‘Who do you talk to about your teaching?’: networking activities among university teachers
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Abstract
As the higher education environment changes, there are calls for university teachers to change and enhance their teaching practices to match. Networking practices are known to be deeply implicated in studies of change and diffusion of innovation, yet academics’ networking activities in relation to teaching have been little studied. This paper extends the current limited understanding, building on Roxå and Mårtensson’s work (2009) and extending it from Sweden to the UK and USA. It is based on three separate studies, two from the Share Project led by the University of Kent, and one from Glasgow Caledonian University and explores the composition of personal networks, and the characteristics of interactions in order to understand the networking practices which may support change of teaching practice. We conclude that academics’ personal teaching networks are mainly discipline-specific and strongly localised. This contrasts with the research networks found by Becher and Trowler (2001) and may reduce innovation, although about half the respondents also had external contacts that might support creativity.
Article Details
How to Cite
Pataraia, N., Falconer, I., Margaryan, A., Littlejohn, A., & Fincher, S. (2014). ‘Who do you talk to about your teaching?’: networking activities among university teachers. Frontline Learning Research, 2(2), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v2i2.89
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References
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Tynjälä, P., & Nikkanen, P. (2009). Transformation of individual learning into organizational and networked learning in vocational education. In M. Stenström., & P. Tynjälä (Eds.). Towards integration of work and learning: Strategies for connectivity and transformation (pp. 117–135). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
Tushman, M.L., & Anderson, P. (1986). Technological discontinuities and organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly 31(3), 439–465.
Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman, B. (1998). Networks in the global village: Life in contemporary communities. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Eraut, M. (1994). Developing professional knowledge and competence. London, England: Routledge.
European Commission. Council Conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) [Official Journal C 119 of 28.5.2009]. http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/general_framework/ef0016_en.htm.
Fincher, S., & Tenenberg, J. (2011). A commons leader‘s vade mecum. University of Kent Press available at: http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/saf/share/papers/BT_111049_VadeXMecum_final.pdf
Forret, M. L., & Dougherty, T.W. (2004). Networking behaviors and career outcomes: Differences for men and women? Journal of Organizational Behavior 25(3), 419–437.
Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology 78(6), 1360–1380.
Handal, G. (1999). Consultation using critical friends. New Directions for Teaching and Learning 79(1), 59–70.
Knight, P. (2006). Quality enhancement and educational professional development. Quality in Higher Education 12(1), 29–40.
Koper, R., Rusman, E., & Sloep, P. (2005). ‘Effective Learning Networks’. Article. http://dspace.ou.nl/handle/1820/304.
McCormick, R., Fox, A., Carmichael, P., & Procter, R. (2011). Researching and understanding educational networks. London, England: Routledge.
Monge, P. R., & Contractor, N. S. (2003). Theories of communication networks. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Paavola, S., Lipponen, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2002). Epistemological foundations for CSCL: A comparison of three models of innovative knowledge communities. In Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning: Foundations for a CSCL Community, (pp. 24–32). CSCL ’02. International Society of the Learning Sciences. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1658616.1658621.
Pifer, M. (2010). Such a dirty word: Networks and networking in academic departments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, USA.
Powell, W.W., Koput, K.W., & Smith-Doerr, L. (1996). Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: Networks of learning in biotechnology. Administrative Science Quarterly 41(1), 116–145.
Ramsden, P. (1998). Learning to lead in higher education. New York, NY: Routledge.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Free Press
Roxå, T., & Mårtensson, K. (2009). Significant conversations and significant networks: Exploring the backstage of the teaching arena. Studies in Higher Education 34(5), 547–559.
Ruef, M. (2002). Strong ties, weak ties and islands: Structural and cultural predictors of organizational innovation. Industrial and Corporate Change 11(3), 427–449.
Tynjälä, P., & Nikkanen, P. (2009). Transformation of individual learning into organizational and networked learning in vocational education. In M. Stenström., & P. Tynjälä (Eds.). Towards integration of work and learning: Strategies for connectivity and transformation (pp. 117–135). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
Tushman, M.L., & Anderson, P. (1986). Technological discontinuities and organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly 31(3), 439–465.
Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Wellman, B. (1998). Networks in the global village: Life in contemporary communities. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.