Marie Clarke

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.

Coursework master’s programmes: the student’s experience of research and research supervision

Although the coursework master’s degree is becoming the principal conduit for the delivery of continuing education to the professions, it is one of the least understood or researched academic levels in higher education. Furthermore, little is known of coursework master’s graduates’ experience of research or research supervision following the completion of a thesis as the final assessment of their degree. This article measures graduates’ experience of research and research supervision following the completion of a master’s degree. The article also examines the relationship between coursework master’s graduates’ experience of research supervision, completing a research thesis and their development of research capabilities. The findings are considered in the context of the appropriateness of a thesis as the most suitable form of assessment for coursework master’s degrees.

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.

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.

The genesis of mentors’ professional and personal knowledge about teaching: perspectives from the Republic of Ireland

This study investigates the sources of mentors’ knowledge about teaching. A mixed-method research design combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was used to examine this area. The findings of the study suggest that: mentors’ knowledge about teaching is practice orientated and emerges from their professional experiences, their teaching skills, their pre-service teacher education and, to a considerable extent, from their own personal experiences. The authors argue that mentors require support to reflect on their early socialisation experiences and their attachment to practice-based experience as a source of professional knowledge, in this way they can better understand and carry out their role as mentors.

Charting teacher education policy in the Republic of Ireland with particular reference to the impact of economic recession

Background: Teacher education is an area of concern both in the policy and practice domains in both international and national contexts. Internationally, there are a wide range teacher education programmes and there is also considerable diversity with reference to policy approaches that operationalise such provision. Purpose: This paper focuses on teacher education policy in Ireland and explores the relationships that exist between policy and teacher education as a sub-system of the education system. Sources of evidence: Data from Governmental legislation, discussion papers, professional bodies commentaries, institutional practice and research. Main argument: The paper provides a critical analysis of existing policy and practice in the area and it reflects on recent policy approaches in the context of the difficult economic circumstances, which Ireland has been experiencing since 2010. Conclusions: The process of policy formation has been historically slow and rarely rational. It is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future given the current fiscal crisis and the need to further reduce public spending, with teacher education viewed primarily in terms of promoting economic objectives.

Promoting a culture of reflection in teacher education: the challenge of large lecture settings

The promotion of reflective practice, while widely advocated in higher education settings, nonetheless presents numerous challenges. This is an under-researched aspect of the discourse on reflective practice. A key challenge for those working in the field of teacher education within higher education is to promote a culture of refection in large group teaching settings. This article reports on the results of a study undertaken in a university in the Republic of Ireland, which examined the potential for developing this area with student teachers, using reflective verbalisation as an organising framework. Locating the discussion within the framework of the theoretical literature on reflective verbalisation, the paper contributes to the ongoing international debate about the facilitation of reflective practice within teacher education in large group educational settings.

Educational Reform in the 1960s: The Introduction of Comprehensive Schools in the Republic of Ireland.

This paper documents the introduction of the comprehensive schools in the Irish education system in 1963 and seeks to illustrate how the two most powerful organisations most directly involved in Irish education during this period, the Department of Education and the Catholic Hierarchy, viewed the introduction of the comprehensive schools. Through an in‐depth analysis of existing correspondence between the Catholic Hierarchy and the Department of Education, this paper highlights the ongoing tensions between the Catholic Church and the government of the day in response to proposed changes in the Irish education system. The way in which the documents were written and presented provides a path of access to the mindsets of the participants in relation to the policy issue and processes that they were engaged in. Thereby this paper contributes to the historiography of the period and provides a new dimension through which Irish education policy can be understood at this juncture.

Irish mathematics teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion

This paper through the theoretical framework of constructive attitude theory explores mathematics teachers’ attitudes and pedagogical strategies with reference to inclusive practice. The authors argue that though teachers may have formed positive inclusive attitudes, the translation of these into practice does not always occur and poses significant challenges.

The response of the Roman Catholic Church to the introduction of vocational education in Ireland 1930–1942

This paper discusses the manner in which the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland attempted to impose denominational control on the system of vocational education introduced by the state in 1930. Considerable research on education has been conducted within the period in question; however, the area addressed in this paper has been largely neglected by scholars in the field. The position of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is examined in the context of Church–state relations within Europe with particular reference to the issue of control in education. The paper argues that the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland sought denominational control over vocational education through the introduction of various amendments to legislation dealing with the system.