Memo #7 Nilson Da SIlva

FNED 547

Nilson Da Silva

Introduction to Classroom research

Memo # 7: Initial findings Literature review

11/14/15

 

 I have been very lucky in my efforts to gather sources on autonomy and agency as  the four articles I am using to develop my literature review also relate  to my research questions on bilingual undergraduate students in college.

One article describes an action research project developed with youth who are marginalized students in an urban community.  In the article, Alice McIntyre raises many of the same questions I have been asking myself. . For example, McIntyre questions how a person can expand his or her understanding of the social, cultural and educational processes that involve autonomy and student agency (McIntyre, 2006). The findings argue that “feeling of sense of agency about one`s life is both nurtured and discouraged in and through the educational process”. Other questions examine the extent to which  school satisfactorily “serves the function of enhancing students’ emotional, psychological and social well-being”. In my overall inquiring process, I have linked these variables within bilingual undergraduate students` life  experiences by their level of critical thinking, decision making and sense of agency and autonomy.

 In the second article, Reyes (2009) discusses the role(s) of key interactions between members of a supportive community program named “College Assistance Migrant Program,” or CAMP, which works primarily with students of Mexican descent in their first year of college. I felt this research closely aligns to the program that forms the basis of my case study. The author’s observations, about the importance of the relationships among teachers and students closely align with my own.

 Aligning with my overarching question related agency and autonomy, the third article, “Understanding Agency and Educating Character” by Klass Roth (2011), develops an understanding about agency connecting the relationship among three principles: The instrument principal, the principal of prudence, and the categorical imperative. These features are on the light of Kant`s thoughts.

 Finally, the fourth article I am referencing is the working paper entitled “How is agency possible?” (Gert Biesta and Michael Tedder, 2006).  This is a collaborative research project between the University of Exeter of Brighton, the University of Brighton, the University of Stirling, all in UK.    Their findings relate to my inquiry question regarding language development process and identity of bilingual students in higher education. The authors point out the interrelationship between learning, identity, and agency in people`s lives.

  In short, by working on this memo to connect my research with the work of other researchers on related topics,  I expanded my comprehension of saw connections between the phenomenon of agency and theory of agency which will help me to understand the factors related to  educational, social and psychological perspectives  in student`s  lives  within  their agency and identity.