From inside the head to putting it on the table – supporting reflexive decision-making for unpaid female carers considering higher education

ABSTRACT

When unpaid female carers consider whether to pursue higher education (HE), they frequently experience decision-making uncertainties which stem from the structural and cultural challenges associated with their roles as carers. Reflexivity is a critical part of decision-making, as it empowers individuals to mediate between the present and future within the structural and cultural conditions which impact and guide their actions. To investigate the reflexive deliberation processes unpaid female carers engage in as part of their HE decision-making processes, this study analysed data from an in-depth, qualitative Australian study with 15 unpaid female carers who were considering higher education. Dialogic processes including narrative interviews and a card sort activity made visible the array of mental activities involved in reflexive decision-making by carers. Considering the more and less productive types of reflexive inner conversations which had been identified enabled participants to reflexively adjust the efficacy of some of their decision-making processes. This study contributes to the reflective and career counselling literature by theorising the cognitively and emotionally complex personal and structural demands of HE decision-making. By conceptualising reflexive decision-making anew, unpaid female carers and HE institutions can better identify and address the structural and cultural conditions which may be influencing their HE decision-making.

KEYWORDS:

• Decision-making
• higher education
• reflection
• reflexivity
• unpaid female carers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Deborah Munro

Deborah Munro is a lecturer in Education and a PhD student. Her present research considers the ways in which persistent gender inequalities limit women’s choices with regard to furthering their education, which in turn hinder women’s career opportunities and economic advancement. Deborah teaches post-graduate and undergraduate classes in career education and trauma informed practice.

Jill Willis

Jill Willis is an Associate Professor in Education. She evaluates the social structures of assessment and learning spaces, to make recommendations for improving teacher and student agency. Her current projects include co-leading the ARC Linkage Accessible Assessment; and the ARC Linkage Accessible Assessment; She is the Australian lead researcher on the SSHRC Preparing Assessment Capable Teachers project. Jill has a strong track record in collaborative partnerships and innovative methodologies.

Andrew Gibson

Andrew Gibson is an information scientist specialising in reflexive cognition and expression. Andrew’s research includes theoretical inquiry into the value of reflexive thinking for learning, as well as applied socio-technical investigations into how people express reflexivity. Much of this work has been developed within the transdisciplinary field of learning analytics. Andrew’s research outputs have included conceptualisation of a specialised mode of reasoning, Trans epistemic Abduction, computational models relating reflective writing to reflection and metacognition, and open source reflective writing analytics software including the ARC Linkage Accessible Assessment; project. Andrew holds a PhD in Information Science, a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Studies, Postgraduate diploma in Information Technology, and Diploma in Teaching.

Melinda Laundon

Melinda Laundon is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Australian Cobotics Centre. Melinda’s research interests include the higher education policy environment, and in the management and organisation studies field, performance, recognition, learning and development. Melinda’s work is often based on interdisciplinary approaches combining public policy, employment relations and HRM theory. Recent and current research projects include evaluation of learning and teaching, teaching philosophies of university educators, and reward and recognition in the Australian finance sector. Melinda’s career prior to academia was in the Australian Public Service, most recently as the Australian Research Council’s Assistant Director, Research Performance and Analysis. Melinda holds a PhD in Management, a Masters in Management and a Master’s in Public Policy.