Jayne (Scotland,UK)
Hello. My name is Jayne Coleman and I am an Academic Physiotherapist!
I work as a Lecturer of Physiotherapy in a Institutue of Higher Education within the UK. Previous to this I was a clinical Physiotherapist in variety of settings and hospital trusts.
Living Education Theory Research in Physiotherapy Education.
Living-Educational-Theory supports consideration of how an individual’s values and beliefs can influence their interaction with their own practice, with their students’ learning and with wider society (Whitehead, 2008). It provides the individual the opportunity to create knowledge by supporting them to identify and reflect upon the intrinsic influencers upon their practice and development, but also opens up for the individual the prospect of contributing to the knowledge base within their field of practice i.e. Physiotherapy education.
When considering my own educational influences, it became quickly evident that the notion of professionalism was a value I returned to regularly. Through self-enquiry, I have come to realise that my identity as an academic physiotherapist is core to my educational practice; I am an individual committed to the professional values and behaviours set out by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, and these values I embed within my academic practice (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, 2019).
It has only been by recognising the origins of this, my identity as an academic physiotherapist, that I could appreciate more fully the way ‘I’ have influenced curriculum design within the Physiotherapy programmes I work. This has been a powerful revelation, as it has also increased my awareness of how I could influence student learning in a negative fashion if I was not invested to the same extent.
‘I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess a tremendous power…I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration’ Haim Ginott.
The Academic Physiotherapist
This is a term I apply to myself as a chartered and registered physiotherapist who works in Higher Education. However what do I mean by this and how has this self-imposed professional title evolved and how does it influence my practice?
As part of my developing Living-Educational-Theory I am undertaking several avenues of enquiry to address this question, these include:
•Professionalism – Associated Values and Behaviours
•Professional Responsibility - Knowledge Generation
•Professional Development
Stage 1: Developnig a Professional Identity as a Clinician entering Academia
Stage 2: Developing Values and Behaviours in new contexts
My Aim
To ask and hopefull answer the question 'how do I contribute to my professional practice?'
By asking this question I am seeking to improve practice and create knowledge relating to Physiotherapy Education, particularly within Higher Education.
