This research study aimed to reflectively and creatively examine my own personal experiences across my educational journey concerning supportive teacher-learner relationships. Therefore, a sociocultural perspective influenced by Vygotsky (1978) and Mitchell and Weber’s (1999, p.
8) concept of “a pedagogy of reinvention” was used to inform this research study.
A sociocultural theoretical perspective is primarily considered a developmental theory. It focuses on the development and change in behaviour over time, specifically changes that occur as individuals develop and change from childhood to adolescence and adulthood in the life cycle of living. Allman (2020) argues that “the theory attempts to explain unseen processes of development of thought, of language, and of higher-order thinking skills with implications for education in general …” (p. 86). The theory’s focus on a developing child is my rationale for referring to a ‘child’ when discussing this theory in the dissertation. However, Allman (2020) argues that many implications and practical applications related to sociocultural theory apply to learners of all ages.
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Adopting a sociocultural theoretical perspective for this research study helped me to be mindful of looking at the broader social, cultural, and historical contexts when examining my own experiences concerning supportive teacher-learner relationships. One of the advantages of using this theoretical perspective is that it does not see individuals as isolated beings and empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge but offers a richer view focusing on the relationships between the self and others. Miller (2011) argues that a sociocultural perspective portrays the dynamic of a child acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes from the society in which they live. In turn, the child shapes the environment. Miller (2011) further makes an important argument that the sociocultural perspective recognises that children in
“different historical and cultural circumstances may encounter different developmental routes to any given developmental endpoints”, depending on the particular social or physical conditions and tools available (p. 198).
Therefore, this perspective encouraged me to consider my formal and informal relationships in examining my personal experiences. Using this theoretical perspective, firstly, allowed me, as an entry point, the opportunity to study the relationships that I experienced in my social and cultural settings as a child and growing up (see Chapter Three). Examples here are the relationships with my family, extended family, friends, and community. Secondly, it allowed me the opportunity to unpack my own personal experiences regarding supportive teacher- learner relationships in an institutional setting, which is the school, across all phases (Chapter Four). Finally, it allowed me to thoughtfully examine my own personal experiences on supportive teacher-learner relationships when transitioning from a post-school destination to an HEI, a South African university (Chapter Five).
I drew from Mitchell and Weber’s (1999, p. 8) concept of “a pedagogy of reinvention” to make sense of my learning through memory-work. They describe this as “a process of going back over something in different ways and with new perspectives of studying one’s own experience with insight and awareness of the present for the purposes of acting for the future” (Mitchell and Weber, 1999, p. 8). These authors used the concept of memory-work to examine individual and collective thought-provoking questions about the past and the present and to picture a more optimistic future through remembering. They looked at school memories and stories of teachers they worked with to learn how it influenced them. In the process, they also wanted to know how teachers used their school memories and stories to bring about change and picture a more positive future for their practice. I, therefore, used this process of Mitchell and Weber (1999,
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p. 8) – “a pedagogy of reinvention” – to understand how memory-work can contribute to learning about my own personal experiences concerning supportive teacher-learner relationships, to bring about reinvention in my future practice as a novice teacher.
1.4.1 A brief overview of narrative inquiry
A narrative inquiry research methodology was employed in this research study. This section briefly describes my understanding of narrative inquiry research and what it entails. A detailed description of the narrative inquiry research methodology is given in Chapter Two.
Clandinin (2013) argues that narrative inquirers begin with inquiring into stories of experience because “narrative inquiry is an ongoing reflexive and reflective methodology, narrative inquirers need to continually inquire into their experiences before, during, and after each inquiry” (p. 55). Furthermore, Dwyer and Emerald (2017) state that “the stories people live and tell are a rich source of knowing and meaning making” (p. 1). Therefore, I understood that what has been lived and told (experiences) must be stories or narratives by their nature. Experiences are lived, described, and shared to make sense and meaning of what has been practised over time. These are some of narrative inquiry’s most essential features as a research methodology.
Therefore, a narrative inquiry can yield richly detailed accounts of a single person or a case study, focusing on the particular, the unique, and the individual.
Consequently, the narrative inquiry research methodology was most suitable for this study, as it would allow me to reflectively examine and inquire into my personal experiences regarding supportive teacher-learner relationships. Through reflection, I wanted to attend to the places where my stories of experience unfolded to learn, make meaning of, and make evident the personal and social contexts that have shaped my understandings. Also, through engaging with narrative inquiry research, I wanted to think narratively about my experiences regarding the phenomenon under scrutiny to challenge the dominant story of the phenomenon as fixed and unchanging throughout one’s lifetime (Clandinin, 2013). I anticipated that employing narrative inquiry research would allow me to understand my past experiences to draw new meanings and perspectives and better my future practices.
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