| 1. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Bridging Types and Frames in the Organizational (Inter)Act : Type Casting of Female Researchers in Academia
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we bridge the concepts type (Schutz) and frame (Goffman) to conceptualize misfits in the social intercourse of the academic everyday experiences. We see the combination of type and frame as a way to further elaborate the role concept. This was done by developing an interactional model that illustrates a combination of type and frame in relation to an organizational setting where the (inter)act takes place. The concept (inter)act is used to stress that although people may participate in the same act; this is not necessarily the same thing as role agreement during interaction. Rather, the lack of agreement is the starting point for this paper; we work with the empirical question “Why were we, and our fellow colleagues, treated as women when we were acting as researchers?” The problem we address is how some people in an academic organization confused the idea of woman as a type with the female body, and what consequences this had for everyday social practices. This paper is based on an at-home ethnography (Alvesson, forthcoming), which in our version include both introspection and dialogue around emerging ideas and involves a strong component of re-interpretation. We suggest that individuals may embrace or reject role-types, connected to a role-frame of expected behavior, in the organizational socialization process. Research as an activity is characterized by both masculine and feminine attributes, but in line with previous writings we see the research organization as gendered; the researcher-type is a man. We have called this type-role the wizard-man, a type that engage in intellectual activity. An alternative type-role is the mother-woman, whose role-frame is in line with key words such as body and caring. In the academic organization studied, there was a blurring between people as abstract (ideal) types and as individuals. In the organizational context, gendering by type casting seemed to be an important aspect of the socialization process. A negative consequence came when doctoral students were equaled to the mother-woman role, since these doctoral students were assumed to take on a role that was not in line with their professional development.
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| 2. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Continued growth later in life – older adults learning
- 2021
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The demographic changes have resulted in an increased proportion of older people in the population in several countries. To have a large proportion of older people in the population is a situation that is historically unique and basically something positive. Despite this, the aging population is discussed as a problem as it puts pressure on pension systems and health care systems. As education and learning have contributed to positive development in several ways, the interest for older adults learning has increased. Education that occurs later in life can be considered as a means of supporting participation in an extended working life, as a democratic citizen, and as a way of promoting well-being.Research on older adults learning is considered the fastest growing branch of adult education in post-industrial countries and one of the most crucial challenges facing current adult European education (Formosa, 2000). Older adults learning focuses on the diverse provision of late-life learning, the motivations and interests of older learners, participation in and emancipatory policies for older adult learning, and the benefits of learning at different levels (Schmidt-Hertha, Formosa & Fragoso, 2019). Research in a Swedish context has provided insights into different aspects of older adults learning, such as intergenerational relationships, motivations and benefits, inclusion and participation, online and offline learning, working-life and guidance. The presentation will engage in a dialogue about these topics.
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| 3. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Higher education as learning organizations – An empirical study of education managers perception of their work situation
- 2022
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Ingår i: NFF 2022 Conference Papers.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paper presents a study of Swedish academic leaders’ perception of their work situation. The aim was to explore the conditions which can enable creativity and learning in higher education institutions. The KEYS survey was sent to a sample of 64 university managers from social sciences, humanities and technical departments at Swedish universities. The response rate was 39 % (n25). The result indicates that education managers perceive a lack of feedback from upper management, but at the same time, they claim to have a high level of trust from upper management.
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| 4. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Telework and lifelong learning
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sociology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2297-7775. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increase of telework during the pandemic is predicted to impact working life, not only in terms of a larger number of employees working from home, but more importantly, it may transform the way we conceptualise work. This will in turn impact systems for and participation in lifelong learning. There is a risk for increased social inequalities, as neither telework nor lifelong learning is evenly distributed among workers. Statistics on telework in the EU show that there are differences between age groups, nations, sectors, and professions. If these trends will steer forward, there is a risk of widening gaps between countries, companies, and workers. To establish the current knowledge base, we have gathered literature reviews from several disciplines. One finding is that the previous literature on telework has not included lifelong learning in any form (formal, non-formal and informal). Based on a review of previous studies, we suggest a number of research questions for future research. This is relevant as research about telework and lifelong learning has the potential to contribute to a sustainable working life in terms of providing more flexible arrangements for employees and to support the lifelong learning that takes place in contexts such as the office, home, online meetings, and virtual reality.
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| 5. |
- Larsson, Anna, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Reflexivity through Introspection and Dialogue : A methodology for re-searching the familiarity of lived academic reality
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Alvesson (2003a) encourages us to engage in close-up studies of the well known and familiar territories of our own organizations in academia, as academic organizations are less frequently made the subject/object of research. But as the title of his article suggests the endeavour to engage in close-up studies involves a struggle with the somewhat contradictory practices of closeness and closure. In this paper, inspired by the reflexive turn in social science in general, we suggest a methodological approach to deal with the struggles of closeness and closure but even more importantly to re-search (re-interpret, re-present and re-embody) the familiarity of lived everyday professional life. The methodology we advocate builds on a combination of inner and outer conversations conceptualised as introspection and dialogue. A trigger point and also a result of these conversations are experiences of bodily unease or the unpleasantly dirty experience of non consenting body over mind Inter-Acts in the academic context. Our specific concern is the process of learning how to become a researcher and we focus on what could be conceptualized as and the consequences of the people processing devices during socialization within a specific academic organization during the years leading up to dissertation but also more broadly into academia in general and the role of the researcher (van Maanen & Schein 1979, Berger & Luckmann 1966). We suggest that body over mind discourse in the academic workplace contributes to the disembodied researcher – whereas the result of the methodology suggested in this paper could contribute to explore its consequences and possibly encourage re-embodiment. Instead of treating body as a problematic feature of research we suggest that at-home ethnography involving strong auto-ethnographic dimensions can place bodily experiences of unease at the centre of attention, where the body serves as a tool informing the reflexive research process.
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| 6. |
- Almén, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Access to and accounts of using digital tools in Swedish secondary grades : An exploratory study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Information Technology Education: Research. - : Informing Science Institute. - 1547-9714 .- 1539-3585. ; 19, s. 287-314
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim/PurposeThe aim of the study is to explore students’ encounters with digital tools and how they account for their experiences of using digital tools within formal education.BackgroundWhile computers have a long history in educational settings, research indicates that digital tools function both as affordances and constraints, and that the role of digital tools in schools continues to be debated. Taking into consideration student perspectives can broaden the understanding of knowledge formation practices.MethodologyThe study is part of a larger ethnographic project, focusing on agency at all levels with respect to digitalization in schools. The present exploratory study is built primarily on interviews with 31 secondary school students at five different schools (15 girls and 16 boys). The analytical framework was a Nexus Analysis, focusing on discourses in place.ContributionThe paper shows how digital tools are conceptualized as being formed by and fitted into the traditions and habits of the institution, rather than acting as a transformative force to change knowledge formation practices in schools.FindingsFrom the students’ narrative accounts, the following key themes emerge: (1) Action in contexts, (2) Agency in contexts, and (3) Equality in contexts. The first deals with the use of digital tools in school and the interaction order as it is accounted for in the use of digital tools in schools. The second frames human agency with regards to usage of digital tools and how agency fluctuates in interaction. The third deals with the compensating role digital tools are supposed to play for students who are identified with special needs and for students with divergent backgrounds, especially socioeconomic standards.Recommendations for PractitionersFor teachers, the recommendation is to engage in dialogue with the stu-dents on how and when to use digital tools and the affordances and con-straints involved from a student’s point of view.For school leaders, the recommendation is to review how organizational structures, culture, and processes hinder or support the development of new practices in digitalization processes.Recommendation for ResearchersThe three key themes that emerged in this study emphasize the need to reflect upon how a panopticon view of contemporary classrooms can be challenged. Involving students in this work is recommended as a means to anchor ideas and results.Impact on SocietyThis study is part of a larger project at Jönköping University, focusing on agency at all levels with respect to digitalization in schools. The overall goal is to increase our understanding of how to improve digitalization and implementation processes in schools.Future ResearchFuture studies that address digital technologies in schools need to pay special attention to the interaction between students, teachers, and various kinds of tools to map the nature of the education process, with the aim of challenging the panopticon view of the classroom. Future studies need to focus upon processes themselves, rather than accounts of processes.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Almén, Lars
(författare)
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One-school-for-all As Practice – A Nexus Analysis of Everyday Digitalization Practices
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Government of Sweden formulated a strategy in 2017 to digitalize the entire Swedish educational system. The government summarizes this strategy through three focus areas: (i) all parts of the school system shall have equitable digital competence, (ii) all parts of the school system shall have equal access to and usage of digital tools, and (iii) research and follow-up of the possibilities of digitalization shall be conducted. The impetus for the digitalization strategy was that despite the long history of the Swedish school system’s digitalization, there existed major differences in access to digital tools between different schools and individual students. Further, differences existed in digital competence between different actors in the school system.The point of departure in this compilation thesis is the 2017 governmental digitalization strategy, with a special focus on discourses of digital tools as compensatory tools and tools for inclusion. The compensatory and inclusive perspectives are conceptualized as the one-school-for-all discourse. Three research questions guide the thesis. These cover discourses at macro (policy), and micro (classroom) levels, and temporal spaces before the enactment and in the implementation processes of the digitalization strategy.Nexus analysis is used as an analytical framework. This draws on a sociocultural perspective and an ethnographically inspired framework. The ethnographic data material that this thesis builds upon comprises of audio and video recordings, fieldnotes, policy documents, student work sheets, and timetables. The classroom data (recordings, fieldnotes, etc.) are from grades 7 and 8 in five secondary schools in one small and one medium-sized municipality in southern Sweden. Here students are 13 and 14 years old.This thesis consists of four studies. The first study contributes with analysis of macro level policy discourses before the enactment of the digitalization strategy. The second study contributes with classroom discourses on digitalization from student interview accounts of the everyday use of digital tools in secondary schools before the enactment of the digitalization strategy. Based on fieldwork data from a secondary school, the third and fourth studies highlight classroom inclusion and marginalization processes. They contribute with classroom discourses in the implementation processes of the digitalization strategy.The discourses highlighted in the thesis relate to the computer room, programming, compensatory tools, hardware that is focused, identity, entertainment, and agency redistribution. The digitalization strategy is temporally demarcated in terms of a before and after of the implementation phase of the digitalization strategy. Students had ubiquitous access to digital tools after the enactment. The thesis highlights that this has both including and excluding consequences.The analysis, in particular of the fieldwork observations, indicates that the ubiquitously present digital tools are used as tools to facilitate learning only to a minor extent. Schools purchase digital tools without always considering how to use them pedagogically. Furthermore, the studies indicate the importance of teachers’ continuing education for their mastery of the pedagogical usage of digital tools. The thesis does not support the technology deterministic belief that digital tools per se facilitate learning. Instead, it highlights that pedagogical affordance can be enhanced by introducing digital tools; for instance, teachers and student’s digital competence increases when digital tools are used in creative ways, functioning as mediating tools for learning. Thus, the pedagogical value of digital tools needs to be considered before they are incorporated into schools. The thesis also argues for a more comprehensive societal perspective on digitalization.
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| 9. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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A Lewinian approach to managing barriers to university–industry collaboration
- 2019
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Ingår i: Higher Education Policy. - : Springer. - 0952-8733 .- 1740-3863. ; 32:1, s. 129-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Calls are made by governments, university management and industry to increase university–industry (U–I) collaboration to find solutions for societal and economic problems that are too complex to be tackled within one sector alone. Researchers are often expected to realise these ideas, but when it comes to everyday research and knowledge development, individuals may encounter barriers to accomplishing this. The paper presents an empirical study of researchers’ view on U–I collaboration. Our focus in the analysis, inspired by the Lewinian field theory, is on the hindering forces that might create barriers to collaboration from a researcher’s perspective. Contrary to the previously used approaches taken in force field analysis, we perform a qualitative study, which might be better suited for this framework. In the literature on U–I collaboration, ‘orientation-related’ and ‘transaction-related’ barriers have been identified. In our analysis, we discuss hindering forces on the individual, intra- and interorganisational levels. In total, we find 18 key areas to identify possible hinders for collaboration and based on a Lewinian perspective, we suggest that removing hindering forces can benefit U–I collaboration. The paper recognises the need to regard universities as equal partners in U–I collaboration for sustainable knowledge production.
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| 10. |
- Bjursell, Cecilia, 1970-
(författare)
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A virtual study in higher education
- 2018
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Ingår i: INTED 2018 Proceedings. - 9788469794807
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A study visit is when an individual or a group visits a site to learn about the context and to exchange knowledge with the people at the site. Study visits are often connected to efforts to create intercultural understanding within a course. Traditionally, study visits are connected to geographical sites: students travel to other countries or visit organisations relevant to their education and training. With the development of online environments, virtual study visits are emerging as an alternative to traditional study visits. This paper explores a virtual study visit. The purpose of the virtual study visit was for students to prepare for a laboratory exercise by getting familiar with the context where the exercise would take place. The virtual environment where the study visit took place was a model of the Foundry School they would visit later in the course. There were nine students in the course, and the results of their evaluation of the virtual study visit are presented in the paper. The discussion centres on the students’ perception of the virtual study visit in the course as well as a general consideration of how a virtual study visit can provide additional value in a higher education course. Some unique features of an educational virtual environment, which cannot be achieved in traditional classroom education, are discussed in the paper. The conclusion is that a virtual study visit can provide flexibility in time and space and the possibility to zoom between micro and macro levels in the model of the building. To achieve educational goals, both teachers and students need to engage in the preparation as well as in the virtual study visit itself.
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