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A Study of Structure and Agency Interactions in the Changing Context of English Higher Education: What Is Happening to Pedagogy and What Are We Doing About It?

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A Study of Structure and Agency Interactions in the Changing Context of English Higher Education: What Is Happening to Pedagogy and What Are We Doing About It? A study of structure and agency interactions in the changing context of English higher education: What is happening to Pedagogy and what are we doing about it? Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Bushra Connors Institute of Education, University of London (Date of Submission 2015) 1 I hereby declare that, except where explicit attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Word count (exclusive of appendices, list of references and bibliography): 83,382 words 2 Abstract: This research explores aspects of emerging pedagogy in the work of seven members of faculty across disciplines, in three English higher education institutions. It takes place in a context of changing global and national circumstances and contributes insights into pedagogy as it is enacted under the distortion of market forces and the commodification of education. A case study approach, underpinned by critical realism is used to analyse participants’ pedagogic endeavours. This is combined with a multi-level consideration of the global, national and institutional processes influential in each case. To overcome the epistemological challenges involved with dealing with the complexity of the myriad possible influences, methodological features of the research involve the use of retroduction and abductive inference. Features of agency, of human knowledge and pedagogy and of the changing nature of higher education are analysed by identifying structures as having interacting social, cultural and material aspects within a stratified reality. An Archerian morphogenetic approach reveals structure and agency interactions over time in participants’ accounts. The study finds that, in spite of adverse conditions, there is a richness and depth to participants’ understanding and facilitation of their students’ learning. Participants draw upon significant internal resources to overcome the problems faced in teaching. Pedagogic approaches that are most distorted, under the drive to commodify and marketise aspects of higher education, are those that allow students to develop their own practices within the discipline they are entering, and to reformulate external knowledge for themselves within their own unfolding experiences. This study claims that the use of critical realism has been an extremely fruitful way to analyse emergent aspects of participants’ pedagogy within the current complex and shifting terrain of English higher education. 3 Contents Abstract: ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements: ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 List of Figures: ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 List of Tables: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter Two: Philosophical Framework ............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter Three: Structure, Agency and their interaction. .............................................................................. 28 Chapter Four: Knowledge and Pedagogy ............................................................................................................ 57 Chapter Five: The changing nature of higher education. .............................................................................. 69 Chapter Six: Methodology .......................................................................................................................................... 98 Methods employed to elicit the data for this research .................................................................. 106 Chapter Seven: University X .................................................................................................................................... 115 Nicola’s Story - Distributed Collaboration...................................................................................... 115 Sam Lewis’s Account ....................................................................................................................... 135 Chapter Eight: University Y: .................................................................................................................................... 152 Ann and Mary’s Story - Nowhere to Teach! ................................................................................... 168 Jim Hope - Pedagogy confined and restricted. ............................................................................... 183 Chapter Nine: University Z ...................................................................................................................................... 200 Hassan Sharif’s Story. .................................................................................................................... 201 Margaret’s Story - Zoology in this fact-rich world ...................................................................... 226 Chapter Ten: Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 245 Insights into Pedagogy .................................................................................................................... 246 The research - teaching divide ........................................................................................................ 252 References: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 254 Appendix A: Critical Discourse Analysis of HEFCE Strategic Plan .......................................................... 269 Appendix B: Critical Discourse Analysis of University Y’s New Strategic Plan 20010-2015 ................. 277 Appendix C: Template - Initial Text Analysis: .................................................................................................. 309 Appendix D Letter to staff from Vice Chancellor of University Y. ............................................................ 310 Appendix E: Ground Rules used in the interviews: ....................................................................................... 312 4 Acknowledgements: First of all thanks is due to the university lecturers who gave freely of their time and extensive experience and without whom this work would not have been possible. I would like to thank my challenging, sensitive and patient supervisor Professor David Scott. I would further like to thank the International Association for Critical Realism (IACR) for the conferences where parts of chapter two, chapter five and chapter nine were presented. Thank you to Sally Baker for her constant support and for being prepared to read and comment on later drafts. Finally I would like to thank my fellow students Diego Santori and Kim Insley who collaborated with me on a first paper presented jointly at the 2008 IACR conference in London as we excitedly explored the implications of critical realism. 5 List of Figures: Figure 1 The real, actual and empirical realms ..................................................................................... 17 Figure 2 Focus of the research .............................................................................................................. 27 Figure 3 Morphogenesis ....................................................................................................................... 49 Figure 4 Morphogenetic spiral ............................................................................................................ 110 Figure 5 Cases in institutional, national and global context ............................................................... 112 Figure 6 Nicola morphogenesis ........................................................................................................... 123 Figure 7 University X extract from strategic plan ............................................................................... 132 Figure 8 Sam Lewis morphogenesis .................................................................................................... 146 Figure 9 Building an organisational field. University Y strategic plan ................................................. 165 Figure 10 Strategic plan University Y staff perspective ...................................................................... 166 Figure 11 Mary's collage showing her pedagogical approach ............................................................ 172 Figure 12 Student map of University Y: map 1 ................................................................................... 175 Figure 13 Students' map of University Y: map 2 ................................................................................. 175 Figure 14 Patterns from nature 1 ......................................................................................................
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