Epilogue Hindsight Hermeneutics

University of Alberta Library Release Form Name of Author: Lorin G. Yochim Title of Thesis: Hindsight Hermeneutics: Critical Reflections on Research with Middle School Teachers in Mainland China Degree: Master of Education Year this Degree Granted: 2006 Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Library to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis, and except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Signature #3, 11229-99 Avenue NW Edmonton, Alberta Canada T5K 0G9 University of Alberta Hindsight Hermeneutics: Critical Reflections on Research with Middle School Teachers in Mainland China by Lorin G. Yochim A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Theoretical, Cultural, and International Studies in Education Department of Educational Policy Studies Edmonton, Alberta Fall 2006 Dedication This work is dedicated to the teachers who participated in this study as well as my colleagues in China. It is perhaps the case that, over the past few years, I have been to some of them more burden than friend, more annoyance than help. I am indebted to them for their patience and support. Abstract This thesis reports findings from research undertaken in the People’s Republic of China. It explores the perspectives on educational reform of female, junior middle school teachers of English in urban, state operated schools in north-central China. At another level, the thesis is a conceptual, self-reflexive account of the research process, and especially of how I came to question the limits of understanding, interpretation, and explanation. Through an exploration of the epistemological and ontological precepts of Bourdieu and Gadamer, as well as the methodological procedures recommended by Ricoeur and further developed by John B. Thompson, I propose a critical or depth hermeneutic framework comprising three phases of analysis: social- historical; formal or discursive; and interpretation/reinterpretation. Using this approach, I engage in a discussion of the ways in which these teachers’ perspectives are produced by and reproductive of the institutions and structures that circumscribe the social space of which they are a part. Acknowledgments To pay homage to others at a moment that is normally taken to be a personal triumph is to acknowledge that one can never claim sole authorship over any piece of work. Each of us is inextricably part of a family, of many intertwined communities, and, in the end, of a larger world than we tend to acknowledge. Therefore, the number of names mentioned below might strike some as excessive. Each of them, though, has made a contribution in some form to my arrival at this stage of my life. First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge this study’s participants: Gāo Sù, Wáng Diàn, Lăo Pīng, Lăo Lè, and Xiǎo Yān. Whatever claims are made in this document about the sources of my present understandings of Chinese education and society, it remains the case that many of these could not have been realized without the aid of these five teachers. Their stories provided not only the bulk of the data on which the analysis contained is based; their insights also inspired the reflections that came to play such a critical role in the completion of our fieldwork together and the writing of this document. Secondly, I am deeply obliged to the following people who continue to enrich my life in China. I have come to consider many of these people precious friends as well as valued colleagues, not to mention, quite literally on more than one occasion, life-savers: Ren Xiaoxia, Jiao Weimian, Liu Yanhua, Shao Li, Li Heng, Xu Laoshi, Zhao Laoshi, Liu Guiting, Liu Yan, Liu ‘Mama’, Xu Xiao Jun, Wang Yanrong, Wang Xia, and Ye Zhide. I also wish to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Tian Guisen, whose insights into Chinese education have proven indispensable. In Canada, valuable support has come to me from Liu Jianxin (George) and Dang Meizhen as well as the Chinese Graduates of Alberta. A number of ‘foreign expert’ colleagues have offered moral support and friendship also deserve mention here: Chrissy Cairns, Vawn Himmelsbach, (Da) Julie Wolff, (Xiao) Julie Manning, Claire Laskin, Vickie and Jack Labelle, and Dr. Barbara Spilchuk. To these I add those friends outside of work who help me to relax and forget, for a short time, about work: Wei Xiao (Wendy), Qi Zhen, Lu Nan (Sunny), ‘Johnny’, Song Yuan, Mr. Shao, and, of course, Xiao Hong, Yanzi, and the rest of the good people at McDonald’s Pub. This document is, in the end, the product of my studies in the Department of Educational Policy Studies. Many thanks to my two supervisors, Dr. Jennifer Kelly, who has passed on more wisdom than she is likely to openly claim, and Dr. Shibao Guo, whose ongoing guidance has continued despite his flight to parts south. Also thanks to Drs. André Grace and Ali Abdi, contributors of advice and reference letters, as well as to the members of my defense committee, Drs. Rosemary Foster and George Richardson. The assistance of the following people has in some way, whether small or great, helped along the way: Sandra Materi, Joan White, Barb Shokal, and Drs. Joe DaCosta and Frank Peters. Finally, thanks are due to my student colleagues in the department, too numerous to list here without unintentional exclusions: An Jin, Fu Xin, Cui Dan, Sarah Hoffman, Tonya Callaghan, Lydia Pungur, Jeff Baker, Liz Ocampo, Carolina Cambre, Bonnie Stelmach, Tatiana Gounko, Kris Wells, Colin Piquette, and many others. Last but not least, my family and ‘old’ friends deserve credit here for supporting my endeavours, even if they haven’t, at times, understood what or why I do what I do. These include: my Mother, Louise, who is the smartest person I know outside of the university; my Grandmother, Laura, and late Grandfather, Wilfred, whose unconditional support has been and remains very important to me; my Father, Frank, whose has passed on a general approach to life that can no doubt be seen in this work; my eldest brother, Greg, and his wife, Merle (and, of course, their children Skyler, Jamie, & Carmen), whose understanding has allowed me to pursue my studies; and to the rest of my siblings and their families, Mark (Ashley & Kelsey), Charlene (Candice), Shawna (Stephanie, Brook, Sidney, & Brody), Karena (Connor), & Stephen, who have had to give all hope of seeing me regularly. Several close friends must be mentioned as well. Their contributions are too important (and private) to mention here: Lyle Markovich, Niki Atwal, Monica Royer, Mark Haugen, Krista Yuskow, & Brian Fraser. And finally, to my great friend Bruce Lockhart, whose friendship and mentoring continues to play an important role in my process of becoming. Table of Contents Prologue Coming to Inquiry........................................................................1 Genesis of the Research Questions......................................................................................3 Delimitation of the Study .................................................................................................................3 Background of the Study..................................................................................................................4 Two Moments of Disjuncture...........................................................................................................5 Moment One: Meeting the Teachers ...........................................................................................5 Moment Two: Getting Together-Sitting Apart............................................................................6 The Questions...................................................................................................................................8 Structure of the Thesis .........................................................................................................8 Chapter 1 Conceptual Framework: On Reflexivity, Understanding, & Interpretation .............................................................................12 The Limits of Objectivism and Subjectivism ...................................................................13 Theorizing Understanding & Interpretation ...................................................................21 Hermeneutics: Engaging the Self in the Other ...............................................................................23 The’ Circle of Understanding’ .......................................................................................................24 Reception/Critique of Gadamer’s Theory ......................................................................................28 Chapter 2 The Methodology of Depth Hermeneutics...............................32 Reclaiming Methodology...............................................................................................................32 The Nature of Symbolic Forms ......................................................................................................34 The Nature of the Subject...............................................................................................................36

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