Just keep following the heartlines on your hand

This chapter shares a personal journey; one that has hit lots of bumpy roads along the way. But in the words of singer-songwriter Florence Welch I have managed to 'keep following the heartlines on my hand'. It took ten years since gaining my Ph.D. to get a continuing role in academia – and I love it! There have however, been many challenges in getting there, but now that I am there I am beginning to realise that there are many more challenges to come. This chapter draws on the theoretical frameworks of professional socialisation and reflection in attempting to highlight both the process and the outcomes achieved in academia. Becoming socialised into an academic profession is not easy but, as a reflective professional who can focus on positivity and confidence in oneself, it can be very fulfilling

The acculturation and engagement of undergraduate students in scientific thinking through research methods

In undergraduate degrees in the social sciences, research courses are usually a compulsory component of the curriculum. This chapter explores the pedagogical engagement, through the lens of acculturation theory, that is needed for creating scientific thinking skills. We posit that students who choose their discipline voluntarily are more likely to pedagogically engage (i.e. integrate or assimilate) in their discipline’s research paradigms. However, those students pursuing a discipline which was not their first choice may be less engaged in developing scientific thinking skills within these compulsory components and may be more likely to adopt a segregated approach. The chapter explores the implications of these different pedagogical engagement approaches for students and how teachers may create learning environments to develop their scientific thinking skills