Date

2007

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Teacher Education

Abstract

Prior to conducting a required graduate-level proseminar utilizing democratic methods, the instructors perceived that they possessed a quantity of ideas as to how to proceed; during the course of teaching the class, they recognized that they also maintained some arresting lacunae. Thus, I have attempted to convey what Dr. Whang and I encountered, discerned and learned as we left authoritarian measures at the door and unflinchingly attempted to bring democracy into our classroom. It is my hope that educators will endeavor to produce more democracy by placing democratic principles at the helm of their deliberations. It is conceivable that everyone involved in academia -- students, teachers, administrators, parents of students, teachers-in-training and even drop-outs -- would reap the lagniappe available upon embracing a democratic ideology. This discourse fills a gap in the literature on democratic pedagogical methods by chronicling the events of a graduate level course; however, in no uncertain terms does this indicate that the process is limited to post-graduate venues. Since each person -- schooled democratically or not -- can attest to having had a remarkable education (Robinson, 2006), it follows that one and all would do well to perpend what education represents and its precipitous significance.

Comments

Thesis (M.A.) Teacher Education Department

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