When worlds collide: identity,culture and the lived experiences of research when ‘teaching-led’

This article presents detailed findings from the qualitative or interpretive phase of a mixed-methods case study focusing on the professional identities and lived experiences of research among six lecturers working in different capacities across the field of education in a ‘teaching-led’ higher education institution. Building upon the quantitative phase published earlier in this journal, factors both facilitating (e.g. research infrastructure, support for doctoral study) and constraining (e.g. time, space, workload, critical mass, ‘practitioner bond professionalism’, ‘organisational socialisation’, networks, roles and responsibilities, power relationships) research activity are identified. These are considered in the context of an institution often recruiting staff with ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds from within ‘the professions’ (e.g. from schools and colleges without doctorates) looking to become more ‘research-informed’ and establish a more vibrant and sustainable research culture. Recommendations for further development focus on ‘identity transitions’ and ‘cultural transformation’, emphasising the importance of research leadership and its distribution throughout the organisation. With current trends towards the apparent intensification and prioritisation of research activity over teaching, findings are considered particularly important for institutions of a similar nature to the one described here, for education departments in larger institutions also on similar journeys, and in light of an anticipated increase in demand for research activity arising from the expansion of higher education provision in further education and the private sector, where recruitment from within ‘the professions’ to teach across ‘vocational’ programmes is common.     

Support for Students with Hidden Disabilities in Universities: A Case Study

More students with disabilities are accessing the tertiary sector with many disabilities not easily observed (or hidden), because there are no physical indicators. These “hidden” disabilities affect a variety of cognitive processes and may be developmental or acquired. To ensure students with hidden disabilities can enrol, engage in and benefit from tertiary education, universities generally provide a range of supports. Typically these supports and any reasonable adjustments are negotiated with students taking into account a number of factors including, where available, any supporting documentation that they might be able to provide. This case study reports efforts within one large Australian university to support higher education students with hidden disabilities on campus. Perceptions on the use of and barriers to support available were collected from seven undergraduate students who self-identified as having hidden disabilities and from eight support staff. Results indicated that students found their informal networks to be their most effective supports, closely followed by clear, caring and flexible lecturers and tutors. There were mixed positive and negative perceptions reported on the universal and disability-specific supports available. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Exemplifying a Continuum of Collaborative Engagement: Raising Literacy Achievement of At-Risk Students in New Zealand

This article reports different ways researchers work with stakeholders in national projects targeted at raising achievement of students. Specifically, New Zealand has a persistent high performance–low equity profile in international tests, with indigenous Māori students and immigrants from the Pacific Islands most at risk of underachievement and of leaving school without qualifications. Policy has aimed to address this issue largely through provision of high-quality professional development to enhance effectiveness of practice. The notion of a continuum of collaboration is proposed; examples are presented that are positioned at different points in terms of the ideal of coconstructed, evidence-based judgments and decisions. The examples represent models or ways of working and the analysis captures both the varied nature of the interface that researchers have with policy makers, ministry officials, deliverers of professional development, and schools, and the affordances and tensions that accompany each model. Student achievement outcomes are identified.     

An Australian Proposal for Doing Critical Literacy Assessment: The Case of Writing

In this article we present current thinking and practices in Queens land, Australia, about how to do critical literacy assessment in the English classroom. In taking this focus, we propose and discuss a framework that brings together interest in text analysis and social practices. Then, we apply the framework showing how it can be used to generate writing tasks and assessment criteria that are consistent with critical pedagogy. Finally, the challenges of moving to a socially critical, discourse‐oriented approach to assessment are considered.