The importance of internal conversations and reflexivity for work-based students in higher education: valuing contextual continuity and ‘giving something back’

Bovill, Helen

doi:10.1080/02601370.2012.723049

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In contrast to poststructuralism, Critical Realism identifies agents as exerting their 'personal powers to formulate projects and to monitor both self and society in the pursuit of their designs' (Archer, 2003, p. 298). Consequently, Critical Realism is receiving growing interest as a way of addressing the balance between structure and agency in order to understand students' experiences (Bovill, 2012;D'Silva & Pugh, 2021).…”

Section: Poststructuralismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Curiosity and careers: Female working-class students’ experiences of university

Shields

2021

International Studies in Sociology of Education

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Many studies have highlighted the limited 'opportunity structures' of working-class undergraduates. However, there have been few studies exploring how students' agentic internal conversations mediate societal structures. Internal conversation is a reflexive process in which thoughts and decisions are considered in relation to social circumstances. This article seeks to further understandings of this reflexivity with 10 female working-class students. Theorisation using internal conversation emerged as an area of interest during interviews where journeys into higher education were narrated, within a larger study about engagement with assessment and feedback at university. Transcripts were analysed through Archer's morphogenetic approach to agency with the internal conversational phases of 'discernment', 'deliberation' and 'dedication'. Analysis indicated that participants demonstrated elements of both 'autonomous reflexivity' and 'communicative reflexivity'. Future studies should further explore the interplay between 'agency for change' and 'agency for stability' in the desire for upward mobility while simultaneously seeking to maintain existing social contexts.

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Section: Poststructuralismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Critical Realism has received growing interest as a way of addressing the interplay between structure and agency in order to understand university students' experiences (Bovill, 2012;D'Silva & Pugh, 2021). Archer's (2012) study explored the internal conversations of Sociology undergraduates at an elite English University.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Curiosity and careers: Female working-class students’ experiences of university

Shields

2021

International Studies in Sociology of Education

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“…The Australian higher education system, which consists of 43 universities, has expanded rapidly in the past half a century, and is characterised by trends similar to the higher education sectors of other developed countries: widening participation, declines in per-student government funding, and increasing demand for tertiary qualifications across society and industry. While it can be easy to assume that, in such a system, student choices regarding their courses are grounded in rational and informed decision-making processes (Bovill, 2012), research gives us good reason to doubt the accuracy of students' expectations and knowledge about their education-employment pathways, even once these pathways have been embarked upon (Hemsley-Brown, 2011). Of course, to raise such doubts is not to blame students; the complexity, dynamism, and ambiguity that characterise the current and future world of work mean that many stakeholders are likely to have uncertainty about how higher education can support students to progress towards and within future employment pathways (FYA, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ignorance is risk: An exploratory investigation of students’ perceptions of their education–employment pathways

Lock

Kelly

2020

JTLGE

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The widely held view that higher education constitutes a gateway to employment has underpinned the dramatic widening of access to university in recent decades. However, globalisation and technological development have complicated the task of enhancing the employability of students, as the future world of work has become ever-more dynamic and unpredictable. Given such conditions, the delivery of employability teaching has become a central focus of many higher education providers (HEPs). To meet their responsibilities, HEPs must understand how students perceive their respective courses in relation to the employment pathways that they seek to follow. The present study aimed to gain an understanding of prospective students’ perceptions regarding this, but also to evaluate the accuracy of these perceptions. Because some course types are more narrowly vocational than are others, a subsidiary aim was to investigate whether or not student expectations and knowledge varied depending on course-type. The findings gathered from 462 students enrolled into a wide range of courses at 15 Australian universities were profound. They highlight that, while most students commence university with a career goal in mind, many have a poor understanding of the education-employment pathways on which they have embarked. Students demonstrated a limited understanding of the careers to which their courses might lead, and of the relevance of postgraduate study to their chosen career goals. These findings varied significantly across different course-types. Overall, these findings highlight the need for HEPs to educate their students explicitly about the education-employment pathways that are available to them.

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“…Table 2 demonstrates that 60 questionnaire respondents have made some sort of professional progression since completing the FD/top-up. Not all TAs undertake an FD to move out of work they are doing, many continue to want to work in the same role and community (Bovill 2012). Others still have family and work commitments, which take precedence.…”

Section: Cohort Demographicsmentioning

confidence: 99%