Dr David Allan
Reader in Professional Education and Learning
As academics, the concept of the self is an interesting one. It is something that we cannot get away from yet for a long time it was underacknowledged. We may strive for objectivity but how objective can we ever be when our work is so wrapped up in ourselves, our identities, and our values? It is important to think about who we are as researchers because that is part of our academic journey. We often dwell on this whilst undertaking a PhD and even write about it in our theses. But beyond this, do we truly engage with not only who we are but the role our self plays in shaping our work? In a recently edited collection on conceptualising the academic self, Victoria Ekpo and I were fortunate enough to explore this in great detail, drawing on a wealth of experiences and contributions from around the world. We saw that academics regularly wrestle with the idea of a self within their work and that the outcome is often greater criticality and deeper understanding of the world and its potential. New methodologies may be created through the inclusion of the self within our research, and I would argue that this leads to contextual understanding that is deeper and more meaningful for our work. Indeed, I believe that separating our inner self from our work would be an extremely difficult undertaking.
Merely acknowledging the self is not enough, however. We need to explore how our inner self permeates through everything that we do. It shapes our work and our professionalism. It drives our passions, and it moulds our understanding. It presents bias through subjectivity and generates interpretation, even, in many cases, when dealing with objective data. Its significance is such that we therefore cannot ignore the role of the self in our professional learning. How do we use it, then, to our advantage? In order to address this question, we can employ our creativity and, where possible, innovative thinking to utilise the strength of the role the self can play. The self is undervalued and often misunderstood. We need to identify and celebrate the function of our inner self and examine the complexity of it through its interrelationship with our work. As academics, the self should not be a hindrance. Yes, it impinges on our objectivity and yes, it can be restrictive. But it also opens up avenues of exploration that encourage us to challenge our values and (sometimes stagnant) assumptions to explore new ways of working. This can be daunting and even undermining but it is an investment that can pay lucrative dividends if done well. In order to develop as academics, we should delve deeply and critically, challenging the world around us and refusing to accept things as they appear on the surface. And we should do so whilst simultaneously acknowledging and addressing our inner constraints. Only then can we truly begin to understand and capitalise on the power of the self.