Abbey Hyde

Professional Identity in Higher Education

Research in higher education has concentrated on a number of areas, which include the values and collective identities of academic faculty, their role in higher education governance, faculty norms and socialisation processes, and the impact of change in higher education on academic roles. While many authors advocate the types of research methodology that should be used in such investigations, few question how academics come to possess the constructs and ideas that inform their professional identity. Discipline-based cultures are the primary source of faculty members’ identity and expertise and include assumptions about what is to be known and how, tasks to be performed, standards for effective performance, patterns of publication, professional interaction, and social and political status. However, changes in higher education have added a further complexity to identity formation within higher education. Professional identity is not a stable entity, it is complex, personal, and shaped by contextual factors. The concept of professional identity is complicated by competing definitions. Against this background, this chapter will explore the following areas: professional identity as a construct; the different ways in which professional identity is viewed; the relationship between identity and professional socialisation in higher education; and the role played by networks and their impact on identity formation. This chapter will also consider gender; midlife career academics; the emergence of mixed identities; and the development of new professional boundaries within higher education.

Adolescent men's attitudes in relation to pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review of the literature from 1980-2009.

This review article reveals a long-standing gender bias in academic and policy research on adolescent pregnancy, which has led to the neglect of adolescent mens perspectives. The review summarizes the available literature on adolescent mens attitudes in relation to pregnancy occurrence and pregnancy outcomes in the context of addressing three questions: (1) What are adolescent mens attitudes to an adolescent pregnancy? (2) What are adolescent mens attitudes in relation to pregnancy outcomes? (3) What explanations are offered for the identified attitudes to adolescent pregnancy and resolution? The review establishes a foundation for future quantitative and qualitative research on adolescent mens perspectives. It emphasizes that a greater understanding of adolescent mens perspectives could lead to a re-framing of adolescent pregnancy away from being seen solely as a womans issue. Furthermore, it is argued that the inclusion of adolescent men would lead to more effective adolescent pregnancy prevention and counseling programmes.

Controlling response shift bias: the use of the retrospective pre‐test design in the evaluation of a master's programme

Traditionally the measures used to evaluate the impact of an educational programme on student outcomes and the extent to which students change is a comparison of the students pre‐test scores with his/her post‐test scores. However, this method of evaluating change may be problematic due to the confounding factor of response shift bias when student self‐reports of change are used. Response shift bias occurs when the students internal frame of reference of the construct being measured, for example research ability or critical thinking, changes between the pre‐test and the post‐test due to the influence of the educational programme. To control for response shift bias the retrospective pre‐test method was used to evaluate the outcomes achieved from students completing a research module at masters level. The retrospective pre‐test method differs from the traditional pre‐test–post‐test design in that both post‐test and pre‐test perceptions of respondents are collected at the same time. The findings indicated that response shift bias was evident in that the programme had significantly greater impact on outcomes than identified using the traditional pre‐test–post‐test design leading to the conclusion that students may overestimate their ability at the commencement of an educational programme. The retrospective pre‐test design is not a replacement for the traditional pre‐test–post‐test measures but may be a useful adjunct in the evaluation of the impact of educational programmes on student outcomes.

Young Men’s Vulnerability in Constituting Hegemonic Masculinity in Sexual Relations

This article reports on a qualitative analysis of the accounts of young men on their experiences of heterosexual encounters. Based on data collected in Ireland using 17 focus groups with 124 young men aged between 14 and 19 years (a subsection of a wider study), the manner in which intricate peer group mechanisms acted as surveillance strategies in regulating the young men toward presenting themselves in ways consistent with hegemonic manifestations of masculinity is explored. However, there were also elements of resistance to such a culture in the way in which sexual pleasure for some young men was derived relationally through giving pleasure rather than merely through mechanical, emotionally detached sexual acts that characterize hegemonic masculinity. In emphasizing male vulnerabilities such as uncertainty, fear, and rejection in the realm of sexuality, it is proposed that one must not lose sight of the broader context of male sexual dominance for which, as data indicate, men themselves pay a price.

The Changing Role of Academics and the Rise of Managerialism

In this chapter, the manner in which the traditional model of a university has evolved in light of recent shifts in the character of higher education institutions under the influence of the private business-sector model is explored. In particular, a genre of theoretical and empirical work focused on the implications of managerialism on academic activities is considered, particularly the diversification of academic work, changes in the control over academic activities, and the impact of managerialism on the nature of teaching and research. Empirical studies indicate that managerialism has neither been wholeheartedly rejected nor accepted by academics, but rather has been received in a more fluid and haphazard way. We conclude that although the general picture emerging in the literature is that of a profession in crisis, a good deal of the increased regulation of academics is overseen by those within their own ranks via peer review. Whilst managerialist ideology is increasingly becoming a dominant discourse within university, the extent to which it has superseded collegiality is debatable.

Menopause Narratives: The Interplay of Women’s Embodied Experiences With Biomedical Discourses

Conventional approaches to menopause tend to contrast the biomedical position on menopause with women’s actual experiences of it. Rather than focusing primarily on the tensions between these perspectives (biomedical vs. lay), our emphasis here is on the impact of biomedicine in shaping participants’ perceptions of their status as menopausal. Based on interview data gathered from 39 women in Ireland, we argue that the cultural authority of biomedicine shaped participants’ experiences of the body and how they constituted their health identity. We assert that, ironically, this was particularly the case among those who most strongly contested biomedical definitions of their situation. In addition, biomedical practitioners’ definitions had a strong normalizing power in how the body was experienced. We conclude by noting that our analysis problematizes the notion of privileging “women’s experiences” as advocated by some feminist perspectives. The heavy influence of biomedical discourses in shaping participants’ embodied experiences demonstrates the pervasive impact of prevailing discourses on women’s experiences.

Adolescent men's attitudes and decision-making in relation to an unplanned pregnancy. Responses to an interactive video drama

This study confronts a gender bias in research on adolescent pregnancy by exploring adolescent mens decisions relating to a hypothetical unplanned pregnancy. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with adolescent men (N = 360) aged between 14 and 18 years attending schools in the Republic of Ireland. The study, the first of its kind in Europe, extends the small body of evidence on adolescent men and pregnancy decision-making by developing and examining reactions to an interactive video drama used in a comparable study in Australia. In addition, we tested a more comprehensive range of sociological and psychological determinants of adolescent mens decisions regarding an unplanned pregnancy. Results showed that adolescent men were more likely to choose to keep the baby in preference to abortion or adoption. Adolescent mens choice to continue the pregnancy (keep or adopt) in preference to abortion was significantly associated with anticipated feelings of regret in relation to abortion, perceived positive attitudes of own mother to keeping the baby and a feeling that a part of them might want a baby. Religiosity was also shown to underlie adolescent mens views on the perceived consequences of an abortion in their lives.

A risk to himself: Attitudes toward psychiatric patients and choice of psychosocial strategies among nurses in medical–surgical units†

Psychiatric patients are liable to stereotyping by healthcare providers. We explored attitudes toward caring for psychiatric patients among 13 nurses working in general hospitals in Ireland. Participants thought aloud in response to a simulated patient case and described a critical incident of a patient for whom they had cared. Two attitudinal orientations were identified that correspond to stereotypical depictions of risk and vulnerability. The nurses described psychosocial care strategies that were pragmatic rather than authentically person-centered, with particular associations between risk-oriented attitudes and directive nursing care. Nurses had expectations likely to impede relationship building and collaborative care. Implications arising include the need for improved knowledge about psychiatric conditions and for access to professional development in targeted therapeutic communication skills.

Teaching reflection to nursing students: a qualitative study in an Irish context

Teaching nursing students to reflect on their practice is now officially considered an essential component of nursing education in a number of countries. The aim of this study was to explore nurse teachers’ perceptions and experiences of using reflection with diploma nursing students in an Irish context. One of the central themes to emerge, upon which this article is based, is the manner in which reflection is actually taught and/or facilitated by nurse educators in diploma nursing programmes, and the factors that influence this. Intensive interviews were conducted with 11 nurse teachers and data were analysed using a strategy resembling grounded theory. Findings indicated that the teaching of reflection was influenced by structural and human resource requirements and a lack of organisational commitment within the schools of nursing. Reflective practice did not permeate throughout the curriculum, but was instead an isolated, episodic classroom activity. The prospect of integrating reflective practice, as taught in the schools, with nursing practice in the clinical realms was problematic because of a range of cultural impediments. The repressive culture within the schools of nursing seemed to subvert discussion and debate about the status of reflective practice in the nursing curriculum.

The Research Function of the Academic Profession in Europe

Research, along with teaching, is viewed as a central component of academic work. Research outputs also impact on the reputation of universities and other institutes of higher education as well as affecting the career trajectories of academics. The impact of research at a reputational level is evident in the impetus from management in universities to increase the global standing of their institutions through research outputs and the acquisition of research funding. Furthermore, the investment in research has been aligned to the economic goals of countries and is explicitly stated in policy documents at European Union (EU) level. However, not all academics engage in research and those that do the level of engagement or factors that relate to research engagement are relatively unknown. This chapter presents an analysis on the research function of academics in 12 European countries including levels of research collaboration, research outputs (publications and dissemination of research work), primary emphasis of research, time academics spend on research, research functions and perceptions of the conditions of research work. Comparisons are made at a number of levels including country and career stage of the academics (junior and senior) and institutional type (universities and other higher education institutions). The chapter also explores the factors associated with the research productivity of academics across Europe.