Camille B. Kandiko

Motivation in academic life: a prestige economy

The introduction of performance-related pay into universities in recent years implies a belief that academic behaviours are modified by money. However, many valued academic activities are poorly paid or not paid at all. Clearly other factors are at work. Academic motivation and new working patterns are explored using the literature. An anthropological term ‘prestige economy’ is defined and located as part of a three-part model, and its application to higher education is explored, using a socio-cultural approach rooted in Bourdieu’s analyses of academic life. The implications for those who seek to bring about change in institutions are considered and further research questions outlined.

What Is a Doctorate? A Concept-Mapped Analysis of Process versus Product in the Supervision of Lab-Based PhDs.

Background: Concept-mapping and interview techniques are used to track knowledge and understanding over the duration of PhD study amongst four students and their supervisors in the course of full-time research towards their PhDs. This work is in contrast to much PhD supervision research and policy research that focuses on supervisory styles and roles and may decontextualise the topic and disciplinary setting. Purpose: The work investigates the understanding of the process and product in PhD-level research and supervision. Sample: Participants were four students and their supervisor(s). Case studies were based on longitudinal studies conducted over three to four years (the duration of a PhD). The students were all enrolled in lab-based PhDs in one UK-based higher education institution. Three of the four students were international (one EU-based) and three supervisors were from outside the UK. Design and methods: The data provide documentary evidence of the ways in which these supervisors act to facilitate learning and discovery of research processes and an understanding of lab-based science research supervision. In the initial interview (conducted separately with students and supervisors), the interviewee constructed two maps, one on the topic of the PhD and one on the process of a PhD. In subsequent interviews, the student or supervisor reviewed and updated the previously constructed maps. Transcripts of the interviews were made as well. These data draw on 72 interviews and 96 unique concept maps constructed. The challenges of a PhD being both a process of learning (for the student and the supervisor) and a product of a research project are explored using case study analysis of these four pairs. Findings and discussion: Analyses of the collected data suggested that the students focused more on the product of a PhD (completing a thesis and publication), whereas the supervisors concentrated on the process of learning and scientific development. Conclusions: Evidence in the study suggested product/process differences in the student and supervisor conceptualisation of the PhD. This paper offers development towards a research-led pedagogy of supervision that places the process and product of a PhD at the centre of the supervisory relationship.

Concept mapping in the humanities to facilitate reflection : Externalizing the relationship between public and personal learning

This article discusses how mapping techniques were used in university teaching in a humanities subject. The use of concept mapping was expanded as a pedagogical tool, with a focus on reflective learning processes. Data were collected through a longitudinal study of concept mapping in a university-level Classics course. This was used to explore how mapping can be applied in the discursive context of the humanities in relation to teaching, learning and assessment. A theory was developed of how to facilitate the externalization of the relationship between public and personal reflection through combining social and psychological aspects of learning. The article concludes with suggestions for how this can be applied as a learning and assessment tool to assist the writing and reflection process in the humanities. This situates broader developments in educational theory and research in the unique character of learning and teaching in Classics.

Interdisciplinarity within an academic career

This project identified academics who have been involved with interdisciplinary leadership initiatives and sought to find out what had motivated them, what issues they had encountered and how they had resolved them. A powerful message emerging is the central importance of motivation in interdisciplinary work. Interviewees spoke of leaving their disciplinary ‘home’ for a more complex and difficult – but often more rewarding – environment. Interviews also illuminated the impact of interdisciplinary work on academic careers and suggested that an academic’s career stage was a vital factor influencing the likelihood of pursuing an interdisciplinary initiative. The individual and systemic challenges brought on by interdisciplinary work highlight the role of structure and agency in an academic career path. These issues coalesce around reward systems, where there is a need to recognise the expanding role of academics within interdisciplinary contexts.

Chapter 3 Interdisciplinary leadership and learning

An investigation into the leadership behaviours of academic staff undertaking interdisciplinary research and teaching drew on interviews with 10 senior members of staff at two research institutions, in the United Kingdom and Australia, in order to illuminate the nature of interdisciplinary leadership. Key terms are defined: disciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, identity, leadership and learning. A model is developed, based on an analysis of the interview data, drawing on Adairs three-part model of leadership, modified for the context. It is proposed that interdisciplinary leadership can be understood as being at the intersection of identity, discipline and learning, and requiring an understanding of all three for effective practice. The model also includes areas of activity: need and opportunity, co-ordination and direction, communication and motivation. The implications for the support of academic staff in such roles are considered. It is suggested that there is value in conceptualising interdisciplinary leadership as the leading of learning.