly oriented by a commitment to promoting the socially critical agenda in both their work and approach to physical education. By criticality (or socially critical) I mean a form of emancipatory politics that invites students to read and discuss health and physical education as a contested terrain and site of struggle in which the organization, legitimation and circulation of knowledge are core to issues of power and social justice. Like many of my fellow physical educators, I have found that a critical discourse provides an intellectual framework and language for understanding and problematising educational practices in ways that recognise their complexity, humanity and emancipatory potential. In my own approach to teaching about physical education, I aim to enable my students to use critique, inquiry and reflection as tools to challenge existing knowledge, ways of knowing and to inform their practice as teachers. Despite this, I have a concern that the approach to promoting criticality in teacher education is dominated by a form of rationalism that works against our ability to actually enact the concept in a meaningful way. In this brief think piece, I will outline some of the reasons for this concern.
Asia-Pacific journal of health, sport and physical education, Mar 1, 2010
In November 2007, the substantially revised New Zealand Curriculum was launched with the aim of e... more In November 2007, the substantially revised New Zealand Curriculum was launched with the aim of ensuring that all young New Zealanders are equipped with the knowledge, competencies, and values they will need to be successful citizens in the twenty-first ...
Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of... more Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of criticality within my pedagogy as a teacher educator. In particular, I examine my use of peer-teaching as a pedagogical strategy with students in their fourth year of a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme. My rationale for using peer-teaching was underpinned by two key assumptions: First, by having opportunities to be in the teaching role student teachers experience the relational complexities and dilemmas of teaching; and second, peer-teaching creates a critical learning community. To structure the study I worked closely with a critical friend in an iterative and collaborative manner to examine data sourced through a reflective journal, observations and focus group interviews with students. Through dialogical conversation, the themes of being in a new role, authenticity and vulnerability were explored and used to deepen my understanding of my initial assumptions in relation to enacting a critical pedagogy.
Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of... more Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of criticality within my pedagogy as a teacher educator. In particular, I examine my use of peer-teaching as a pedagogical strategy with students in their fourth year of a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme. My rationale for using peer-teaching was underpinned by two key assumptions: First, by having opportunities to be in the teaching role student teachers experience the relational complexities and dilemmas of teaching; and second, peer-teaching creates a critical learning community. To structure the study I worked closely with a critical friend in an iterative and collaborative manner to examine data sourced through a reflective journal, observations and focus group interviews with students. Through dialogical conversation, the themes of being in a new role, authenticity and vulnerability were explored and used to deepen my understanding of my initial assumptions in relation to enacting a critical pedagogy.
At the end of 2006 the Government announced the launch of a broad based package of initiatives to... more At the end of 2006 the Government announced the launch of a broad based package of initiatives to be funded over the next four years called Mission-on. The package is aimed at giving young New Zealanders and their families the tools to improve their nutrition and increase physical activity. It will build on existing programmes within schools, early childhood services and communities around New Zealand such as Push Play, Active Schools, Fruit in Schools and Active Communities. With an investment of $67 million from Government, does Mission-on represent a significant shift in policy? What are the issues for those involved in promoting quality physical education? In my view, the central tenet of Missionon is positive since it is essentially aimed at ensuring that children grow up healthy, physically active and able to take advantage of the unique sporting, leisure and outdoor environments available in New Zealand. This tenet mirrors the core aim of physical education and does not suggest a significant shift. Throughout its history, physical education has focused on the role of physical activity in health promotion. Physical education has sought to provide a means by which young people can make informed choices about their participation in physical activities as well as providing them with the tools to experience and enjoy being physically active. Another positive aspect of Mission-on which I endorse is it acknowledges that achieving its aim is not easy and that multiple and innovative approaches are required. Consequently, it emphasises the importance of working alongside children, families and communities to be effective and uses a range of approaches, from changes in policy and regulation through to role modelling and websites, as core innovations to achieve its goal. The education sector is seen to have a crucial role to play in bringing Missionon to life because of the impact teaching programmes and school / early childhood environments have on children's health education and outcomes. Perhaps for the first time there is a concerted effort to ensure the philosophy and message of health promotion is coherent with what is happening in schools. Tensions between agencies While Mission-on represents a positive move, I also have a number of concerns. These largely emerge from the fact that there will be tensions between the three Government agencies charged with delivering Mission-on (Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health) over how the aims will be translated into actions. …
Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks studen... more Understanding the role teachers must play in fostering social justice is one of many tasks student teachers learn on practicum. This self-study is a collaborative endeavour between eight Brazilian teacher-researchers who work in multiple teaching positions and settings in different regions of the country. Our assumption within the broader research scope is that being a teacher-researcher has commonalities related to social justice whether teaching in K-12 schools or higher education. We have reconfigured a collaborative, four-stage methodological approach to practitioner research. In this paper, we investigate how one teacher-researcher and university professor – Luiz, the first author – has been transforming his practice towards social justice through the self-study of teacher education practices. His initial dilemma concerned his students’ practicum experiences. Through the prompting of his co-authors and critical friends, Luiz reflected on his decisions and assumptions. He presen...
The myopia of the Part One limits the vision and effectiveness of Part Two. I have no doubt that ... more The myopia of the Part One limits the vision and effectiveness of Part Two. I have no doubt that many of the strategies outlined in the behavioural, cognitive and management approaches and the discussion of teacher behaviours and perceptions would contribute to more compliant students and controlled classrooms. Whether such approaches will prove equal to the task of maintaining institutional equilibrium against the tide of history is a question not confronted. This is not to say that there is little that is useful in this text. The discussion of teacher behaviour and perceptions is most worthwhile. My impatience wells around its disconnection from more searching analysis of the construction of schools, teachers and students. These comments will not detract from the popularity, I fear, of this teacheroriented text. Canadian film-maker Denys Arcand's Jesus ofMontreal springs to mind as a metaphor for the impact of texts such as this, and there are many. The film depicts a revisionist staging of the Passion Play. A group of young actors are commissioned to rewrite the crucifixion of Christ. They reach beyond the intentions of the church which simply seeks modernisation to broaden its appeal (apologies to Harry M. Miller). Their's is a play that demonstrates irony upon irony in the production of a religious tract. In its first staging a woman, mesmerised by the performance of 'Jesus', embraces him and declares herself as a true believer. Unable to read between the lines, to grasp complexity or irony, she is taken by what she believes she is witnessing. So too, I suspect, for many readers of Fontana's book. Many will see more in this book than is actually written.
For some time now I have considered myself very fortunate. I work in a setting where I can combin... more For some time now I have considered myself very fortunate. I work in a setting where I can combine my love for physical education with an opportunity to work with very capable and committed students, and be an advocate for criticality in our field. I also feel fortunate that across New Zealand my fellow teacher educators are also similarly oriented by a commitment to promoting the socially critical agenda in both their work and approach to physical education. By criticality (or socially critical) I mean a form of emancipatory politics that invites students to read and discuss health and physical education as a contested terrain and site of struggle in which the organization, legitimation and circulation of knowledge are core to issues of power and social justice. Like many of my fellow physical educators, I have found that a critical discourse provides an intellectual framework and language for understanding and problematising educational practices in ways that recognise their complexity, humanity and emancipatory potential. In my own approach to teaching about physical education, I aim to enable my students to use critique, inquiry and reflection as tools to challenge existing knowledge, ways of knowing and to inform their practice as teachers. Despite this, I have a concern that the approach to promoting criticality in teacher education is dominated by a form of rationalism that works against our ability to actually enact the concept in a meaningful way. In this brief think piece, I will outline some of the reasons for this concern.
Asia-Pacific journal of health, sport and physical education, Mar 1, 2010
In November 2007, the substantially revised New Zealand Curriculum was launched with the aim of e... more In November 2007, the substantially revised New Zealand Curriculum was launched with the aim of ensuring that all young New Zealanders are equipped with the knowledge, competencies, and values they will need to be successful citizens in the twenty-first ...
Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of... more Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of criticality within my pedagogy as a teacher educator. In particular, I examine my use of peer-teaching as a pedagogical strategy with students in their fourth year of a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme. My rationale for using peer-teaching was underpinned by two key assumptions: First, by having opportunities to be in the teaching role student teachers experience the relational complexities and dilemmas of teaching; and second, peer-teaching creates a critical learning community. To structure the study I worked closely with a critical friend in an iterative and collaborative manner to examine data sourced through a reflective journal, observations and focus group interviews with students. Through dialogical conversation, the themes of being in a new role, authenticity and vulnerability were explored and used to deepen my understanding of my initial assumptions in relation to enacting a critical pedagogy.
Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of... more Through a 3-year self-study, I turn the research focus on myself to examine how I enact a form of criticality within my pedagogy as a teacher educator. In particular, I examine my use of peer-teaching as a pedagogical strategy with students in their fourth year of a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme. My rationale for using peer-teaching was underpinned by two key assumptions: First, by having opportunities to be in the teaching role student teachers experience the relational complexities and dilemmas of teaching; and second, peer-teaching creates a critical learning community. To structure the study I worked closely with a critical friend in an iterative and collaborative manner to examine data sourced through a reflective journal, observations and focus group interviews with students. Through dialogical conversation, the themes of being in a new role, authenticity and vulnerability were explored and used to deepen my understanding of my initial assumptions in relation to enacting a critical pedagogy.
At the end of 2006 the Government announced the launch of a broad based package of initiatives to... more At the end of 2006 the Government announced the launch of a broad based package of initiatives to be funded over the next four years called Mission-on. The package is aimed at giving young New Zealanders and their families the tools to improve their nutrition and increase physical activity. It will build on existing programmes within schools, early childhood services and communities around New Zealand such as Push Play, Active Schools, Fruit in Schools and Active Communities. With an investment of $67 million from Government, does Mission-on represent a significant shift in policy? What are the issues for those involved in promoting quality physical education? In my view, the central tenet of Missionon is positive since it is essentially aimed at ensuring that children grow up healthy, physically active and able to take advantage of the unique sporting, leisure and outdoor environments available in New Zealand. This tenet mirrors the core aim of physical education and does not suggest a significant shift. Throughout its history, physical education has focused on the role of physical activity in health promotion. Physical education has sought to provide a means by which young people can make informed choices about their participation in physical activities as well as providing them with the tools to experience and enjoy being physically active. Another positive aspect of Mission-on which I endorse is it acknowledges that achieving its aim is not easy and that multiple and innovative approaches are required. Consequently, it emphasises the importance of working alongside children, families and communities to be effective and uses a range of approaches, from changes in policy and regulation through to role modelling and websites, as core innovations to achieve its goal. The education sector is seen to have a crucial role to play in bringing Missionon to life because of the impact teaching programmes and school / early childhood environments have on children's health education and outcomes. Perhaps for the first time there is a concerted effort to ensure the philosophy and message of health promotion is coherent with what is happening in schools. Tensions between agencies While Mission-on represents a positive move, I also have a number of concerns. These largely emerge from the fact that there will be tensions between the three Government agencies charged with delivering Mission-on (Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health) over how the aims will be translated into actions. …
Textiles and Tapestries: Self- Study for Envisioning New Ways of Knowing, 2020
This chapter examines how journaling is used as a research method in the S-STEP methodology. Whil... more This chapter examines how journaling is used as a research method in the S-STEP methodology. While there is considerable literature and guidance on how to keep a journal to chronicle and reflect on aspects of one's life, there is little written about what it means to keep a journal as an evidence gathering and analysis tool. This raises the question of what does it mean to engage in journaling as research method? In order to answer this question, we analysed 496 empirical studies from the self-study literature to examine if, how, and why they were using journaling as a research method. The results show that around 60% of self-studies use journaling as a data source, with around 43% using it as the main source of data. Surprisingly, very few of these studies (15%) provide details on the protocols used for journaling and even less (13%) provide a reference to the method. This leads to three findings in particular. Firstly, little attempt is made to source literature on journaling and ensure its use is compatible with the S-STEP methodology. Secondly, the journaling process is rarely, if ever, defined with specificity. This means it is difficult to determine if the work is produced with rigour and free from potential bias. Thirdly, as a research method, journaling was shown to cover a broad and growing range of practices. In conclusion, there is a clear need for increased clarity and consistency in how S-STEP researchers use journaling as a research method.
Textiles and Tapestries: Self- Study for Envisioning New Ways of Knowing, 2020
This self-study examines Carlos’s journey of shifting from Brazil as a qualified and experienced ... more This self-study examines Carlos’s journey of shifting from Brazil as a qualified and experienced teacher to become a teacher in a primary school in New Zealand. Using bricolage (Rogers, 2012), the study weaves together the disparate threads involved in being from ‘somewhere else’ as he navigates language differences, curriculum differences, schooling differences, and cultural differences. This rich tapestry of experience is then examined using the concept of praxis to better understand the tensions that emerge between how he thinks about teaching (formed through biography, experience, and formal education) and how he enacts teaching (as it is constrained within schooling contexts). Praxis is a useful lens through which to understand teaching because it captures the dialectic process by which theory becomes enacted, embodied, and informed by practice (Freire, 1987). Rather than positioning such tensions as problematic, the study examines how the differences experienced can be generative for questioning how we reposition, reframe, and re-imagine possibilities for assembling praxis formed from the bricolage of our teaching past.
In this volume, we ask what happens when the researcher in forms of intimate scholarship is decen... more In this volume, we ask what happens when the researcher in forms of intimate scholarship is decentered--no longer the focus, but merely one part of an entangled material-discursive formation collectively producing the “results” of the inquiry. In the midst of the current ontological turn in qualitative research, we argue that this form of scholarship offers the opportunity to address directly the question of the posthuman subject and generate thinking for the field of qualitative research more broadly. In particular, chapters in this volume highlight ways that researchers of teaching and teacher education practices can advance conversations and knowledge in education while exploring theories with an ontological view of the world as fundamentally multiple, dynamic, fluid, and co-constituted by entangled material and discursive forces. Authors “put to work” posthuman, non-linear, and multiplistic theories and concepts to disrupt and decenter the “I” or researcher-subject in self-focused methodologies, and/or to analyze knowledge and practice as co-produced by multiplicities of human/material and incorporeal elements in which the self is but one temporally “individuated” or “subjectivized” component. In the introduction, we provide brief discussions of intimate scholarship and posthuman perspectives, followed by an orientation to the content of the this book.
Enacting self-study as methodology for professional inquiry captures our individual and collectiv... more Enacting self-study as methodology for professional inquiry captures our individual and collective quests to deepen our understanding of the complex practices of teaching about teaching. Self-study methodology has transcended political and cultural boundaries to enhance understanding of “other”, crossed table and coffee conversations to deepen appreciation within institutions, supported teachers transitioning from classrooms to university, sustained mid-career academics to achieve new appreciation for the complexity of their roles, and enthused experienced academics to reflect on their expertise and question anew what it is to be a self-studying professional. In this edited collection, the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) community share how they have explored and probed their own understanding of how they might better teach student teachers to teach. The chapters are loosely grouped around the themes of enactment, discovery, inclusivity, and application.
Enacting self-study as methodology for professional inquiry is a text written by international scholars to enhance the conversations and understandings associated with this methodology and to support the 11th International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices held at Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England in July-August 2016.
This book presents research on the intersection of self-study research, digital technologies, and... more This book presents research on the intersection of self-study research, digital technologies, and the development of future-oriented practices in teacher education. It explores the changing teacher education landscape by considering issues that are central to doing self-study: context and location; data access, generation and analysis; social and personal media; forms and transformations of pedagogy; identity; and ethics in an increasingly digital world. Self-study research on, with, and around digital technologies is highly significant in education where the rapid development and ubiquity of such technologies are an integral part of teacher educators’ everyday pedagogical and research practices. Blended and virtual environments are now not only commonplaces in which to teach about teaching but also to research about teaching.
The book highlights how digital technologies can enhance the pedagogies and knowledge base of teacher education research and practice while remaining circumspect of grandiose claims. Each chapter addresses aspects of doing self-study with educational technology, and provides issues for discussion and debate for readers wanting to engage in self-study.
Teaching for tomorrow today captures the sense of urgency, excitement and challenge all teachers ... more Teaching for tomorrow today captures the sense of urgency, excitement and challenge all teachers face as they prepare students for a future that is already here. Such an environment calls for extensive research into understanding how the forces of change, and emerging waves of interest associated with these forces, inspire and invite us to imagine a future of learning that is as powerful as it is optimistic for learners from early childhood though to tertiary education.
In the past two decades, complexity thinking has emerged as an important theoretical response to ... more In the past two decades, complexity thinking has emerged as an important theoretical response to the limitations of orthodox ways of understanding educational phenomena. Complexity provides ways of understanding that embrace uncertainty, non-linearity and the inevitable ‘messiness’ that is inherent in educational settings, paying attention to the ways in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is the first book to focus on complexity thinking in the context of physical education, enabling fresh ways of thinking about research, teaching, curriculum and learning.
Written by a team of leading international physical education scholars, the book highlights how the considerable theoretical promise of complexity can be reflected in the actual policies, pedagogies and practices of physical education (PE). It encourages teachers, educators and researchers to embrace notions of learning that are more organic and emergent, to allow the inherent complexity of pedagogical work in PE to be examined more broadly and inclusively. In doing so, Complexity Thinking in Physical Education makes a major contribution to our understanding of pedagogy, curriculum design and development, human movement and educational practice.
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language differences, curriculum differences, schooling differences, and cultural differences. This rich tapestry of experience is then examined using the concept of praxis to better understand the tensions that emerge between how he thinks about teaching (formed through biography, experience,
and formal education) and how he enacts teaching (as it is constrained within schooling contexts). Praxis is a useful lens through which to understand teaching because it captures the dialectic process
by which theory becomes enacted, embodied, and informed by practice (Freire, 1987). Rather than positioning such tensions as problematic, the study examines how the differences experienced can be generative for questioning how we reposition, reframe, and re-imagine possibilities for assembling praxis formed from the bricolage of our teaching past.
In this edited collection, the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) community share how they have explored and probed their own understanding of how they might better teach student teachers to teach. The chapters are loosely grouped around the themes of enactment, discovery, inclusivity, and application.
Enacting self-study as methodology for professional inquiry is a text written by international scholars to enhance the conversations and understandings associated with this methodology and to support the 11th International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices held at Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England in July-August 2016.
The book highlights how digital technologies can enhance the pedagogies and knowledge base of teacher education research and practice while remaining circumspect of grandiose claims. Each chapter addresses aspects of doing self-study with educational technology, and provides issues for discussion and debate for readers wanting to engage in self-study.
Written by a team of leading international physical education scholars, the book highlights how the considerable theoretical promise of complexity can be reflected in the actual policies, pedagogies and practices of physical education (PE). It encourages teachers, educators and researchers to embrace notions of learning that are more organic and emergent, to allow the inherent complexity of pedagogical work in PE to be examined more broadly and inclusively. In doing so, Complexity Thinking in Physical Education makes a major contribution to our understanding of pedagogy, curriculum design and development, human movement and educational practice.