Individual Academics Research Articles

The rise of study skills at Strathclyde (and our part in its downfall): a bildungsroman

In 2012, three members of staff were recruited by the University of Strathclyde to sit in a room and talk to students. That was the whole of the plan. That is not how this story ends. The talking was supposed to ‘help’ students to do things ‘right’. That is not what we spoke about. That year, the student-facing part of the Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement (CAPLE) established in 1987, which at its height consisted of six permanent academics with varied research interests within the, then emergent, field of Learning Development (LD), was replaced by a generic Study Skills Service, staffed by LD practitioners with a considerable collective experience and who shared a vision that was more critical and looked to a more authentically (learning) developmental approach (Asher, 2024). In so doing, the university had created a service model which we would spend the next nine years dismantling (or, to be more accurate, redeveloping). What follows is our story. The story of how the Learner Development Service (LDS) came into being, and how the spaces and places we have inhabited (both hostile and hospitable) have shaped our practices (Gravett et al., 2023) and how, in June 2022, we took up residency in a dedicated LDS Centre designed by us for us. To date, we have occupied three physical locations and been positioned under three different university services. These spaces and places have defined what we could do but they have also informed the design of our current physical, virtual and conceptual environment, as this paper details. This session highlighted the need for Learning Development practitioner resilience and perseverance in difficult circumstances. It foregrounds the usefulness of initiating, developing, and nurturing productive and mutually rewarding professional relationships with academic departments, course leaders and individual academics in order to advance the growth of Learning Development provision in institutions.

The destruction of Sciences at Massey University and why we need an independent entity that can investigate universities

This article summarises the events that led to the dismantling of the school of Natural and Computational Sciences at Massey University, Albany campus, and the unsuccessful attempts to prevent it by staff, the public and the New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS). Although challenging to prove, we argue that the dismantling was unnecessary, senseless and counterproductive. The unsuccessful attempts to save an academically and financially viable school exposed a weakness in the current Education and Training Act and demonstrated why New Zealand (NZ) needs an independent entity that could investigate universities, guard the national interests, ensure accountability of tertiary institutions’ administration, and protect the academic freedom of individual academics.

Two Years in the Making: Co-Learning Insights from the CSEAR’s Education Community of Practice

ABSTRACT As the imperative to address unsustainability grows, higher education institutions, individual academics, scholarly networks, and professional bodies are calling for sustainability to be (more prominently) embedded in curricula. Over the past 30 years, a strong body of work has been published related to social and environmental accounting education such as textbooks, academic articles, and teaching cases. Yet, the individual and collective endeavours scholars undertake to develop and embed social and environmental accounting education within their respective institutional contexts often remain invisible. Insights may be gleaned thanks to corridor conversations, informal networks, one-off workshops, or panel discussions. To further strengthen capacity to undertake such education, a community of practice approach might help connecting individuals and sharing experiences. This commentary outlines the aims of the CSEAR Education of Community of Practice, the process of establishing and running this community, and offers preliminary reflections following the first two years of its existence. Finally, we consider the next steps in the development of this initiative as means to enhance collective efforts to mobilize social and environmental accounting education to enable a more sustainable society.

The European Muslim Crisis and the Post-October 7 Escalation

Israel’s war on Gaza following 7 October 2023 has given birth to several political and social changes in European nations. According to the United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur, Israel has used this moment to “distort” international humanitarian law principles “in an attempt to legitimize genocidal violence against the Palestinian people.” In the European context, this has led to European Muslims and non-Muslims, including organizations, institutions, as well as individual academics, politicians, and activists mobilizing and voicing their condemnation and demand their governments to do more towards peaceful and equitable solutions. However, this has been met with a strong reaction from European governing bodies. This paper situates this reaction within wider discourses on the European Muslim crisis. It begins with a systematic literature review on the so-called European Muslim crisis, followed by case studies on the United Kingdom and Germany on their respective changes to policies impacting Muslims in the post-October 7 contexa Regarding the literature review, this paper illustrates how this concept has three distinct, yet intersecting meanings: the crisis of European identity; the crisis of foundational ideologies of Europe; and an internal Muslim crisis that often leads to radicalization. Through the British and German case studies, this paper illustrates that October 7 has reinforced and strengthened the shift towards values-based citizenship and integration. This paper argues that through branding pro-Palestine protesters and organizations as extremists in the British context, and adding questions related to antisemitism and Israel in the citizenship tests in the German context, the Israel/Palestine issue has now become yet another yardstick to demarcate the European, civilized “us” vs. the Muslim “other.” In doing so, October 7 has escalated elements already present within the wider discourses of the European Muslim crisis.

Using Grounded Theory Analysis in Construction Management and Civil Engineering Education: Integrating Perspectives to Shape a Comprehensive View of Sustainability

ABSTRACT Sustainability education becomes a crucial approach to help next generation construction managers and civil engineers to address the need to reconcile between the rapid resource depletion and economic development in the built environment. As educators strive to prepare future professionals for the evolving demands of sustainability in the construction industry, a better understanding of the current landscape of sustainability education in higher education becomes necessary. This entails recognizing the diverse perceptions and interpretations held by construction management and civil engineering (CM/CE) faculty regarding the essential elements of sustainability, as they influence students’ understanding and are also carried forward into students’ future professional careers. The authors used a qualitative research approach to characterize the concept of sustainability in its rudimentary form. We collected individual faculty members’ definitions of sustainability by conducting semi-structured interviews. Subsequently, grounded theory analysis (GTA) was used to analyze interview transcripts, aiming to unveil patterns and trends that then form a theory-like conclusion. Through this inductive qualitative approach, the authors developed the CM/CE Sustainability Definition Framework (SDF), comprising durability, resource efficiency, meeting societal needs, and minimizing environmental impacts. This paper demonstrates how GTA can be used as an effective qualitative research methodology for CM/CE education research.

The influence of deans’ transactional leadership behaviors on research productivity in public universities: The mediating effect of workplace learning capability

This study examined the effect of transactional leadership behaviors on research productivity in public universities, with organizational learning capability serving as a mediating factor. A quantitative research approach focusing on correlational design was utilized. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire administered to 519 respondents. Both measurement and structural model analyses were conducted, with deans, colleges, and individual academics serving as units of analysis. The findings revealed that deans’ contingent reward leadership behaviors significantly and positively influenced the research productivity of academics and colleges, even when controlling for workplace learning capability. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that deans’ contingent rewards and active-by-exception behaviors significantly and positively impacted workplace learning capability, accounting for 44.5% of the variance, with moderate and small effect sizes, respectively. Additionally, organizational learning capability exhibited a significant positive effect, explaining 54% of the variance in research productivity and demonstrating a moderate effect size, which indicates an unexplained variance of 46%. Bootstrapping tests confirmed that workplace learning capability partially and fully mediates the relationship between deans’ transactional leadership behaviors and research productivity. Consequently, it is imperative for college deans to enhance their contingent reward leadership behaviors and foster workplace learning capabilities to maximize their impact on research productivity.

Interdisciplinary teaching squares enhance reflection and collegiality: A collaborative pedagogical approach

AimTo explore the experiences of interdisciplinary Higher Educational Academics within Nursing, Midwifery, Pharmacy and Biomedical Science in the use of teaching squares as a formative, collaborative pedagogical tool to promote reflection. BackgroundOne approach to enhancing academic teaching practice involves the provision of feedback to individual academics. This approach can be challenging for the reviewer, hence other less intimidating approaches are popular. One such approach is the teaching square. In this approach typically 4 other teaching staff are involved in observing their peers’ teaching methods (synchronous or asynchronous) and then engaging in a cycle of personal reflection. Reflection on teaching practices of their peers can provide opportunity to improve their own teaching. Typically teaching squares involve participants from the same academic discipline, however, in this study participants from related yet different disciplines were purposely connected and the benefits of this approach assessed. DesignA qualitative descriptive design was used to explore the participants’ experiences of undertaking interdisciplinary teaching squares through online questionnaires and focus group feedback opportunities. MethodsThis study was undertaken between August 2022 to June 2023 at an Australian university. Sixteen academic staff members from Nursing, Midwifery, Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical science and Biological science expressed an interest in the project. Five participants elected not to continue citing time pressures and 11 staff members participated in the project. Participation involved completing the teaching square experience and a subsequent focus group that were held to explore their experiences of undertaking a teaching square. The demographic survey data were presented and the focus group interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. ResultsTriangulation of the findings resulted in the identification of four main themes: Teaching squares for professional networks; Perceptions of Safety; Stepping in and out of a reflective cycle; and Time Constraints vs. Time Value. ConclusionsThe study aimed to explore the effectiveness of teaching squares in encouraging academic reflection on teaching and fostering a collaborative teaching culture within interdisciplinary higher education academics. An unexpected finding was the value and promotion of interdisciplinarity professional relationships and networks. The findings from this research project offer valuable insights into the benefits of adopting teaching squares in health education and contributes to evidence-based pedagogical practices.

Teaching Race in Business Schools: The Challenges and Possibilities of Anti-Racist Education

This article explores anti-racist education in business schools amidst the backlash against critical race theory in an anti-Black world. I conduct an autoethnography of my experiences as a woman of colour and management educator who has attempted to bring critical discussions of race and racism into my classrooms. The article examines the barriers to anti-racist teaching in business schools and shows how they interweave individual/interpersonal, institutional, and ideological domains of power. Through my stories, I offer an account of the ways anti-racist education may be limited when it relies on the efforts of individual academics and reveal the tolls that anti-racist education can take on the educator, especially when they are navigating wider systems that are hostile to racial justice. By interrogating the challenges of anti-racist education, I also reflect on the practices and conditions that make meaningful anti-racist education possible.

Enabling TEL capacity across complexity

Embedding technology is now a necessary part of higher education teaching and learning policy and practice, owing to cascading effects of technological advancements and the pandemic-driven disruption of traditional teaching and learning modes (Rapanta et al., 2020, 2021). Well-designed technology enhanced learning (TEL) spaces and activities can provide experiences that are authentic, learner-centred, flexible, and equitable (Cochrane et al., 2017; Dunn & Kennedy, 2019).
 
 Despite growing supportive evidence of these benefits, university teaching and learning systems often retain legacy structures and practices where technology-enhanced, creative and flexible activities are not easily integrated or well supported (Bridges et al. 2023). These issues may be exacerbated by the perceived comfort – by both academics and institutions – offered by a ‘snap back’ to pre-pandemic settings (Bryant 2022). As institutions rethink the ways in which they enact TEL (García-Morales et al., 2021; Rapanta et al. 2021), understanding and navigating potential barriers and enablers of innovative TEL design (Bone 2022) becomes important. Within this presentation, I draw and reflect on recent projects to consider how academic development programs might facilitate TEL initiatives that are targeted and sustainable.
 
 For individual academics, approaches to teaching and learning can vary, with flow-on effects into the ways they teach, and the learning outcomes of their students (Trigwell & Prosser, 1997, 2004). In challenging, high-pressure environments, academics who teach may not have the capacity to adapt their approaches to a rapidly changing context (Bone 2021). Indeed, impacts of the pandemic highlight that academic development during times of crisis needs to be more holistic and provide adequate support for innovative change (Bone et al. 2021; Sumer et al., 2021; Mulder et al., 2022; Bone et al. in review). Enacting such holistic academic development in higher education institutions, which are highly complex (Knight 2001) but increasingly fragmented and siloed (Becher & Trowler, 2001), requires approaches to design and delivery of programs and supports that mimic and respond to this complexity (Bone & Ross 2019), and are responsive to the intents and priorities of both academics and management, and the learning needs of students.
 
 Embedding technologies into this complex curriculum environment in ways that are sustainable and equitable requires approaches that both build incentives and drivers from leadership (top-down), and reward and harness the existing enthusiasm and capacity of academics (bottom up) (Bone 2022). Building networked approaches to enable curriculum design, development and innovation can involve communities of practice, mentoring or other knowledge-sharing activities across disciplines and roles (Bone et al., 2023). Enacting these across institutional boundaries can bring together those interested in specific aspects of TEL (Narayan et al., in press) who may also feel isolated within traditional hierarchical institutional structures (Bone et al., in press).
 
 Knowledge sharing and community building has clear potential to drive positive change. As a TEL community, we must continue to advocate for teaching, learning and development spaces that emphasise collaboration and collegial knowledge-sharing, and to push for greater recognition as we work together to build the future of higher education teaching and learning.

Drivers of change for researcher development in Tanzania

ABSTRACT The research landscape in higher education is changing rapidly, with new challenges and opportunities emerging that require researchers to be adaptable and willing to learn new skills. The study reported in this article explored how Tanzanian universities can support the development of researchers. The study was guided by Linda Evans’ conceptual model of researcher development. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with national higher education leaders, senior university leaders, academic staff members and postgraduate students drawn from four universities and the National Directorate for Higher Education. The study found that researcher development in Tanzania can be supported by strengthening individual and institutional research capacity, establishing a research mentoring programme, introducing research incentives, streamlining research funding and optimising research time and space. Our findings suggest that a holistic approach to researcher development, encompassing both individual and institutional dimensions, can have a positive impact on research culture. In this respect, the identified strategies serve as drivers of change for universities and individual academics to develop programmes and initiatives that support the development of researchers at all stages of their careers.

Are we there yet? A nationwide study of faculty-to-faculty bullying and incivility in nursing education

BackgroundFaculty-to-faculty bullying and incivility in nursing education remain prevalent. The effects are harmful to individual faculty members, and they weaken the organization. AimThe study aimed to measure faculty perceptions of bullying and incivility within their organization and identify the most commonly occurring bullying behaviors and types of incivility. The survey instruments were the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) and the Workplace Incivility/Civility Scale (WICS). This is the first known national study to use both. MethodsThe study used a convergent mixed-method design and a convenience sample. ResultsThere were 1,417 responses from nursing faculty from every state and the territory of Guam. The most frequently occurring bullying behavior was being ignored, while the most frequent uncivil behavior was being interrupted. The incidence of faculty-to-faculty bullying and incivility was lower in this study than in previous studies. However, despite the slight decrease, verbatim responses in the qualitative portion of the study reveal that mean-spirited, petty, and vitriolic remarks occur frequently.

Autoethnography as a decolonising tool: bringing identity into the classroom

ABSTRACT The need to include indigenous perspectives in curricula is a challenge facing education internationally. In the context of higher education, decolonising practices and processes are the responsibility not just of institutions but also individual academics. Despite individual aspirations to decolonise teaching, it can be difficult to know where to start. Our aim is to guide others to engage in teaching practices that seek to decolonise. To do this we outline our respective teaching and research experiences that are united by our use of critical autoethnography in workshops we have designed for our respective teaching in different institutions. Our paper describes different ways to bring into focus the lived experience and nuanced views of groups who, through the process of colonisation, have not previously been given space or voice in higher education. Enabling the inclusion of indigenous enquiry within classroom settings provides a valuable decolonisation tool for groups such as the indigenous Māori population in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our practices seek to create space to prioritise storytelling, the sharing of researcher positionality, and personal identity in a way that centralises indigenous perspectives. We argue that these autoethnographic practices help teachers and students to hold hegemonic systems to account, explore strengths-based solutions and express aspirations for the future.

Academic ableism and the experiences of disabled and neurodiverse Ph.D. students in LIS programs

This article continues the discussion of the experiences of disabled and neurodiverse Ph.D. students in Library & Information Science programs in American and Canadian universities, following up on the previous report that addressed their struggles during and in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article directs attention to their experiences in Ph.D. programs irrespective of the pandemic and focuses on both existing barriers and support mechanisms. Based on the results of a qualitative, online, self-administered survey, guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, the study identifies barriers rooted in attitudes and perceptions; policies and procedures; information and communication; physical spaces; virtual spaces and technology; and access to support services and networks. At the same time, an only mitigating factor and an only sustainable and consistently mentioned support mechanism was the good will, compassion, and supportive actions of individual faculty members. The article places the analysis and interpretation of empirical data in the context of academic ableism, conceptualizing the situation of Ph.D. students as a lingering state that was not improved even through the lessons and experiences of the pandemic.

A National Evaluation of Social Justice and Antiracism Within School Psychology Graduate Preparation Programs

As school psychologists, we have an ethical responsibility to engage in social justice and antiracist action. Specifically, graduate education programs have a significant role to play in preparing future school psychologists as social justice change agents. To facilitate effective change, graduate educators must confront potential biases in university training programs and themselves, act in culturally affirming ways, and commit to using psychological science to prepare future school psychologists to engage in advocacy and combat systemic racism within youth-serving systems. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore training efforts aimed at promoting social justice, antiracism, and multiculturalism consistent with best practices within school psychology training programs. Additionally, this study aimed to identify how programs and individual faculty members were responding to increasing calls for racial justice and social justice and the impact of the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and racism on their training efforts. Finally, the researchers sought to identify facilitators and barriers to training and pedagogy focused on social justice, antiracism, and multicultural issues in graduate psychology training programs. Impact Statement As graduate educators, we must examine the extent to which school psychology graduate preparation programs are using the multicultural, social justice and antiracist practices recommended in the literature. With proper training, school psychologists wield significant power in dismantling structural oppression and praxis in schools and strengthening the adoption and implementation of culturally relevant academic and social-emotional and behavioral supports. However, social justice awareness, knowledge, skills and dispositions need to be explicitly taught and cultivated as areas of competency. Graduate educators and accrediting bodies should focus on improving the quality of preservice training for school psychologists so they may successfully navigate the myriad challenges associated with systemic change and act as effective change agents in bringing about racial and social equity in schools. This study provides a snapshot of graduate training efforts in these areas to help in identifying current practices, needs, strengths and future directions for the field.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Grand Rounds Attendance: Comparison of In-Person and Remote Conferences.

Many academic medical centers transitioned from in-person to remote conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the impact on faculty attendance is unknown. This study aims to evaluate changes in attendance at medical grand rounds (MGR) following the transition from an in-person to remote format and as a function of the COVID-19 census at Vanderbilt Medical Center. We obtained the faculty attendee characteristics from Department of Medicine records. Attendance was recorded using a SMS text message-based system. The daily COVID-19 census was recorded independently by hospital administration. The main attendance metric was the proportion of eligible faculty that attended each MGR. Comparisons were made for the entire cohort and for individual faculty. The observation period was from March 2019 to June 2021 and included 101 MGR conferences with more than 600 eligible faculty. Overall attendance was unchanged during the in-person and remote formats (12,536/25,808, 48.6% vs 16,727/32,680, 51.2%; P=.44) and did not change significantly during a surge in the COVID-19 census. Individual faculty members attendance rates varied widely. Absolute differences between formats were less than -20% or greater than 20% for one-third (160/476, 33.6%) of faculty. Pulmonary or critical care faculty attendance increased during the remote format compared to in person (1450/2616, 55.4% vs 1004/2045, 49.1%; P<.001). A cloud-based digital archive of MGR lectures was accessed by <1% of faculty per conference. Overall faculty attendance at MGR did not change following the transition to a remote format, regardless of the COVID-19 census, but individual attendance habits fluctuated in a bidirectional manner. Incentivizing the use of a digital archive may represent an opportunity to increase faculty consumption of MGR.

Enhancing Faculty Development Through Compiled Verbal Feedback on Clinical Teaching From Trainees.

Feedback from fellows-in-training (FITs) is important for faculty development and to enrich clinical teaching. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional online evaluations and a novel compiled verbal feedback mechanism. An annual feedback system was implemented in our rheumatology division in which FITs provided verbal feedback on all faculty to a facilitator who compiled, deidentified, and shared the feedback with individual faculty members. FITs also completed standard online annual evaluations of faculty. FITs and faculty completed surveys assessing the perceived effectiveness and confidentiality of each feedback mechanism. Thirteen of 15 eligible faculty and all 4 eligible FITs completed both surveys. Responses by FITs and faculty regarding the quality of online evaluations were generally unfavorable or neutral. Faculty responses regarding compiled verbal feedback were more favorable in all questions and significantly more favorable with respect to the feedback's ability to explain strengths (54% favorable for online evaluations vs 100% for compiled verbal feedback), the feedback's specificity (0% vs 54%), and the feedback's actionable nature (15% vs 62%). All FITs' responses regarding quality of compiled verbal feedback were favorable. FITs had concerns regarding confidentiality with both online evaluations (0% favorable) and compiled verbal feedback (25% favorable), though FITs had less concern for future faculty interactions with compiled verbal feedback (100% favorable) than with online evaluations (0% favorable). Compiled verbal feedback by FITs produced more actionable and effective feedback for faculty, with less concerns regarding future faculty interactions compared with traditional online evaluations. Further study of this method across different programs and institutions is warranted.

Upbeat or Off‐the‐Mark? How Work Rhythms Affect Strategic Change

AbstractThis study examines how organizational members cope with new work rhythms that are brought about by a strategic organizational change. Based on a two‐year qualitative case study of a major strategic change in a research unit at a university that encouraged academics to embody an upbeat, energetic work rhythm, we identify four different modes of engaging with rhythms (syncing, tuning, figuring, and settling). We found that individual academics engaged rhythmically in different ways to meet this expected way of working and with discernible consequences for how they participated in the strategic change and ultimately were able to support the change, or not. Based on our study findings, we conceptualize a process model of rhythmic coping that highlights a central but often overlooked part of strategic change with significant implications for the success of a change as well as for the continued health and well‐being of employees.

Cited by: automating citation counts for monographs using Google Scholar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of automating Google Scholar searching to harvest citation data of monographs for collection analysis. Design/methodology/approach This study discusses the creation and refinement of a Scraper application programming interface query structure created to match library collection inventories to their Google Scholar listings to retrieve citation counts. Findings This paper indicates that Google Scholar is a feasible and usable tool for retrieving monograph citation data. Originality/value This study shows that Google Scholar citation data can be harvested for monographs in an automated fashion to serve as a source of bibliographic data, something not typically done outside of individual academics and writers tracking their personal academic impact factors.

Curriculum design in higher education: A reflection

The ideology of curriculum design is believed to be the core of teaching and learning, yet it is in direct opposition to current notions of curriculum development. The contextual factors that underpin teaching and learning are derived from curriculum design. The principal factors that influence what is being taught may be categorised into three levels: the macro, meso and micro. At the macro level, there are national and international influences such as globalisation, massification, and marketization. Also, socio-economic, and political influence may be included. At the meso-level the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and institutional level influence is forthcoming. Issues such as policies, culture, location, student profile and so forth are examined. Also, external influence from employers, professional bodies, accreditation bodies, quality agencies as well as political redress is evaluated. The micro-level examines individual academics and support staff concerning personal theories, beliefs, and professional knowledge. Systems theory in the educational context views the institution as a system where there is an interaction of variables of input, process and output that enable learning to take place. Because of the complexity and nature of curriculum design, there is limited change in this critical sphere of the education system. This paper reflects on the design and development of a curriculum in an open distance learning higher education institution.

What roles might automation play in the future of public administration journal peer review processes?

AbstractPublishing in journals is crucial in the creation of knowledge within the public administration field and the career advancements of individuals. Each year, more articles enter journal publishing systems, and it is becoming more difficult and time consuming for editors to secure reviewers. A range of technological applications have been developed that apply automation techniques to various aspects of the peer review process and these are explored in this paper. We find some potentially promising applications in terms of assessing aspects of quality and in identifying potential reviewers. The replacement of humans in review processes is less clear cut and there are dangers in exacerbating inequities within the field. The value of peer review is particularly important for early career researchers and building a community of scholarship in the public administration field. It is crucial we recognise this and do not lose positives of peer review processes to address some of the issues currently experienced.Points for practitioners Academic journals help create knowledge within the field of public administration and play a role in career advancement of individual academics. Yet, there are a number of well‐established challenges with peer review processes. Recent advancements in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence offer the potential to automate some processes associated with peer review. Several automation processes are already available and in use around some areas of peer review processes and these are explored in this paper. But it is unlikely that automation will replace humans in peer review processes, and it is important that the public administration community revisits the importance of these processes and considers how these are valued and rewarded.