Femininities in teaching: dialectic of self and others

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akram Ramezanzadeh ◽  
Seyyed Mohammadreza Adel ◽  
Ahmad Reza Eghtesadi

Purpose Purpose – The present study based on grounded theory explores the gender identity development of 40 Iranian female EFL teachers teaching at Iranian universities to examine how these women’s gender identity as part of their broader personal identity is developing through actions and inter-actions resulting from their job. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach–A grounded theory study including theoretical sampling and constant comparison was conducted to address our main research questions. Data were gathered through online focus group interviews, online, asynchronous, in-depth interviews, and reflective memos. Collected data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Findings Findings – The results of the analysis of data led to the emergence of the final core theme of dialectic of self and others. Participants were in constant conflict of being a true woman, a woman behind the mask of a man, and a human wearing no gender. Originality/value Originality/value –The paper provides a new portrait of gender identity development in line with Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice demonstrating multidimensionality and complexity of femininities. Such a study can shed light on challenges, experiences, and expectations of women working outside the home.

Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1872-1888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Brorsson ◽  
Annika Öhman ◽  
Stefan Lundberg ◽  
Malcolm P Cutchin ◽  
Louise Nygård

Background People with dementia who live in ordinary housing need to perform activities outside the home such as visiting friends, talking walks and doing grocery shopping. This article identifies and examines characteristics that may influence accessibility in the space of a grocery shop as perceived by people with dementia. Methods This is a qualitative study with a grounded theory approach. The data collection was done with two different methods. It started with photo documentation and continued with focus group interviews in combination with photo elicitation. Data from both photo documentation and focus groups were analysed according to a grounded theory approach. Results The categories “illogical arrangement”, “overload of products, information and people”, “visual illusions” and “intrusive auditory stimuli” showed characteristics in the grocery shop that influenced how accessible and usable the informants experienced a shop to be. Furthermore, personal capacities in relation to the specific characteristics of the grocery shop space had an influence on how accessible and usable the informants experienced the grocery shop to be. Capacities to find, stay focused and concentrated, meet stress, remember, interpret and discriminate sensory impressions through hearing and sight came to the fore as important. Conclusions Characteristics of both the shop and the person need to be taken into account when supporting people with dementia in grocery shopping.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Lina Baira

This paper examines a female school principal’s perceptions of professional identity development. Recently education management has undergone the process of managerial transformation whereas new requirements and standards have been raised for school principals. Managerial transformations have been influenced by political, economic and cultural factors that (re)shaped school principals’ professional identities. These social identity changes are especially important in the shift of managerial paradigms that evoke challenges in social identification processes. Two major approaches to professional identity include a feminist standpoint and a social construction approach. The former claims that females are underrepresented as leaders in most facets of work life due to gender role stereotypes, prejudices and unequal power distribution. The latter subscribes to the notion that person’s identities are multiple and fluid due to their cultural, historic, and social situatedness. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the pathways of female school principals’ professional identity development. The main research question of this study was how professional identity development is described by female school principals. The study focuses on two in-depth interviews with experienced school principals. The constructivist grounded theory methodology has been applied for the research. Comparative analysis allowed to generate analytic units ranging from small to large and from micro (individual), and meso (organizational) to macro (regional, national or worldwide) levels in disclosing professional identity development process. Fifteen themes comprised the results of the interview research unfolding the essential phenomenon of professional identity development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-64
Author(s):  
Gunnhild Bergset

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss some of the challenges in communication and interaction between a kindergarten staff and a parent group of migrant background. Based on an interview study conducted in a kindergarten, the article works to provides insight into and understanding of the kindergarten staff’s experiences and reflections from their efforts to improve communication and interaction practices in daily contact with parents of migrant background. The staff completed a kindergarten-based project of the initiative of the principal, in which all employees implemented specific communication and interaction measures. Then, in-depth interviews were conducted with all staff, as well as two focus group interviews with the same group of informants. The study is based on a dynamic concept of culture and highlights the challenges of asymmetric communication and the possibilities of communicating and interacting based on a resource perspective. The findings show that a movement has taken place towards dialogue-based reciprocity in the staff`s attitudes towards communication and interaction with these parents. The article argues that connection between a trying-out of concrete, professionally grounded practice and pedagogical reflection constitutes the necessary basis for a shift from a problem orientation to a resource orientation in communication and interaction. One outcome of this resource perspective was that the kindergarten staff recognized the parent`s experiences and perceptions as valuable for achieving the parental involvement required by kindergarten`s social mandate.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore Stickley ◽  
Ada Hui ◽  
Gary Souter ◽  
Danielle Mills

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a community-based arts programme for older people in Nottinghamshire. Design/methodology/approach – The evaluation was conducted using a combination of pre- and post-initiative quantitative questionnaires and qualitative focus group interviews. This paper focuses upon the findings from the focus groups. Findings – Participants reported feeling more positively about ageing and being more motivated to pursue new opportunities at the end of the programme. Five themes emerged from the focus group interviews, namely age and ageing, the finished product, new opportunities, aspirations and the future and personal benefits. These related to increased confidence, having greater creative expression, meaningful occupation and opportunities for socialisation. Social implications – The programme was found to be successful in helping individuals feel more positive about their age, to feel more confident and motivated, to engage with others through mutual creativity, as well as to challenge negative social stereotypes of older people. Originality/value – The paper will be of relevance and value to those working with older people and those with an interest in the arts. This evaluation demonstrates the diversity of the older population with older citizen’s voices being at the heart of the programme.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo Jin Kwon ◽  
Kyoung-Nan Kwon

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the values consumers pursue and roles consumers partake in selfie practice. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research method was adopted. In-depth interviews were conducted with selfie enthusiasts. Data were analyzed with grounded theory approach. Findings Diverse activities and reflections pertaining to selfies were analyzed, which uncovered three consumer roles departmentalized and the nine values that selfie practice generates for consumers. The three roles are subject, photographer and user of selfies, and the roles are orchestrated together or selectively performed if necessary. In consequence of the interplay of performances and expectations of the roles, consumers pursue and gain four collaboratively created values and five individually created values. Originality/value Findings of the study expand the understanding of values of selfie practice and consumer roles in Web 2.0.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juhi Gahlot Sarkar ◽  
Abhigyan Sarkar

Purpose The purposes of this qualitative study are to investigate brand embarrassment which is a unique social consumption emotion and to identify possible antecedents, consequences and moderating factors associated with it. Design/methodology/approach The study reviewed a large volume of literature on embarrassment. The literature review was followed by a series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews of selected brand-conscious young adult informants in India. The data collected through such interviews were coded following grounded theory method. Findings The final outcome of the study is a comprehensive grounded theory framework. The framework depicts various antecedents and consequences of brand embarrassment and specific moderating factors shaping the influences of specific antecedents on brand embarrassment. Originality/value The value of this qualitative study lies in developing an elaborate grounded theory framework showing the inter-relationships between brand embarrassment and other related concepts.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e023261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katey Warran ◽  
Daisy Fancourt ◽  
Theresa Wiseman

ObjectiveThis study aimed to build an understanding of how the process of singing impacts on those who are affected by cancer, including patients, staff, carers and those who have been bereaved.DesignA qualitative study, informed by a grounded theory approach.Setting and participantsPatients with cancer, staff, carers and bereaved who had participated for a minimum of 6 weeks in one of two choirs for people affected by cancer.Methods31 participants took part in Focus Group Interviews lasting between 45 min and an hour, and 1 participant had a face-to-face interview.FindingsFour overarching themes emerged from the iterative analysis procedure. The overarching themes were: building resilience, social support, psychological dimensions and process issues. Following further analyses, a theoretical model was created to depict how building resilience underpins the findings.ConclusionGroup singing may be a suitable intervention for building resilience in those affected by cancer via an interaction between the experience and impact of the choir.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina-Kaisa Kuuru ◽  
Elina Närvänen

Purpose This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts the practice theory as its interpretive approach, using focus group interviews with service employees from different industries. Findings The study identifies four practice bundles related to the embodied dimension of service employees’ work: orienting, attuning, connecting and wrapping up. The findings illustrate how employees’ knowledge, skills and capabilities are used via the body. Practical implications The study provides guidance for managers to use an embodied perspective in the management of service employees. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion on embodiment in service encounters by highlighting the embodied nature of service employees’ work.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kacprzak ◽  
Katarzyna Dziewanowska

Purpose Poland’s political and economic transition of 1989 resulted in a cultural trauma experienced by consumers, which has influenced their perception of the retail experience. However, younger Polish consumers can remember neither communism nor the transition period. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the differences in perception of customer experiences in retail between Poland’s pre- and post-transitional generations. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey is first conducted with a sample of 1,045 Polish consumers measuring their perception of utilitarian and hedonic customer experiences in retail environments. Then, five qualitative focus group interviews with 29 participants provide an in-depth understanding of the survey results. Findings The quantitative study suggests that the pre-transitional generation is focused on utilitarian experiences, whereas the post-transitional generation is attracted to hedonic experiences in retail environments. The qualitative study provides an understanding of how the utilitarian and hedonic aspects of customer retail experiences are perceived and how the cultural trauma manifests in consumers’ values. Originality/value The study provides a new perspective on the customer experience in retail contexts from a society that has undergone a cultural trauma. The findings focus on generational differences in consumer attitudes toward hedonic and utilitarian experiences in a post-transition society and expand the theory of cultural trauma into the field of customer retail experience.


Author(s):  
Abhigyan Sarkar ◽  
Juhi Gahlot Sarkar

Purpose Research investigating brand devotion among young consumers is scarce particularly in emerging Asian market context. The objective of this study was to qualitatively explore the evolutionary process leading to brand devotion amongst the young Indian consumers. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Data was analyzed using grounded theory method. Findings The grounded theory framework developed shows single brand devotion in a product category as the key phenomenon along with the associated factors and evolutionary processes. Originality/value This study explores how single brand devotion is distinct from romantic brand love, as experienced by consumers. Value of this article also lies in developing a grounded theory framework for single brand devotion in emerging Asian market context.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document