Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the experience of elementary school teachers in Shushtar city in implementing the classroom dialogue strategy and its consequences in improving students' interpersonal and social relationships. The research method is qualitative and phenomenological. The research field includes all elementary school teachers in Shushtar city in the academic year 1402-1403, and the research participants include 30 teachers who were selected based on purposive sampling. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview that reached saturation after interviewing 25 teachers. From the summary of the interviews, four main themes were extracted: the role of the teacher in the conversation process, the motivation for using conversation in the classroom, the effects and results of classroom dialogue, and the obstacles to implementing classroom dialogue, and 14 sub-themes. The results of the study show that teachers are very willing to use the conversation strategy in the classroom and consider it essential for improving students' learning and interpersonal and social relationships. However, there are obstacles in its implementation, such as large class sizes, lack of sufficient time, large volume of lessons, etc.
Key words: phenomenology, lived experience, interpersonal relations, social relations, dialogue
Introduction
Dialogue is one of the concepts that can respond to the turmoil of the present era and is the most important way for individuals to establish communication with others. Dialogue is a relationship based on conversation, a shared, creative, empathetic, and wise inquiry through which we gain a deeper understanding of the world, ourselves, and others. A relationship based on dialogue frees people from loneliness and makes the relationships between individuals friendly, deep, and humane (Nistani et al., 2015: 15). One of the effective methods in educational programs is utilizing a dialogue-based approach and engaging students in classroom discussions and conversations. The more teachers strive to involve students in classroom discussions and dialogues, the more active, dynamic, self-confident, creative, and critical students they will have. In other words, students increase their mental and intellectual power through dialogue and linguistic interaction with others (Bagheri Nooparast, 2015: 37). Elementary school students learn better when the learning process is enjoyable and pleasant for them, and the teacher, as a facilitator, creates an environment where students can easily express their feelings and, while accepting or rejecting their peers' ideas, interact and communicate with each other. Also, a teacher's duty is to initiate valuable discussions among students and guide them towards establishing friendly relationships during dialogue (Hedayati, 2019: 87).
Materials and Methods
This study used hermeneutic phenomenology as a qualitative research paradigm. The participants in this research were selected purposefully and included teachers with at least 10 years of experience in education or teaching at the elementary level. Thus, interviews were conducted with 30 elementary school teachers in Shushtar who had expressed their willingness to participate in the interview. In this research, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Based on the interview texts, main and sub-themes were obtained and categorized.
Discussion and Result
In the analysis of the conducted interviews, four main themes were extracted, including the teacher's role in the classroom dialogue process, the teacher's motivation for using dialogue, the effects and outcomes of dialogue, and the obstacles to using dialogue in the classroom, along with 14 sub-themes. Most participants believed that the teacher plays a key role in implementing dialogue and should provide a suitable space and context for it in the classroom, and by attracting student participation, increase their enthusiasm and motivation for learning. This aligns with the research of Mansouri (2016), who considers the teacher's role to be guiding and directing students, and the research of Freire (1970: 124), who considers the teacher's duty to be guidance and problem-solving. The teacher's motivation for implementing the classroom dialogue strategy can directly or indirectly have beneficial effects on students' motivation and interest, improving learning, their interest in the classroom, and nurturing their individual and social skills. This finding is consistent with the research of Hughes & Chen (2010: 87) and Cui & Teo (2021: 187), which showed that interaction and dialogue among students is strengthened and creates enjoyable interaction among them, as well as the research of Michaels & O’Connor (2012: 168).
Conclusion
Many of the problems and challenges individuals face in today's world are due to an inability to communicate with others. This issue, in turn, has created numerous cognitive and social problems and issues. The prerequisite for establishing good and effective communication with others is utilizing proper dialogue. When engaging in dialogue with others, we must be able to put ourselves in their place and view the world from their perspective. With the help of proper and genuine dialogue, we can achieve a greater understanding and comprehension of the truths of the world. In our social and peaceful life, we need to properly cultivate togetherness, trust, cooperation, friendship, and belief in others within ourselves (Nistani, 2019). During dialogue, the experiences of the teacher and students are heard individually and collectively. Often, instead of the teacher being the sole transmitter of experiences and information, the teacher also learns from students' experiences. When students participate in group activities, they freely and without prejudice express each other's opinions. This very act strengthens intimate communication and friendly relationships among them.