Tomorrow’s a mystery: constructions of the future and ‘un/becoming’ amongst ‘early’ and ‘late’ career academics

Constructing a secure sense of a professional future has become increasingly difficult for early career researchers, whilst concerns about present and future job in/security have also been expressed in relation to already-established academics. In this paper, we draw on qualitative data from a U.K. study to explore everyday conceptualisations of the future for both ‘early career’ and ‘late career’ academics, in the context of increased fears and actualities of occupational precarity. We utilise theories of the social construction of time, as well as a conception of precarity and ‘precarization’ utilised by Butler (2009a, 2009b) and Lorey (2015), relating to ‘politically induced’ forms of insecurity that are a direct product of neoliberalism. The research reveals a variety of forms and levels of concern and anxiety by both groups for their own futures, and for the future of the academy as a whole

Gender and the marketisation of further education : a study of two colleges /

Abstract\ud This thesis investigates the marketisation of further education (FE) in England in\ud the 1990s with specific reference to gender. A major restructuring of the public\ud sector has taken place in recent years, and colleges have undergone significant\ud changes, with reductions in funding, an increased emphasis on efficiency and\ud accountability, and a new business ethos all evident.\ud This research was conducted in two inner-city colleges m 1997-98, usmg a\ud combination of in-depth interviews, observation, and the examination of\ud documents. The main aim was to identify dominant discourses and practices in the\ud newly corporatised colleges, and to investigate the impact of these on gendered\ud (raced, and classed) power relations. The thesis explores issues of funding and\ud quality, new managerialism, and the restructuring of staffing, spaces and spatial\ud relations. The importance given to new technological developments and their\ud perceived role in the reconstruction of learning, learner and professional identities\ud are also discussed. A further chapter explores the attention paid to equality\ud concerns.\ud A Foucauldian concept of discourse is used to examine the knowledges and\ud perspectives that are legitimised or suppressed within the new FE, and the\ud research draws upon feminist and other critical analyses of marketisation,\ud organisation and management. It is argued that the Cartesian mind-body\ud dichotomy, with its reification of 'rationality' and gendered implications, can be\ud 3\ud seen to underpin the dominant discourses of the market, managerialism and new\ud learning technologies in further education, and the thesis explores the processes\ud by which gendered identities and power relations are maintained and reconstructed\ud in this context.\ud Differences within and between the colleges are discussed, and oppositional\ud discourses which assert professional educational values, an ethic of care and a\ud commitment to challenging inequalities are all identified. The thesis concludes\ud with an analysis of resistance, and an account of more recent policy developments\ud in the sector

The influence of curricula content on sociology students’ transformations: the case of feminist knowledge

Previous research identifies the importance of feminist knowledge for improving gender equity, economic prosperity and social justice for all. However, there are difficulties in embedding feminist knowledge in higher education curricula. Across England, undergraduate sociology is a key site for acquiring feminist knowledge. In a study of four English sociology departments, Basil Bernstein's theoretical concepts and Madeleine Arnot's notion of gender codes frame an analysis indicating that sociology curricula in which feminist knowledge is strongly classified in separate modules is associated with more women being personally transformed. Men's engagement with feminist knowledge is low and it does not become more transformative when knowledge is strongly classified. Curriculum, pedagogy and gender codes are all possible contributors to these different relationships with feminist knowledge across the sample of 98 students

(Re)theorising laddish masculinities in higher education

In the context of renewed debates and interest in this area, this paper reframes the theoretical agenda around laddish masculinities in UK higher education, and similar masculinities overseas. These can be contextualised within consumerist neoliberal rationalities, the neoconservative backlash against feminism and other social justice movements, and the postfeminist belief that women are winning the ‘battle of the sexes’. Contemporary discussions of ‘lad culture’ have rightly centred sexism and men¹s violence against women: however, we need a more intersectional analysis. In the UK a key intersecting category is social class, and there is evidence that while working class articulations of laddism proceed from being dominated within alienating education systems, middle class and elite versions are a reaction to feeling dominated due to a loss of gender, class and race privilege. These are important differences, and we need to know more about the conditions which shape and produce particular performances of laddism, in interaction with masculinities articulated by other social groups. It is perhaps unhelpful, therefore, to collapse these social positions and identities under the banner of ‘lad culture’, as has been done in the past

Experiences of struggle : findings from a longitudinal study

A growing body of research suggests that ‘non-traditional’ students face particular and additional difficulties and barriers to successful study in higher education, reflecting educational and other inequalities related to class, ethnicity, gender and age (Bird 1996, Allen 1997, Bamber et al. 1997, HEFCE 1997, Britton and Baxter 1999, National Audit Office 2002, Archer et al. 2003, Read et al. 2003). Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of undergraduate students that is being conducted at this university, this brief paper focuses on students’ constructions of their experiences at university. As Reay et al. (2002) discovered, for many ‘non-traditional’ students, studying in higher education is characterised by ‘struggle’, and this was something that has emerged as an important theme in the research reported here

REF is leading to sleepless nights over a decrease in time and opportunities to conduct research

Concerned, worried and struggling to cope with pressurised work conditions, academics speak of the effects of the impact agenda and a tight concentration of research funding to Carole Leathwood and Barbara Read as they try to make an impact with their research on impact

Short-term, short-changed? A temporal perspective on the implications of academic casualisation for teaching in higher education

The increasing casualisation of academic labour over recent years has been noted across the global north. In the UK, this takes a number of forms, including fixed term, hourly paid and zero hours contracts. What tends to characterise them all, however, is a focus on the short-term. In this paper, we draw on a qualitative study with 20 UK-based academics on casualised contracts to consider the implications of the short-term nature of such employment for teaching and pedagogy. We come to this with a temporal perspective, in part in response to Felt’s call for a chronopolitical analysis of the changing temporalities of academia. We discuss how short-term temporal logics marked by last-minute or ‘just-in-time’ modalities can be seen to impact negatively on teaching preparation and pedagogical relationships, raising questions about innovation and criticality, power and in/security, continuity and care

Gender and the politics of knowledge in the Academy

No abstract available