Prelude in E: Notes from the Field

Karen Hawkins

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia

 

Prelude: set of notes sung or played to test the voice or an instrument // a piece of music that introduces another piece

—The Barnhart concise dictionary of etymology, 1995:595.

Scholarship in education is dedicated to enhancing our understanding of the educational process; to nurturing both the art and the science of our pedagogical practice; to expanding the richness of the learning opportunities we provide; and to exposing and challenging the mutual influences that pedagogical, philosophical, and political constructs and contexts have on education as the most profound of our social institutions. Research in education is also devoted to coaxing the many and diverse voices of our students, and the learning communities we would build around them, into constructively hopeful dialogues. Ultimately, we seek understanding so that we can translate hope into the experiences and opportunities with which we engage our children, our youths, and ourselves. It’s a heady aim. At its heart, however, the creative process we call education is a very human enterprise involving very personal interchanges—face to face, one child at a time.

But, sometimes that sense of the personal gets lost. To remain relevant, educational research must both embrace and encourage its application at the interface between theory and practice, philosophy and practicality—in our classrooms, schools and communities, wherever learning is being fostered. To remain vibrant, educational practice must be seen as an ongoing opportunity for personal and professional growth. A lively and generative dialogue nurtured between these spaces ensures that academic research remains connected to its humanity, and that pedagogical practice remains a vital site of inquiry.

The statement of philosophy for Educational Insights asserts its intent to “encourage a community that honours difference and polyphony, while sharing a vision of pedagogy, education, inquiry as spaces of challenge and hopeful conversations.” With the inauguration of “Notes from the Field,” Educational Insights has opened up one of these hopeful spaces with its invitation to practicing educators to fill its virtual pages with the vibrancy and immediacy of their voices, sounded, as they are, in the midst of lived pedagogy.

Dedicated to the research and reflections of practitioners, Notes from the Field draws on the rich and varied research interests of classroom teacher-researchers. In so doing, it acknowledges the incredible value of hearing about education from those who are engaged in the day-to-day practice of it. It encourages and validates teachers’ inquiries into their own practice. It invites the questions and voices of educators into the dialogue around education, creating a space in which the voices of their students may also be heard.

We invite you to listen carefully to the notes that are sounded from the field in this issue;

to incorporate them in your own educational dialogues;

to let their echoes act as a prelude for you, testing your voice, and providing you with an alternative vantage point from which to view your own research,

action and reflection.