Penny A. Pasque

The Role of Critical Inquiry in (Re)constructing the Public Agenda for Higher Education: Confronting the Conservative Modernization of the Academy

As higher education seeks to become more socially responsive, the public agenda is one form that has taken root in explicating the relation of higher education to society. In this paper, we critically analyze two different instantiations of the public agenda for higher education, placing them against the backdrop of what Michael Apple (2006a) calls the conservative modernization of education. We demonstrate how these examples fall victim to and perpetuate the conservative modernization of the academy and argue for ways of incorporating critical perspectives into the generative process of constructing the public agenda for higher education.

Obama's American Graduation Initiative: Race, Conservative Modernization, and a Logic of Abstraction

The American Graduation Initiative stands as the cornerstone of the Obama administrations higher education agenda. To investigate the state of the politics of education in the Age of Obama, this article employs critical discourse analysis to unveil the hidden meanings and ideological commitments inherent in Obamas policy discourse. Read within and against the backdrop of what Apple (2006) called the era of conservative modernization, Obamas policy discourse relies on a logic of abstraction that serves to promote a falsely “postracial” society in which hegemonic notions of education are perpetuated.

Disrupting the Ethical Imperatives of “Junior” Critical Qualitative Scholars in the Era of Conservative Modernization

In this article, we wrestle with the core issue of how early career researchers translate central tenets and core concepts of critical theory and critical methodology into their research practice. By way of creative representation, we draw from bell hooks and Cornel West’s (1991) written rendition of their verbal dialogue in Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life. Their hope was to offer the book in a dialogic format in such a way that mirrored the synergy in their verbal discussions as friends and intellectual colleagues. In a similar vein, we hope to share with readers the synergy and depth of the narratives that have transpired during our ongoing discussions on the important topic of critical praxis as part of a collaborative research group called the Disruptive Dialogue Project (Gildersleeve, Kuntz, Pasque & Carducci, 2010; Kuntz, Pasque, Carducci, & Gildersleeve, 2009).

Student-Created Curricular and Co-Curricular Pathways Toward Participation in a Diverse Democracy

This study explored the ways in which undergraduate students intentionally navigate complex curricular and co-curricular choices in preparation for engaging in a diverse democracy. Our study examined these choices among students at a university that lacks formal structures to facilitate these choices. Four curricular and co-curricular pathways that exemplify particular forms of the student experience across disciplines emerged and are discussed.

Critical Advocacy Perspectives on Organization in Higher Education

Shields (Critical advocacy research: An approach whose time has come. In: Steinberg SR, Cannella GS (eds) Critical qualitative research: reader. Peter Lang, New York, pp 2–13, 2012) describes critical advocacy research as an approach whose time has come, where critical inquiry “begins with the premise that research’s role is not to describe the world as is, but also to demonstrate what needs to be changed” (p. 3). While critical perspectives have gained increased visibility in studies of higher education access across social identities, student life, and faculty work, they remain underutilized in studies of postsecondary organizations. In this chapter we review and critique dominant approaches to the study of higher organizations, noting the ways in which these traditional research perspectives constrain understandings of contemporary colleges and universities. Next we explore what it means to intentionally design organization research from critical advocacy perspectives. We reflect on existing critical studies in the higher education organization literature and provide new insights on the ways in which critical questions and methodologies may be employed to advance socially just higher education organizations.

(Re)membering and (Re)living: A Methodological Exploration of Postmodern and Constructivist Feminist Approaches to Interviewing Women Leaders in Higher Education

Research cannot be conducted without conscious or unconscious use of underlying theoretical principles (Broido & Manning, 2002). As such, even studies that seem void of theoretical underpinnings subscribe to some semblance of theoretical principles. Broido and Manning (2002) argue that postmodernism, feminist theory, and critical theory, among others, offer higher education researchers “new ways to consider their relationships with students, colleagues, institutions, and society” (p. 444). Moreover, Abes (2009) encourages researchers to consider experimenting with the choice and application of theoretical perspectives. To answer these calls, this article provides an in-depth exploration of the differences and similarities of feminist postmodern focus group interviews and constructivist one-on-one interviews with 38 women elected as leaders in a national higher education association. The women both (re)member and (re)live their experiences. The author intentionally follows two feminist theoretical perspectives-and their congruent methodologies, methods, and findings-in order to reflect on the complexities and power of researchers’ determinations in the hopes of advancing critical conversations about methodology in higher education.

Understanding How Lifelong Learning Shapes the Career Trajectories of Women with STEM Doctorates: The Life Experiences and Role Negotiations (LEARN) Model

Abstract:We developed the Life Experiences and Role Negotiations (LEARN) Model of the Career Trajectories of Women STEM Doctorates to shift the current research paradigm on women in STEM from explaining gender differences in career/educational outcomes and decisions at particular points to understanding how cumulative learning shapes career decisions across a lifespan. Our model is based on a comprehensive view of the historical and contemporary literature and has the potential to guide future research and new interventions. This model adds the missing longitudinal dimension to the study of womens careers and deepens our understanding of what experiences influence these career decisions.

From theoretical language to the interstices of daily practice: Reducing competency stripping through transformative teaching and learning

As a part of the next generation of critical qualitative scholars, we hope to challenge the current connections (or lack thereof) between methodological paradigms and lived action in order to achieve marked social change. Yet we operate within institutionalised boundaries and an academic culture that does not often encourage critical interrogations of research questions or the exploration of social justice issues (Austin 2002). Giroux and Giroux (2004, 82) state that educators need a ‘new language’ in which young scholars are central to social and public transformation. This paper addresses this new language and extends the argument to include congruent daily action. Specifically, the goal of the paper is to encourage language and daily practices that promote transformative research and teaching on social justice issues in a way that mirrors our critical methodological choices. Further, we seek to address institutionalised silence regarding teaching and learning pedagogies through exploring power relationships (Foucault 1976) between rising scholars and current faculty via exploration of instructional vignettes. We argue that congruency between theoretical language and daily action may be fostered within faculty/student relationships in order to encourage future scholars to actualise a connection between reflexivity, theory and practice. We showcase the dissonance that exists between the current language with which we critically speak about our methodologies and potential transformative language among faculty and graduate students during a critical time of learning.