Esoteric Rumination: Can Emerging Researchers in Zimbabwean Teachers Colleges Genuinely Disengage the Publish of Perish Intonation?

Abstract

The ‘publish or perish’ mantra has long defined university culture worldwide. This research paper thus explored research dilemmas faced by emerging researchers in teachers’ colleges in publishing research. In extant literature, not much attention has been paid to dilemmas facing emerging researchers in teachers’ colleges, particularly in Zimbabwe. This study was framed within the lens of the Integrated Theoretical Model of Research Productivity which argued that academic writing is a social practice encompassing power relations, identity and ideologically inscribed knowledge. The study used a qualitative research approach couched in a constructivist paradigm. Eight lecturers from a teachers college were purposefully sampled for face-to-face interviews and the data was subjected to deductive thematic analysis. The study found that emerging researchers decried lack of institutional funding support, training and mentorship, inadequate writing skills, and the absence of collaborative writing as major impediments. Writing was not yet part of the academic culture in teachers colleges which made emerging researchers lack the wherewithal to research. In light of the findings, the study recommends that to attain relevance in the Education 5.0 era, teachers colleges require a paradigm shift which will encourage the development of a writing and publishing culture to promote innovation. Keywords: Emerging Researchers, Neoliberalism, Publish Or Perish, Research Dilemmas, Teachers Colleges.