English for Academic Purposes in Neoliberal Universities: A Critical Grounded Theory

195 Pages·2015·2.18 MB·English

by  Gregory Hadley (auth.)

Educational Linguistics
Gregory Hadley
English for Academic
Purposes in Neoliberal
Universities: A Critical
Grounded Theory
Educational Linguistics
Volume 22
Series Editor:
Francis M. Hult
Lund University, Sweden
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Marilda C. Cavalcanti
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil
Jasone Cenoz
University of the Basque Country, Spain
Angela Creese
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Ingrid Gogolin
Universität Hamburg, Germany
Christine Hélot
Université de Strasbourg, France
Hilary Janks
University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Claire Kramsch
University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A
Constant Leung
King’s College London, United Kingdom
Angel Lin
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Alastair Pennycook
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5894
Gregory Hadley
English for Academic
Purposes in Neoliberal
Universities: A Critical
Grounded Theory
Gregory Hadley
Niigata University
Niigata-shi , Niigata , Japan
ISSN 1572-0292
ISBN 978-3-319-10448-5 ISBN 978-3-319-10449-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-10449-2
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014953824
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Abstra ct
As momentous changes continue to sweep across the world of higher education,
tertiary-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is experiencing a time of pain-
ful professional transition. In many higher educational institutions (HEIs), EAP
units have been transferred from academic departments to administrative offi ces
charged with international student recruitment and entrepreneurial talent develop-
ment. Confl ict is a common feature as EAP teachers struggle to maintain their pro-
fessional lives while working within new managerial systems that espouse very
different views about the nature and purpose of Second Language Education.
This research showcases a grounded theory situated within this restive profes-
sional environment. Drawing from in-depth interviews of over 90 informants at 18
higher educational institutions in the UK, Japan and the USA, this volume presents
a new type of worker emerging from within EAP units. Called Blended EAP
Professionals (BLEAPs), this grounded theory critically highlights the processes
and strategies used by these workers to survive the perilous organizational ‘Third
Spaces’ within neoliberal universities. Besides their teaching duties, successful
BLEAPs spend most of their time in H unting & Gathering , W eighing & Measuring ,
Molding & Shaping . These processes are underwritten by the core social process of
Professional Disarticulation. This book unlocks properties and dynamics that
support these social processes, and considers the implications of this critical
grounded theory for Tertiary EAP as the profession approaches the middle of the
twenty-fi rst century.
v

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank my wife, Hiromi Hadley. Were it not for her support and
e ncouragement, this work would not have come to fruition. Many thanks also to the
following for their words of wisdom and scholarly insight during the various stages
and iterations of this project: Corony Edwards, the University of Exeter, UK, and
her scholarly spouse Dr. Mohamed A. Mahmoud; Dr. Almut Koester, The Vienna
University of Economics and Business; and Dr. Robert Vanderplank, Jeremy
Cresswell, Dr. Alistair Ross, Dr. Bent Flyvbjerg and Dr. Paul Fiddes, all who are at
The University of Oxford. Thanks to Dr. Kathy Charmaz, Sonoma State University,
for her advice and empathetic understanding. I appreciate the contribution of
Dr. Chris Kennedy, Professor Emeritus, University of Birmingham, UK, and to
Dr. Adrian Holliday, Canterbury Christ Church University, not only for playing the
devil’s advocate, but also for inspiring me to strive even further to gain a critical
awareness of the edges and limitations of this theory. I deeply appreciate the feed-
back of Dr. Francis Hult, Lund University, Helen van der Stelt, Jolanda Voogd and
the reviewers at Springer, who greatly improved many aspects of this book. And
fi nally, my gratitude goes out to the anonymous informants who participated in this
research. Thank you for your words, actions, and insights. Thank you as well for
having the courage to share and for not losing your capacity to care, even during
those times when painful changes at your universities put you in precarious places.
The world is a better place because of you.
vii

Contents
1 Setting the Stage: Context, Concepts,
and Theoretical Constructions ................................................................. 1
1.1 Pivotal Events ..................................................................................... 1
1.2 Why This Book? ................................................................................. 4
1.3 Key Concepts ...................................................................................... 4
1.3.1 Neoliberal Universities ........................................................... 4
1.3.2 English for Academic Purposes .............................................. 7
1.3.3 Blended EAP Professionals .................................................... 8
1.4 Critical Grounded Theory ................................................................... 9
1.4.1 Beginning Stage ...................................................................... 10
1.4.2 Intermediate Stage .................................................................. 13
1.4.3 Final Stage .............................................................................. 14
1.5 Practicing Refl exivity ......................................................................... 16
1.5.1 Research Background and Paradigmatic Position .................. 16
1.5.2 Composition Style, Transcription, and Data Collection ......... 17
1.6 Structure of This Book ....................................................................... 22
2 EAP in the Third Space of Neoliberal Universities ................................ 25
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 25
2.2 The Shift to Vocationalism ................................................................. 25
2.3 Sociopolitical and Economic Scaffolding .......................................... 30
2.3.1 Globalization and Higher Education ....................................... 30
2.3.2 Massifi cation ........................................................................... 32
2.3.3 McDonaldization ..................................................................... 33
2.4 Institutional Manifestations and Emergent Third Spaces ................... 34
2.4.1 Distinguishing Between Universities: An HEI Typology ....... 34
2.4.2 Enter the Third Space .............................................................. 37
2.5 Reconstructing EAP into Student Processing Units (SPUs) .............. 39
2.5.1 From Collegiality to Command & Control ............................. 40
2.5.2 Mechanistic Models ................................................................ 41
2.6 Chapter Summary ............................................................................... 43
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