Navigating Uncertainty: Early Career Academics and Practices of Appraisal Devices.
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| Title: | Navigating Uncertainty: Early Career Academics and Practices of Appraisal Devices. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Nästesjö, Jonatan1 Jonatan.nastesjo@uvet.lu.se |
| Source: | Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning & Policy. Jun2021, Vol. 59 Issue 2, p237-259. 23p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Academic workload of students, Gatekeepers, Political science, Socialization, Social processes |
| Abstract: | There is a lack of objective evaluative standards for academic work. While this has been recognized in studies of how gatekeepers pass judgment on the works of others, little is known about how scholars deal with the uncertainty about how their work will be evaluated by gatekeepers. Building upon 35 interviews with early career academics in political science and history, this paper explores how junior scholars use appraisal devices to navigate this kind of uncertainty. Appraisal devices offer trusted and knowledgeable appraisals through which scholars are informed whether their work and they themselves are good enough to succeed in academia. Investigating how early career academics rely upon appraisals from assessors (i.e., 'academic mentors'), the study adds to existing literature on uncertainty and worth in academic life by drawing attention to how scholars' anticipatory practices are informed by trusting the judgment of others. The empirical analysis demonstrates that early career academics are confronted with multiple and conflicting appraisals that they must interpret and differentiate between. However, the institutional conditions for dealing with uncertainty about what counts in future evaluations, as well as which individuals generally come to function as assessors, differ between political science and history. This has an impact on both valuation practices and socialization structures. Focusing on what I call practices of appraisal devices, the paper provides a conceptual understanding of how scholars cope with uncertainties about their future. Furthermore, it expands existing theory by demonstrating how scholars' self-concept and desired identities are key to the reflexive ways appraisal devices are used in the course of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning & Policy is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 150304306 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=150304306 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11024-020-09425-2 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 23 StartPage: 237 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Academic workload of students Type: general – SubjectFull: Gatekeepers Type: general – SubjectFull: Political science Type: general – SubjectFull: Socialization Type: general – SubjectFull: Social processes Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Navigating Uncertainty: Early Career Academics and Practices of Appraisal Devices. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nästesjö, Jonatan IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2021 Type: published Y: 2021 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00264695 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 59 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning & Policy Type: main |
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