Developing Reflexive identities through collaborative, interdisciplinary and precarious work: the experience of early career researchers

Enright, Bryony; Facer, Keri

doi:10.1080/14767724.2016.1199319

Cited by 22 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Several studies demonstrate how early career inter-and transdisciplinary researchers "negotiate an identity" (Lyall and Meagher 2012:613) or create "epistemic living spaces" (Felt et al 2013:514). We argue, as do others (Romm 1998, Lyall and Meagher 2012, Popa et al 2015, Enright and Facer 2017, that this adaptation necessitates processes of reflexivity whereby researchers continually reconsider their position and role in the research process. In part, we argue that this necessity comes from the concrete nature of the problems that sustainability research seeks to address.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…In our study, most participants expressed a general wish to change society, and many of them actually adapted their research strategies to enable that. This difference between the PhD students in Enright and Facer's (2017) study, participating in a broad PhD program, and our researchers with their focus on sustainability issues, could be traced to the transformative agenda of sustainability research. The orientation toward society was foremost expressed as personal or functional reflexivity.…”

Section: Reflexivity In Inter-and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Rementioning

confidence: 96%

“…They also highlighted the wish for societal change in their role as researcher and in the relation to research subjects, for example, by focusing on the role of research subjects to change unsustainable practices. In a study of 24 early career researchers, Enright and Facer (2017) showed that most of the researchers wanted to affect society, whereas only a small number saw their research as a tool to do so. In our study, most participants expressed a general wish to change society, and many of them actually adapted their research strategies to enable that.…”

Section: Reflexivity In Inter-and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Rementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecology and Society 23(4): 20 https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss4/art20/ social change (Lang et al 2012, Polk 2014, Scholz and Steiner 2015, Luederitz et al 2017. Less attention has concentrated on what these approaches mean for the personal development of individual researchers, with a few notable exceptions (e.g., Lyall and Meagher 2012, Felt et al 2013, Darbellay 2015a, Enright and Facer 2017. As the studies demonstrate, it is difficult to gain a robust understanding of inter-and transdisciplinary approaches, and to further improve them, without having deeper comprehension about how scholars make sense of these processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because sustainability researchers often have to explain a complex web of causality, they must develop a capacity for deciding on what bodies of knowledge may be more suitable for addressing concrete sustainability problems and for communicating these choices. Earlier research, however, has not focused on how researchers experience and express reflexivity, with the exception of Enright and Facer (2017). Furthermore, few studies have focused exclusively on sustainability researchers, which are not only expected to work in an inter-or transdisciplinary manner, but also often have an agenda to transform society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Finding an academic space: reflexivity among sustainability researchers

Knaggård¹,

Ness²,

Harnesk³

2018

E&S

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Reflexivity is arguably an important aspect of doing sustainability research. The inter-and transdisciplinary character of sustainability research, as well as its change-oriented agenda, require scholars to reflect on their role as researchers, their research focus and methodology, and its relation to academia and society. Using focus groups with 15 researchers at different stages in their academic career, we investigate three forms of reflexivity, i.e., personal, functional, and disciplinary, for sustainability researchers connected to the LUCID (Lund University Centre of Excellence for the Integration of the Social and Natural Dimensions of Sustainability) program experience. We further study similarities and differences in how the researchers experience reflexivity connected to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. We find that sustainability researchers experience all three forms of reflexivity. In particular, they are highly reflexive about how research on sustainability issues is dependent on theoretical pluralism; how research can contribute to the transformation of society; and how they, as inter-and transdisciplinary researchers, can construct a space for themselves within the academic system. We also find that transdisciplinary approaches make scholars add a layer of reflexivity to the three categories studied, concerning collaboration beyond academia. Finally, we find that reflexivity about these issues seems to be crucial for how sustainability researchers construct a space for themselves within the academic system. PhD graduates from the LUCID program are deeply reflexive about the function of academic boundaries. It is this awareness that enables them to construct an academic identity entirely beyond boundaries. This result has important implications for PhD programs focused toward sustainability issues, in terms of a need to provide opportunities for PhD students to develop reflexivity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Reflexivity In Inter-and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Rementioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Reflexivity In Inter-and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Rementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Finding an academic space: reflexivity among sustainability researchers

Knaggård¹,

Ness²,

Harnesk³

2018

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Navigating the neo-academy: Experiences of liminality and identity construction among early career researchers at one Australian regional university

Larsen

Brandenburg

2022

Aust. Educ. Res.

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Across the world, many university-based early career researchers (ECRs) are experiencing an unprecedented intensification of research expectations on transition from doctoral research to academic life. Countries such as Australia have put into place national frameworks of research excellence to remain globally competitive. Pressure on universities to elevate global research rankings has soared, with many regional universities and disciplines such as education responding with a rapid escalation of research performance expectations for academics. Consequently, concerns have been raised for ECRs embroiled in intensified research agendas in these contexts. Framed by concepts of liminality and identity construction, we argue that intensified expectations do not take account of liminality experienced by ECRs during times of transition, compromising perceived academic progress. We report on the identity journeys of ECRs in a School of Education at one regional Australian university. Data was collected from nine ECRs using online focus groups and analysed using a hybrid thematic approach. Key findings indicate that ECRs transition into the Academy post-doctorate with varying experiences of identity liminality that impact their capacity to manage research expectations. ECRs experiencing shorter periods of liminality are best positioned to manage the intensified expectations of academic life while ECRs experiencing persistent liminality and identity ‘struggle’ are more likely to perceive a diminished sense of achievement and support. These findings have significant implications for university leadership and research supervisors, in Australia and globally, regarding the ways they support ECRs to productively navigate the hyper-invigilated audit cultures of what we have termed the neo-academy.

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