TRAVERSING PORTALS: MOTHERS' VOICES

by
Leslie L. Allan

New Brunswick Teacher's College 1968

B.Ed University Of New Brunswick 1991

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

Master of Education
in the Faculty
of
Education

This thesis is accepted

Dean of Graduate Studies

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK

December 1994

ABSTRACT

This study affirms the necessity for partnerships with parents and continuities between home and school. Stories told by mothers attempting to traverse the home and school boundaries comprise the body of the research. A voice is given to mothers who have been silenced and disenfranchised from the world of their children in the public school.

The stories begin Book 1. The mothers speak first. Book II provides the reflective and interpretive framework through the exemplary teacher; personal and professional reflections of the researcher; work of mothers or motherist culture; voices of the recognized literature. The appendices mark the academic pilgrimage of the researcher.

The research proposes redefining a democratic school wherein authentic collaborative processes are the hallmarks of an energetic body commifted to holistic education.

The concept of inchild is advocated as a pedagogic philosophy. To inchild is to acknowledge the life worlds of all children