Respect by Design: How Different Educational Systems Interact With Mutual Respect in Classrooms

Abstract

This project was a labor of love. It would have been impossible, and certainly less enjoyable, if I had not been supported by many wise and big-hearted individuals. I acknowledge below those who played integral roles in helping me to succeed, and to thrive, while doing the very work that lights a fire in my belly.To my advisors and co-chairs, Don Peurach and David Cohen. Every step of the way, you bolstered me as a teacher, a family member, and a friend would. David, you planted the seeds of this project my first year at Michigan, through conversations over tea and by placing helpful books on my desk. Thank you for your unfailingly high standards, and for your unflagging attention to -and encouragement of -my ideas. Don, you guided me with patience, empathy, and wisdom well before I started the doctoral program, and -I suspect -long after I am finished with it. Thank you for expanding my thinking even as you drilled discipline into my writing. I am truly stunned at the care and time you both gave me.To the remaining members of my dissertation committee: Allison Alexy, Deborah Loewenberg Ball, and Jim Spillane. You three were generous mentors even before agreeing to be on my committee. Thank you for your careful read of the various drafts and memos, and for pushing my thinking forward with the questions you raised. You are each role models within and outside of academia, and I hope to someday do for others what you have done for me.To those at the University of Michigan. Whether you were faculty, staff, or fellow student, I found in you mentors, friends, and humans who did their very best to buoy me iv throughout the years. Thank you to the School of Education and Rackham Graduate School for the generous financial support of the pilot study and the dissertation.To my mentors beyond Michigan, who advised me during critical moments of the project, even as they were in no way obligated. Thank you in particular to Jennifer Adams and to Joe Tobin, who offered guidance around data collection methods and research design.To the participants of both the pilot and dissertation study…words fail me when trying to convey my gratitude. Thank you for opening up your schools and classrooms to me, and for entrusting me with your insights and truths. I asked you to take a leap of faith, and my greatest hope is that this work will both honor and support your efforts. Special thanks to the students in the focal classrooms, and to the five focal teachers (whose pseudonyms I use here): Ms. Laura,

Teaching and Learning for Mutual Respect: A Framework for Disrupting Pervasive Power Asymmetries

“…In my ethnographic and comparative study of four elementary schools-which were situated across two educational systems (i.e., Montessori and International Baccalaureate [IB]) and two national contexts (i.e., United States and Canada)-the dimensions of mutual respect I observed to be most salient in teachers' discussions and practice were equality, autonomy, and equity. In this section, I briefly discuss my research methods, which I describe in further detail elsewhere (e.g., Hegseth, 2021). Together with the literature, these empirical data highlight the multidimensional nature of mutual respect.…”

The impact of mathematics learning environment supported by error-analysis activities on classroom interaction

“…Various studies (Kirlakidis & Johnson, 2011;Lichtenstein, 2005;Torok et al, 2004) reported that the classroom environment should be relaxing, playful, helpful and comfortable, use non-traditional mathematical tasks in a friendly-manner that allows students to explore activities together and provide several opportunities for them to develop informal communication methods during classroom interaction. Hegseth (2021) reported that when the teacher works on establishing a classroom environment of mutual respect and focuses on classroom interaction's standards in mathematics classes, students become more likely to engage effectively in class discussions and verbal interactions that improve their mathematical abilities.…”