Exploring disruptive contexts and their effect upon incivility within the nursing student-lecturer relationship in higher education

Morning, David (2014) Exploring disruptive contexts and their effect upon incivility within the nursing student-lecturer relationship in higher education. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the role of disruptive contexts and their effect upon incivility within the nursing student-lecturer relationship in higher education. Incivility has been growing exponentially, with evidence of a blame culture, polarising and disempowering both groups. Shifting the focus from attribution to contextual understanding was perceived as an empowering strategy which enabled the exploration of incivility, without apportioning blame. This was achieved through the facilitation of meaningful dialogical relationships.

Utilising principles emanating from the critical theory paradigm, the Habermasian Ideal Speech Situation was applied. A triangulated approach of collaborative action research (CAR) and interpretive phenomenology provided the methodological underpinnings and method. This was delivered through a programme of six interactive workshops and individual semi-structured interviews, equally involving students and lecturers, facilitated within emancipatory reflective spaces (ERS), a term unique to the study.

The promotion and facilitation of internal and external dialogues allowed for both self and group reflection. This collaborative approach enabled the development of power sharing which had to be built upon authentic relationships and not compromised by “illusion” and tokenism. Findings focused upon “looking beyond the obvious” contextual behaviour, which led to a deeper understanding of the fluid role of context in relation to incivility. This provided the conceptual underpinning for a contextual intervention framework, identifying individual, classroom and organisational approaches for minimising and coping with its devaluing effect.

This research is important, as through the establishment of ERS students and lecturers developed collaborative and meaningful relationships, based upon mutual respect, authenticity and genuineness. These empowering spaces enabled them to freely explore the notion of disruptive contexts which in turn led to a deeper and conceptual understanding of the cause, effect and management of incivility. This conceptualisation and the associated interventions are both applicable to academic settings and are potentially transferable into the professional practice context.

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