Trying to figure out research methods has been really troubling, maybe I need to spend some time studying this, as I have never really explored research methods and it would be good to get a better understanding of what is out there in the world of research.
I know I want to explore an autoethnographic approach, as a starting point, relating to my young teaching and learning experience as a technician and the troubles or experiences I have lived through. As this is a short but hopefully continuous action research project, I feel a small yet narrative and effective topical method to the approach would allow me to briefly transcribe key moments of self-reflection, hardship and questionable conversations that lead me to revisit my role as a technician, let alone staying in the job working in a toxic environment. I believe the other side of this approach might fall under ethnographic sensibility, where a piece of literature has led me to focus and regain my vision of why I am a technician.
That is the work of Tim Savage and his paper: “Creative Arts Technicians in Academia: To Transition or Not to Transition?”. In this text, Savage set a series of questions asking current and former technicians to understand why those who did transition and those who wish or do not wish to transition into academia.
From this, I am hoping to create a thematic analysis starting with a qualitative research method where I use my lived experience to deduce a codex in shaping my findings from investigating my questions with my colleagues and peers. The method I want to use is a focus group with a digestible forum/survey, allowing my colleagues to contribute to the debate and understand that my approach is democratic and it is to encourage a common ground/language/standard in what we as technicians contribute to the world of academia and pedagogy.
The other side of this ‘sensibility’ is the neglect of technical career pathways, of which there are none, but there is an academic career pathway and 2 of these pathways are restricted from technical teams, or have been in the past! The 3 pathways are Teaching, Knowledge Exchange and Research. The UAL Canvas website page for academic pathways states the following:
“UAL needs an academic workforce with the different skills to deliver teaching, research and knowledge exchange. The Academic Career Pathways project is designed to recognise, develop and reward careers in these mission areas.”
Personally, I believe UAL needs a balanced workforce of both academic and technical skill sets that showcase a variety of teaching approaches that encourage staff to engage with a range of pathways to innovate, challenge and develop teaching environments.
Below is an image taken from the canvas database from ‘The Exchange” outlining the career progression for academic staff. There is no documentation like this for the UAL technical staff, on a personal note, this does not sit well and makes me as a technical staff member feel uncomfortable and not respected within my role or my position within UAL.
As I believe this is the start of my project/ research investigation, I hope to secure findings that will guide me towards a more abductive codex to establish a stronger argument to continue searching and building this democratic/activist research approach.
Reference:
Savage, T. (2018). Creative arts technicians in academia: To transition or not to transition? Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 17(2), pp.237–253. doi:https://doi.org/10.1386/adch.17.2.237_1.
https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/45792/academic-career-pathways