Mathematics Education and Lesson Study in Europe (MELSE)

Meeting

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Presentation Title:

Students in Lesson Study: A Spotlight on Ethics

 

The second meeting of Mathematics Education and Lesson Study in Europe (MELSE) was held at the University of Nottingham. Dr Michael Buhagiar attended on behalf of CLeStuM and presented his paper to participants who came from across Europe and beyond.

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Abstract:

Lesson Study is normally applied in connection with broader research areas, such as teacher education, teaching and learning, cultural perspectives, and the LS process (i.e., the planning, implementation and the evaluation phases). It is striking, however, that although LS is essentially about professional collaboration among people, the overarching discourse surrounding it typically lacks reference to ethical considerations that go beyond ‘procedural ethics’. Indeed, the issue of ethics is often limited to seeking approval from a relevant ethics committee, and in the process little attention, if at all, is given to ‘ethics in practice’. When the everyday ethical issues that arise from doing LS research are not adequately addressed, it is arguably the LS students who can be most vulnerable during ethically important moments. These moments transcend the ‘right thing to do’ (e.g., students’ learning improves through LS) to actively query the possibility that a wrong could be done (e.g., some students might feel like an exhibition fish in a bowl during LS). The idea, thus, is to problematise the involvement of students in LS in an effort to raise awareness that, although LS is undoubtedly beneficial to a number of people (including students) on a number of levels, the search for common good should not come at the cost of individual good. Clearly, some balance between these two opposite ends of the ‘good continuum’ needs to be established and acted upon.

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Presenter:

Michael Buhagiar

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Date:

March 2020

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