1. Learning, Teaching and Researching for Developing Professional Agency: The Ethics of Self-Making.
- Author
-
Gordon, Gloria
- Abstract
This paper seeks to inspire by sharing how longitudinal first person action research (FPAR), focussed on developing the 'professional agency' required for transforming my own professional identity/practice as an academic, is utilised for the same purposes amongst undergraduate students. The initial research question underpinning this research is: to what extent can professional agency be achieved through using my own life-world as the research terrain and as a social experiment for achieving transformational change in the black racial life experience through the ethics of selfmaking? The paper draws on findings as expressed through student voices studying on the Ethical Practice module to provide an overview of the learning, teaching and research methodology utilised as well as student identification of learning outcomes achieved. Student insights are complemented with my own researched observations as a national teaching fellow/academic/professional of racial minority heritage who continues to be engaged in the 'ethics of selfmaking' through the learning, teaching and research process. This is as a means of making a contribution to enhancing educational outcomes for students traditionally perceived as being at risk of educational underachievement/low attainment (National Teaching Fellowship research remit). This paper will be of interest/value to academics/practitioners interested in understanding how self-research can be utilised for developing 'Professional Agency' as the basis for supporting learners in achieving the self-authoring/developmental outcomes needed in meeting the challenges presented by life in the 21
st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2016