A Journey towards Collaborative Culture Development: How to Be Weightless Despite Academic Gravity

Autor/inn/en	Fung, Dennis; Liang, Weijun
Titel	A Journey towards Collaborative Culture Development: How to Be Weightless Despite Academic Gravity
Quelle	In: Frontiers of Education in China, 16 (2021) 1, S.79-112 (34 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1673-341X
DOI	10.1007/s11516-021-0004-5
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Cooperation; Teacher Educators; Collegiality; Organizational Culture; Faculty Publishing; Tenure; Coaching (Performance); Faculty Development; Interprofessional Relationship; Asia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Co-operation; Kooperation; Teacher education; Education; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Kollegialität; Unternehmenskultur; Amtszeit; Beschäftigungsdauer; Asien
Abstract	In science, gravity refers to the universal force of attraction acting on and between all matter. No one on earth can escape the force of gravity. In a similar vein, the stringent requirements of publications, research grants, and research output in the academic world can be metaphorically described as "academic gravity," the force of which pushes university academics to struggle and strive in pursuit of excellence just to survive in the changing landscape of higher education governed by neo-liberalism and managerialism. This article describes the journey of a junior academic staff member in an Asian university as he coped with various difficulties in establishing a collaborative culture in his department (i.e., the Faculty of Education). Working with a senior colleague (Sunshine-mother hereafter) in the same department, Author 1 began to recognize the importance of collegial collaboration in teacher education generally and in his academic life specifically. However, although he tried his utmost to develop a culture of collaboration amongst his colleagues, he struggled to cope with the tension and stress exerted by academic gravity (i.e., publication production and the pursuit of tenure). Drawing on data collected from a teaching development project and adopting a reflective autobiographic approach, this article delineates the collaborative relationship between Author 1 and Sunshine-mother, exemplifying the important roles that coaching and a free rein (i.e., weightlessness) play in the development of junior teacher-educators under the strong pressure of academic gravity. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01