Re: [xmca] review of book on bullying

Very interesting review. Thanks Peter.
mike

On Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 10:50 AM, Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu> wrote:

> http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev716.htm
>
>
>
>
> Twale, Darla. J. & DeLuca, Barbara M. (2008). Faculty Incivility: The Rise
> of the Academic Bully Culture and What to Do About it. SanFrancisco, CA:
> Jossey-Bass
>
> Pp. xvi + 219 ISBN 978-0-470-19766-0
>
> Reviewed by Karen Mauck Cicmanec
> Morgan State University
>
> September 19, 2008
>
> Certainly, the media and general public have become more sensitized to the
> prevalence of civility in today's community, work, and school environment.
> As a consequence, one may find a number of related literatures focusing on
> incivility by doing an ERIC keyword search (e.g., "bullying", "university"
> and "college"). For example, Millman (2007) examines a report of a
> professor's alleged intimidating and hostile behavior (Millman, 2007).
> Lawrence and Adams (2006) describe an approach to addressing bullying
> behavior in the schools. And, Lewis (2004), noted the lasting impact of
> shame on the victims of bullying in a recent study. Similarly, a web
> browser
> search will produce additional illustrations of incivility including
> descriptions and options for countering the incivility of students against
> faculty (Morrissette, 2001; Holladay, n.d.).
>
> Fortunately for researchers and educators interested in the impact of
> civility in the academic setting, Faculty Incivility, authored by Twale and
> DeLuca, offers a thick description of the nuances of incivility found in
> academe that addresses speculations that people are less civil than they
> used to be. The authors, indicating that they have witnessed and
> experienced
> incivility during their collective, 60-plus years of experience in higher
> education, intend to help others understand and link socio-cultural
> theories
> and frameworks that support research on these behaviors that appear "as
> unique as the people involved" (p. xiii). It is within this context that
> and
> that Twale and DeLuca offer readers a scholarly perspective on faculty
> incivility.
>
> In this book of nine chapters divided into three parts, the authors define
> "incivility" (i.e., bullying, mobbing, camouflaged aggression, and
> harassment), review and analyze related literature and theory, and offer
> suggestions for ways to address incivility. Twale and DeLuca use Salin's
> (2003) framework for bulling to lay a foundation for understanding
> incivility, and add anecdotal information gathered from faculty members who
> have experienced or witnessed incivility as a way to propose possible
> causes
> and effects.
>
> The five chapters of the first section of the book is used to situate the
> reader address each of the elements found in Salin (2003) (e.g., motivating
> structure, precipitating circumstances, enabling structure and processes)
> that lead to incivility or a bullying culture in academe. Noting that most
> of the research on workplace incivility has been done outside of academe,
> Twale and Deluca highlight what can be found in the literature on civility,
> incivility, bullying, and mobbing, link the highlights to the history of
> higher education, and illustrate various elements of the framework with
> faculty anecdotes. The authors reflect on the past 370 years to support
> their belief that "incivility has roots in academe" (p. 33) and they cite
> examples of elitism versus merit versus democratization, faculty versus
> administration, and academic freedom versus paternalism as illustrations of
> the tensions that are present in academe.
>
> In an attempt to answer the question, "How do we learn to be uncivil and to
> bully others?", Twale and Deluca present information from research on
> social
> learning theories that address aggressive behaviors, gender, social
> distance, paternalism, power and politics, and management styles to support
> their observation that "aggression increases naturally as the population
> increases" (p. 47), "given adverse circumstances, faculty jockey for power"
> (p. 58), and "academic life is competitive" (p. 64). Here is one
> illustration of the anecdotal writings from faculty victims of incivility
> included in this section:
>
> I kept asking my mentor for help in dealing with an evening class of
> graduate students who were clearly indignant to me during class. But she
> clearly was not going to back me up on anything. I found out later that my
> mentor actually orchestrated the behavior of the class. (p. 53-54)
>
> In terms of the structure of governance in academe, Twale and DeLuca
> examine
> the influence of the organizational structure in higher education and the
> illusion of "shared governance" or "faculty self-governance". They also
> articulate that the tenure and promotion process is often enveloped in
> mystery and that this, like the insecurity that accompanies non-tenured
> status, may be one of several conditions for faculty victimization. They
> continue by suggesting that institutional bureaucracy and faculty isolation
> creates a site where camouflaged aggression may thrive. Perhaps readers
> will
> recognize this anecdotal comment as a famliar one: "Faculty meetings became
> much more intense - nothing gets done.and we go nowhere." (p. 71).
>
> The academic culture is multi-dimensional. What may be viewed as friendly,
> collaborative, and meaningful may cover an undercurrent of challenges to
> academic freedom, collegiality for some and not others, and turf battles.
> As
> for earlier chapters, the authors support their writing with citations from
> literature. (Over 250 citations appear in the reference list.) It is at
> this
> point in the book where the authors suggest that students may be witnessing
> incivility and consider the practices normative; and, new or untenured
> faculty may consider incivility as a rite of passage. In the anecdotal
> records that accompany this section, we view the problems relating to
> faculty incivility and the extent to which all own the problem:
>
> I will never forget a September departmental faculty meeting when we
> welcomed five new faculty members. During the meeting, an old guard faculty
> member explained how we conducted business, and one of the new group asked
> the faculty member to explain why we did things that way. I had been in the
> department long enough to know that the new guy had just pounded the first
> nail in his coffin. I predicted he would not last beyond his first year,
> and
> unfortunately, I was right. I am not sure he realized what he was doing to
> himself, which is regrettable, or how welcome his refreshing perspective
> really was to me. His comment made me feel part of the problem. (p. 96)
>
> In Part II of the book, the authors attempt to pinpoint the causes of
> incivility and suggest that the marginalization of academic work, minority
> groups, male dominance, and market forces may precipitate incivility in
> academe. The authors indicate that higher education is moving toward a
> corporate model, an ideological shift that may engender institutional
> shifts
> and faculty/administrative tensions and aggressive behavior. As for the
> earlier chapters, Twale and DeLuca support their position with contemporary
> literature and anecdotes.
>
> I guess budgets are tight all over, but the dean's push for market share is
> driving many of us crazy. We keep hearing about preserving the mission and
> striving for quality and excellence. But then we hear that if we don't
> start
> offering online courses to increase revenue in the college, some other
> nearby institution will. So which is it, mission or market? (p. 132)
>
> Finally, Twale and Deluca devote the final two chapters to suggestions for
> addressing incivility and the consequences of incivility. It is here that
> administrators, department chairs, faculty, and others will find arguments
> for and against the development of institutional policies like those that
> have been developed for sexual harassment. Here also, is a list of warning
> signals that may help faculty and administrators recognize workplace
> aggression. The authors indicate that education and socialization may help
> institutions to build a culture of civility. Strategies are offered to help
> institutions select and apply research methods that will assist in the
> development of policy, grievance procedures, sanctions, or redress relating
> to incivility. Strategies for victims are addressed in the final pages and
> epilogue. Again, this anecdote illustrates a faculty member's position on
> civility.
>
> In the meantime, I do my job. I work well with the other profs in my
> department. I am trying to make inroads into another department and at
> other
> institutions. In general it is a pleasant place to work. But I make
> statements as the conscience of the group. I don't try to anger anyone.
> There isn't too much you can do. You get passive. You can't make yourself
> sick over it. (p. 163)
>
> As mature educator who is approaching retirement and one who is beginning
> the sixth year as a full time, yet-to-be tenured professor, I have some
> ability to relate to the anecdotes that appear to come from 11 or more men
> and women who have witnessed or experienced incivility in academe. I am
> intrigued by the authors' methodological approach to analyzing the
> complexities surrounding faculty incivility. And, I appreciate the authors'
> grounding in a contemporary framework for bullying (Salin, 2003) and their
> extensive use of literature to support each theme. Twale and DeLuca
> indicate
> that their goal is to "uncover the personal, social, cultural,
> organizational, and structural reasons that faculty incivility may have led
> to the development of an academic bully culture" (p. xi-xii). It seems
> evident to me that the book is a valuable read for students, faculty, and
> administrators; and, that the book establishes a platform from which
> additional interesting and valuable research may emerge.
>
> The book includes a preface written by the authors, short biography,
> epilogue, reference list, name and subject index.
>
> References
>
> Holladay, J. (n.d.) Managing incivility in the college classroom. Retrieved
> on July 25, 2008 from
> http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/gsi/tatalk/incivility.php
>
> Lawrence, G. & Adams, F. D. (2006). For every bully there is a victim.
> American Secondary Education, 35(1), 66-71.
>
> Lewis, D. Bullying at work: The impact of shame among university and
> college
> lecturers. (2004). British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 32(3),
> 281-299.
>
> Millman, S. (June, 2007). Piling it on. Chronicle of Higher Education,
> 53(41), 41.
>
> Morrissette, P. J. (2001). Reducing incivility in the university/college
> classroom. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning,
> 5(4). Retrieved on July 25, 2008 from
> http://www.ucalgary.ca/~iejll/volume5/morrissette.html<http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Eiejll/volume5/morrissette.html>
>
> Salin, D. (2003). Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of
> enabling, motivating, and precipitating structure and processes in the work
> environment. Human Relations, 56, 1213-1232.
>
> About the Reviewer
>
> Dr. Karen Mauck Cicmanec teaches courses in assessment, research,
> curriculum, program evaluation, and technology to graduate students
> enrolled
> in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy, Morgan State
> University, Baltimore, Maryland.
>
> Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of
> first
> publication to the Education Review.
>
>
>
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Received on Fri Sep 19 17:47 PDT 2008