Engagement of educational workers in higher education in England and Denmark: the use of dyadic interviewing

Author(s):

Paul GarlandAnne Larson Irene Garland

Conference:

ECER 2010

Network:

22. Research in Higher Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

22 SES 05 C, Academic Work and Professional Development

Paper Session

Time:

2010-08-26

08:30-10:00

Room:

M.B. SALI 16, Päärakennus / Main Building

Chair:

Monne Wihlborg

Contribution

In this paper we develop the methodology outlined in our presentation to ECER 2009 entitled 'The engagement of educational workers in higher education in England and Denmark: developing a theoretical frame'. The presentation reported the results of our review of current policies and our efforts to identify the structural relations within the educational professional fields in each country. To do this we used a theoretical model using the relational analytical approach advocated by Bourdieu. As such, our work was an early stage attempt at operationalising Bourdieu’s observations regarding the structure and dynamics of field. This helped us to identify a conceptual approach to understanding the habitus of educational workers in the context of the dynamics of a fast changing policy arena and the complexities of the backgrounds of individuals working in the educational field. In this paper we will attempt to outline an additional part of the methodology for looking at individual educational trajectories, based on both theoretical considerations and piloting of the approach. Issues explored include the role of informants in the analysis of research data; multiple 'levels' of analysis of habitus; researcher reflexivity; researcher involvement as both subjects and objects of research. The results of some initial pilots are analysed and the possibilities for developing this methodology are discussed.

Method

We draw on narrative, analytic autoethnography and life history approaches and attempt to link Bourdieu's discussions of habitus (1990, 2001) to strategies more closely associated with phenomenological thinking. We link Anderson’s conception of an analytic autoethnography “committed to developing theoretical understandings of broader social phenomena” (2006: 373) with the Bourdieuan approach to understanding individual accounts as demonstrated in The Weight of the World (Bourdieu 1999). Broadly the approach involves engaging teachers who have or have not decided to progress to higher levels of study (masters, doctoral) in the research project by inviting them to produce narrative, autoethnographic accounts of their educational trajectories and to discuss and explore these with a research partner in similar circumstances. We also engage informants in writing life history-type accounts of their partners' educational careers. These dyads form the first stage of this aspect of the research into engagement of educational practitioners in higher level study.

Expected Outcomes

A key issue explored in this paper is the relationship between researcher and the object of study (Bourdieu's 1990: 1-21). By trying to break down some of the barriers between subjectivist and objectivist approaches (1990: 30-51) we hope to make a contribution to ongoing discussions on power in social research and on researcher reflexivity. By setting up all participants as informants and researchers and by inviting participants to switch roles, we can explore these issues in concrete ways. By switching roles of informant and researcher we are able to achieve some of the 'double back' that Bourdieu thought so necessary in order to "objectify more completely one's objective and subjective relation to the object" (1990: 1). The multi-layered approach raises other important methodological issues such as the role of phenomenological accounts in understanding agency, the question of 'points of view' (informants, researchers) and the constant revision of understandings of the social world.

References

Anderson, L., (2006) ‘Analytic Autoethnography’, in Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4): 373-395 Bourdieu, P., (1990) The Logic of Practice, trans. Richard Nice, Cambridge: Polity Bourdieu, P. et al, (1999) The Weight of the World, trans. Priscilla Ferguson, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press Bourdieu, P., (2000) Pascalian Meditations, trans. Richard Nice, Cambridge: Polity Bourdieu, P. (2001) Practical Reason, Cambridge: Polity Goodson, I.F. and Sikes, P., (2001) Life History Research in Educational Settings, Buckingham, Open University Press Goodson, I. F. and Walker, R. (1991) Biography, Identity and Schooling: Episodes in Educational Research, Falmer Holman Jones, S., ‘Autoethnography; making the personal political’ in Denzin, N. K. And Lincoln, Y.S. (2005) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks: Sage Horsdal, M. (2002) Grundtvig Socrates II – active Citizenship and the Non-formal Education.. Copenhagen: Active Citizenship and Non-formal Education.

Author Information

Paul Garland

Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield

Anne Larson

Danmarks Paedagogiske Univesitetskole

Irene Garland

Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom

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