Introduction: Reconciling with the Changes
The importance of the cultural and social environment can sometimes be critical when looking at it from the perspective of the educational process. I realize that teaching strategies should be primarily based on respect, understanding, and compassion toward their learners irrespective of their cultural, ethnic, and social background. They should take those factors into the deepest consideration to avoid failure of communication and social interaction. While studying, I have often come across such misconceptions in the course of communication between teachers and students due to cultural and social discrepancies. Therefore, my autoethnographic writing will be dedicated to the analysis of the impact of cultural backgrounds and social settings on the learning process. I will try to correlate my personal experience with the articles I have read to provide the readers with a clear understanding of the problem.
Discussing the Central Point
Have you ever encountered the term “social outsiders”? Are you familiar with this meaning? If you are not, I will provide my definition within the context of the topic. In my opinion, a social outsider can become anyone whose rights, goals, and assumptions are beyond social acceptance. In this regard, are they are often confronted with frictions and misunderstanding on the part of the majority. Some many problems and nuances can immediately turn a person into an outsider. It can involve racial and ethical issues; it can be related to psychological problems or family difficulties.
To cast light on particular problems, I have decided to narrow the discussion to the three main problems: racial and cultural issues, psychological problems, and the influence of the social environment on the education process. All of the problems are closely associated with transformative learning, as they reflect the existing gaps in an academic domain. While considering the first problem, it should be noted that racial and cultural issues the most frequently occur one which considerably distorts people’s justice and equality of human rights and freedoms. Certainly, a child of color is not the one to blame when it is outraged by the surrounding people, which is inadmissible. My strong belief is that each person should strive for cross-cultural communications and should be ready for social changes to come up with emerging problems. Psychological problems can be connected with a person’s reluctance to comply with his physical appearance and extreme desire to look like the majority does. Finally, social outsiders are those who do not want to live by established rules. They believe that no one understands them, and sometimes it happens when teachers are not able to approach the problem properly.
The Main Strengths of the Articles Chosen for Analysis
All the articles I have chosen successfully render the authors’ experience in facing a particular problem. In particular, Attard and Armour (2005) have managed to identify the basic challenges that a teacher might face while communicating with their students and understanding the existing problems of race, gender, and social status. In this regard, the researchers have proved that personal experience and reference to personal emotions can greatly contribute to understanding those problems. Similarly, the autoethnographic narrations presented by Axelsen (2009) and Glovacki-Dudka et al. (2000) also provide sufficient personal background before analyzing the actual problem. Using the form of ethnography provides a deeper insight into the problem and casts light on its origins.
Another strength of the articles lies in the fact that all narrators succeed in correlating their personal experience with the recent scientific researches in this field. In particular, the authors provide their vision of the problem and how it affected their lives. Further on, they present evidence supporting their position. It is also worth saying that the article written by Glovacki-Dudka (2000) is more theoretically based, but it has still helped me understand the essence of autoethnographic writing.
The Main Weaknesses of the Articles Chosen for Analysis
Though all the articles manage to accurately disclose the essence of the problems analyzed, the research presented by Glovacki-Dudka (2000) is less valid comparing to other autoethnographic writings. In particular, the author emphasizes the role of ethnography in facing the problem of social acceptance but fails to present viable examples of this form of information representation.
The Importance of the Article under Analysis
Viewing the articles from my perspective, I have found that all the ethnographic writing presents the problem with a fixed structure. To begin with, they reflect on the most important events that happened in their life and how those events and experiences can help encounter the current issues. In this regard, the articles under consideration have greatly contributed to my understanding of the importance of ethnography in decision-making and problem-solving. What is more, they help me learn more about this genre and how it depicts certain experiences.
Living in a world of different cultural and social environments, the main task of people is to learn to adjust to changes and to accept those who have not adjusted yet. Therefore, the article has enlarged my mind and experience in solving problems. What is more, they help me learn more about this genre.
Reference List
Attard, K. and Armour, M. (2005). Learning to become a learning professional: reflections on one year of teaching. Association for Teacher Education in Europe. pp. 196-207.
Axelsen, M. (2009). The Power of Leisure: “I was an Anorexic; I’m now a healthy triathlete”. Leisure Sciences. 31, pp. 330-346.
Glovacki-Dudka, M., Treff, M., and Usman, I. (2000). Research for Social Change: Using Autoethnography to Foster Transformative Learning. Adult Learning. pp. 30-31