Listening Between the Lines: Dialogic Listening in Transracial Adoptive Families

Abstract

This article asserts that dialogic listening is an effective skill for the co-creation of understanding and connection within transracial adoptive family units. I analyze and explore this listening style within the parameters of a case study. This case study dissects a conversation observed between a twenty-six-year-old black man and his eighty-one-year-old adoptive white father regarding topics surrounding identity and racial negotiation. The dialogue from this interaction creates the perfect opportunity to explore how the concept of Dialogic listening is essential in listening through difference. Dialogic listening calls for open-mindedness and mutual respect. It also emphasizes deep engagement where all parties not only work to understand the context, but the emotions and experiences behind those contexts. Many adoptive families face unique communication challenges such as cultural, racial, and intergenerational differences can be amplified as the children begin to question what it means to discover their identities outside of their adoptive family unit. In many of these situations the adoptive parents and children, especially around social issues and identity, encounter exchanges that are complex and emotionally charged. Dialogic listening allows the family members to move from basic level understanding to engaging with the deeper narratives that shape their views.