Refers to a relatively large umbrella category that includes analytical perspectives and theories spanning the fields of communication, sociology, anthropology, education, cultural studies, political science, history, and the humanities writ large. Interpretive theories, sometimes referred to as interpretivism or philosophical interpretivism, are orientations to social reality based on the goal of understanding. Thus, we can define interpretive theories as ontological and epistemological tools used in research concerned with understanding how individuals and groups create meaning in their everyday practices, communication, and lived experiences. In part, interpretivists are (a) scholars who are interested in the ways communities, cultures, or individuals create meaning from their own actions, rituals, interactions, and experiences; (b) scholars who wish to interpret local meanings by locating them into a broader historical, geographical, political, linguistic, ideological, economic, and cultural milieu; (c) researchers who look at the meanings of texts and the codes and rules (Vannini, 2009 AU3: The in-text citation "Vannini, 2009" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , in Stephen Littlejohn & Karen Foss Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, 2009 AU4: The in-text citation "Karen Foss Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, 2009" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ). Interpretive theory is more accepting of free will and sees human behavior as the outcome of the subjective interpretation of the environment.
Published in Chapter:
Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Framework to Design Support Systems for Education and Special Education: Learning About Thought Systems
Gabriela Walker (University of South Dakota, USA) and Elizabeth Pattison (Ashland University, USA)
Copyright: © 2016
|Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-9634-1.ch012
Abstract
Principles of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory were reviewed to examine potential uses for classroom teachers and re-imagine Bronfenbrenner's System's Theory into a series of novel frameworks that could be practically applied to students' lives and experiences outside of the classroom environment. This interpretive review offers educators and families novel conceptual frameworks intended to foster deep understanding of individual students and to provide practical tools to visualize and navigate the unique web of human relationships and support available outside of the classroom. Fourteen newly created “systems theories” are briefly presented here.