Speaker
Description
This presentation introduces emergent strategy, a proactive, relational pedagogy grounded in complexity, intentional adaptation, small-scale interactions that centre relationships, and collective visioning for more equitable futures (brown, 2017). The presenter explains how this framework is enacted by university educators’ micro-level, relational acts, such as their relationship and trust-building with students. Attendees will leave with a conceptual model and concrete, practice-oriented examples so they can use emergent strategy in their own diverse ELT contexts for social justice.
References
brown, a. m. (2017). Emergent strategy: Shaping change, changing worlds. AK Press.
Hastings, C., & Jacob, L. (Eds.) (2016). Social justice in English language teaching. TESOL Press.
Tuck, E. (2009). Suspending damage: A letter to communities. Harvard Educational Review, 79(3), 409-427.
Abstract
This presentation introduces emergent strategy, a transformative framework for supporting the creation of equitable and socially just communities in English language teaching (ELT) in Japan. Building on important social justice education work in ELT (Hastings & Jacob, 2016), this research moves beyond reactionary anti-oppressive pedagogies from a deficit perspective (Tuck, 2011), and instead embraces a proactive, relational pedagogy grounded in complexity, intentional adaptation, small-scale interactions that centre relationships, and collective visioning for more equitable futures (brown, 2017). In doing so, this research extends social justice in ELT by reframing classroom community-building as a site of language learning in itself, positioning emergent strategy as an effective new conceptual lens for ELT in Japan.
The presenter demonstrates how emergent strategy principles are enacted by 17 postsecondary educators teaching English language learners across 8 prefectures. Semi-structured interviews were coded deductively using the six core aspects of emergent strategy, followed by inductive coding to trace locally grounded practices and tensions that went beyond the initial framework. Findings highlight educators’ micro-level, relational acts, such as their relationship and trust-building with students, which become central sites of change. Results will share a more refined, context-specific emergent strategy framework to support ELTs in cultivating equitable classroom communities through bottom-up, co-constructed, community-oriented practices. Results also show the benefits of the framework in increased engagement, learner agency, trust, and openness (i.e., students share identities and experiences more comfortably). Attendees will leave with a conceptual model and concrete, practice-oriented examples to apply emergent strategy in their diverse language teaching contexts.
Keywords
Emergent Strategy, Social Justice, Teacher Development, Transformative Education
Short summary
This presentation introduces emergent strategy, a proactive, relational pedagogy grounded in complexity, intentional adaptation, small-scale interactions that centre relationships, and collective visioning for more equitable futures (brown, 2017). The presenter explains how this framework is enacted by university educators’ micro-level, relational acts, such as their relationship and trust-building with students. Attendees will leave with a conceptual model and concrete, practice-oriented examples so they can use emergent strategy in their own diverse ELT contexts.
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Saturday |
|---|---|
| Title | Social justice educators as emergent strategists for community-building |