Finding a Researcher’s and a Teacher’s Voice in a Plethora of Responsibilities - A Duoethnography on Administrivia

Oct 15, 2026

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A duoethnographic study compares two faculty members’ entry into the academy after successful secondary-school teaching, highlighting both differences and shared experiences. Drawing on researcher and teacher voices shaped by earlier work hiatus, the authors examine how their new academic identities were formed through maturity, doctoral study, and entrenched administrative demands. The analysis reconceptualizes past experiences using present understandings and reframes service obligations as “service creep” thrust upon them.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Authors’ backgrounds

Teaching and doctoral trajectories

Duoethnographic approach

Reframing past and present

Administrative responsibilities and service creep

Service identities under pressure

Collaborative curriculum and program design

Finding a Researcher’s and a Teacher’s Voice in a Plethora of Responsibilities: A Duoethnography on Administrivia Joe Norris Brock University Richard Sawyer Washington State University Vancouver Abstract “Some are born great; some achieve greatness; and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Twelfth Night, Act 3 Scene 4 This article examines the differences and similarities between two faculty members as they discuss their entry into the academy after successfully teaching in secondary schools. Both brought with them the “maturity” gained from a work hiatus prior to continuing their education. Joe taught English and drama in Canada for 12 years and completed his masters part-time before embarking full-time on doctoral work. Rick taught high school English in San Francisco for seven years prior to enrolling in his doctoral program. Keywords: Keywords: Duoethnography, Autoethnography, Sexual Orientation, Dialogic Inquiry, Qualitative Methodology Joe Norris, recipient of the 2015 Tom Barone Award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts Based Educational Research from the Arts Based Educational Research SIG of AERA, teaches drama in education, applied theatre and research methods at Brock University. He has focused his teaching and research on fostering a playful, creative, participatory and socially aware stance toward self and other. His award winning book,“Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory Arts-based Approach”, is based upon his extensive work with social issues theatre. Joe is also currently involved in performative inquiry projects that involve video dissemination through web links,<[www.joenorrisplaybuilding.ca](www.joenorrisplaybuilding.ca)>. Email: [jnorris@brocku.ca](jnorris@brocku.ca) Richard Sawyer's scholarship focuses on qualitative research and curriculum theory. He is interested in reflexive and transformative curriculum within transnational contexts, especially those related to education and neo-liberalism and homo-normativity. Recent publications include: Understanding Qualitative Research: Duoethnography, Oxford University Press; and Duoethnography: Promoting Personal and Societal Change within Dialogic Self-Study, Left Coast Publications. He co-edited a special themed issue on duoethnography for the International Review of Qualitative Research. Upcoming publications include three co-edited books in 2016 with Palgrave Press. He and Joe received the AERA Division D Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology Award for Understanding Qualitative Research: Duoethnography. Email: [rsawyer@vancouver.wsu.edu](rsawyer@vancouver.wsu.edu) Joe: After completing my degree in three years, I expected to return to the classroom partially to pay back my sabbatical year and partially because I did not yet see myself as an academic. However, my dream job was posted, and I pulled my 12 years of pension (BIG MISTAKE), paid back my sabbatical leave and took a job at the University of Lethbridge as a drama teacher educator. Rick: I delayed completing my degree in curriculum theory and research because I went to school in New York City, in fact, had a romantic “walk-up” apartment in Greenwich Village and enjoyed a semi-bohemian life. But graduate I did and then sought to begin researching and writing about curriculum change and imagination. Accepting a job to design and direct a small teacher preparation program at a large university on the West Coast, I thought that life was good. Joe: Taking a temporally distant and reflective stance we now employ duoethnography (Norris, Sawyer, & Lund, 2012; Sawyer & Norris, 2013) to reconceptualize the past with present understandings and redefine the present with new perspectives on the past (Pinar, 1995) . Focusing on our experiences as new faculty members we reflect on “service creep” as we tried to create new teaching and research selves while having, perhaps due to our wealth of previous experience, administ

FAQs

What is the focus of the duoethnography in this article?

It examines similarities and differences between two faculty members as they transition from secondary school teaching into the academy. The study centers on how their researcher and teacher selves develop under heavy administrative responsibilities.

How do the authors frame their method and reflection?

They use duoethnography in a temporally distant, reflective stance to reconceptualize the past through present understandings. The approach also redefines the present with new perspectives on earlier experiences.

What challenge do the authors highlight in their early faculty experiences?

They describe “service creep,” where administrative duties are thrust upon new faculty members. This pressure complicates efforts to create new teaching and research identities.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben