Managing moral dilemmas in a Head Start classroom: Exploring teachers' moral thought processes. A qualitative study.

摘要

This study explores the basis of the moral thought processes teachers apply when manage moral dilemmas inside a Head Start classroom. In this study, morals and moral education are considered socially and historically constructed processes within contexts of power/knowledge relationships. This constructivist perspective is considered in the genealogical reconstruction of the moral education field since the end of the 19th century to our days. This principle is also applied in analyzing the historical construction of Head Start as a Federal Program that supports families living in poverty.;Methodologically speaking, the data is recollected using qualitative instruments such as direct observations, in-depth phenomenological interviews, and the analysis of cultural materials (curriculum, lesson plans, school's communications, posters, etcetera) during a six and a half months period. After gathering the data, qualitative analyses are performed. Each observation, interview, and material is broken into bits in order to find the patterns that permit the researcher to understand how teachers make moral decisions while managing moral dilemmas. Triangulation and rigorous analysis are the basis of the qualitative analysis performed.;Two metaphors are constructed in order to understand these processes: the running light and the backlight. The running light describes a teacher who is able to constantly incorporate new information, other's experiences, and theories into her teaching practice. This running light teacher is open-minded and always willing to learn more and to learn with and from children. The backlight describes a teacher who uses her family habitus---values, beliefs, and religious experiences---to make her decisions during the interaction with children and with the curriculum content. This back light teacher always filters any theoretical or educational information through her family habitus. During this filtering process, the information is rejected or adapted to the family background. Therefore, the same way of make moral decisions prevails.