Beyond the Muskeg: Poetic Expressions of a Narrative Inquiry Into Curriculum Making and Identity Making On the Edges of Community A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Department of Curriculum Studies University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Cynthia Lynne Clarke © Copyright Cynthia Lynne Clarke, September, 2016. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis/dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. 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Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this thesis/dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies Curriculum Studies Department College of Education 28 Campus Drive University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X1 OR Dean College of Graduate Studies and Research University of Saskatchewan 107 Administration Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A2 Canada i Abstract This dissertation focuses on identity making and curriculum making on the edges, or margins, of community. Through a narrative inquiry using poetic expression of research, I explore the lives and learning of five participants, three of whom were teachers, all of whom were positioned on the edges of a dominant community. Methodologically, I work within a narrative inquiry framework utilizing personal and participant narratives to understand experience. I employ poetic expression of research as part of my methodology in order to create possibilities for the readers to fill in the gaps of interpretation with their own experience. Poetic expression of research provides multiple opportunities for interpretation and suggests an open- endedness to analysis that prose at times struggles to replicate. Through a focus on the participants’ experiences, I examine the possibility of shifting our understanding of spaces conventionally considered marginalized, particularly with respect to the educational value of the experiences lived on the edges of community. The experiences of the participants in this inquiry suggested that those spaces conventionally thought of as peripheral, or the edges, were actually the defining features of communities. By focusing on the experience of the five participants in this narrative inquiry, this dissertation unpacks the metaphor of marginalization and suggests alternate ways in which to conceptualize positioning within community. Furthermore, the experiences of the participants in this inquiry suggested positioning within community is less important than the relationships we share as teachers with the children and youth we support. Entering into relationship requires a restructuring or reframing of community. Our classrooms, then, become knowledge spaces nested within whatever larger found communities the children and youth we teach experience. Through the research detailed in this dissertation, I argue that rather than attempting to transform the found communities of the children and youth we support, our energies are better directed toward listening to, retelling, and recomposing stories of experience with those children and youth. This dissertation argues that if we thought of each child or youth as central to a community nested within many communities, all of these communities become a source for supporting their learning. ii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the guidance and support I received from my supervisor, Dr. Shaun Murphy. It was Dr. Murphy who first encouraged me to begin my doctoral studies. He also introduced me to narrative inquiry as a methodology and supported my learning throughout my doctoral work. His patience and confidence in my abilities fueled my enthusiasm for the work and made this dissertation possible. I would also like to acknowledge the five participants of the inquiry detailed in this dissertation. I would like to thank them for engaging fully with this project and candidly providing the stories that made my analyses of their experiences possible. Finally, my deepest thanks go out to my partner, Brian Clarke, whose unfailing belief in my work kept me pushing forward. I would not have begun, let alone completed, my doctoral work without your ongoing support. iii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the participant, Rodriguez, who continued to rise up and declare himself a whole other game. Through the stories he shared of experience on the edges of community, my life was forever altered. Rodriguez, your influence and impact remain. iv Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 A RETURN TO THE MUSKEG: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL BEGINNINGS .............................. 1 Autobiographical Beginnings: Travelling Back Into the Muskeg ............................................. 1 In the Middle of the Muskeg: Locating Myself Within the Inquiry........................................... 6 Life on the Edges: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Autobiographical Beginnings..... 11 Beyond the Edges: Crossing the Boundaries of Identity Within Autobiographical Beginnings ................................................................................................................................................... 16 Living In-Between: Navigating Our Multiple Stories to Live By ........................................... 19 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................. 23 EXPLORING THE EDGES OF THE MUSKEG: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNITY, CURRICULUM MAKING, AND IDENTITY MAKING ON THE EDGES OF COMMUNITY ............................................................................................................................. 23 Fields of Vision: Shifting Perspectives on Community and Identity Making .......................... 23 Research Wonders about Life and Learning on the Edges of Community ............................... 27 Curriculum Making as a Course of Life.................................................................................... 29 Identity Making: The Search for Narrative Coherence ............................................................ 33 Exploring the Edges of Community .......................................................................................... 37 Constructing Communities .................................................................................................... 38 Identity Making, Curriculum Making, and Community ........................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................. 45 NAVIGATING THE SPACES BETWEEN POET AND SCHOLAR: NARRATIVE INQUIRY AND POETIC EXPRESSION AS METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 45 Methodology: Narrative Inquiry and Poetic Expression .......................................................... 45 Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space ............................................................................ 49 v Living, Telling, Retelling, Reliving .......................................................................................... 50 Stories to Live By ...................................................................................................................... 51 The Importance of Metaphor..................................................................................................... 52 Choosing Poetic Expression of Research .................................................................................. 52 Inconclusivity: The Open-Ended Question .............................................................................. 54 Unpacking Narratives To Gain Deeper Understanding ............................................................ 55 Retelling Through Poetry .......................................................................................................... 56 My Critical Connection to Poetic Expression ........................................................................... 57 What Is Poetry? ......................................................................................................................... 59 Poetry as Performance ............................................................................................................... 60 The Importance of Response Communities .............................................................................. 61 Academic Border Crossing: Attending to the Poet and the Scholar .......................................