Depth-hermeneutics: a psychosocial approach to facilitate teachers’ reflective practice?

ABSTRACT

In this article we present and outline depth-hermeneutics as a new application of a theoretically founded psychosocial approach, with the ambition of inspiring teachers to explore challenging aspects of their relational work with students. Empirical knowledge and psychodynamic theory suggest that teaching and learning are profoundly rooted in relationship based processes. Hence it is a prerequisite for improving learning and supporting teachers’ professional development that challenging aspects in the student-teacher relationship be taken seriously by being examined, with the aim of enabling and supporting learning from experience in reflective practice. We suggest that group-based depth-hermeneutics, a qualitative psychosocial method, may allow for analysis and interpretation of situations and relations in school that may be experienced by teachers as difficult or incomprehensible. Drawing on an empirical example from fieldwork in a Norwegian middle school, we illustrate the nature of a challenging situation and relation in teaching and show step-by-step how depth-hermeneutics can be adapted, adopted, implemented, and facilitated in teacher groups, to increase scenic understanding of such complex phenomena.

KEYWORDS:

• Depth-hermeneutics
• reflective practice
• relationship based teaching
• learning from experience
• psychosocial studies
• scenic understanding

Acknowledgments

We dedicate this paper to the International Research Group for Pscyho-Societal Analysis, which has developed and promoted psychosocial and psycho-societal approaches over the years, including depth-hermeneutics.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Psycho-societal and psychosocial approaches have mainly emerged in Europe (Clarke, 2002; Clarke & Hoggett, 2009; Froggett, 2002; Hollway & Jefferson, 2000; Salling Olesen, 2016; Soldz & Andersen, 2012). ‘Psycho-societal’, ‘psychosocial’ or ‘psycho-social’ reflect different disciplinary and theoretical inspirations, the former associated with ‘a German tradition represented by e.g. Thomas Leithäuser, Birgit Volmerg, Regina Becker-Schmidt, Ulrike Prokop and Christine Morgenroth, inspired by Alfred Lorenzer, Theodor W. Adorno and Oskar Negt – and the latter, a British tradition represented by e.g. Wendy Hollway, Tony Jefferson, Lynn Froggett, Prue Chamberlayne, and others’ (Salling Olesen, 2012, p.11).

2. Kristin gave this account to the researcher. The case has previously been published in Ramvi (2010).

Additional information

Funding

Open access for this article has been funded by the Department of Caring and Ethics at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger, Norway.

Notes on contributors

Birgitta Haga Gripsrud

Birgitta Haga Gripsrud is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the research group Professional Relations in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Stavanger. Gripsrud has a PhD in Cultural Studies (University of Leeds 2006). A prominent strand in her research is critical, creative and psychosocial approaches to cultures and experiences of embodiment, health, illness, ageing and death. Another strand of Gripsrud’s research concerns conditions for, and challenges in, professional relational work, professional development and sound professional practice. Gripsrud is a member of The International Research Group for Psycho-Societal Analysis and a founding member of The Association for Psychosocial Studies.

Karsten Mellon

Karsten Mellon research field is lifelong learning, adult learning and education, and leadership. He is an Associate Professor at University College Absalon, Denmark and a PhD Fellow at Roskilde University, Denmark, where he is writing his thesis based on a psycho-societal approach to life history research. Mellon is an associate member of the Professional Relations research group at the University of Stavanger, and a member of The International Research Group for Psycho-Societal Analysis, as well as Kenneth Gergen’s The Taos Institute.

Ellen Ramvi

Ellen Ramvi is Professor and Head of the research group Professional Relations at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stavanger. Areas of interest in her research involve emotional and relational aspects of professional activity and development. Her particular contribution to this research field has been to develop psychosocial perspectives and methodologies. She is a founding member of the Association for Psychosocial Studies, and a member of the International Research Group for Psycho-Societal Analysis, and The International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organisations.