Reflective Practice of Instructing Java Programming: A Power Perspective

Wenshin Chen
Prairie View A&M University

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     Last modified: September 29, 2007
     Presentation date: 11/19/2007 11:30 AM in RH LT3
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Abstract
It is widely recognized that empirical studies based on critical theory have not gained profound influence in the IS research community. Derived from a case study set in politically charged and culturally homogeneous environment, I employ the narrative inquiry research method in general and autobiographic reflection in particular to help contribute to such inadequate practice of critical IS research. Drawing from classic power perspective, my inquiry seeks to illuminate how power manipulation and struggle is shaped and reshaped in an American urban university. Based on my Java teaching experiences, the storied case illustrates how the homogeneous faculty group—comprised of predominantly White male Americans—exercises power to manipulate the students through both claimed objectives and hidden agendas and how the students subsequently reshape the power exercise in such a way that it eventually causes the faculty members to struggle. My position, as an Asian minority instructor and a foreign student at the same time, separates me from those who are in the White American guild, which causes me to struggle both as an instructor and in my graduate study program, but simultaneously provides unique opportunities for me to connect to my students and allows me to better observe how power manipulation and struggle in American higher education evolves. The insights gained from such a politically sensitive study provide a unique, critical perspective to the IS research community and challenge problematic practices in IS education. A more balanced practice in IS empirical research and in curriculum and instructions is thus suggested.