Room32: an academic oasis for our informal conversations to enhance teaching and learning

ABSTRACT

Early career academics (ECAs) face multiple academic challenges as many assume their duties with little or no experience of the work employed. Formal organizational structures within the university space may set programs to assimilate and assert them into their responsibilities gradually. However, where do ECAs retreat to when the hierarchical and procedural spaces frustrate, belittle them, or fall short in their capacity? Our paper reflects on our use of the liminal space to engage in informal conversations that contribute to the advancement of our teaching and learning practices as ECAs.

KEYWORDS:

• Early career academics
• informal conversations
• liminal spaces
• teaching and learning

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Professor Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, Chair of the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), for her mentorship and assisting with critical reading of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nokukhanya Ndlovu

Nokukhanya Ndlovu is an early career academic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Education. She teaches post-graduate studies in the Educational leadership, management and policy discipline. Her doctoral study focuses on the lived experiences of novice principals leading in deprived school contexts. She also researches her own practise using self-reflexive methodologies and arts-based methods. She is currently a candidate in the Accelerated Academic Leadership Development Program (AALDP), which awarded her the opportunity to attend Teachers College, Columbia University as a visiting scholar.

Vusi Msiza

Vusi Msiza is an early career academic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Education. He teaches undergraduate modules in the Early Childhood education discipline. His research focuses on men and masculinities in early childhood education, and assessment in education. His research interests also include professional learning that focuses on the experiences of early career academics. Vusi has published in peer-reviewed journals both national and international covering his research interests. She is currently a candidate in the Accelerated Academic Leadership Development Program (AALDP), which awarded him the opportunity to attend Teachers College, Columbia University as a visiting scholar.

Nosipho Mbatha

Nosipho Mbatha is an academic in the Creative Arts discipline at the School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Her doctoral project researches the integration of playful pedagogy for learning at higher education, for teacher-educators and preservice teachers. Her research interests extend to collaborative work with other emerging scholars using arts-based self-reflexive methodologies to understand themselves better as academics and improving their professional practice. She is currently a candidate in the Accelerated Academic Leadership Development Program (AALDP), which awarded her the opportunity to attend Teachers College, Columbia University as a visiting scholar.