Using LEGO® To Understand Emotion Work In Doctoral Education

Brown, Nicole; Collins, Jo

doi:10.18646/2056.54.18-014

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Across the interviews, our criminological researchers described performing emotional labour in the field while carrying out their doctoral research. All of our researchers commented on the overall 'emotionfulness' of undertaking doctoral research (Baptista, 2014;Morrison-Saunders et al, 2010), and identified the need to engage in emotional labour during their PhD studies (Aitchinson and Mowbray, 2013;Brown and Collins (2018). While a number of themes were identified in the analysis, those discussed here have been highlighted as being particularly pertinent to the PhD experience.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Skakni (2018) maintains that students are expected to be autonomous, but also align their practice with the norms and informal rules of the community of practice they find themselves in. Therefore, as suggested by Brown and Collins (2018 citing Beeler, 1991; Golde, 2005: 202), doctoral students characterise their identity as ‘liminal’, and this seems to be reflected in the emotional labour they perform. It can be seen from these extracts that while there is a clear understanding that emotional labour is required in the field when undertaking doctoral research, exactly what is expected, for example, in terms of the empathy or sympathy to be displayed is often not clear to our participants.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The emotional labour of doctoral criminological researchers

Waters

Westaby

Fowler

et al. 2020

Methodological Innovations

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Embarking upon empirical qualitative research can be a daunting and emotional task, particularly for those who are new to research and for those who research vulnerable groups and emotive topics. Doctoral criminological researchers transect these realms, often making their research experiences acutely emotional and challenging. In addition, researchers must be able to perform emotional labour as an important part of their professional practice. Based on 30 semi-structured interviews, this is the first study to explicitly explore the emotional labour of criminological researchers. Using the lens of emotional labour, the performance and impact of undertaking qualitative data collection in doctoral research is examined. From the interview data, three main themes are discussed: emotional labour, the consequences of performing that emotional labour and coping mechanisms to deal with those consequences. The article concludes with recommendations around support and training for PhD candidates, their supervisors and the higher education sector more broadly.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The emotional labour of doctoral criminological researchers

Waters

Westaby

Fowler

et al. 2020

Methodological Innovations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Based within an interpretivist approach that focuses on how participants create meanings (Ritchie et al, 2014, p. 12), the three studies discussed here focused on participants' PhD journeys. The first study explored emotional dissonance within the PhD and data was collected from workshops and from interviews (N. Brown & Collins, 2018;Collins & Brown, 2020). The second study looked at the transition into UK higher education by International and EU Graduate Teaching Assistants (Collins, 2019;Collins, 2021) and again collected data from workshops and interviews.…”

Section: Methodology Research Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using the lenses of identity work and 'doctoral capital', data from three qualitative studies amongst 30 PhD students is explored to highlight the desire for validation within their PhD journeys. These studies looked at the journeys that PhD students make (two focusing on PhD students, the other on international Graduate Teaching Assistants transitioning into the UK) (N. Brown & Collins, 2018;Collins, 2019;Collins, 2021;Collins & Brown, 2020). (Here, in the UK context, it should be noted that 'International' designates PhD students from both inside and outside of the EEA, a definition recently altered, along with fee status).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation in Doctoral Education: Exploring PhD Students’ Perceptions of Belonging to Scaffold Doctoral Identity Work

Collins

2021

IJDS

Self Cite

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Aim/Purpose: The aim of this article is to make a case of the role of validation in doctoral education. The purpose is to detail findings from three studies which explore PhD students’ experiences and perceptions of belonging in one UK university-ty, in order to hypothesise how validation and self-validation could make a difference in doctoral education, and what practices might support this. Background: The article draws on research into doctoral identity and work on ‘doctoral capital’ to explore how PhD students’ perceptions and experiences of not belonging to doctoral communities negatively impacts on their wellbeing. It extends this research by incorporating theories from Education and Psychology to build a theory of validation in doctoral education. Methodology: The article reports on three studies on PhD journeys and communities undertaken at one UK university. It draws on interview data from thirty doctoral candidates, which was thematically analysed using NVivo 12. Taking a qualitative approach to provide a rich and holistic focus on participant ‘meaning making’, the studies explore how PhD students understand belonging, where they receive validation and feel they need validation, and where self-validation can make a difference to their positivity about the PhD. Taking this approach to understand processes of ‘meaning-making’ paves the way to scaffold solutions through ‘reframing’ processes such as coaching and mentoring. Contribution: Thinking about PhD students’ belonging through the dimension of validation allows for practical support for developing belonging to be scaffolded, specifically through creating spaces to draw coaching skills into supervisory training and PhD student support (e.g., peer mentoring). This is significant as scholarship has shown that coaching has positive effects on wellbeing. This article contributes to understanding of where and how validation and self-validation manifest in doctoral education for PhD students. This contribution identifies ways in which external validation can help to scaffold internal self-validation; thus, offering a way of potentially mitigating risk factors to PhD students’ wellbeing. Specifically, validation can be understood as a ‘reserve’ that can be drawn on for ‘self-validation’. Validation is a solutions-focused theory. As a conceptual apparatus to understand doctoral students’ perceptions, validation theory also provides a frame for scaffolding practical ways for PhD students to build doctoral identity. Findings: The article focuses on challenges to PhD students building communities, supervisory relations and self-validation. It finds that supervisory feedback is a key area where PhD students seek validation. Two arguments are offered. First, that validation is a crucial process in (positive) doctoral identity work. Second, the argument is offered that making spaces for coaching skills to support PhD students can increase opportunities for validation (e.g., via supervisory training) and self-validation (e.g., via peer mentoring). Recommendations for Practitioners: Those who support doctoral researchers can potentially support the development of validation skills and self-validation skills. Some recommendations are included around supporting supervisory training in feedback and listening skills, peer mentoring as a way to foster a transition between external validation and internal self-validation for PhD students, and a worksheet for students’ self-validation is included as an appendix. Recommendation for Researchers: This article extends existing literature on PhD students’ emotion work by offering a new dimension to understand how belonging is developed amongst PhD students. Thinking about belonging through the dimension of validation shifts work on belonging towards possibilities of practical support. Impact on Society: Whilst the term ‘validation’ has been used in undergraduate educational research, and in Psychology (in theory and in clinical contexts) drawing these terms together to create a theory to understand doctoral identity work in higher education has larger potential applications. ‘Validation’ could potentially prove useful within doctoral education context to understand and scaffold PhD students’ development as they navigate transitioning identity positions during candidature. Thus, although the studies are limited in scope to the UK context, the findings could be more widely applied to other higher education contexts. Future Research: Two areas for future research are identified. First, to understand whether and how different groups of doctoral candidates (e.g., such as international students, LGBTQ+ students, etc.) have different validation needs and priorities in their doctoral identity work. The second is to understand the possible impact of using coaching with PhDs in different contexts (e.g., through peer mentoring schemes, supervision, and self-validation).

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“…This is an issue highlighted by a recent Advance HE workshop (Hanesworth 2018). Moreover, Brown & Collins (2018), inspired by contemplative pedagogies, used LEGO to support the wellbeing of researchers and acknowledged this creative approach to student wellbeing.…”

Section: Multisensory Techniques: Lego Serious Play and Reframingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Creative and Contemplative Pedagogy to Promote Learning Efficacy and Wellbeing within First-Year, Undergraduate Students

Reeve

Jindal

Bartle

et al. 2021

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Students transitioning into higher education face a myriad of personal and educational challenges as they adjust to new ways of studying in unfamiliar environments. We examine the potential for helping students adapt by providing opportunities for interaction within the context of their courses through two distinct workshops delivered to first-year, undergraduate students at a UK University. The 'LEGO Serious Play' and 'Reframing' workshops allowed students to reflect on their educational journeys and the challenges they faced by providing activities which encouraged discussion and creative thinking. Student feedback in the form of post-workshop surveys and focus groups suggested the workshops were particularly effective for alleviating student concerns and encouraging new and alternative ways of thinking about and approaching their academic work. We present the findings and demonstrate the potential benefits for embedding workshops of this nature into first-year course curricula.

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Using LEGO® To Understand Emotion Work In Doctoral Education

Cited by 11 publications

References 36 publications

The emotional labour of doctoral criminological researchers

The emotional labour of doctoral criminological researchers

Validation in Doctoral Education: Exploring PhD Students’ Perceptions of Belonging to Scaffold Doctoral Identity Work

Using Creative and Contemplative Pedagogy to Promote Learning Efficacy and Wellbeing within First-Year, Undergraduate Students

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