Abstract:

Purpose:
Interest in effective teaching and how andragogues can deal with the daunting challenges facing tertiary educators in this unpredictable and volatile time has increased dramatically – as indicated by a plethora of publications, both in academic and practitioner journals. However, research to capture the truly complex nature of this fast-changing job is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to address the question regarding the underlying paradoxes that influence the roles of tertiary educators, and how andragogues may respond by crafting their jobs to cope and excel.

Design/methodology/approach:
The netnography method is utilized to validate a priori concepts that have been identified in the literature within higher education through analysis of discussion by online educational communities.

Findings:
The results reveal seven paradoxes of the andragogue role: These paradoxes can be further characterized by 13 dimensions; learner style, engagement, boundaries, approachability, technical skill, soft and inter-personal skill, exclusivity, inclusivity, plagiarism, independent thinking, compassion and empathy, independence, and evidence-based, storytelling. These findings are consistent with recent studies on educators’ experiences and andragogues pursuit of identity and job role clarity.

Research limitations/implications:
The focus of stage one of the study was on tertiary educators’ forums, blogs, journals, reflections and musings, written in English and posted online. Stage two involved qualitative semi-structured interviews involving five educators each from China and from New Zealand. Qualitative analyses were conducted to provide greater depth of understanding of how these educators applied job crafting to survive and thrive in this volatile environment..

Practical implications:
This study attempted to gain meaningful understanding of andragogues’ dilemma around crafting their unique role and job identity in their personal (and unique) pursuit of job actualization. The results suggest a number of implications for educators, faculty managers and employers. The knowledge of conflicting or contradictory demands of educators’ understanding of what it means to be an effective (if not excellent) tertiary teacher, and the challenge of creating great student experiences within the paradoxical learning and working environment are of utmost importance. Many stakeholders in the tertiary sector acknowledge the importance of job clarity, self-actualization and educators’ role in providing students with great learning experiences - but they have few insights into the contrasting and conflicting dimensions of excellent and effective teaching. The paper provides clarity, some best practices and discussion around how educators balance personal philosophies and approaches with external demands. This paper studies how job crafting could alleviate the stress and distress caused by ambiguity and paradoxical demands and how adept educators deal with those conflicting demands to thrive.

Originality/value:
Netnography has not been widely used as an education research technique. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic much emphasis has been placed on students’ stressors and educators’ responses to help them to cope. This study focuses on tertiary educators’ role and response to volatility for effective job crafting and teaching.

Keywords:

Andragogy, tertiary education, authentic, enmeshment, inclusivity, job crafting.