Getting Personal

Abstract

For educators, understanding what draws an individual to the teaching profession and, arguably more importantly, what keeps them there, involves recognition of how one's professional identity is located in the classroom. This chapter presents the findings of a pilot study focused on qualitative data stemming from an autoethnographic approach in which one author's own narrative of ‘professional identity' is presented alongside several teaching colleagues at the Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT) in South Australia. EIBT offers full fee-paying pre-university pathways for predominantly international students entering one of two partner universities; The University of Adelaide or The University of South Australia. The multiplicity of social, cultural, and educational factors that have influenced the professional identity of these higher education lecturers are shared with the main objective being self-reflection and collaborative action for learning and teaching improvement.

Reflections on the Impact of Social Technologies on Lecturers in a Pathway Institution

“…Autoethnography thus enables one's unique voice-inclusive of colloquialisms, reverberations and emotional expressiveness-to be valued. This process may generate new insights and enhance sensitivity towards the knowledge gained (Velliaris & Willis, 2014).…”

“…As a methodology that is primarily interested in excavating the formation of identity, Austin and Hickety (2007) claimed that autoethnography holds significant potential for the development of critically reflexive and genuinely emancipatory professional practice for educators. Indeed, autoethnographers are privileged with an intimate and holistic perspective on their 'familiar' data; a familiarity that provides advantages to them in relation to collection, analysis and interpretation (Velliaris & Willis, 2014). For example, teachers 'situate their selves in their own teaching and in their students' learning; and students situate their learning in their selves and their teacher's teaching' (P. Armstrong, 2008).…”

“…EIBT diploma programs benefit from the discipline-specific expertise and academic rigour the universities apply to their own curriculum (Velliaris & Willis, 2014). Cross-institutional lecturers-PhD candidates, experienced academics and/ or business professionals-deliver approximately 40 courses across three back-to-back trimesters.…”

Native or Novice?

“…Founded in 1998, the Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT) in South Australia, offers pre-university pathways that attract students early in their education lifecycle and secure their tertiary destination prior to them meeting university entrance requirements (Bode, 2013;Fiocco, 2006;Navitas, 2014;Velliaris & Willis, 2014;Velliaris, Willis, & Breen, 2015a). Specific to this research are the international students who enter EIBT to undertake a Diploma in: Business; Information Technology; or Engineering packaged with The University of Adelaide or the University of South Australia.…”

“…Though accessible to local students, student recruitment is predominantly directed towards full fee-paying international students who: (a) have completed Year 11 high school in Australia and would prefer to continue their studies in a different academic context; (b) have completed Year 12 high school in Australia, but did not obtain an ATAR [Australian Tertiary Admission Rank] sufficient for direct entry into university; (c) have graduated from high school abroad, but whose English language proficiency did not meet the minimum requirement for direct entry into university; or (d) are 20+ years of age with a relevant employment history (Velliaris & Breen, 2014;Velliaris & Coleman-George, 2014Velliaris & Willis, 2014;Velliaris, Willis, & Breen, 2015b).…”