Research Practice in Research Assistantships: Introducing the Special Issue on Research Assistantships

The idea for this special issue came from our mutual interest in research education and the development of future researchers. Our shared program of research has led us to discover the potentials, complexities, and dilemmas associated with research assistantships where newcomers assist more experienced researchers to conduct research projects. We considered a wide range of proposals and papers addressing different aspects of research assistantships. The resulting collection includes self-studies and analyses of others, as well as policy reviews and recommendations. The pieces consider research assistantships involving bachelor's, master's, and doctoral students in four different countries (Canada, Denmark, South Africa, United States) and across a range of disciplines

Team Dynamics and Learning Opportunities in Social Science Research Teams

Although the contemporary research environment encourages knowledge generation through research collaboration rather than individualized projects, limited scholarly attention has been devoted to the practice of collaboration within research teams. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of team dynamics and learning opportunities within four social science research teams. The findings reveal similarities and differences in leadership style and interaction approaches that affected how research was undertaken and the possibilities for team members to learn from each other. The snapshots provide models for other research teams that extend situated learning theories and the existing research base about collaboration, research teams, and research leadership. Key words: research teams, research leadership, researcher development, situated learning Bien que le milieu actuel de la recherche encourage la génération des connaissances par la collaboration en recherche plutôt que par les projets individuels, les universitaires ont accordé peu d’attention à la pratique collaborative au sein des équipes de recherche. Cet article présente une analyse qualitative de la dynamique des équipes et des occasions d’apprentissage au sein de quatre équipes de recherche en sciences sociales. Les résultats révèlent des ressemblances et des différences dans le style de leadership et les démarches d’interaction qui ont eu une influence sur la façon dont la recherche a été entreprise et sur les possibilités pour les membres des équipes d’apprendre l’un de l’autre. Les aperçus offrent des modèles pour d’autres équipes de recherche et contribuent aux théories de l’apprentissage contextualisé et à la base de recherche portant sur la collaboration, les équipes de recherche et le leadership en recherche. Mots clés : équipes de recherche, leadership en recherche, développement des chercheurs, apprentissage contextualis

Mentoring Teachers for Critical Global Consciousness: Infusing Solidarity in International Service Learning

This study examines the little-studied phenomenon of teacher mentoring for global consciousness. It reviews the relationship between secondary school teachers participating in an international service-learning (ISL) project in Nicaragua and an NGO, Canadian Youth Abroad (CYA). CYA facilitates short, but intensive, ISL experiences. The teachers work for a publicly funded Catholic district school board in Ontario, Canada. Teachers who travel to Nicaragua with the students are mentored and accompanied by more experienced peers - veteran CYA/ISL teacher-participants. The mentoring process seeks to impart the CYA’s particular transformative values to the new teacher-participants and through them, to their students. These values challenge the dominant charitable help the poor model of North-South engagement. The teacher-mentors follow CYA\u27s Freirian pedagogical model that stresses the value of solidarity between Canadian and Nicaraguan participants

Fulfilling an ethical obligation: An educative research assistantship

Scant research evidence is available about the day-to-day workings of research assistantships or the educational possibilities they provide for research assistants and their academic supervisors. This case study documents the equitable, educative, and ethical nature of one research assistantship at a Canadian university. Data sources include audio recordings and transcripts from 24 research meetings, along with field notes and textual documents gathered over 8 months as the research assistant and academic supervisor designed, conducted, and presented an interview-based study. Evidence shows the academic supervisor supported the research assistant as she learned research skills and developed confidence as a researcher. The case study provides a potential model of an equitable, educative, and ethical research assistantship for the consideration of other research assistants and academic supervisors. Il existe peu de données de recherche portant sur les activités quotidiennes qu’impliquent les assistanats à la recherche ou sur les possibilités éducatives qu’ils offrent aux assistants à la recherche et à leurs superviseurs académiques. Cette étude de cas évoque la nature équitable, éducative et éthique d’un assistanat à la recherche dans une université canadienne. Les sources de données comprennent des enregistrements et des transcriptions audio de 24 réunions de recherche, des notes d’observation sur le terrain et des textes recueillis au cours de 8 mois pendant lesquels l’assistante à la recherche et le superviseur académique ont conçu, entrepris et présenté une étude reposant sur les entrevues. Des données probantes indiquent que le superviseur a appuyé l’assistante à la recherche pendant qu’elle acquérait des compétences de recherche et prenait confiance en elle comme chercheuse. Cette étude de cas constitue un modèle potentiel d’assistanat à la recherche équitable, éducatif et éthique que pourraient examiner d’autres assistants à la recherche et superviseurs académiques

Team Dynamics and Learning Opportunities in Social Science Research Teams

Although the contemporary research environment encourages knowledge generation through research collaboration rather than individualized projects, limited scholarly attention has been devoted to the practice of collaboration within research teams. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of team dynamics and learning opportunities within four social science research teams. The findings reveal similarities and differences in leadership style and interaction approaches that affected how research was undertaken and the possibilities for team members to learn from each other. The snapshots provide models for other research teams that extend situated learning theories and the existing research base about collaboration, research teams, and research leadership

Research Practice in Research Assistantships: Introducing the Special Issue on Research Assistantships

The idea for this special issue came from our mutual interest in research education and the development of future researchers. Our shared program of research has led us to discover the potentials, complexities, and dilemmas associated with research assistantships where newcomers assist more experienced researchers to conduct research projects. We considered a wide range of proposals and papers addressing different aspects of research assistantships. The resulting collection includes self-studies and analyses of others, as well as policy reviews and recommendations. The pieces consider research assistantships involving bachelor's, master's, and doctoral students in four different countries (Canada, Denmark, South Africa, United States) and across a range of disciplines

Research Education in Global Times: A European Perspective

This qualitative research study takes a closer look at developing competent researchers and thus buildingresearch capacity within Europe. The rapidly changing research environment driven by globalisation,internationalization, technological advancements, and the use of innovative methodologiesimpacts how research is designed, conducted, and reported on. We argue that the current complexresearch environment calls for globally competent researchers able to engage in research projects andresearch communities across disciplines and across geographic borders. However, there is scarceempirical evidence about research knowledge and competencies which global researchers need toconduct quality research. Relevant literature is also almost silent on what kind of educational opportunitieswithin higher education institutions allow graduate students to acquire these competencies.To address the existing gap in the literature, this article brings perspectives of twenty-three novice andexperienced scholars from ten European countries. The findings showcase a spectrum of competenciesrequired by globally competent researchers as well as opportunities and challenges associated withthe acquisition of these competencies. According to the respondents, efforts need to be maximized tobuild research capacity via emerging talents. This implies paying close attention to the research learningspaces, practices, and polices where future globally competent researchers can be nurtured andshaped. Considering the small sample size of participants, the findings are not meant to be conclusivebut rather informative in nature for those involved in research

Regulating research learning spaces: An ethical-juridical perspective from South African and Canadian contexts

This paper explores the need for formal regulations within South African and Canadian tertiary institutions’ research assistantships in which postgraduate students acquire research knowledge and skills under the supervision of project leaders. While the relationship between research assistants and project leaders is similar to those in other workplaces, educational and developmental aspects of research assistantships create a unique type of employment relationship that often is predicated on informal practices and subjective perceptions rather than on labour law or ethical standards. The absence of formal regulations such as a code of professional and ethical conduct specific to research assistantships therefore may expose research members to unnecessary challenges. Our goal in this paper is to address the dearth of literature on legal and ethical standards related to the employment of postgraduate student research assistants and to draw attention to the benefits of formal regulations within research assistantships as research learning spaces

A Dual Perspective on Risks and Security Within Research Assistantships

Although research assistantships are considered research learning venues in graduate education, there is a scarcity of literature that examines ethical elements attached to the employment of graduate student research assistants or the position of their research supervisors. This article explores the need to implement formal regulations specific to research assistantships in order to increase security and decrease risks for research assistants and research supervisors. Relationships between research assistants and research supervisors have some similarities with regular employment relationships; yet some distinct differences arise due to the educational and developmental nature of research assistantships. The article is written from a dual perspective reflecting the authors’ roles (a research supervisor and a research assistant, respectively) and institutional locations (Faculties of Education in South Africa and Canada). The authors draw from existing literature, an analysis of institutional policies and practices at their universities, and their personal and professional experiences to illustrate risks that research assistants and their supervisors may face within research assistantships. They assess the extent to which existing and proposed policies and practices influence working conditions and safeguard experiences within graduate research assistantships. The findings reveal that research assistantships are a unique form of employment focused on educational and professional development that requires specific documentation of expected standards of practice. The authors argue that lack of clear regulations exposes both parties to unnecessary risks and offer recommendations for creating a “Standards of Good Practice” document that will be useful for individuals engaged in research assistantships