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Crowd-Reflecting: A Counterproductive Experience of Arab Adult Learning via Technology
- Source :
-
Studies in Continuing Education . 2021 43(1):86-103. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- This piece theorises the limitations of transitioning reflection from individualistic to participatory practice. It addresses the question: what are the challenges of introducing crowd-reflecting into Arab academia? To answer this question, 140 Arabs from an academic organisation were invited to crowd-reflect, online, on their institution, using a five-phase model. The data analysis showed that limited cultures of collaboration, healthy conflict, cross-gender communication, integrity and critical thinking in Arab academia challenged crowd-reflecting. Despite implementing strategies to overcome these challenges, crowd-reflecting resulted in chaos at the institution, forcing management to intervene to stop the project. This chaos ensued because crowd-reflecting, unlike individualistic reflection, entailed numerous individuals and intersubjectivity -- which complicated reflectiveness, turned thoughtful Arab individuals into a mob and jeopardised the well-documented gains of individualistic reflection. Although crowd-reflecting was initiated to improve organisations, it destabilised the institution and turned it into a counter-learning organisation. This implies that, in Arab academia, beyond micro-level small groups, the more participants there are in reflection, the less effective the learning outcomes may be. In Arab academia, meso-level reflection (and, by implication, macro-level reflection such as the mega-reflecting of the Twittersphere) can risk ruining the art of reflectiveness.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0158-037X
- Volume :
- 43
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- ERIC
- Journal :
- Studies in Continuing Education
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- EJ1295201
- Document Type :
- Journal Articles<br />Reports - Evaluative
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2019.1673354