EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION

Education Administration: (My) Paradigm Reflection Paper

A paradigm makes the foundation of how we perceive the world and define it. Our behaviors toward the information gained from the world around us are created by the observations and experiences while living in it. However, some limitations and misrepresentations are imposed by the socially accustomed nature. This paper aims to reflect on the identified paradigm, certain conceptual frameworks, theories, and models incorporated in my doctoral program. It would play a possible role in my future research.

I have come across theconstructivist paradigmso far in my doctoral program since I feel we have been given opportunities through which we could learn based on experiences and the knowledge gained from seeing the world through our own eyes (Guba & Lincoln, 2005, p. 195). The reflection of those experiences was built distinctly as this is the basis of the analogy that people infer their meanings from what they have learned (Adom, Yeboah & Ankrah, 2016). The real-life settings show the actual application of what is learned rather than keeping it like a bookish thing, which makes functions more practical when the student steps out into the practical world.

The constructivist paradigm helped me expose myself to the new ideas, concepts, and observations that existed in the real world instead of the teacher-based traditional lecturing method. We were able to transform the knowledge into experimentations through assignments, project work, and thesis so that our brains were trained to think philosophically. I realized that if the teacher only spoon-fed us with her teachings, we might not have been able to discuss the real issues and draw conclusions from our learnings; our minds and thinking approaches might have remained immature. There is a possibility that spoon-fed matter might have been easier to forget than what we have learned from our findings, struggled to gain information on certain issues, and then involved in an engaging thinking process that enabled us to discern the truth personally.

After the information is gained from my research by delving into the constructivist paradigm, my research takes shape with the help of taxonomy. By taxonomy, I refer to the fact that I was able to arrange my data systematically so that specific categories were well-represented (McGregor, 2018, p. 109). It created meaningful notions for the readers and presented ideas for future research, a technique I used throughout my doctoral program.

I understood that this paradigm could be related to the explanatory (predictive) theory that goes beyond only determining the relationship between two variables in the research. It is based on the realization of what and why happens, what if one thing is changed, how the other would be affected, etc. On these grounds, I identified concepts and constructs in the process; for example, when working with Black communities, I was able to discern what causes economic insecurity for the Blacks despite getting affair pay in the basic salary and how it could affect them psychologically or socially. The shaping of their relationship with the family members when only basic needs are fulfilled, and no extra leisure activities could be pursued, an absence of work-life balance, could these factors stimulate any concerns for the community?

Certainly, these research topics for...…future implications rely solely on these steps that hold me accountable for value creation. New learning was approached by relying on the existing one through a systematic structuring of the ideas and then restructuring them to create further meaning to the inquiry and, later, its social implications for the Black community (Ritchie, 1995).

Ethics and values are always taken seriously in my paradigm as the revelation of new ideas stem from the existing ones, as mentioned previously. Since the interpretations of the previously held constructions were to be carefully studied, I grasped that skill of giving practical conduct of the inquiry to those meant to be influenced by the change, such as social and psychological implications for the Black community. Finally, the research outcomes were meant to seek recognition and input, which could likely be metamorphosed into policymaking and accommodate the ones who were the targeted segment of the population.

The critical methodologies were mostly entrenched in my inquiry since I want to make a difference for the race that faces social oppression. The previously held notion in the history and re-creation of the new concepts has been my aim to bring a change that could be acted upon consciously. The example given for the Black community and its income disparity could be further taken to other disciplines, such as education disparities or Black childrens resulting psychological impacts, for instance. The constructivist paradigm has provided me with a chance to think critically about social issues and bring a change in the status quo through the adoption of a systematic mechanism of inquiry.