scholarly journals Developing a Researcher Identity: Commonplace Books as Arts-Informed Reflective Process

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Layal Shuman ◽  
Abigail Shabtay ◽  
Maggie McDonnell ◽  
Nicole Bourassa ◽  
Fauzanah El Muhammady
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Reflective Process ◽  
Commonplace Books ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Researcher Identity

This article shares the processes of five emerging researchers as they trace their journeys in becoming researchers and examine their identities through the qualitative, arts-informed method of “commonplace book” creation. It positions commonplace books as “living document” that explore the ongoing processes of identity development we experience as novice scholars in the field of education. Using this article, we extend our artistic processes, inviting readers to join the conversation and reflect on why and how they engage in academic work, as well as the potential this method has for reflection, meaning-making and dissemination. We highlight the use of commonplace books as an arts-informed reflective method and a valuable performance in the journey of becoming/being academic researchers.

scholarly journals A Theoretical Framework on Reflection in Service Learning: Deepening Reflection Through Identity Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Kawai
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Reflective Process ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Reflection Process ◽  
Concrete Experience

In higher education, well-designed service learning combines service activities and academic knowledge in reflection, generating essential learning outcomes: academic enhancement, personal growth, and civic engagement. As research on reflection in service learning has shown, the process of reflection deepens through description of service experiences, examination of those experiences and articulation of learning. This article provides a theoretical explanation of deepening the reflection process by incorporating reflection theory and identity theory of college student development, professional development, and general identity development. Expanding the theoretical explanation of the reflective process clarifies the conditions of the deepening student reflection process in service learning in the following ways. First, it focuses on concrete experience then-and-there at that moment rather than abstract impressions by paying attention to personal dissonance in the experience. In addition, it finds discrepancies from differences of views, perspectives, and backgrounds between those of students and others. It connects outward exploration of those differences and inward exploration to construct internal voices toward self-authorship. The deep reflection process requires confronting contradictions through dialogical interplays among the I-positions of their own and others. It bridges discontinuities between past, present, and future selves by expanding the time perspective retrospectively and prospectively, and solving contradictions embedding in their prejudice. Furthermore, it activates plurality in social norms and values. The above conditions should be design principles for deepening critical and dialogical reflection in high-impact service learning. Through deepening reflection in service learning, it can be expected to activate mutuality and support generativity toward solidarity against hostility.

scholarly journals ‘A Source of Sanity’: The Role of Social Support for Doctoral Candidates’ Belonging and Becoming

10.28945/4275 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 367-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilia Mantai
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Student Diversity ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Doctoral Candidates ◽  
Researcher Identity

Aim/Purpose: This paper investigates the role of social support in the PhD. Despite universities’ efforts to provide a collegial PhD experience, candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education – a factor contributing to attrition. Background: Previous research (Mantai & Dowling, 2015) defined social support in four categories: moral, emotional, guiding and mentoring, companionship, and collegiality. Social support is facilitated in various formal and informal groupings. Socialisation into scholarly communities promotes researcher identities through a sense of belonging. Developing a strong researcher identity through social connections benefits a student’s physical and emotional well-being, PhD progress, and investment in researcher careers. Methodology: This paper is based on thematic analysis of focus groups and one-on-one interviews with 64 PhD candidates from two Australian metropolitan universities. Contribution: Students’ perspectives on social support during PhD study are largely missing in the literature, as more importance is placed on academic support. This paper provides rich empirical evidence to show that support afforded by candidates’ personal, social, and professional relationships is critical in doctoral candidates’ identity development. Findings: First, investigating social support from the student perspective shows that it promotes students’ researcher identity development, sense of belonging, and community. Second, the paper extends our understanding of what social support means as it examines this concept in the context of student diversity. This paper confirms social support in the PhD extends beyond the institutional higher degree research environment and includes outside support by family, friends as well as online communities. Recommendations for Practitioners: Promote and improve support services, networking opportunities, and social connections within academia and beyond. Invest in understanding students’ diverse backgrounds and individual circumstances as well as goals. Recommendation for Researchers: Evaluate existing social support structures in place and identify social support needs of doctoral candidates at your particular institution. Impact on Society: Institutions, governments, and individuals heavily invest in PhD degrees financially and psychologically. This research aims to improve outcomes for society by developing skilled and confident graduates. Future Research: Future research ought to focus on the issues experienced by students of particular demographic backgrounds and on how to best support them.

scholarly journals Academics at play: Why the “publication game” is more than a metaphor

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 414-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Butler ◽  
Sverre Spoelstra
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
The Other ◽  
Career Goals ◽  
Game Playing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Critical Management ◽  
The University ◽  
Meaningful Research

It is increasingly common to describe academic research as a “publication game,” a metaphor that connotes instrumental strategies for publishing in highly rated journals. However, we suggest that the use of this metaphor is problematic. In particular, the metaphor allows scholars to make a convenient, but ultimately misleading, distinction between figurative game-playing on one hand (i.e. pursuing external career goals through instrumental publishing) and proper research on the other hand (i.e. producing intrinsically meaningful research). In other words, the “publication game” implies that while academic researchers may behave just like players, they are not really playing a game. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, we show that this metaphor prevents us, ironically, from fully grasping the lusory attitude, or play-mentality, that characterizes academic work among critical management researchers. Ultimately, we seek to stimulate reflection about how our choice of metaphor can have performative effects in the university and influence our behavior in unforeseen and potentially undesirable ways.

“I have grown with it”: Experiences of Spiritual Identity Development in a Group of South African Adolescents

2020 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2094742
Author(s):  
Luzelle Naudé ◽  
Tracy-Ann Capitano
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Spiritual Identity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Spiritual Journeys ◽  
Religiosity And Spirituality ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological

This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to capture experiences of spiritual identity development in a purposive sample of South African adolescents, using semi-structured interviews and reflective writing exercises. Participants confirmed the prominence of religiosity and spirituality, as intertwined concepts central to their sense of purpose and identity. Consistent with the ideas expressed in psychosocial theories and lifespan development approaches, these adolescents valued the importance of choice when confronted with contradiction. They prioritized personal commitment and authenticity in their spiritual journeys toward finding a sense of self. It is clear that spiritual identity development unfolds as a lifelong process, driven by an interplay between cognitive development, psychosocial experiences, and the religiocultural context. The findings of this study reiterates that, as adolescents mature into emerging adulthood and their lives and meaning-making abilities become more complex, spirituality is critical in answering intricate questions about the self, others, and purpose of life.

Adapting Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia A. Kearney ◽  
Jennifer S. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Adolescent And Young Adult ◽  
Developmental Task ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Interventions ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Approach ◽  
Cancer Experience ◽  
Structural Theories ◽  
Difficult Subjects ◽  
Selection Of

There is a lack of validated psychotherapeutic interventions for the adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer population, despite years of evidence of significant need. AYAs with cancer experience distress, anxiety, grief, life disruption, and loss of meaning. Meaning-making is a core developmental task of adolescence and contributes to identity development. This chapter reviews narrative and structural theories of identity development, viewed through the lens of a disruptive life event such as cancer. Clinical therapeutic issues are discussed, including the selection of AYA patients for participation in meaning-centered work, the therapeutic approach to difficult subjects such as prognosis or end of life, working with parents and caregivers, and dealing with grief and suicidality in a meaning-centered framework. Formal development of a manualized meaning-centered psychotherapy for AYAs is also discussed. A clinical vignette is presented to illustrate the main themes of a meaning-centered psychotherapeutic approach.

Work role transitions – expert nurses to novice preceptors

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 559-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Miller ◽  
Brian Vivona ◽  
Gene Roth
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Work Role ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Preceptor Role ◽  
And Training ◽  
Expert To Novice

Purpose Several issues are reported in the literature regarding the preparation and training of nurses for the preceptor role. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences, growth and development of nurses transitioning to the preceptor role in allied health contexts. Design/methodology/approach A basic interpretive qualitative research method was used for this study. In total, 20 preceptors who were practicing in a variety of healthcare settings participated in in-depth interviews. Findings The preceptors of this study found meaning through their teaching and learning encounters with novice nurses. Their meaning making led to identity development and new perspectives on both the nursing and preceptor roles. Research limitations/implications This study extends the literature on informal learning and training by focusing on the unique work role of nurse precepting. Conclusions of this study call for additional research that examines other occupational areas in which workers have transitioned from expert to novice again, and how training can enhance these transitions Practical implications Participants described several areas of improvement for preceptorships: additional administrative support, guidelines and standards for preceptor training and preparation and additional time and support for transitioning to the preceptor role Originality/value Work role transition theory was used in this study to examine the preparation and training of preceptors. This study features the voices of nursing preceptors who have experienced changes in their employment status and major shifts in their work roles transitioning from expert to novice to expert again.

scholarly journals Connecting experiences to employability through a meaning-making approach to learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-113
Author(s):  
Andrea Reid ◽  
Anna Richards ◽  
Dino Willox
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Professional Lives ◽  
Workplace Performance ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Reflective Process ◽  
Professional Contexts

A key part of the student experience in the higher education context is employability. There is an expectation that universities will contribute to their students’ employability and indeed they are measured on this contribution and are allocated funding based on it. Despite the importance of employability in higher education, it remains a complex and contested concept, often conflated with employment – graduates in jobs and the roles they occupy – and seen as a quantifiable outcome of the student experience. Where employability is understood as an individual’s knowledge, capabilities, and personal attributes that make them more likely to gain employment and be successful in their professional lives, it is often framed by the discourse of skills. There are some employability models, however, that champion a more holistic view of employability and highlight the role that experiences play in individual employability development. This paper reports on the development of an institutional employability framework and reflective process in an Australian research-intensive university. The paper discusses the experiential learning theories that underpin the reflective process that supports students to understand and articulate employability learning, for framing narratives around the potential to contribute to an organisation for employment, and for the transfer of this potential to professional contexts. The framework and reflective process represent employability as a learning process through which students make meaning from their experiences and learning opportunities. This involves understanding the value of their experiences, how to articulate that value, and how to transfer it to workplace performance

scholarly journals Examining Doctoral Student Development of a Researcher Identity: Using the Draw a Researcher Test

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micki M Caskey ◽  
Dannelle D Stevens ◽  
Marie Yeo
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Student Development ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Doctoral Student ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Core Identity ◽  
Researcher Identity

With a core identity as working professionals, education doctoral students struggle with seeing themselves as researchers. Because research is essential in a doctoral program, the sooner doctoral students include researcher as an identity, the smoother and more successful their journey will be. To support doctoral student researcher identity development, we focused on scaffolding and embedding academic writing experiences in the first year seminar in a U.S. doctoral program.  The purpose of this study was to describe and explain doctoral students’ development of a researcher identity as measured by the Draw-a-Researcher Test (DART).  In the fall and spring, we collected drawings and narrative reflections about their drawings of researchers from nine students. We created a five-dimension DART scoring guide.  In the fall, the drawings revealed students’ uncertainty about the agency and the research process dimensions; in the spring, however, the drawings showed students’ clearer understanding of these two dimensions.  In the narrative reflections, students noted the influence of writing expectations and experiences on their role identity as researchers.  Implications, as measured by the DART, are that an embedded writing support model seems to assure the development of doctoral students’ core identity as researchers during the first year of the program.

scholarly journals Vlogging as a Tool in the Self-Reflective Journey: Professional Identity Development as a Space Between

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110615
Author(s):  
Pamelia E. Brott ◽  
David A. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Professional Identity Development ◽  
Single Turn ◽  
Connecting The Dots ◽  
Counseling Internship

The authors present an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) case study used to uncover the meaning-making system of professional identity development experienced by a graduate student completing a two-semester school counseling internship. The intern engaged in critical self-reflections as weekly vloggings, which are single-turn video monologs. The rigor of IPA allowed the researchers to explore the intern’s personal reflexivity as a space between what the intern was doing and his process of becoming a professional. The super-ordinate theme that emerged from the analysis in this case study was connecting the dots. . . it’s all about the kids. Findings from this research have implications in higher education and professional studies for creating a transformative learning environment and engaging individuals in the professional identity development process.

The Struggle to Find Meaning: A Mixed Methodology Study on Meaning-Making and Identity

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 367-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bogdan Glavan ◽  
Oana Negru-Subtirica ◽  
Oana Benga
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
University Students ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Mixed Methodology ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Important Goal ◽  
Identity Processes ◽  
Complex Forms

Recent reviews underscored the need for a better link between different identity models in order to enhance our knowledge of identity development. In the present study, we used a mixed methodology design to investigate how the integration of process-oriented and narrative life-story approaches can be used to better understand the complexity of identity pursuits. Participants were 84 Romanian emerging adults ( M age = 23.24 years; SD age = 2.11 years, 72.6% female, 71.4% university students). Results showed significant differences in identity processes among emerging adults based on their levels of meaning-making. More specifically, in a stressful situation of disengaging from a personal important goal, emerging adults who derived more complex forms of meaning-making reported higher levels of ruminative exploration and lower levels of commitment making. By integrating these approaches of identity, the study nuances how meaning-making might be related to identity processes.

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