Academic induction for teacher educators

This paper is a reflective exploration of major challenges facing new teacher educators as they make the transition into the academy, and of ways that best support them. The transition problems identified in the emerging body of literature about teacher educator career entry were offered for comment to a small group of new teacher educators in an Australian regional university. Their responses added complexity and nuance, suggesting a heterogeneity of entry pathways and experiences, as well as avenues for further inquiry. Consideration of the resulting issues leads to wider questions about the place of teacher education in the academy. In turn, this leads to question if the challenges faced by newly appointed teacher educators are distinctive from those experienced by all new academics. The paper argues for multidisciplinary cohorts for induction, and makes recommendations for systematic, inclusive induction programs for all new academics, including teacher educators. The paper concludes with two further recommendations. First, large‐scale research is required to inform us about the contemporary teacher education workforce. Little is currently known about entry and career pathways, nor of the impact of recent policy and funding changes such as research performativity measures and increasing employment of sessional staff. Second, induction must be seen as an organisational and professional responsibility shared by many, including new and experienced academics, faculties, departments, institutions and professional associations.     

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.     

Researching elite education: affectively inferred belongings,desires and exclusions

This paper reflects on key moments occurring during the course of a three-year study of elite girls’ education, with a focus on the power relations that emerged between researchers and elites within the context in which the study was conducted. Central to our analysis is a focus on the affective dimensions of interaction between the researcher and study participants. Our experience gaining access to elite schools in the study illustrates how productive relationships may be fostered by a demonstrated alignment of interests; the desire for intellectual dialogue; and factors linked to the dynamics of the local education market. In our interviews with elite young women, we found that experiences of affinity, foreignness or awe within the interview process triggered different systems of affect. These moments are significant in shaping understandings of the social projects pursued by elite subjects.