Abstract:

Educators learn through reflection on how power shapes their own practices, express their concerns about the constraints they face, and brainstorm solutions to address them. Educators create and adjust their philosophies and practices through reflection on how abstract theories manifest themselves in life (Gallego, 2014). Online discussions offer educators a dynamic and energetic atmosphere in which they can interact with each other. The author argues that the synergy generated by online dialogue has the largest impact on the quality of teaching and learning.

Building on the works of Karl Marx, Michael Foucault, Edward Said, and Paulo Freire, the author uses the critical theory approach to empower learners to critically analyze and evaluate the complex impact of diversity on education. The author employs critical readings and discussion questions focused on diversity and social justice as tools to help students examine the dominant modes of thinking.

The participants in this study were seventeen doctoral students enrolled in educational leadership classes at a university in the Southern United States. A majority of the participants were current school leaders. The students were enrolled in a hybrid class that required students to attend Zoom class meetings and participate in a weekly online class discussion forum. The students’ comments in the online discussion forum were collected.

The author examined the effects of purposeful readings and reflections on increasing awareness of graduate educational leadership students. A social justice theme was chosen for the doctoral course. Changes in students’ comments on issues such as poverty, gender inequality, cultural beliefs, and educational policies as well as their impact on students’ learning were recorded.
A content analysis method of students’ comments was used to determine if the students changed the level of their reflections as a result of their participation in the course. Based on the earlier work of Van Manen (1977), Smith (1995), and Lee (2005) on reflection level classification, the author used a three-level hierarchy to classify students’ reflections:
A. Descriptive; in which the writer only gives a descriptive recount of a discussion, presentation or a text,
B. Analytical; in which the writer analyzes the text, discussion, or presentation in light of a personal experience or a perspective,
C. Critical; in which the writer considers the social, political, and historical factors that may have impacted the situation covered in the reading or discussion.

Results demonstrated a majority of students started at the beginning of the course mainly focusing on describing/summarizing the issues discussed in the readings and class. Through structured questions and class discussion, students were encouraged to take an in-depth look at concerns expressed in the readings. Students were prodded to examine how social issues may impact their own practices even though it may appear, at first, unrelated or inapplicable to their own context.

In this study, the discussion enhanced educators’ understanding of factors impacting their practices, raised their awareness regarding their own biases and beliefs, increased their sensitivity to students’ needs, and establishes links between theory and practice (Genc, 2010). Educators need to know how to create inclusive schools that prepare students for a diverse society.

Keywords:

Online Discussion, Reflective teaching, Social Justice.