Positionality
Self-authorship is a critical endeavor a researcher confronts when conceptualizing a research study. A researcher realizes that there are always implicit biases, and self-reflection allows the researcher to develop a mindset that comprehends the way perspectives can influence a study's methodology, participants, data collection, analysis, and explanation. Researchers must develop a process to limit biases to effectively, efficiently, and with fidelity conduct; a study with an insider-outsider approach to research that supports the researcher's capacity to conceptualize, design, and implement an authentic study. Funds of knowledge is the collected experiences (family and individual) that an individual brings to a circumstance, debate, discussion, event, research, or topic, and the researcher must implicitly acknowledge intersectionality (positionality) to limit implicit biases.
The researcher's genetic epistemology (origins of knowledge) is an additional component of potential implicit biases, specifically the theories, frameworks, and external influencers. Through an analogy, genetic epistemology is the theoretical and academic influences, like the architect conceptualizing a theoretical design with limited practical application; some theories and frameworks lack the practitioner lens. P-20 praxis is the practitioner (carpenter), taking the theories and frameworks to the education setting and implementing the architect's designs. Praxis in education creates a holistic, practical, and relevant approach to the study, allows the researcher the opportunity to implement a praxis lens (carpenter's experiences). The researcher divided the P-20 praxis into three phases of student development and two additional pathways beyond free appropriate public education (FAPE). The three phases of student development are (1) early education, (2) elementary education, (3) secondary education; the additional pathways are higher education (college student development) and adult education (incarceration and autonomous—such as trade school, HiSET, on the job training, and professional development).
The researcher's genetic epistemology (origins of knowledge) is an additional component of potential implicit biases, specifically the theories, frameworks, and external influencers. Through an analogy, genetic epistemology is the theoretical and academic influences, like the architect conceptualizing a theoretical design with limited practical application; some theories and frameworks lack the practitioner lens. P-20 praxis is the practitioner (carpenter), taking the theories and frameworks to the education setting and implementing the architect's designs. Praxis in education creates a holistic, practical, and relevant approach to the study, allows the researcher the opportunity to implement a praxis lens (carpenter's experiences). The researcher divided the P-20 praxis into three phases of student development and two additional pathways beyond free appropriate public education (FAPE). The three phases of student development are (1) early education, (2) elementary education, (3) secondary education; the additional pathways are higher education (college student development) and adult education (incarceration and autonomous—such as trade school, HiSET, on the job training, and professional development).
Funds of Knowledge
Individuals’ intersectionality is crucial in developing the critical lenses necessary to navigate the journey of self-authorship. As a second-generation educator and a parent of six children, I have a profound passion for creating an educational experience (physical or virtual) that is socially just for all students. Participating in multinational K-12 education systems (American and Canadian), I experienced the necessity of developing an awareness of the spectrum of diversity and inclusion. Heritage influencers are personable and profoundly impact individuals’ mindsets; Celtic, First Nations, Prussian, Scandinavian are the heritage identifiers that influence my mindset as I conceptualize, design, and develop curricula as a Montana P-20 practitioner. As a parent of five daughters and a family member to many members of the LGTBQ* community, I have an empathetic lens that understands the necessity to develop educational brave-safe spaces that embrace empathy, compassion, and tolerance through awareness of other’s lived experiences. Finally, understanding the complexity of spirituality and religion through continued exposure (i.e., undergraduate studies) develops a lens that embraces the uniqueness and power of belief and faith.
Socioeconomic status impacts individuals’ ability to obtain personal goals and aspirations (i.e., higher education) by either producing or limiting barriers. Poverty is an experience that creates a lens that critically analyzes the sustainability and fidelity of a system that will benefit all students, families, and communities. My extended blended family supports the necessity of developing a P-20 educational experience that embraces students’ funds of knowledge (i.e., families’ lived experiences), building relationships between school and home. Unfortunately, traumatic experiences (i.e., war and family tragedies) have created barriers throughout the stream of life; either death or assault of a loved one, personal tragedy creates a lens of empathy, compassion, and kindness towards individuals that have experienced traumatic events. As a disabled combat veteran, I developed lenses that understand the necessity to enter every interaction with an open-mindedness that fosters compassion, tolerance, and empathy.
The continued refinement of my critical lenses through my funds of knowledge creates a necessity to limit implicit biases towards identifiers (biological or social). There is a necessity to create a comprehensive course in a TPP for PSTs that develops an awareness of the complexity of 21st-century environments (physical or virtual). Through exploring my own funds of knowledge, I have developed, honed, and continuously refine my critical lenses through the interactions with students, colleagues, and others; every encounter is a learning-teaching moment, creating an additional layer of awareness and experience.
Socioeconomic status impacts individuals’ ability to obtain personal goals and aspirations (i.e., higher education) by either producing or limiting barriers. Poverty is an experience that creates a lens that critically analyzes the sustainability and fidelity of a system that will benefit all students, families, and communities. My extended blended family supports the necessity of developing a P-20 educational experience that embraces students’ funds of knowledge (i.e., families’ lived experiences), building relationships between school and home. Unfortunately, traumatic experiences (i.e., war and family tragedies) have created barriers throughout the stream of life; either death or assault of a loved one, personal tragedy creates a lens of empathy, compassion, and kindness towards individuals that have experienced traumatic events. As a disabled combat veteran, I developed lenses that understand the necessity to enter every interaction with an open-mindedness that fosters compassion, tolerance, and empathy.
The continued refinement of my critical lenses through my funds of knowledge creates a necessity to limit implicit biases towards identifiers (biological or social). There is a necessity to create a comprehensive course in a TPP for PSTs that develops an awareness of the complexity of 21st-century environments (physical or virtual). Through exploring my own funds of knowledge, I have developed, honed, and continuously refine my critical lenses through the interactions with students, colleagues, and others; every encounter is a learning-teaching moment, creating an additional layer of awareness and experience.
Genetic Epistemology, Psychology, Education Reform, & CRT
Though my intersectionality is fluid and continuously developing with every encounter, my academic and educational influences have produced lenses that embrace the necessity to establish a learning experience that is socially just for all students. Genetic epistemology is the force that perpetuates my mindset in the development and refinement of lenses that support the process of conceptualizing, designing, and implementing curricula that embraces the spectrums of diversity and inclusion. As an undergraduate student of history, I found that comprehending the eight components of civilization (cultural, economical, environmental, intellectual, political, social, spiritual, and technological) is crucial in understanding an unfamiliar civilization or community. Psychology is essential in developing a critical lens that comprehends the complexity of the stream of thought, how humanity recalls a memory, and the apparatus of the learning process. Principles of Psychology (volumes 1 and 2) provides a genetic epistemology of the beginning of American psychology and its influence on the development and perpetuation of the American school system.
As a former student in multi-national P-12 education systems (American and Canadian) and a Montana P-20 practitioner, there is a necessity to develop practices that provide awareness of the rapid increase in the spectrum of diversity in the P-20 environment (physical or virtual). Democracy and Education (1916) creates a framework that supports the necessity of developing a socially just education for all by creating a system that is adaptable in an era of rapid communication information technologies (CITs) growth inside and outside the domain of Education. The "Hole in the Wall" study's (1999) insight creates a mindset that embraces the limitless potential CITs have in an educative context, developing systems that can limit inequality and inequity. Critical Race Theory (whose origins begin with Critical Legal Studies) has multiple tenet frameworks (i.e., colorblindness, counter-narrative, interest convergence theory, intersectionality, and race is a social construct) that allow educators the opportunity to critically analyze systems that are still influenced from a Military-Industrial doctrine of the 20th -century. The development of multiple lenses through exposure to other's lived experiences, scholarship, and praxis has allowed me to develop an approach that embraces all students' funds of knowledge and focuses on strengths and supports weaknesses.
As a former student in multi-national P-12 education systems (American and Canadian) and a Montana P-20 practitioner, there is a necessity to develop practices that provide awareness of the rapid increase in the spectrum of diversity in the P-20 environment (physical or virtual). Democracy and Education (1916) creates a framework that supports the necessity of developing a socially just education for all by creating a system that is adaptable in an era of rapid communication information technologies (CITs) growth inside and outside the domain of Education. The "Hole in the Wall" study's (1999) insight creates a mindset that embraces the limitless potential CITs have in an educative context, developing systems that can limit inequality and inequity. Critical Race Theory (whose origins begin with Critical Legal Studies) has multiple tenet frameworks (i.e., colorblindness, counter-narrative, interest convergence theory, intersectionality, and race is a social construct) that allow educators the opportunity to critically analyze systems that are still influenced from a Military-Industrial doctrine of the 20th -century. The development of multiple lenses through exposure to other's lived experiences, scholarship, and praxis has allowed me to develop an approach that embraces all students' funds of knowledge and focuses on strengths and supports weaknesses.
P-20 Praxis
To understand the interplay between praxis and theory in teacher education, it might be helpful to apply the more practical analogy of a carpenter: When building a structure, the carpenter (practitioner) has practical knowledge that is valuable to the conceptualization, theory (development), and creation (implementation) process of design. On the other hand, architects (theorists) with limited praxis embark on the design process with little insight, knowledge, and experience that allow for the implementation of Universal Design's critical analysis. As a P-20 practitioner, I have experienced Phases I through III of student educational development that has refined my pedagogical practices that develop an educational environment (physical or virtual) that is socially just for all students, supporting the spectrum of inclusion. From Early Education (Phase I) to Higher Education, individuals' funds of knowledge must be supported through responsive teaching practices (i.e., cultural and gender).
Early Education - Phase I of Student Educational Development
Early Education (infant to the third grade) is crucial in children’s cognitive and physiological development; creating an environment (physical or virtual) that supports the spectrum of inclusion and embraces the diversity spectrum that establishes a foundation for student success. Anecdotally, Early Education develops the necessary burgeoning of the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy (remembering and understanding), creating a platform of success as children advance into elementary education. In addition, Early Education develops the social and emotional skills that are necessary to navigate future environments; educators must embrace children’s funds of knowledge to implement a system that creates a brave-safe place for children, families, and communities.
Elementary Education - Phase II of Student Educational Development
Elementary Education (fourth grade through sixth grade) is when students apply known techniques and analyze solutions (Bloom’s taxonomy) by utilizing the computation, reading, and linguistic (spoken and written language) skills acquired in Early Education, where students learn to read to Grade Three, and read to learn after that. Anecdotally, creating an educational atmosphere that develops a brave-safe space allows students to take risks in an environment that supports failure as part of the learning process. Therefore, elementary educators must design an educational experience (physical or virtual) that embraces students’ funds of knowledge and strengths (cognitive or physiological) and supports weaknesses. Conceptualization, design, and implementation of policies, procedures, and systems that support multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework develops an educational climate that supports the spectrum of inclusion that exists in the spectrum of diversity in our classrooms, schools, families, and communities.
Secondary Education - Phase III of Student Educational Development
Secondary Education (seventh grade through twelfth grade, includes HiSET pathways) is the final phase students must complete before entering a variety of pathways, labor force, trades (apprenticeships or institutes), or higher education. Upon entering phase three, students evaluate problems and create solutions, the upper levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, constructing on the previous skills (cognitive and physiological) developed in Early and Elementary Phases of Student Development. Anecdotally, secondary educators must support the same systems as Phases I and II of students’ educational development to create uninterrupted systems of alignment. Phases I through III of student educational development must align the with the mindset of creating a brave-safe space supporting the spectrums of inclusion and diversity in the twenty-first century classroom.
Higher Education - College Student Development
Higher Education (the dissemination of knowledge) is the pathway of rapid growth, increasing enrollment by approximately twenty-five percent in the 21st-century; indicating an increase in the spectrum of diversity on campuses and the necessity to embrace the conceptualization, design, and development of course framework that supports the spectrum of inclusion. Anecdotally, college students require an atmosphere that creates a common mindset that supports the brave-safe space necessary for courageous conversations about discrimination and oppression (past and present) that occur inside and outside education. Continuous development, honing, and refinement of critical lenses allow college students the opportunity to create authentic Phases I through III of student educational development experiences (physical or virtual) that support the spectrum of diversity that is present on campuses in higher education, allowing for the spectrum of inclusion for children and students (i.e., the halo effect).
Adult Education - Incarceration Versus Autonomous
Adult Education is a domain of education with limited interest, resulting in an under-funded, ill-equipped, and lack of qualified instruction, perpetuating a system that limits the spectrum of inclusion through barriers that impair effective, efficient, and relevant programs. Incarceration (detention-level) creates an environment that limits the ability to develop an educational experience that embraces the spectrum of inclusion, often restrict students' ability to be successful due to the level of stress of the environment. The spectrum of diversity of the participants in Adult Education creates a complexity that hinders the learning process, indicating the necessity to develop educational environments that embrace the spectrum of inclusion (cognitive and physiological).
Role as Researcher
Researchers must acknowledge the direct and indirect influences on a study’s conceptualization, design, collection (participants), analysis, and interpretation. Confronting self-authorship, intersectionality with others, and the relation between the researcher and the study allows the researcher the opportunity to develop an awareness of potential implicit biases. Through the conceptualization, design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of the study, the researcher needs to bridge the gap of awareness of the participants (population), topic(s), and methodology.
Self-Authorship
Individuals’ funds of knowledge encompass all aspects of lived experiences (personal and family) that influence the mindset as we navigate environments (physical or virtual) that expose us to a spectrum of diversity. Cultural heritage is included in the domain of funds of knowledge, influencing perceptions of communities within society (i.e., stereotyping and othering). My funds of knowledge (lived experiences and current knowledge) have developed many lenses that allow for the critical analysis of curricula development to include the spectrum of diversity we experience throughout the stream of life. My multinational, multiracial, gender-conscious, and other experiences have influenced a mindset that accepts the necessity to develop a comprehensive course framework in a TPP that allows PSTs the opportunity to establish culturally responsive practices to support students’ lived experiences (funds of knowledge) in the learning process, perpetuating a socially just education for all.
Intersectionality with Others
Participants in the study represent the spectrum of diversity present in TPPs on campuses nationally and globally; therefore, my intersectionality of identifiers (biological or social) allows for the opportunity to relate to a historically common core value that creates a shared narrative. Participants associate with multiple communities’ ( i.e., any identifier—biological or social) experiences and perceptions of complex contexts (historical and current); the creation of brave-safe environments (physical or virtual) allow PSTs the opportunity to develop an awareness of the spectrum of experiences and perceptions of social contexts and histories. Creating an educational experience (physical or virtual) for PSTs that is effective, efficient, and relevant requires course designers to deploy critical lenses that support the spectrum of inclusion, accepting the spectrum of diversity on campuses.
Self and the System
Intersectionality, funds of knowledge, and various other variables influence the dynamics of this study’s focus on the spectrums of diversity and inclusion. This study incorporates the historical (social and institutional) contexts that have influenced the policies, programs, and systems approach to equality and equity. Literature supports the necessity to develop a unified course framework in a TPP that allows preservice teachers the opportunity to establish culturally responsive practices to support students’ lived experiences (funds of knowledge) in the learning process, perpetuating a socially just education for all. This study highlights national and global discriminations and oppressions through historically common barriers that influence policies, programs, and systems that perpetuate a Military-Industrial doctrine of the past centuries.