Vishalache Balakrishnan

Using Working Agreements in Participatory Action Research: Working through Moral Problems with Malaysian Students.

In this paper we propose that taking time before the work begins to develop agreements about how to work together in participatory action research enables researchers to directly address several ethical issues that can be problematic in this type of research: gaining fully informed consent; in-group confidentiality; cultural misconceptions; and protecting participants from risky self-disclosures. We begin by discussing some of these ethical challenges that can arise in participatory work, especially with young people. We argue that these issues are magnified and politicised in certain politico-cultural settings, and therefore are all the more important when working cross-culturally. Drawing on the findings of the lead writer’s doctoral thesis, which sought to find a more relevant way of teaching moral education in a Malaysian setting by including the voices of young people, we show how participants responded to attempts to address these issues by creating a safe space in which to discuss sensitive topics through the use of a working agreement. Responses indicate that when such an agreement was in place, the young people in this Malaysian study experienced a greater sense of safety, greater encouragement to participate, and were more confident in their ability to solve ethical problems than in situations where there was no working agreement. Furthermore, the agreement enabled the researcher to be more aware of, and responsive to, the cultural context of the participants.

Vygotsky from ZPD to ZCD in moral education: reshaping Western theory and practices in local context

This article explores Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in the Malaysian context to support local reform of the Moral Education (ME) classroom. Small groups of students in three different types of school were involved in a participant action research (PAR) project. Such classrooms in Malaysia bring together students from various ethnicities aligned with Hindu, Confucian and Christian beliefs and understandings. Using the Malaysian multicultural ME classroom as a case study, we offer some examples of group conversations around moral dilemmas that illustrate ways that collaborative processes beyond the individual might expand an individual student’s ZPD and the consensual as well as divergent views of each group as a whole. This suggests possibilities for an extension of the ZPD into a zone of collaborative development (ZCD).

Participatory action research in culturally complex societies: opportunities and challenges

Abstract One of the aims of participatory action research (PAR) is to bring realities of lives closer together through dialogue and ‘conscientization’, raising critical awareness among participants from all backgrounds. Promoting participation often assumes a power shift from the decision-makers to the majority of society, who can be the end-receivers of decisions made. Once some kind of awareness is achieved, the participants should be able to challenge the causes of their perceived oppression, or resolve the suffering that is endured, if that is what they hope to achieve. However, the situation is more complex in many contemporary societies, in which there are not only differing cultural beliefs related to religion, but different ontologies about being and living in the world. There is much contemporary debate about the possibilities of critique that take on board divergent sociomaterial realities within the same classroom. Practical and structural differences can pose challenges to conducting PAR research. In this article, we address the distinctive nature of PAR in relation to a culturally diverse group of participants. We argue that research using a PAR framework can result in subtle ethical challenges, which also provide insights for opportunities and strategies. Drawing from the authors’ experiences in multicultural education and working with culturally diverse youth and postgraduate students, opportunities and challenges of applying a PAR approach are discussed. We conclude with the suggestion that PAR remains consistent with its original transformative goals, but also remain open to further explorations of activism that address pressing contemporary concerns within culturally complex societies.

Urban youth try drama: a pedagogy of the real?

ISSN: 1468-1366 (Print) 1747-5104 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpcs20 Urban youth try drama: a pedagogy of the real? Vishalache Balakrishnan To cite this article: Vishalache Balakrishnan (2016): Urban youth try drama: a pedagogy of the real?, Pedagogy, Culture & Society, DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2016.1161039 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2016.1161039

A reconceptualisation of Vygotsky’s ZPD into ZCD in teaching moral education in secondary schools using real-life dilemmas

Abstract In an effort to contribute to contemporary debates about alternative ways of teaching moral education, this qualitative study explored moral dilemmas identified by young adolescents and how they made moral choices to resolve the dilemmas. Data were gathered for textual analysis through a modified framework of participatory action research using participant observation, focus group transcripts, interviews and student journals. The data were interpreted using a revision of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, extended to suit the multicultural Malaysian setting, and here called the Zone of Collaborative Development. Participants were 22 16–17-year-old non-Muslim adolescents from different cultural backgrounds attending three different types of secondary schools. Moral Education (ME) in Malaysia (MEM) is designed to cater to this group while Muslim students study Islamic Studies. Findings show that students were concerned about moral issues and values not covered in the current ME curriculum. The moral dilemmas identified were relational and context dependent. Students named autonomy, self and mutual respect, trust, freedom and tolerance as main conflicting themes in their real-life moral dilemmas. The study suggests that including students’ voices in MEM in this way might better engage students’ interest and connecting the subject with students’ everyday lives.

Teaching and Learning for Real-Life: The Application of Real-Life Moral Dilemma Discussion (Re-LiMDD) for Classroom Interaction

One of the ultimate aims of education is ensuring that knowledge, skills and values learnt in school is applied in real-life by students. It is essential that teachers have knowledge of who they are educating rather than fill up the empty vessels that come to them every year (Freire in Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum, New York, 1986). The need to prepare a platform for students to be able to bring their real-life into the classroom and vice versa is the ultimate aim of global education. This chapter explores the use of real-life moral dilemma discussion (Re-LiMDD) in the teaching and learning process. It explores the process of resolving real-life moral dilemmas in social studies classroom and alternatives in non-social studies context. It critically analyses the Re-LiMDD process and the different components necessary to adapt such a teaching and learning strategy in the twenty-first century classroom for effective classroom interaction. The argument here is linking students real-life with content learnt in school encourages deep learning and equips students with higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in a natural and authentic process. It is suggested that teachers adapt Re-LiMDD in their daily teachings to resolve everyday issues occurring in the classroom; it can be directly linked with the content of the subject or with classroom relationship.

Making moral education work in a multicultural society with Islamic hegemony

Abstract In 2013, the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 (Pre-school to Post-Secondary Education) was launched. Section 3 focussed on ensuring that, in Islamic Education for Muslim students and Moral Education (ME) for non-Muslims, students will be strengthened through understanding values that promote unity and foster good relations among students. Both subjects are said to complement each other in the school curriculum and are aimed at making students holistic individuals, who will help the nation progress. By means of an analysis of the dynamics of the history and politics of education, it is argued that ME in Malaysia has been moulded in an Islamic setting and is permeated by fundamental Islamic values. ME in a multicultural society should go beyond the indoctrination of prescribed values. Some alternative strategies are offered to bridge ME and Islamic Education in the challenging setting of an overtly Islamic nation with a multicultural population.

Inclusion in a Multicultural Nation: Realities through Case Studies.

According to Inclusion Press International, inclusion is not just a ‘disability issue’ but about living full lives, about learning to live together and treasuring diversity and building community. When Malaysia obtained her independence from the Britain in 1957, one of the main ruling was all three ethnicity should live together as one nation. No individual should be excluded from any aspects of education, economy and social. After almost six decades of independence, many individuals in Malaysia are still unhappy with the social injustice due to exclusion based on several factors such as ethnicity and historical roots. In this paper I would like to argue that the minority ethnic group have been side lined due to constitutional rights and current policies. They have to fend for themselves and the social injustice caused many to leave their country of birth to move to other countries where they are treated equally for what they are and not who they are. I suggest that there is a critical need to overlook its political, economic and education policies to ensure a new world which is just and fair.

Alternative Assessment in Moral Education in Malaysia.

Moral feeling, moral thinking and moral acting are aspects in Moral Education for Malaysian schools. Students are encouraged to practice what they learn within and outside the boundaries of the class room. In the year 2000, there were shift in assessing teaching and learning of Moral Education in which equal weightage were given to the cognitive/moral thinking aspect, as well as moral feeling and moral acting. This has resulted in an assessment paper for Moral Education requirement focusing upon practical work students carry out, based on themes taught in the classroom. Policy makers together with Malaysian Examination Board produced a comprehensive syllabus and formative assessment sheets to assess students involvement in the implementation of the new system. Unfortunately, at this initial stage many flaws were found and policy makers need to reassess before it becomes “settled”, given serious backfire from teachers and students concerned.