Narrative Encounters of Pedagogic Partnership, and the Development of Collegial Capital in Higher Education

Purpose: The study explores the relational encounters of five higher education tutors and programme leaders, working in collaboration across contrasting institutions--one, a modern, civic university in the Global North, and the other, a parastatal institution in the Global South. The purpose of the study is to deepen the understanding of evolving collegiality within a transnational partnership, stimulated by the COVID-19 pandemic related shift to online teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach: The inquiry is informed conceptually by the concept of narrative encounter as a site of learning, with inductive, meta-analysis undertaken across our individual reflective narratives. Findings: The narratives reveal three emergent themes--shared purpose, shared responsibility -- through focus, routinised dialogue and concreteness;collective and individual risk-taking -- through negotiated decision-making;and trust in self and in peers -- through reciprocity, caring, duality and building on stable practices. Research limitations/implications: The data from which this paper is developed and its related central thesis of collegial capital are limited and partial. However, when agility within higher education partnerships is at a premium, this paper is a useful touchstone for further reflection. Originality/value: The paper seeks to further the concept of collegiality and collegial capital, a dialogical affordance which enabled the partnership to build on previous collaborative successes.

"Memeing It Up!”: Doctoral Students' Reflections of Collegiate Virtual Writing Spaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Completing a PhD is an isolating and arduous process, where doctoral students' wellbeing is impacted. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the pre-existing feelings of social isolation and lowered productivity resulting in further challenges due to the absence of established social support systems. Higher education is an area of particular interest, specifically in Victoria, Australia, where all students spent most of the years 2020 and 2021 in a lockdown. This chapter presents a reflective autoethnographic account of two doctoral students' experiences of writing their theses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are two sociological researchers pursuing PhDs who experienced an extended COVID-19 lockdown while studying at Monash University's Faculty of Education in Victoria, Australia. Our chapter identifies how our socio-emotional and academic writing struggles were intertwined and how they affected the overall progress of our doctoral thesis. The emotional aspects included, but were not limited to, fear, anxiety, uncertainty, stress, and a lack of support, which will be the focus of this chapter. We use our accounts to share our coping strategies by acknowledging the effects of these emotional aspects. We achieved this through participating in collegiate virtual writing spaces via Zoom, creating a sense of accountability for writing by employing the Pomodoro technique. Furthermore, social interaction was a significant component of the Zoom sessions;we maintained our digital proximity while we were physically apart. The use of memes, presented an opportunity for us to socialise, joke, and reflect on the positives, thus creating a sense of self-efficacy during this challenging time. Ultimately, these sessions created a space to remind ourselves and each other of the passion behind our doctoral degrees and ascribe somewhat positive meaning to the thoughts and feelings related to the stressful and unexpected COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we offer this chapter to support our fellow doctoral peers in these times of uncertainty across the globe. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

Collegiate decisions during COVID-19: Witness to a collective solicitude?

During the period of the first lockdown in France, the mobilization of the caregivers was strong. Collegiate decisions were reached to reorganize certain care activities and review our ways of doing things. It seems to us that we were able to show "collective solicitude". First, we determine what constituted this movement of solicitude. We use Paul Ricoeur's definition in his book Soi-meme comme un autre, and in particular the importance he gives to self-esteem. We also situated the fundamental place of the other in the construction of solicitude and more broadly in the care relationship. We then sought to know if this mobilization could be shared. We offer some possible answers and, above all, lines of reflection. How can we define a "we" in care other than what the institution offers us? In Ricoeur's work, the institution is defined as a place where interpersonal relations are set aside. What then are the resources, the conditions for succeeding in "being one"? This period was characterized for the caregivers by marked recognition of their function but also by considerable vulnerability. Finally, we endeavored to show "active solidarity". (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (French) Lors de la periode du premier confinement, la mobilisation des soignants a ete forte. Nous avons pris des decisions collegialement afin de reorganiser certains soins et revoir notre maniere de fonctionner. Il nous semble que nous avons pu faire preuve de << sollicitude collective . Dans un premier temps, nous avons determine ce qui est constitutif de ce mouvement de sollicitude. Nous nous sommes appuyes sur la definition de Paul Ricoeur dans son ouvrage, Soi-meme comme un autre et notamment sur l'importance qu'il accorde a l'estime de soi. Nous avons egalement situe la place fondamentale de l'autre dans la construction de la sollicitude et plus largement dans la relation de soin. Dans un deuxieme temps, nous avons cherche a savoir si cette mobilisation pouvait etre partagee. Nous offrons des pistes de reponse et surtout de reflexion. Comment definir un << nous soignant autre que ce que l'institution nous offre ? L'institution, chez Ricoeur, est definie comme un lieu ou les relations interpersonnelles sont depassees. Quelles sont alors les ressources, les conditions pour reussir a << faire corps ? Cette periode a ete marquee pour les soignants par une forte reconnaissance de leur fonction mais aussi par une forte vulnerabilite. De plus, nous avons espere faire preuve d'une << solidarite active . (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Studying Languages in the Times of COVID-19: Reflections on the Delivery of Teaching and Learning Activities and the Year Abroad

This contribution reflects on some of the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced for languages in Higher Education (HE). In particular, two areas are discussed: the delivery of teaching and learning activities, including assessments, and the year abroad. These two areas, on which the enforced move to online provision has had a significant impact, are central to many UK languages degrees. The piece discusses challenges, responses, and unresolved issues. All in all, it aims to offer a positive view for the future of the sector by highlighting particularly the spirit of collegiality that has developed during the pandemic across different HE institutions and national organisations. [For the complete volume, "Languages at Work, Competent Multilinguals and the Pedagogical Challenges of COVID-19," see ED612070.]

Assessing University Governance and Policies in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities around the globe have taken numerous extraordinary measures and implemented many changes to their strategic, operational, and academic activities. Currently, there is a transformation taking place from the emergency decision-making in the early stages of the pandemic towards reflection and resolution on how the past months can shape governance and strategy. Higher education institutions have been facing challenges with the alignment of their university governance for their strategic and operational plans. Presently, university leaders have prioritized risk management and financial management over all else. Unfortunately, due to these priorities, university responses to the pandemic took the top-down approach of management, rejecting the shared governance structures and collegial practices of the institutions. The pandemic has accelerated the openness to change by creating an emergency or steering response team led by university presidents and provosts, with sub-teams focusing on operations and other academic advisory groups working together to deal with the fast-rising scenarios. The consequence is a clear flow of information and strong communication across the institution, which sequentially builds on mechanisms to respond to the secondary effects of the pandemic. Moreover, higher education institutions are continuously facing challenges with their strategic alignment of business objectives in order to have a diverse educational system in response to the pandemic. "Assessing University Governance and Policies in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic" presents the latest research and studies investigating information on university governance and adapting previous, existing, and proposed models for the current pandemic. This book is comprised of chapters contributed by various leading international authors to discuss and analyze all aspects of university governance in relation to their impact on strategies in finance, sustainability, academic issues, research, faculty and students, leadership, campus, employment and recruitments, and more. This is an essential text for university presidents, strategic planning authorities in universities, college deans and academic department chairpersons, government authorities and policymakers, researchers, students, and academicians.

Focusing on Sustainable Development of Teachers

The present study aims to investigate in which areas teachers need Professional Development Activities (PDAs), the barriers that prevent teachers from participating in PDAs, their frequency of participating in collegiality-based PDAs, and the relationship between their views about the effectiveness of PDAs and their professional commitment. The sample of the study comprised 821 teachers working at different grades in public schools. The study draws the following conclusions: The vast majority of teachers were of the opinion that the PDAs they participated in had positive effects. It was found that teachers mostly needed knowledge about the effective use of information technologies in education as well as about subject-specific teaching methods and techniques. It was observed that teachers did not participate sufficiently in collegiality-based PDAs that include peer coaching. Finally, it was found that teachers' perceptions of barriers to their participation in PDAs, their level of need for PDAs, and their frequency of participation in collegiality-based PDAs had a significant effect on their attitudes towards PD.

Collegiate decisions during COVID-19: Witness to a collective solicitude?

(French) Lors de la periode du premier confinement, la mobilisation des soignants a ete forte. Nous avons pris des decisions collegialement afin de reorganiser certains soins et revoir notre maniere de fonctionner. Il nous semble que nous avons pu faire preuve de << sollicitude collective . Dans un premier temps, nous avons determine ce qui est constitutif de ce mouvement de sollicitude. Nous nous sommes appuyes sur la definition de Paul Ricoeur dans son ouvrage, Soi-meme comme un autre et notamment sur l'importance qu'il accorde a l'estime de soi. Nous avons egalement situe la place fondamentale de l'autre dans la construction de la sollicitude et plus largement dans la relation de soin. Dans un deuxieme temps, nous avons cherche a savoir si cette mobilisation pouvait etre partagee. Nous offrons des pistes de reponse et surtout de reflexion. Comment definir un << nous soignant autre que ce que l'institution nous offre ? L'institution, chez Ricoeur, est definie comme un lieu ou les relations interpersonnelles sont depassees. Quelles sont alors les ressources, les conditions pour reussir a << faire corps ? Cette periode a ete marquee pour les soignants par une forte reconnaissance de leur fonction mais aussi par une forte vulnerabilite. De plus, nous avons espere faire preuve d'une << solidarite active . (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Collegiality, emotional labour and compassion in the academy: an autoethnographic study of Covid-19

Purpose: The paper draws upon autoethnographic accounts from two academic staff in a private higher education institution (HEI) in London, UK who try to make sense of their teaching and learning practices during the pandemic. Even though studies have looked into the impact of Covid-19 on teaching and learning and on students, this paper reflects on the experience of lecturers with a focus on their emotional labour and stressors during remote teaching and working. Design/methodology/approach: This is a small case study of two colleagues from a small private institution in London, UK, which is based on autoethnography. The authors draw on personal notes, emails and other written artefacts alongside our memories of our lived experiences of the pandemic. Findings: The authors’ reflections focus on the need for institutional collegiality as avenues to network and collaborate beyond institutions which have been limited (despite the increased interactions online) and the need to acknowledge emotional labour while providing spaces for staff to discuss their everyday experiences. The authors argue for a renewed importance for creating a sense of community during times of uncertainty and beyond. If these structures are put into place, the conditions to support teaching and learning will also strengthened. Originality/value: There is a dearth in research which discusses emotional labour and the importance of community and collegiality on campuses and in the new way of working remotely. This paper adds to the empirical basis of such research and hopes to encourage others to share their experiences of emotional labour in the academy. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

"We Will Appreciate Each Other More After This": Teachers' Construction of Collective and Personal Identities During Lockdown.

In March 2020, schools in England were closed to all but vulnerable children and the children of key workers, as part of a national effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Many teachers were required to work from home as remote learning was implemented. Teaching is primarily a relational profession, and previous literature acknowledges that supportive relationships with peers help to maintain teachers' resilience and commitment during challenging periods. This paper reports on findings from a small-scale study conducted in England during the first national lockdown beginning in March 2020, which explored the impact of the requirement to teach remotely on teachers' identity and peer relationships. A discourse analysis, informed by the aims and practices of discursive psychology, was conducted in order to explore the association between constructions of peer support and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings indicate that teachers who presented their professional self-identity as collective rather than personal appeared to have a more positive perspective on the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. These findings, which have implications for policymakers and school leaders, contribute to the growing field of research on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education by showing the strong association between teachers' constructions of identity and their capacity to respond positively to the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Pandemic Effect: Raising the Bar for Ethics, Empathy, and Professional Collegiality.

The widespread, tragic loss of life and the dedication of health care professionals have characterized the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic. While we mourn the loss of so many Americans to this novel virus, we also much acknowledge the positive effects to our profession, which are not insignificant. We have witnessed our larger community of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons pulling together in a manner not heretofore observed by this author. From the local level of practitioners to our national societies, there has been an amazing effort of collegial unity to develop the most clinically relevant guidelines for providing patient care with maximal safety, in the face of little scientific knowledge or experience with this virus. In addition, we as a specialty and individual otolaryngologists have, through our shared experiences, raised the bar for empathy, ethics, and professional interaction during these difficult times. We must reflect upon our professional growth and capture this renewal of altruism that lives at the heart of our calling.