ENroute Yearbook 2016-17
What are you most proud of? Personal reflections on the Senior Fellowship
application process
Lindsey Robb, School of Health & Social Care, Senior Fellow
The above question, the opener in my ‘dialogue’ for my application for Senior Fellow,
left me in no doubt that the focus for the next 45 minutes was to enable me to
talk about and share my practice. The fact that colleagues listened with interest
further facilitated this process. As a social worker by background, communicating
with people comes naturally, so the choice to submit via dialogue rather than
documentary was easy.
Reflection is an integral aspect of quality teaching (Ashwin et al, 2015) and yet a
significant amount of time is spent in academia looking forward, setting objectives,
aligning these to strategies, meeting deadlines. Though initially unsure about
exposing my practice to the scrutiny of peers, my decision to apply gave me a
welcome opportunity to look back.
The process of gathering rigorous evidence to match the professional standards
framework also satisfied needs as a committed lifelong learner. As a Senior Fellow
the focus is on the contribution I have made to influence others. This led to a critical
review of what is meant by leadership, concluding that ‘ethical leadership’ fitted
with long held beliefs about the importance of personal relationships (Gallagher &
Tschudin, 2010).
Be under no illusion, time and effort are required, however, sharing practice with
supportive peers was both enriching and uplifting. Success comes in many forms,
but personally feeling that the contribution that I have made is of interest and
valued meant the time and effort put in was time well spent. And the answer to the
question? Let’s share that over a cuppa!
References
Ashwin. P., Boud, D., Coate, K., Hallett, F., Keane, E., Krause, K., Leibowitz, B., Maclaren, I., McArthur, J., McCune, V.
& Tooher, M. (2015). Reflective Teaching in Higher Education. London: Bloomsbury.
Gallagher, A. & Tschudin. V. (2010). Educating for Ethical Leadership. Nurse Education Today. 30, pp224-227.
doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2009.11.003
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