title: The Transformative Possibilities of 'Noticing' in Community Gardening and my Life

authors: Casey-Cox, Anna Mary

subjects: Globalised Capitalism

abstract: The growing gap between rich and poor and the degradation of the planet are among the systemically generated outcomes increasingly associated with contemporary capitalism. This association is made by scholarly, professional and technical experts and spiritual leaders from across the political spectrum. Among them are Joseph Stiglitz, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben and Pope Francis. The negative social impact associated with the privileging of capitalist interests manifest in a globalising corporate logic during the 1990s, was critically documented by Jane Kelsey (1999). In the ongoing pursuit of the neo-liberal agenda globally, Kelsey (2013) argues that significant decisions are often made behind closed doors with little chance of democratic influence, particularly by those who may come to suffer from their ramifications. Popular uprisings, such as the Occupy Wall Street Movement, attest to the widespread concern of many. Activist scholar, Slavoj Žižek (2012) urges the embedding of the occupiers’ concerns beyond the visible spectacle of the movement. He urges wider commitment to the transformation of the issues of their concern in the very fabric of daily life. My work presented in this thesis is one attempt to contribute to this call.

Through my investigation into the apparent impact of corporate capitalism, I have come to notice ever more acutely, as encouraged by Seo and Creed (2002), the value contradictions within the institutional logics that support capitalism and the logics of other significant institutions that I allow influence on my life. My research drew me towards concurrence with the views of critical organisational theorists such as Deetz (1992) and Dyer, Humphries, Fitzgibbons and Hurd (2014). These theorists provide the proposition that the contemporary form of globalisation is orchestrated through the normalised workings and values of global corporations that spread a competitive ordering, selectively atomise individuals and pit one against the other. I call this the ‘dominant order(ing) of daily lives’ that draws the privileged and the oppressed into a way of being that sustains privilege and oppression while espousing values of justice.

My research contributes to the body of knowledge concerned with how a sense of responsibility and transformative agency may be developed amongst privileged peoples. It is in the projects of community gardening and my life that I have chosen to ‘notice’ the prevalence of a mechanistic, functionalist world view that infuses the moral limitations of dominant order. I have been attentive to noticing how this order influences the [un]ethical decisions of daily life. I suggest that increasing the awareness of the privileged to the working of dominant order and to the interconnectedness of life is important to our ability to ‘notice’ institutional contradictions and thus the possibilities of our transformation. My attention to ‘noticing’ has heightened my discomfort with the current institutional arrangements and prompted me to reflect, talk with others, try new things and seek a more attentive way of being. My research endorses the suggestion made by Dyer et al. (2014) that conscientising the privileged to the workings of dominant order, and the ways we are implicated in the maintenance of this ordering, is important work for educators to pursue. 

Through my research I have identified ideas that may mitigate against concerning assumptions amongst the privileged that ‘community gardening’ and the projects of local food are ‘naturally virtuous’ including: listening to the stories of the oppressed, knowing who we are in the context of these stories, holding our own discomfort and questioning how we may be responsible. As an outcome of my research, I  posit that the reprioritisation and valuing of interconnection and ‘concern for others’ in the day to day lives of the privileged may be achieved through the development of relational identities, storytelling that highlights interconnection and spiritual ritual. Community gardening can draw the privileged into being with the oppressed; enabling an understanding of shared and common humanity that I suggest is motivating of reflection and the construction of new social interactions. 

My investigations drew me more deeply into the insights and commitments of people of an indigenous, Earth-centred, life-affirming spiritual tradition who are among those who articulate an interconnected worldview and ways of being human. My research highlights that when commitment is given to a relationship with people of these traditions, those who are largely (but never wholly) colonised to the dominant order may ‘notice’ and rediscover the possibilities of interconnected ways of seeing and being human. Listening to the holders of life-affirming traditions can enable ‘noticing’ of, and resistance to, the dominating ideas of capitalist projections that are mechanistic and competitive in form. In the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, my research suggests that bicultural relationship may be developed by Pākehā through listening to Te Ao Māori authority and engaging in practical actions that support related Māori aspirations. This relationship may interrupt the potential dominance of Pākehā ways of being. 

My first person action research has involved reflection, ‘noticing’, conversation and action in dynamic interplay. I have recorded this dynamic interplay and discerned together with others, through ongoing co-inquiry relationship and dialogue, the transformative possibilities of ‘noticing’ the ways that we, as people who would like to be considered ‘just’, are human. I have woven a narrative, presented in this report that is compelling to me, to my co-inquirers and to others.  I have assessed the value of my inquiry by the way it stirs thinking, reflection and transformative action in those who engage with it. 

‘Noticing’ dominant order and the unconscious stream of oppressive action in the day to day life of the privileged is difficult and challenging work. This work may generate conflict and discomfort for the researcher and the people connected with and through the research. I posit that such discomfort is important to reflection and to developing a form of sensitivity that draws ethical attention to the systemic causes of such degradation that sustains the privilege of many. The potential challenging of privilege that ‘noticing’ promotes requires a relational dynamic that is open, non-competitive, non-oppositional and potentially inconclusive.  Including this Socratic dynamic in research methods, and in ‘noticing’, is important for researchers whose ability to shed light on the challenging terrain of social change requires relationships of openness and dialogue. 

When grounded in a critique of dominant order, ‘noticing’ disturbs otherwise inoculated, rationalised and normalised privileges. Just as the disturbance of soil is necessary for the settling of a new seed, so too is the disturbance of our minds necessary for our awakening and the growth of our ‘noticing’ and an interconnected worldview. ‘Noticing’ enables the privileged to identify ways of being human that reprioritise the diminished valuing of interdependency.

text: The Transformative Possibilities of 'Noticing' in Community Gardening and my Life The growing gap between rich and poor and the degradation of the planet are among the systemically generated outcomes increasingly associated with contemporary capitalism. This association is made by scholarly, professional and technical experts and spiritual leaders from across the political spectrum. Among them are Joseph Stiglitz, Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben and Pope Francis. The negative social impact associated with the privileging of capitalist interests manifest in a globalising corporate logic during the 1990s, was critically documented by Jane Kelsey (1999). In the ongoing pursuit of the neo-liberal agenda globally, Kelsey (2013) argues that significant decisions are often made behind closed doors with little chance of democratic influence, particularly by those who may come to suffer from their ramifications. Popular uprisings, such as the Occupy Wall Street Movement, attest to the widespread concern of many. Activist scholar, Slavoj Žižek (2012) urges the embedding of the occupiers’ concerns beyond the visible spectacle of the movement. He urges wider commitment to the transformation of the issues of their concern in the very fabric of daily life. My work presented in this thesis is one attempt to contribute to this call.

Through my investigation into the apparent impact of corporate capitalism, I have come to notice ever more acutely, as encouraged by Seo and Creed (2002), the value contradictions within the institutional logics that support capitalism and the logics of other significant institutions that I allow influence on my life. My research drew me towards concurrence with the views of critical organisational theorists such as Deetz (1992) and Dyer, Humphries, Fitzgibbons and Hurd (2014). These theorists provide the proposition that the contemporary form of globalisation is orchestrated through the normalised workings and values of global corporations that spread a competitive ordering, selectively atomise individuals and pit one against the other. I call this the ‘dominant order(ing) of daily lives’ that draws the privileged and the oppressed into a way of being that sustains privilege and oppression while espousing values of justice.

My research contributes to the body of knowledge concerned with how a sense of responsibility and transformative agency may be developed amongst privileged peoples. It is in the projects of community gardening and my life that I have chosen to ‘notice’ the prevalence of a mechanistic, functionalist world view that infuses the moral limitations of dominant order. I have been attentive to noticing how this order influences the [un]ethical decisions of daily life. I suggest that increasing the awareness of the privileged to the working of dominant order and to the interconnectedness of life is important to our ability to ‘notice’ institutional contradictions and thus the possibilities of our transformation. My attention to ‘noticing’ has heightened my discomfort with the current institutional arrangements and prompted me to reflect, talk with others, try new things and seek a more attentive way of being. My research endorses the suggestion made by Dyer et al. (2014) that conscientising the privileged to the workings of dominant order, and the ways we are implicated in the maintenance of this ordering, is important work for educators to pursue. 

Through my research I have identified ideas that may mitigate against concerning assumptions amongst the privileged that ‘community gardening’ and the projects of local food are ‘naturally virtuous’ including: listening to the stories of the oppressed, knowing who we are in the context of these stories, holding our own discomfort and questioning how we may be responsible. As an outcome of my research, I  posit that the reprioritisation and valuing of interconnection and ‘concern for others’ in the day to day lives of the privileged may be achieved through the development of relational identities, storytelling that highlights interconnection and spiritual ritual. Community gardening can draw the privileged into being with the oppressed; enabling an understanding of shared and common humanity that I suggest is motivating of reflection and the construction of new social interactions. 

My investigations drew me more deeply into the insights and commitments of people of an indigenous, Earth-centred, life-affirming spiritual tradition who are among those who articulate an interconnected worldview and ways of being human. My research highlights that when commitment is given to a relationship with people of these traditions, those who are largely (but never wholly) colonised to the dominant order may ‘notice’ and rediscover the possibilities of interconnected ways of seeing and being human. Listening to the holders of life-affirming traditions can enable ‘noticing’ of, and resistance to, the dominating ideas of capitalist projections that are mechanistic and competitive in form. In the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, my research suggests that bicultural relationship may be developed by Pākehā through listening to Te Ao Māori authority and engaging in practical actions that support related Māori aspirations. This relationship may interrupt the potential dominance of Pākehā ways of being. 

My first person action research has involved reflection, ‘noticing’, conversation and action in dynamic interplay. I have recorded this dynamic interplay and discerned together with others, through ongoing co-inquiry relationship and dialogue, the transformative possibilities of ‘noticing’ the ways that we, as people who would like to be considered ‘just’, are human. I have woven a narrative, presented in this report that is compelling to me, to my co-inquirers and to others.  I have assessed the value of my inquiry by the way it stirs thinking, reflection and transformative action in those who engage with it. 

‘Noticing’ dominant order and the unconscious stream of oppressive action in the day to day life of the privileged is difficult and challenging work. This work may generate conflict and discomfort for the researcher and the people connected with and through the research. I posit that such discomfort is important to reflection and to developing a form of sensitivity that draws ethical attention to the systemic causes of such degradation that sustains the privilege of many. The potential challenging of privilege that ‘noticing’ promotes requires a relational dynamic that is open, non-competitive, non-oppositional and potentially inconclusive.  Including this Socratic dynamic in research methods, and in ‘noticing’, is important for researchers whose ability to shed light on the challenging terrain of social change requires relationships of openness and dialogue. 

When grounded in a critique of dominant order, ‘noticing’ disturbs otherwise inoculated, rationalised and normalised privileges. Just as the disturbance of soil is necessary for the settling of a new seed, so too is the disturbance of our minds necessary for our awakening and the growth of our ‘noticing’ and an interconnected worldview. ‘Noticing’ enables the privileged to identify ways of being human that reprioritise the diminished valuing of interdependency.

year: 2014

title: Feminist geographies in Aotearoa New Zealand: cultural, social and political moments

authors: Adams-Hutcheson, Gail

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: Aotearoa New Zealand is a nation of promise, potential and enigma: it was the first country in the world where women gained the vote in 1893 and now boasts the youngest woman world leader in 2017. It is also a postcolonial nation where structural racism, homophobia, and sexism persist, yet it has also given legal personhood to a river. Our Country Report foregrounds Aotearoa New Zealand feminist geographic scholarship that responds to, reflects, and sometimes resists such contrasts and contradictions at the national scale. We employ the lens of the 2017 national election to critically engage with current gendered and indigenous politics in the country. Analyzing these politics through three ‘feminist moments,’ our paper highlights the breadth and scope of current Aotearoa New Zealand feminist geographic scholarship and directions.

text: Feminist geographies in Aotearoa New Zealand: cultural, social and political moments Aotearoa New Zealand is a nation of promise, potential and enigma: it was the first country in the world where women gained the vote in 1893 and now boasts the youngest woman world leader in 2017. It is also a postcolonial nation where structural racism, homophobia, and sexism persist, yet it has also given legal personhood to a river. Our Country Report foregrounds Aotearoa New Zealand feminist geographic scholarship that responds to, reflects, and sometimes resists such contrasts and contradictions at the national scale. We employ the lens of the 2017 national election to critically engage with current gendered and indigenous politics in the country. Analyzing these politics through three ‘feminist moments,’ our paper highlights the breadth and scope of current Aotearoa New Zealand feminist geographic scholarship and directions.

year: 2019

title: The teaching and learning of Hawaiian in mainstream educational contexts in Hawai‘i: Time for change?

authors: NeSmith, Richard Keaoopuaokalani

subjects: additional languages

abstract: There are estimated to be fewer than 1,000 native speakers of Hawaiian language (ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i) in Hawai‘i. The majority of those who now learn Hawaiian do so in mainstream educational contexts and the majority of teachers of Hawaiian have learned the language as a second language in mainstream educational contexts. It is therefore important to determine what is being taught in these contexts and how it is being taught.

At the core of this research project is an exploration of the attitudes and practices of a sample of teachers of Hawaiian in mainstream educational contexts. Following an introduction to the research (Chapter 1) and to the historical background against which the teaching and learning of Hawaiian takes place (Chapter 2), selected literature on language teacher cognition is critically reviewed (Chapter 3). This is followed by a report on a survey of the backgrounds, attitudes and practices of a sample of teachers of Hawaiian (Chapter 4) and a sample of students of Hawaiian (Chapter 5). Also included are analyses of a sample of widely used textbooks (Chapter 6) and a sample of Hawaiian language lessons (Chapter 7). Overall, the research suggests that major changes and developments that have taken place in the teaching and learning of additional languages since the beginning of the 20th century have had little impact on the teaching and learning of Hawaiian in mainstream educational contexts in Hawai‘i. The vast majority of the teachers surveyed had little or no training in language teaching, appeared to have little awareness of literature on language teaching and learning, and had little contact with native speakers. The textbooks analyzed, which were generally unaccompanied by teacher guides or supplementary resources, were found to be largely behaviorist in orientation, their design and methodology reflecting a curious mixture of aspects of both grammar translation and audiolingual approaches. Although most of the teachers surveyed appeared to be committed to including Hawaiian culture in their teaching, the textbooks examined were found to have very little cultural content. The lessons observed, which mainly adhered closely to the content of textbooks, relied heavily on translation and were generally absent of any clearly detectable lesson staging or any effective concept introduction or concept checking strategies. Activities were largely grammatically-focused, repetitive and non-communicative and the students were frequently observed to be confused and/ or off-task.
It is concluded that the teaching and learning of Hawaiian in mainstream educational institutions in Hawai‘i is fraught with problems, problems that are evident at every stage in the process, from the lack of effective teacher education, through materials design and development to lesson planning and delivery. It would appear to be time for change. However, the survival of the Hawaiian language is by no means assured and there may be little time left in which to bring about change. For this reason, the thesis ends not only with recommendations for addressing the problems identified in the long-term and medium-term, but also with recommendations for change that could be effected the short-term (Chapter 8).

text: The teaching and learning of Hawaiian in mainstream educational contexts in Hawai‘i: Time for change? There are estimated to be fewer than 1,000 native speakers of Hawaiian language (ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i) in Hawai‘i. The majority of those who now learn Hawaiian do so in mainstream educational contexts and the majority of teachers of Hawaiian have learned the language as a second language in mainstream educational contexts. It is therefore important to determine what is being taught in these contexts and how it is being taught.

At the core of this research project is an exploration of the attitudes and practices of a sample of teachers of Hawaiian in mainstream educational contexts. Following an introduction to the research (Chapter 1) and to the historical background against which the teaching and learning of Hawaiian takes place (Chapter 2), selected literature on language teacher cognition is critically reviewed (Chapter 3). This is followed by a report on a survey of the backgrounds, attitudes and practices of a sample of teachers of Hawaiian (Chapter 4) and a sample of students of Hawaiian (Chapter 5). Also included are analyses of a sample of widely used textbooks (Chapter 6) and a sample of Hawaiian language lessons (Chapter 7). Overall, the research suggests that major changes and developments that have taken place in the teaching and learning of additional languages since the beginning of the 20th century have had little impact on the teaching and learning of Hawaiian in mainstream educational contexts in Hawai‘i. The vast majority of the teachers surveyed had little or no training in language teaching, appeared to have little awareness of literature on language teaching and learning, and had little contact with native speakers. The textbooks analyzed, which were generally unaccompanied by teacher guides or supplementary resources, were found to be largely behaviorist in orientation, their design and methodology reflecting a curious mixture of aspects of both grammar translation and audiolingual approaches. Although most of the teachers surveyed appeared to be committed to including Hawaiian culture in their teaching, the textbooks examined were found to have very little cultural content. The lessons observed, which mainly adhered closely to the content of textbooks, relied heavily on translation and were generally absent of any clearly detectable lesson staging or any effective concept introduction or concept checking strategies. Activities were largely grammatically-focused, repetitive and non-communicative and the students were frequently observed to be confused and/ or off-task.
It is concluded that the teaching and learning of Hawaiian in mainstream educational institutions in Hawai‘i is fraught with problems, problems that are evident at every stage in the process, from the lack of effective teacher education, through materials design and development to lesson planning and delivery. It would appear to be time for change. However, the survival of the Hawaiian language is by no means assured and there may be little time left in which to bring about change. For this reason, the thesis ends not only with recommendations for addressing the problems identified in the long-term and medium-term, but also with recommendations for change that could be effected the short-term (Chapter 8).

year: 2012