PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the establishment of a Research Working Group at Flinders University Library, a mid‐sized teaching and research university located in South Australia. The group was founded to encourage staff to develop a more reflective, research‐oriented and evidence‐based professional practice initially for a three‐year term. This paper comes at about two years into the pilot and provides an interim report of the group's experiences and achievements.Design/methodology/approachAs a case study, this paper describes the introduction and background of the Flinders University Library Research Working Group, its purpose, the selection of projects, and its work to date.FindingsThe paper reports on the management‐driven practical supports that have been implemented to assist practitioners undertaking research at Flinders University Library.Practical implicationsThe paper can be used as an exemplar for other academic libraries with staff with non‐tenured staff which lacks a culture of research.Originality/valueThis paper adds an Australian perspective to the existing literature on support for academic librarians undertaking research. The literature is dominated by US and Canadian experiences based on academic status.
This paper explores how a support group has contributed to building a culture of research practice at Flinders University Library. The brief of the Research Working Group (RWG) is to develop a culture of research and professional reflection in the library's professional staff. The RWG has three broad goals against which to measure its impact: to develop the professional staff's skills with regard to research engagement; to encourage analysis and investigation of the library's services and resources; and to engage more widely with the library profession and the wider higher education community through presentation and publication of research results. Professional staff completed a questionnaire examining their participation in research, their confidence in undertaking research, and plans for future research projects. The results were analysed with reference to the first goal of the RWG. The importance of practitioners undertaking research is increasingly being recognised as a core value in academic libraries. Many support groups for librarians undertaking research have been described in the literature, but few have evaluated the impact of such a group. This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of the RWG on the professional staff at Flinders University Library to date.
Knowledge and expertise about safeguarding children and child protection are both essential skills for schoolteachers. Since 2004, specific learning about these topics has been included in the curricula for undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teachers. This article explores the development of child protection education and learning for trainee teachers at the University of the West of England, and reflects on some of our experiences, learning to date and student feedback. Child protection education is a feature of all undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teacher courses at this university. Our model differs from others as it is embedded in face-to-face learning which is led by four professionals from relevant disciplines: education, health, police and social work. Evaluations have been mostly positive, and it is intended that such reflections might be helpful to other higher education institutions, local authorities and schools in informing the development of their curricula. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGES• Safeguarding and child protection training is a vital aspect of education for trainee teachers.• An interprofessional team including a teacher, children's nurse, police officer and social worker is able to model respectful collaboration and communication required for professional practice in this area.• Trainee teachers appreciated meeting the range of professionals in the training context as it enabled them to discuss issues of concern in a safe environment.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the mechanisms used by Flinders University Library to sustain a culture of research. Flinders University Library has been supporting its librarians to undertake research projects using a formal support group mechanism, known as the Research Working Group (RWG), sanctioned and resourced by library executive since 2010. This established a culture of practitioner-based research in the library, with librarians developing a greater understanding of both the theory and practice of qualitative and quantitative methods by undertaking their own research projects. However, sustaining this culture brings new challenges which this paper now explores. Design/methodology/approach This case study describes the methods used at Flinders University Library in sustaining a culture of practitioner-research. This arose from a review of the formal support structure, as well as a previous study that surveyed staff responses to the Research Working Group. Findings As academic libraries face ongoing challenges and engage more broadly with research support, librarians need experiential knowledge of research. In the case of Flinders University Library, in seeking to sustain a research culture, we have needed to adapt our support mechanisms, including a greater emphasis on peer support, a different model of resourcing, and more inclusivity for all staff to engage with research work. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited by its scope as a single-institution case study; however there are opportunities for other academic libraries to learn from this experience. Originality/value Establishing a culture of practice-based research is not an easy undertaking, requiring dedication from all parties whether management, practitioner-researchers or mentors. While there are many examples in the literature of case studies examining the establishment of research culture, few if any take the next steps to explore how to maintain it. This paper seeks to fill that gap.
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