Ferguson, Veronica
(2023)
EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCE OF RESEARCH AND THE BUILDING OF
RESEARCH CAPACITY AT A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN THE
CARIBBEAN.
Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.
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Abstract
At a new higher education institution (HEI) in the Caribbean, Blue Waters University (BWU, a pseudonym), significant opportunities and constraints are associated with developing research capacity. BWU has transitioned from a mainly teaching college to a university focused on building a successful research culture. There is limited scholarship on the lived experiences of academic researchers at HEIs that have undergone such transitions. The study reported in this thesis extends the literature on research activities in the Caribbean and contributes to the literature on HEIs in developing economies. The study used a qualitative grounded theory research design informed by an interpretivist research philosophy. The perspectives of Appreciative Inquiry informed the research process. A sample of 18 staff members shared their beliefs, opinions, experiences, and perspectives via semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from interview transcripts, my researcher’s journal, memos, and institutional documents. The conceptual understanding that emerged from the data analysis indicated that BWU academics were constantly working through institutional constraints to accomplish research and improve as professionals. Negotiating professionality for researchers involved a continual process of positive envisioning, persistence and advocacy, and continuous improvement. Positive envisioning required defining research and establishing a researcher's identity. Persistence and advocacy involved navigating institutional challenges and establishing researcher agency. Continuous improvement included the desire to make an impact, instigate change, and pursue professional self-improvement. Key empirical findings show that academics were forming their identities and were in pursuit of scholarly improvement. By embracing the cycle of negotiating professionality, scholars and practitioners at BWU were perpetuating a positive feedback loop of scholarly improvement, the pursuit of academic excellence, and the enhancement of attitudes, behaviours, and intellectual skills.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Education) |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Apr 2023 10:37 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Apr 2023 10:37 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/03169079 |
| Supervisors: |
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| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3169079 |
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