Purpose

This research is situated at a metropolitan university in Melbourne (Australia) where the authors work in initial teacher education programs within the same faculty. The purpose of this study is to raise awareness that collegial, collaborative and “co-caring” environments can foster an improved sense of belonging, acceptance and inclusion in the academy. They also argue that communities of practice may foster an improved sense of belonging that enhances empowerment and harmony among all staff in academia in pandemic times and beyond.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on case study methodology as a qualitative approach to understand and illuminate the phenomena under study. Case study methodology provides an in-depth understanding of their trifocal voices, as it allows them to voice their stories through collaborative autoethnography. The authors use self-narratives to unpack their sense of belonging in academic spaces. Collaborative autoethnography (CAE) enabled them to work together as a team of women and as a community of researchers.

Findings

The findings foreground the responsibilities of casual staff while concomitantly articulating the challenges faced by both permanent and casual staff to create a “sense of belonging” in the academy. The authors found that social connection engenders a sense of belonging and inclusion within a space that is often beset by neoliberal ideologies of competitiveness and individual achievement. They articulate their stress, pressure and uncertainty as permanent and as casual academics working supportively to develop and maintain identity in very difficult circumstances. They share how they developed professional relationships which bring unforeseen benefits and personal friendship at a time of especially restrictive practices.

Research limitations/implications

The paper includes three voices, a limitation in itself, thus generalisations cannot be made to other academics or institutions. Employing CAE offers the possibility of delving more deeply into the emotional complexities inherent within this method for further research. They recommend a sense of “co-caring” as a form of pastoral care in the “induction program” for all academics including casual staff. While this may not “strategically” fit in with many because of power imbalances, the journey of co-caring and sharing and building friendships within the academy has a limited presence in the literature and calls for further investigation.

Practical implications

The authors draw attention to the need for higher education institutes to recognise the role permanent staff play when working with casual academics.

Social implications

The authors draw attention to the need to be inclusive and collaborative as a way to improve the divide and strengthen connections between permanent and casual academics at university worksites. This is imperative given the shifting demographics within Australia and its workforce. They also highlight issues of race in the academy.

Originality/value

This is an original work carried out by the authors. It raises concerns about a sense of belonging in the academy, job certainty and the place of people of colour as these issues may also be experienced by other full-time and casual academics.

中文翻译：

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教师教育的三种声音：在大流行期间通过共同关怀和归属感发展专业关系

目的

这项研究位于墨尔本（澳大利亚）的一所城市大学，作者在同一教师内从事初始教师教育项目。这项研究的目的是提高人们对学院、协作和“共同关怀”环境可以提高学院的归属感、接受度和包容性的认识。他们还认为，实践社区可能会促进归属感的改善，从而在大流行时期及以后增强学术界所有工作人员的赋权与和谐。

设计/方法/方法

作者利用案例研究方法作为一种定性方法来理解和阐明所研究的现象。案例研究方法提供了对他们三焦点声音的深入理解，因为它允许他们通过协作的自我民族志来表达他们的故事。作者使用自我叙述来解开他们在学术空间中的归属感。协作式自我民族志 (CAE) 使她们能够作为一个女性团队和一个研究人员社区一起工作。

发现

调查结果突出了临时员工的责任，同时阐明了长期和临时员工面临的挑战，以在学院中营造“归属感”。作者发现，在一个经常被新自由主义的竞争和个人成就意识形态所困扰的空间中，社会联系会产生一种归属感和包容感。他们将自己的压力、压力和不确定性表达为永久性的，作为临时学者，他们在非常困难的情况下支持性地发展和保持身份认同。他们分享了他们如何在特别严格的实践中发展专业关系，从而带来意想不到的好处和个人友谊。

研究限制/影响

该论文包括三种声音，本身就有局限性，因此不能对其他学者或机构进行概括。使用 CAE 提供了更深入地研究该方法内在的情感复杂性以进行进一步研究的可能性。他们建议在包括临时员工在内的所有学者的“入职计划”中，将“共同关怀”作为一种牧养形式。虽然由于权力不平衡，这可能在“战略上”不适合许多人，但在学院内共同关心、分享和建立友谊的旅程在文献中的存在有限，需要进一步调查。

实际影响

作者提请注意高等教育机构需要认识到长期教职员工在与临时学者合作时所扮演的角色。

社会影响

作者提请注意包容性和协作性的必要性，以此来改善大学工作场所的永久和临时学者之间的鸿沟并加强联系。鉴于澳大利亚内部人口结构及其劳动力的变化，这一点势在必行。他们还强调了学院中的种族问题。

原创性/价值

这是作者进行的原创作品。它引发了对学院归属感、工作确定性和有色人种地位的担忧，因为其他全职和临时学者也可能遇到这些问题。