A new look at academic life: A case study of teachers' conceptions

Abstract

Universities have invested time and money to improve the quality of undergraduate education. However, the results obtained fall short of expectations. Furthermore, higher education professors are in a complex work environment which is potentially stressful. These concerns, which are global, led a British professor to propose the pedagogic frailty model (PFM) as a way to integrate key elements that describe teaching activities and main reasons that lead many professors (including the most expert ones) to adopt a conservative, traditional, safe and possibly out-of-date teaching approach. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief theoretical review of PFM and explore its application in the Brazilian educational scenario. An interview-driven methodology for the co-construction of Concept maps was used to conduct a case study with seven university professors. Their conceptions and views of teaching were analyzed and compared to each other considering the PFM. The results show that professors' conceptions are individualized and sensitive to their course and discipline, background, career length and institutional values. The PFM combined with conceptual mapping allowed for an open, straightforward and person-centred dialogue. Evidence suggests that PFM can be potentially applied for teaching development in Brazil. Some contributions, limitations and challenges in disseminating the model are also presented.