Reflection questions 2

Coming back to the specific regulations and guidelines you scrutinized in the previous reflective task, we would now like you to think about what space of action or room for manoeuvre that you have as an individual academic teacher to translate these directives so that they suit your own praxis and your own conceptions of teaching and learning.

  1. We suggest you start by identifying groups of individuals that may be affected by these regulations and by your interpretation of them. Find a way of incorporating these groups into your sketch. For whom are these directives important and why?
  2. If you find yourself questioning the appropriateness of a certain regulation, or experiencing a need to make substantial adjustments of it in order for it to suit your needs, you may want to ask yourself why you think this directive exists at all. While it might restrict your own actions and needs, it may benefit other target groups. How does this affect the way you define your own space of action?
  3. In your opinion, are you in fact already working within the space of action that you have now loosely defined with regards to the topic you have chosen? If not, why? In a study by Barman, Bolander-Laksov and Silén (2014), academic teachers’ enactment of policies seemed to range from very regulated (keen on following the rules) to very autonomous (operating with a high degree of freedom). Thinking about your own approach to the chosen policy/regulation, where on this continuum do you find you own position?
  4. In what ways do you think your own experiences (your background in and outside of academia, your experiences as an undergraduate student, doctoral student etc) influence how you form your own praxis and how you apply university policies and guidelines on that praxis?

References

Barman, L., Bolander-Laksov, K. & Silén, C. (2014). Policy enacted – teachers' approaches to an outcome-based framework for course design Links to an external site.. Teaching in Higher Education Links to an external site., 19(7), 735-746. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2014.934346 Links to an external site.