Poetically Composed, Educationally Imposed: Exploring Imagination and Poetics in Curriculum—A Memoir
Term of Award
Fall 2019
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (open access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Committee Chair
John Weaver
Committee Member 1
Ming Fang He
Committee Member 2
Marla Morris
Committee Member 3
Gregory Fraser
Abstract
Through the use of memoir, my work centers on how poetry is situated within public education curriculum. I explore the curricular context of poetry through the lenses of my lived experiences in early childhood, as a K-12 student, and as an early career classroom teacher. My dissertation draws upon a wide array of literature, honing in on the poetic perspectives of philosophers (Aristotle, 1996; Heidegger, 1947 & 1971/2013; Plato, 1955/2007), poets (Hall, 2003; Eliot, 1920 & 2009), and curriculum theorists (Leggo, 1997 & 2018; Pinar, 1994; Sameshima, 2007). The foundation of my work is drawn from my own circular experiences, falling in and out of love with poetry as its muses spoke softly in childhood, abandoned me altogether in my teenage years, and beckoned me to rediscovery of poetry while obtaining my undergraduate degree. After becoming a secondary educator, I realized that the humanities paired with imagination are deprived in the secondary education classroom; therefore, I made it my ultimate goal as an educator to resurrect the humanities and imagination in the classroom. My experiences with poetry in the past, present, and future influence my teaching pedagogy, honing in on what challenges the poetic license of the mind. In my dissertation, I utilize William F. Pinar’s (1994) triad of reflections for working within as an educator; I explore my own accounts of poetry and pedagogy through memoir, underscoring the importance of poetry and imagination in curriculum.
Recommended Citation
Presnal, W. J. (2019). Poetically Composed, Educationally Imposed: Exploring Imagination and Poetics in Curriculum—A Memoir (Doctoral dissertation). Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA.
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
Included in
Art Education Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Poetry Commons, Secondary Education Commons
