Cameron, H. orcid.org/0000-0003-1379-9678 (2019) Bookishness, blue skies, bright hats and brickies: discourse and positioning in academics’ conversations around ‘academic intelligence’ and the ‘good’ student. Studies in Higher Education, 44 (2). pp. 318-332. ISSN 0307-5079
Abstract
This study is an interpretative discourse analysis [following Gee, J. P. 2005. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge; Gee, J. P. 2011. How to Do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit. London: Routledge; and Willig, C. 2008. Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology. 2nd ed. Berkshire: Open University Press], of three focus group conversations between academics in higher education during which talk centred around the topic of ‘academic intelligence’. The research attended to the ways in which the academics discursively produced ‘academic intelligence’ and related social constructs, and how these constructs engendered discussion about ‘good’ students. The findings are discussed in three thematic sections: ‘conceptual [un]ease’; ‘bookishness, blue skies and brickies’; and ‘resistance and reproduction’. The paper draws attention to the ways in which constructions of ‘natural’ academic intelligence underpin the illusion of meritocracy and justify academic hierarchy, whilst masking inequalities in educational practice.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Society for Research into Higher Education. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Studies in Higher Education. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Higher education; intelligence; discourse analysis; academics; academic identity |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Education (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Oct 2018 11:24 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2023 10:57 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/03075079.2017.1364718 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:137071 |