ERIC Number: ED637452
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 314
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3801-0765-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
(Post)Modern Asymmetry: Calibrating the Adult Education Philosophy and Practices of Faculty Teaching Interdisciplinary Studies in the Community College
Jeremy Dennis
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri - Saint Louis
In adult education, the term "interdisciplinarity" is often treated as an agent for transforming teaching, learning, and research. This appreciation of the concept proliferates despite the fact that its actualization often supports competing interpretations and practices. Many adult educators are unaware of the distinctions made among instrumental, conceptual, and critical interdisciplinarity and the philosophical traditions employed to legitimate their different trajectories. To address these concerns and others, scholars such as Lattuca (2001) have advanced a postmodern conceptualization of interdisciplinarity and introduced a supporting theoretical framework to clarify its character and modes of operation. However, she omitted community college faculty from her study. She also undervalued the asymmetry of power in the postmodern logic used to substantiate the study's theoretical underpinnings. To address these concerns in Lattuca's innovation, this case study used a mixed methods approach to reveal the ways that faculty members at a large community college in the Midwest contribute to interdisciplinary education and enrich postmodern interdisciplinarity. The findings revealed the following themes and subthemes: philosophy as framework and continuum, alignment of philosophy and practices, purposes of interdisciplinary education, postmodern epistemological sentiments, modern epistemological sentiments, teacher-centered approaches, and student-centered approaches. They also revealed how the participants' philosophy of adult education and practices interrelated and how they supported instrumental, conceptual, or critical interdisciplinarity and their interstices. Furthermore, the significant ways in which the participants' praxis signaled the asymmetry of power and value in higher education and beyond were examined. For future consideration, the author introduced "Foucauldian architectonics," a postulation on the simultaneity of differences and power, as the kind of postmodern interdisciplinary additive that novice and seasoned adult educators can use to (re)develop their philosophies of education and (re)calibrate their practices as subjects and agents of disciplinarity. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Postmodernism, Adult Education, Educational Philosophy, Educational Practices, Interdisciplinary Approach, College Instruction, Teaching Methods, College Faculty, Community Colleges, Adult Educators
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Adult Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A