The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Education UNDERSTANDING THE PERFORMANCE: LEARNING IDENTITY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE A Thesis in Adult Education by Heather M. Nash ©2005 Heather M. Nash Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education May 2005 ii The thesis of Heather M. Nash was reviewed and approved* by the following: Fred M. Schied Associate Professor of Adult Education Thesis Adviser Chair of Committee Ian E. Baptiste Associate Professor of Adult Education Professor in Charge of Graduate Programs in Adult Education Marnina K. Gonick Assistant Professor of Education Elizabeth J. Tisdell Associate Professor of Adult Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. iii Abstract This interpretive ethnography sought to understand identity as a learning process in the context of domestic violence survivors. It took a feminist perspective and a social justice orientation within Adult Education. Identity was defined according to a contextualized interplay of dynamic senses of self and social, where learning drives changes and gives them direction. Learning was conceptualized using Vygotsky and power via the work of Habermas. A second essential element of the theoretical framework was transformation theory as written by Jack Mezirow. Transformation theory and learning identity were used in parallel lines of analysis. There were three participants in the study, including the researcher. Data collection was done primarily through dialogic interviews, informal interviews, observations, and documents. The data were analyzed in several stages using a writing method. The stages were creating a standalone narrative for each participant; analysis within narratives that included thoughts, observations, and literature; reading each narrative for points of identity shift; and reading the narrative whole for similarities, differences, and relationships to social discourses. I found that batterers marginalize victims within their identity processes. Victims used several means to gain power that included escalating confrontations; tapping into external identities and discourses; and empowerment through daily struggle after leaving their batterers. I found that each participant maintained a strong value or belief during the battering relationship, although that value represented a site of struggle. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ vi Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................1 Coming to the Problem ................................................................................................. 1 Two short stories..................................................................................................... 1 Situating myself in social discourses. ..................................................................... 3 “Recovery” and the discourses of Battered Woman Disease. ................................ 5 Rationale and Purpose................................................................................................... 8 Organization of the Study ........................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2: Methods............................................................................................................14 Research Questions..................................................................................................... 14 Research Method: Interpretive Ethnography.............................................................. 15 Introduction to the Study Participants......................................................................... 17 Data collection. ........................................................................................................... 18 Data Analysis.............................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................25 Domestic Violence: Problems of Definition and Terminology .................................. 25 Adult Education and Domestic Violence.................................................................... 30 Feminism and Feminist Perspectives.......................................................................... 31 Women and Learning in Adult Education .................................................................. 39 Identity and Notions of the Self.................................................................................. 40 Mezirow’s transformation theory. ........................................................................ 42 A Non-Unitary Notion of Self and Identity ................................................................ 52 The sense of self.................................................................................................... 55 The sense of social................................................................................................ 58 Learning Identity......................................................................................................... 60 Vygotsky............................................................................................................... 61 Identity as an act of power.......................................................................................... 65 Chapter 4: Narratives and Analysis ...................................................................................70 Starting Points: Background and History ................................................................... 72 Wanda. .................................................................................................................. 72 Heather.................................................................................................................. 78 Maryann. ............................................................................................................... 86 Battering: Going in and Getting Out......................................................................... 110 Heather................................................................................................................ 110 Maryann. ............................................................................................................. 132 Wanda. ................................................................................................................ 166 Aftermath: Learning Identities After Battering ........................................................ 193 Maryann. ............................................................................................................. 193 Wanda. ................................................................................................................ 215 Heather................................................................................................................ 236 v Chapter 5 –Discussion and Findings................................................................................273 Learning Identity and Domestic Violence: A Discussion......................................... 273 Exploring shifts in the sense of self. ................................................................... 273 Social themes. ..................................................................................................... 281 Power. ................................................................................................................. 286 Representation..................................................................................................... 292 Conclusions............................................................................................................... 293 Critique of the Theoretical Framework..................................................................... 295 Chapter 6: Ending Matters: Comments, Implications, and Recommendations...............299 Visible and Vulnerable: Comments on the Method.................................................. 299 Limitations ................................................................................................................ 301 Implications for Practice........................................................................................... 302 Areas for Future Research ........................................................................................ 305 References........................................................................................................................307 vi Acknowledgements I understand now the overwhelming desire to go on at length, thanking everyone in sight at the end of a long, long road. The line between friends, advisors, family, and colleagues seem to blur sometimes. Several of each kind have been extraordinarily important in my doctoral studies, particularly my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Fred Schied. I need also to thank Drs. Irene Baird, Shari Howell, Ian Baptiste, Gersham Nelson, Marnina Gonick, Libby Tisdell, and Mrs. Cathy Watson. There are a few other special people I’d like to mention who hail from the world of my hobby. First among those is Mr. Jimmy Tom – Jimmy, you know all that you have contributed, and I can never be thankful enough. They also include Mr. Bernard Glassman, Mrs. Gwyn McVay and Dr. Bill Hong. These people are close