Chronos and kairos are
classical Greek concepts perhaps more often associated with rhetoric. Chronos
(after the Greek god of time) likely is the more familiar of the two terms, as
it arises to this day in terms such as chronological and chronometer. Chronos
thus is concerned with ongoing time, and measuring time. Kairos is a slightly
more elusive concept. “Kairos, the
qualitative aspect of time, is defined as the right moment, the opportune or
due measure”(Artemeva, 2008, p.157).
During a
lecture on these notions, I recall Carleton University assistant professor
Natasha Artemeva used a unique metaphor to help illustrate the concept of
kairos: the moment when the tip of an arrow meets the intersection of threads
in the weave of a fabric. As I read Hadfield and Carson, these classical
concepts came to mind, particularly in relation to the term moment and its significance in action
research in each of the articles.
Simply stated, Hadfield’s concern is with an action
research typology he sees as placing him in the role of second-order researcher
(2012, p.575). His elegant solution is “to consider technical practical and
emancipatory not as separate forms of action research but as ‘moments’ that
could occur within any given programme” (p. 576).
As Hinchey point out, “teachers do this kind of
analytical thinking all the time” (Hinchey p. 5). What action research does is
take this tendency of teacher and make it a more intentional and structured
entity “to formalizing the process” (p.5). In this way “the action research
process focuses the participant’s attention to one area for an extended period
of time” (p.5). Through extrapolation, I might suppose that what Hinchey is
suggesting is that the teaching moment
thus gets more than a moment’s attention.
Carson (2001) documents the workings of his
“collaborative action research group” (p.168) in four action research moments. Specifically, “the four moments in action
research described…are examples of new insight into the meaning of developing a
peace practice in the everyday life world of [their] work.” (p. 173-174). By
focusing on moment, Carson’s group was afforded the opportunity to “reflect on
the relationships between these different moments…to support the development of
more critically aware practitioners”(Hadfield, 2012 p.576). Action research
seemed a viable approach as “traditional educational research cannot tell any
individual teacher what exactly will work best in a particular classroom at a particular
moment” (Hinchey p.2). Carson’s group very much needed a research approach that
would allow examination of moments.
What I thus draw from Hinchey, Hadfield and Carson
is a notion that action research is not simply concerned with chronos, but with
kairos. “Action and reflection have made
this possible”(Carson, 2001, p. 173-174). Action research involving reflection upon
key moments makes this possible.
References
Artemeva, N. (2008). A time to speak, a time to act: A rhetorical genre analysis of a novice engineer’s calculated
risk taking. Artemeva, N. & Freedman, A. (eds.) Rhetorical Genre Studies and Beyond. Winnepeg, Manitoba: Inkshed.
Retreived from: http://http-server.carleton.ca/~nartemev/Artemeva%20&%20Freedman%20Rhetorical%20Genre%20Studies%20and%20beyond.pdf
Carson, T. (1990). What kind of knowing
is critical action research? Theory into Practice, 29(3), 167-193.
Hadfield, R. (2012). Becoming critical
again: Reconnecting critical social theory with the practice of action
research. Educational Action Research 20(4),
571–585.
Hinchey, P. (2008). Action research Primer. New York: Peter Lang.
