The affordances of cogenerative dialogue in mediating change within a madrasah : power dominance, student engagement and student-teacher relationship

Abstract

This study presents findings conducted in Madrasah Al-Ulum Islamiah (pseudonym) in Singapore with two students in the express academic stream and their physics teacher. Madrasah Al-Ulum Islamiah (MAUI) is a private non-secular school located in the Northwestern part of Singapore that offers both Islamic studies and secular subjects. MAUI is one of the six madrasahs in Singapore which is overseen by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), an Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. The Islamic studies offered by the madrasah follow the standards stipulated by MUIS while the secular subjects follow the standards stipulated by the Ministry of Education (MOE).<br><br>This study examines the affordances of cogenerative (cogen) dialogue in mediating change to student engagement, student-teacher relationship and power dominance between teacher and students within a madrasah. I chose to conduct this study in a madrasah due to the difference in culture as compared to secular schools. In a madrasah, the school culture is inspired by Islamic values and belief system. I am intrigued by the affordances of cogen dialogue to mediate change in such a culture. Cogen dialogue is a relatively new field of research in Singapore and most of the studies conducted were in secular government-aided schools. There is a dearth in implementing cogen dialogue research in private madrasah such as MAUI.<br><br>Cogen dialogue is a reflective conversation between a few participants that shared a common experience in class. It provides an alternative space for participants to gather and talk about the classroom situation. The participants involved in cogen dialogue studies are mostly students, teachers and researchers. One of the desired outcomes of engaging in cogen dialogue is to catalyse change, to optimise teaching and learning praxis in the classroom. Besides optimising teaching and learning praxis, cogen dialogue plays a critical role in mediating cultures differences, managing behavioural expectations and transforming teacher identity.<br><br>Drawing from video recordings in the classroom, I wrote vignettes of interest which captured students’ gazes, gestures, spoken discourses and heart rate measurements taken during lessons. I presented those vignettes to the participants during cogen dialogue sessions and leverage on interpretation analysis to make sense of the captured gazes, gestures and spoken discourses in terms of behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement. The students shared the challenges they faced with their teacher in an attempt to change methods of instructions in the classroom.<br><br>The analysis of change in student engagement, student-teacher relationship and power dominance mediated by cogen dialogue is grounded by the Theory of Structuration and three levels of interaction in the school – micro, meso and macro. I discussed the affordances of cogen dialogue in mediating change to the teacher’s and students’ agencies during lessons. I discussed the affordances of cogen dialogue in mediating change to the power dominance between the teacher and students after five cycles of cogen dialogue.<br><br>The significance of this study is the theoretical standpoint of cogen dialogue which differentiates it from other types of teacher-student talk. Findings from the study indicated a positive ripple effect change in the students’ engagement, student-teacher relationship and power dominance. However, the extent of the change is affected by the influence of culture. In conclusion, I highlighted six implications of the study to cogen dialogue literature and four implications to the teaching fraternity. The findings seek to provide new contributions to cogen dialogue literature.