... declare my epistemology......! Thought I'd never be able to say the word let alone understand it! However, just when I thought I knew where I stood, I find yet another thing that relates even better! I suppose that's good really but I'm worried that I might not be able to settle.
However, these comments do relate what I'm experiencing. I'm pretty clear that Dewey is the one and he was there all along. I guess he was too obvious really, but I'm reassured that I can return to him. I love this idea of 'experience as transactions between worlds' (Elkjaer, 2009) as a way of describing Dewey's pragmatism and his definition of experience.
I thought that I was into social constructionism and had written quite a lot although I had feedback about it seeming 'tight' which is exactly what it was - forced. It's still relevant, the idea that we construct our realities and learning and that it cannot be constructed for us. However, pragmatism seems to fit better- ironic really since I'm a pragmatist/activist (Honey & Mumford) in terms of one of my learning styles.
The best part about pragmatism in the Dewey sense is that it is about forward-thinking, about being able to imagine how the future could be based on experience. It's also about experimentation in the light of that imagination, a permission to creativity and innovation. Forward-thinking is also about being solution-focused - "experience is had in the active process of living and life is lived with an eye on tomorrow" (Elkjaer, 2009).
The visual learner in me loves the imaginative bit, in that that's what I do...I see the possibilities in my thought process. Maybe that's why I'm so interested in digital media... it allows me to experiment, it's visual and it's also hands-on which appeals to my kinesthetic/activist side.
A pragmatist researcher isn't bound by having to live by strict rules, theories or boundaries in order to understand a particular areas of interest because pragmatism allows for the researcher to use the rules, theories and boundaries that are appropriate to each situation and that might be different. A bit like youth work really, it's needs-based.
I'm also really interested in the 'pragmatic' link between Dewey and Vygotsky... just never thought I would be!
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