title: Invigorating the Church for Mission.  Action Research with Local Parishes

authors: Prebble, Edward Howard

subjects: Action Research

abstract: By drawing together the insights of Action Researchers and a personal theological/spiritual conviction of the total and limitless Love of God I present a bridge between the discourse of faith, worship and spirituality on the one hand, and the discourse of management/organisation studies on the other.  This bridge is akin to the steering platform on a metaphoric double-hulled canoe. I have brought the collective wisdom of each hull to the setting of the direction of my thesis and my guidance to its destination.

An open, inclusive, and questioning epistemological approach implied by the integration of those diverse ontological assumptions was applied to a research project with members of five Anglican parishes who wanted to explore how they could bring about change among themselves and how they could connect more effectively with their neighbouring communities.  I crafted a participatory action process described as ethnographic pastoral inquiry. Key characteristics of this process include a deliberate inclusion of spiritual considerations, a high degree of mutual trust, an unhurried pace, a willingness to change on the part of the facilitator and the target group, and an openness to the unexpected.  The working groups in the five parishes were facilitated to identify several new initiatives of community-facing work.  

Reflections on the research project led to advocating for Missional Viability as the recommended organising principle for local parishes.  If a parish is missionally viable its members can commit to reflect more adequately the Christian principles from which the Church as a whole takes its direction.  Three components of missional viability were identified:
a.	An functional relationship with an observable community of people outside of its worshipping members
b.	A well-developed (or rediscovered) sense of the congregation’s mission, 
c.	A commitment to a deepening of spirituality among its members and others with whom they have contact.
By emphasising spirituality as a dimension of the research process itself rather than simply an insight emerging from but still incidental to the central point of a research project, I make a contribution to the elaboration of the field of intentional action research genres. I argue that an overt acknowledgement of spirituality should be an integral aspect of the holistic approach typically advocated by Action Research theorists.  At the same time, the project reported here gives strong support to the view that in the study of churches and other religious organisations the methods associated with Action Research are particularly compatible with theological foundations of religious orientations to ‘being in the world’.  The project draws on the emancipatory or salvific power of research as organisations are regarded as partners in the inquiry. The findings become material for their members to use in discerning their own sense of vision and direction, thereby assisting them in finding strength to take the necessary risks involved in bringing about change.

text: Invigorating the Church for Mission.  Action Research with Local Parishes By drawing together the insights of Action Researchers and a personal theological/spiritual conviction of the total and limitless Love of God I present a bridge between the discourse of faith, worship and spirituality on the one hand, and the discourse of management/organisation studies on the other.  This bridge is akin to the steering platform on a metaphoric double-hulled canoe. I have brought the collective wisdom of each hull to the setting of the direction of my thesis and my guidance to its destination.

An open, inclusive, and questioning epistemological approach implied by the integration of those diverse ontological assumptions was applied to a research project with members of five Anglican parishes who wanted to explore how they could bring about change among themselves and how they could connect more effectively with their neighbouring communities.  I crafted a participatory action process described as ethnographic pastoral inquiry. Key characteristics of this process include a deliberate inclusion of spiritual considerations, a high degree of mutual trust, an unhurried pace, a willingness to change on the part of the facilitator and the target group, and an openness to the unexpected.  The working groups in the five parishes were facilitated to identify several new initiatives of community-facing work.  

Reflections on the research project led to advocating for Missional Viability as the recommended organising principle for local parishes.  If a parish is missionally viable its members can commit to reflect more adequately the Christian principles from which the Church as a whole takes its direction.  Three components of missional viability were identified:
a.	An functional relationship with an observable community of people outside of its worshipping members
b.	A well-developed (or rediscovered) sense of the congregation’s mission, 
c.	A commitment to a deepening of spirituality among its members and others with whom they have contact.
By emphasising spirituality as a dimension of the research process itself rather than simply an insight emerging from but still incidental to the central point of a research project, I make a contribution to the elaboration of the field of intentional action research genres. I argue that an overt acknowledgement of spirituality should be an integral aspect of the holistic approach typically advocated by Action Research theorists.  At the same time, the project reported here gives strong support to the view that in the study of churches and other religious organisations the methods associated with Action Research are particularly compatible with theological foundations of religious orientations to ‘being in the world’.  The project draws on the emancipatory or salvific power of research as organisations are regarded as partners in the inquiry. The findings become material for their members to use in discerning their own sense of vision and direction, thereby assisting them in finding strength to take the necessary risks involved in bringing about change.

year: 2012

title: "How did I get here:" An autoethnographic study of a counsellor educator's lived experience of 'becoming'

authors: Dobbs, Andrea

subjects: counsellor educator

abstract: This study considers the usefulness of applying key concepts of the Rogerian theory of ‘becoming a person’ as a framework to theorise the personal growth and change process of becoming a counsellor. It is contended that person-centred philosophy and theory provides one way in which to view the personal development of the person of counsellor during training. This hypothesis is based on the recognition of a perceived similar change and growth process which Rogers identified in clients in therapy, with those of training counsellors. After reviewing the literature on the importance placed on the personal development of counsellors in training, a distinction is made between personal development and personal growth. An apparent gap is identified within undergraduate training. It is recognised that some students, in particular mature students, training at undergraduate tertiary level for the first time, have unique challenges from those within post graduate programmes. A further gap within the literature is the self-study of a student’s own experience and perceptions of undertaking counsellor training at this level. Therefore, fitting the above demographic, the author retrospectively examines her personal experience using an autoethnographic method of enquiry. With this method the researcher is both an “insider” and “outsider” (Dyson, 2007, p. 39) of the cultural context under investigation. Autoethnographic data consists of a poem titled: School Reports, which contains the story of a failed high school student. Other data are drawings created using the metaphor of an acorn growing into an oak tree to symbolise Rogers’s theoretical propositions of a theory of personality and behaviour. Reflective journal entries written during undergraduate counsellor training further support the analysis. The author’s poem and drawings form the basis of an autoethnographic inquiry analysed through a number of Rogerian philosophical concepts of development along with ‘moments of movement’ towards change and growth. The main focus of personal growth and change centres on the author’s early development of the self-concept of a failed high school student, revised to a self-concept of successful, due to the curative experience of training. The conclusion is made that the primary Rogerian theoretical concept of becoming a person, the organism’s tendency to actualise, along with its “moments of movement” (Rogers, 1961, p. 130), can provide one way in which to conceptualise the personal growth and change process in becoming a counsellor. Implications for counsellor education is the consideration of facilitating growth promoting learning environments and learning opportunities.   The principal limitation of the study is identified as applying classic person-centred theory as a framework whereas contemporary theorising would consider the person in both context and environment.  A self-study on just one experience of a mature student in undergraduate training was also considered a limitation. Both these limitations warrant further investigation. A further recommendation for further research is a comparative study examining the personal growth and change process of counsellors in training from different philosophical positions.

text: "How did I get here:" An autoethnographic study of a counsellor educator's lived experience of 'becoming' This study considers the usefulness of applying key concepts of the Rogerian theory of ‘becoming a person’ as a framework to theorise the personal growth and change process of becoming a counsellor. It is contended that person-centred philosophy and theory provides one way in which to view the personal development of the person of counsellor during training. This hypothesis is based on the recognition of a perceived similar change and growth process which Rogers identified in clients in therapy, with those of training counsellors. After reviewing the literature on the importance placed on the personal development of counsellors in training, a distinction is made between personal development and personal growth. An apparent gap is identified within undergraduate training. It is recognised that some students, in particular mature students, training at undergraduate tertiary level for the first time, have unique challenges from those within post graduate programmes. A further gap within the literature is the self-study of a student’s own experience and perceptions of undertaking counsellor training at this level. Therefore, fitting the above demographic, the author retrospectively examines her personal experience using an autoethnographic method of enquiry. With this method the researcher is both an “insider” and “outsider” (Dyson, 2007, p. 39) of the cultural context under investigation. Autoethnographic data consists of a poem titled: School Reports, which contains the story of a failed high school student. Other data are drawings created using the metaphor of an acorn growing into an oak tree to symbolise Rogers’s theoretical propositions of a theory of personality and behaviour. Reflective journal entries written during undergraduate counsellor training further support the analysis. The author’s poem and drawings form the basis of an autoethnographic inquiry analysed through a number of Rogerian philosophical concepts of development along with ‘moments of movement’ towards change and growth. The main focus of personal growth and change centres on the author’s early development of the self-concept of a failed high school student, revised to a self-concept of successful, due to the curative experience of training. The conclusion is made that the primary Rogerian theoretical concept of becoming a person, the organism’s tendency to actualise, along with its “moments of movement” (Rogers, 1961, p. 130), can provide one way in which to conceptualise the personal growth and change process in becoming a counsellor. Implications for counsellor education is the consideration of facilitating growth promoting learning environments and learning opportunities.   The principal limitation of the study is identified as applying classic person-centred theory as a framework whereas contemporary theorising would consider the person in both context and environment.  A self-study on just one experience of a mature student in undergraduate training was also considered a limitation. Both these limitations warrant further investigation. A further recommendation for further research is a comparative study examining the personal growth and change process of counsellors in training from different philosophical positions.

year: 2015

title: Kia kāpuia te reo o Tāmaki ki te Tonga: Tāmaki Makaurau ki te Tonga

authors: Lee-Morgan, Jenny Bol Jun

abstract: Mai i te Papakuratanga o Mataoho tae noa ki tona Ipu. Mai i Pukaki Tapu o Poutiikeka ki Te Puketapapatanga a Hape. Mai i te tahuna o Torea i nga wai o Mokoia, mawhiti atu ki Te Arapueru e karekare mai na ko Te Manukanuka a Hoturoa, kei reira a Taramainuku raua ko Kaiwhare. Ka kawea ki nga.hau o Mangere, e topa ai taku manuhokahoka ki Te Manurewatanga a Tamapahore. Whakaterawhiti taku haere ki Otara-a-nuku, ki Otara-a-rangi koia te tikapatanga o toku tiipuna o Marutuahu. Hoki whenei mai au ki Te Pane o Mataoho, tiro kau ake au ki aku pa whakairo ko Matatukutureia, ko Matukurua nga nohoanga tapu o Huakaiwaka, o Nga Tini-o-toitehuatahi, o Maruiwi kua ngaro katoa ki te reinga.

text: Kia kāpuia te reo o Tāmaki ki te Tonga: Tāmaki Makaurau ki te Tonga Mai i te Papakuratanga o Mataoho tae noa ki tona Ipu. Mai i Pukaki Tapu o Poutiikeka ki Te Puketapapatanga a Hape. Mai i te tahuna o Torea i nga wai o Mokoia, mawhiti atu ki Te Arapueru e karekare mai na ko Te Manukanuka a Hoturoa, kei reira a Taramainuku raua ko Kaiwhare. Ka kawea ki nga.hau o Mangere, e topa ai taku manuhokahoka ki Te Manurewatanga a Tamapahore. Whakaterawhiti taku haere ki Otara-a-nuku, ki Otara-a-rangi koia te tikapatanga o toku tiipuna o Marutuahu. Hoki whenei mai au ki Te Pane o Mataoho, tiro kau ake au ki aku pa whakairo ko Matatukutureia, ko Matukurua nga nohoanga tapu o Huakaiwaka, o Nga Tini-o-toitehuatahi, o Maruiwi kua ngaro katoa ki te reinga.

year: 2017