Throughout the course of advanced study, individuals who are working towards being scholar-practitioners have a variety of sources to consider. Understanding the value of being a scholar practitioner requires having the desire and commitment for the continued success of the research. Just as with other professions, practicing scholars must also adhere to ethical standards to guide them towards making the right decisions, while considering competence, practice, and confidentiality. The first part of this assignment discusses the scholar practitioner and what it means to become one. This will include my role within the larger higher education context, my positionality in terms of the problem of practice I seek to gain insight on, and building a conceptual framework to inform the research. The next section will introduce and layout a code of ethics that could be applied to scholar practitioners as they conduct research and practice in the field. The last section is the conclusion and provide clarity and closure related to becoming a practicing scholar in the field of higher education.
The role of a scholar-practitioner is to bridge the gap between theory and practice by integrating research, analysis, exploration, and knowledge within the educational environment. Short & Shindell (2009) stated that a space exists between research and practice, which is bridged by the scholar-practitioner. Practicing scholars exhibit passion, dedication, and require the ability to solve problems in real world situations. When deciding to become a practicing scholar, it’s important to provide analysis that is based on observations, academic research, empirical data, and is valid and reliable towards solving or making recommendations towards a problem of practice.
Scholar-practitioners engage in reflection once the research is complete. Reflection allows for thoughtful consideration of the research study and how each piece fits together. Having the ability to reflect on the outcome of scholarly work is the most important part of understanding what it means to becoming a practicing scholar. To become the ideal scholar-practitioner is being able to expand the capacity for insight, reflection, and effective action. As I continue to move through my program, I find that I am spending an increased amount of time on improving my skills by adding new insight into previously acquired knowledge as well as engaging in thoughtful reflection of process and outcome.
The contextual environment of higher education is an ever-changing landscape that effects internal, as well as external stakeholders. As innovative ways to learn continues to expand and laws and regulations begin to change to keep up with the pace of higher education; advancements made to the industry, individuals, and students will continue to evolve. The environment as it currently stands extends beyond the immediate situation and challenges, which directly affects the development of the person (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This means that as higher education continues to change, the way individuals develop will also change. The contextual environment in higher education is in a state of continuous improvement and can often change at a moment’s notice.
I have been working in higher education for approximately fourteen years now. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to experience a variety of different positions. While working in the higher education field, I’ve learned more about the different components that drive this field towards success. The different components the drive higher education include creating knowledge, educational expertise, capacity for teamwork, and commitment to ethical conduct, diversity, and the global perspective.
The higher education context as it relates to my work as a scholar-practitioner revolves around the online environment. The many years I have been in this field, I have been involved in the explosive growth of online education. My role, as it currently stands within the online division of higher education can be broken up into three main areas of focus. This includes accreditation initiatives, policy review and implementation, and the program review process, all of which support the expansion of the portfolio. All three main areas of focus require a collaborative process that includes working groups to foster teamwork and inclusiveness.
In my current place of employment, there is an issue regarding lack of leadership in the academic department. Approximately six months ago three leaders were dismissed from the organization and no honest explanation was given to the remaining employees. This was the beginning of academic leadership team’s decline and panic was felt among the employees outside of the leadership team. Recently this imbalance of power has become disruptive to the workforce. Leadership no longer provides direction, motivation, or support where and when it is needed. The feeling among many employees within this department is overwhelming anxiety and uncertainty as the landscape of the academic department continues to be overhauled uncertainty. Leadership in the academic’s department also appear to be stressed out by the latest rounds of layoffs from the organization. They appear to be scrambling trying to justify their roles.
I am often reminded that I am not in a leadership role, therefore I am not privy to most information discussed or decided behind closed doors. As I continue with my education, I have learned a lot of valuable pieces that can be translated to the organization. However, when I try to present this information, leadership is often dismissive. Over the span of two years I learned many different areas of the university, which has provided me with access to additional information that I would have otherwise not been fortunate to review.
My positionality regarding lack of leadership within the academic’s department is biased and I acknowledge that. Without actually being part of the conversations and lack of decision-making transparency, it’s difficult to see another perspective regarding leadership. Banks described (1998), in order to understand positionality of a researcher, it’s important to learn how their lives and cultures influence their work and stance on a particular topic through multi-cultural education or transformative research. Through researching the topic of leadership in higher education in comparison with my professional context, I was able to establish my positionality, taking into consideration the variety of cultures and perspectives I encounter daily. I understand that there may be some unexpected instances where I do not have the full picture or idea regarding leadership issues, however, in order to determine positionality, Milner (2007) suggests that scholars research themselves, research themselves in relation to others, and engage in reflection and representation in order to shift from the individual idea of thinking to a system of thinking. While my positionality currently influences the direction of the narrative presented, I am well aware of my biases and am always open to hear additional perspectives and collaborate towards an agreement that both sides can feel comfortable with regarding the issue. When we engage in a process of sharing perspectives and questioning those perspectives, we create an essential component towards integrating ideas for a more positive and accepted outcome.
As a scholar practitioner it is important to obtain many different viewpoints on one common theme in order to holistically understand the different perspectives of the same situation. McAlpine and Sharpe (2006) recommend in order to challenge one’s thinking, one must understand and examine a variety of different perspectives. One assignment this semester allowed me to engage in the interview process which included a colleague. Typically, when I am tasked with interviewing someone, I can be a little apprehensive especially when it is regarding the same place of employment. The interview with the academic analyst turned out to be an pleasant and insightful experience, however, crafting the profile was a bit more challenging. I found it to be difficult transcribing the interview responses into a conversational narrative.
Crafting a profile into story form was a different way to understand the question I was researching. According to Seidman (2013), “crafting a profile of a participant’s experience is an effective way of sharing interview data and opening up one’s interview material to analysis and interpretation” (p. 119). I found that the academic analyst’s perception of the research question was not the same as my own observations and it assisted me with understanding that not everyone has the same opinion on this particular topic. In a way, it was interesting to learn a contrasting viewpoint of the same situation. Since not everyone thinks alike, it reaffirmed, for me, that even within the same organizational context, opinions can be widely distinct. Gallagher (1992), noted that the process of interpretation for any given text is conditioned by its age, culture, language, and the author’s intent, which allows for different perceptions. It is possible that I am incorrect in my perception of leadership in relation to motivation and morale, however, without having interviewed various other employees within the department, this is difficult to determine. In order to understand the academic analyst’s story better, it would have been helpful if she could recall specific events of when leadership were showcasing their abilities and skills towards effectively leading, especially following terminations of high level individuals.
This process will assist me as I continue on with my work as a scholar practitioner. To ensure a complete understanding of a situation, interviewing others is a great way to gain a different perspective of the same issue. Milner (2007) suggests that scholars research themselves, research themselves in relation to others, and engage in reflection and representation in order to shift from the individual idea of thinking to a system of thinking. If I were to interview a few different members of the academic department, including leadership, I suspect that would positively contribute to the analysis process, giving the ability to look for and combine themes and patterns. This additional content would assist with providing a better understanding of how a change in academic leadership can have an overall effect on motivation and morale of others within the department.
My understanding of building a theoretical framework in educational research is to provide a rationale for conducting research in order to investigate a problem of practice. In order to develop my own awareness of theoretical framework, I need to consider alternate theories, limitations related to my theory, as well as determine how I perceive and interpret the data. There can be a variety of different components when engaging in theoretical framework as it relates to research. Frameworks allow for an outline to identify and define the problem, objective, participants, and research methodology of the study being conducted. Depending on the data of the research, theoretical frameworks continue to be a work in progress throughout the duration of the study. This continuous process allows for the evaluation and revelation of information to assure the best and most accurate outcome of the study. Frameworks are an important aspect of a research study since they typically guide the process and assist with constructing theories and discovering techniques that explain a phenomenon which can successfully lead to accurate interpretation of the data, organization of ideas, and an overall satisfaction with the outcome of the study. A practicing scholar when developing a framework or adopting an existing one must always remember his/her own positionality of the topic and remain objective by declaring at the beginning of the research the biases towards the topic s/he may have. This will assist with alleviating potential conflicts that may arise within the research (Roulston & Shelton, 2015).
The Scholar Practitioner’s code of ethics was developed to provide general ethical guidelines to direct the professional lives of practicing scholars and to identify related concerns when ethical uncertainties arise. Although this code provides standards, it does not provide a set of rules. Interpretation and differences in opinions must be taken into account, when in context. Ethical conduct results from a personal commitment to engage in ethical practice and an effort to always conduct oneself in a manner that guarantees integrity and honesty.
