Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Further and Higher Education on 25 Sep 2020, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1806214
Accepted author manuscript, 338 KB, PDF document
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Navigating blended learning, negotiating professional identities
AU - Howard, N.-J.
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Further and Higher Education on 25 Sep 2020, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0309877X.2020.1806214
PY - 2021/6/30
Y1 - 2021/6/30
N2 - In response to the rapid development of educational technology and the desire to offer flexible learning opportunities, the implementation of blended learning is a burgeoning trend in contemporary higher education. However, limited research has been conducted into the professional identities of faculty members as they navigate this considerable shift in pedagogical practice. Through a qualitative, interpretivist approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews are utilised to elicit the subjective experiences and beliefs of a cohort of expatriate lecturers in the pilot stage of a blended learning initiative in a Middle East higher education institution. Applying the lens of positioning theory to analyse the subject positions both constituted and rejected by the participants, and subsequent to a thematic analysis of respondent narratives, five inductive themes of professional identity are presented. Contributing to the contemporary discourse of teacher professional identity, the findings reveal significant complexities and uncertainties facing educators in hybrid delivery modes which trigger misalignment with established pedagogical beliefs and invoke disruptions to professional personas. The paper concludes by comparing the findings with relevant, extant studies and addressing implications for policymakers implementing future-blended models. © 2020 UCU.
AB - In response to the rapid development of educational technology and the desire to offer flexible learning opportunities, the implementation of blended learning is a burgeoning trend in contemporary higher education. However, limited research has been conducted into the professional identities of faculty members as they navigate this considerable shift in pedagogical practice. Through a qualitative, interpretivist approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews are utilised to elicit the subjective experiences and beliefs of a cohort of expatriate lecturers in the pilot stage of a blended learning initiative in a Middle East higher education institution. Applying the lens of positioning theory to analyse the subject positions both constituted and rejected by the participants, and subsequent to a thematic analysis of respondent narratives, five inductive themes of professional identity are presented. Contributing to the contemporary discourse of teacher professional identity, the findings reveal significant complexities and uncertainties facing educators in hybrid delivery modes which trigger misalignment with established pedagogical beliefs and invoke disruptions to professional personas. The paper concludes by comparing the findings with relevant, extant studies and addressing implications for policymakers implementing future-blended models. © 2020 UCU.
KW - blended learning
KW - higher education
KW - positioning theory
KW - subject positions
KW - Teacher professional identity
U2 - 10.1080/0309877X.2020.1806214
DO - 10.1080/0309877X.2020.1806214
M3 - Journal article
VL - 45
SP - 654
EP - 671
JO - Journal of Further and Higher Education
JF - Journal of Further and Higher Education
SN - 0309-877X
IS - 5
ER -