An analysis of dialectical tensions in college classroom interaction

This dissertation is a qualitative analysis of dialectical tensions in college classroom interaction. Discourse analytic, field-based methodology was used to examine through the use of a dialectical perspective, typical relational tensions which developed throughout a semester's duration in four college classrooms. Observational and interview data are presented to illustrate teacher and student behaviors which are reflective of the institutional dialectic between superiority and connection, and the interpersonal dialectic between autonomy and connection found in teacher/student interaction. Instructional practices and classroom interaction were analyzed in an attempt to show how key dialectic management behaviors were used to strategically cope with the dialectical pulls commonly felt in these college classroom interactions.