Isaksen, Karl Robert;
(2018)
A study on the usefulness of narrative teaching: an attempt at accomplishing judgemental rationality in the face of ubiquitous epistemic relativity.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Abstract
The narrative educational theory that I propose synthesizes two meanings of the word 'narrative' to provide a fuller understanding of the use of narrative in education than either meaning by itself can sustain. The first definition is based on the understanding that all human experience occurs in time, and therefore that any representation in discourse of human experience should include an understanding of this temporal aspect. With this definition the reporting of the movement of a cloud in the sky could be considered a narrative. These narratives can be abstracted to more general forms of knowledge, such as found in science and philosophy. However, there is a dialectic between abstract knowledge and knowledge which refers to concrete experiences in time; abstract knowledge informs concrete knowledge as much as concrete knowledge informs the abstract. The second definition of narrative is closer to what is usually understood as a narrative: Having one or more protagonists, whether historical or fictional, seeking to overcome obstacles and/or reaching some goal. The two definitions are brought together to provide a flexible framework for teaching abstract ideas to novices. Immanent critique and comparative explanatory power has not much been applied in empirical applications of critical realism, even though these are central to Roy Bhaskar’s argument for the possibility of rational theory choice despite ubiquitous epistemic relativity. In this research I both apply immanent critique and comparative explanatory power and critically analyze them. The conclusions arrived at in this research are considered as the best yet within the fields studied and nothing more. The form of the dissertation is experimental in that it seeks to demonstrate the possibility of moments of judgemental rationality within an ever-present epistemic relativity. It does this via a competing, ‘auxiliary’ text and a generally narrative form.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | A study on the usefulness of narrative teaching: an attempt at accomplishing judgemental rationality in the face of ubiquitous epistemic relativity |
| Event: | UCL - University College London |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10061441 |
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