Agency in compilation theses : The kappa as a vessel for independent, critical thinking
(2026) ICED2026 conference- Abstract (Swedish)
- In this paper, we study agency as expressed in the introductory text in the compilation thesis, the kappa (also referred to as e.g., thesis frame, synthesis or general introduction), a topic not often addressed in academic development work. Based on an analysis of a mix of sources – a course on kappa writing; focus groups discussions with doctoral students, examiners and supervisors; and a survey sent out to examiners and opponents of doctoral theses in our faculty – we argue that the kappa holds great potential for developing both the doctoral students’ independent, critical thinking and their identities as academics, but that this potential is often not brought to fruition.
Using Ashwin’s (2009) lens of agency as a dynamic... (More) - In this paper, we study agency as expressed in the introductory text in the compilation thesis, the kappa (also referred to as e.g., thesis frame, synthesis or general introduction), a topic not often addressed in academic development work. Based on an analysis of a mix of sources – a course on kappa writing; focus groups discussions with doctoral students, examiners and supervisors; and a survey sent out to examiners and opponents of doctoral theses in our faculty – we argue that the kappa holds great potential for developing both the doctoral students’ independent, critical thinking and their identities as academics, but that this potential is often not brought to fruition.
Using Ashwin’s (2009) lens of agency as a dynamic process involving limiting and enabling factors at the structural and agentic level, we isolate a lack of articulated expectations as a structural limiting factor for making the most of the kappa, and propose that this limitation can be balanced by conversations about what the kappa can be. In our presentation, we call for a discussion of what academic developers can do to facilitate such conversations, which we view as agentic spaces. Such work is important, we argue, not only for maintaining independent, critical thinking as a core competence in doctoral education, but also for safe-guarding democratic values. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8cb8f300-1f9b-4b1a-8b13-1bdd06efe3cb
- author
- Nordrum, Lene LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-06-24
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- conference name
- ICED2026 conference
- conference location
- Salamanca, Spain
- conference dates
- 2026-06-24 - 2026-06-26
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8cb8f300-1f9b-4b1a-8b13-1bdd06efe3cb
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-21 12:31:26
- date last changed
- 2026-08-31 14:35:23
@misc{8cb8f300-1f9b-4b1a-8b13-1bdd06efe3cb,
abstract = {{In this paper, we study agency as expressed in the introductory text in the compilation thesis, the kappa (also referred to as e.g., thesis frame, synthesis or general introduction), a topic not often addressed in academic development work. Based on an analysis of a mix of sources – a course on kappa writing; focus groups discussions with doctoral students, examiners and supervisors; and a survey sent out to examiners and opponents of doctoral theses in our faculty – we argue that the kappa holds great potential for developing both the doctoral students’ independent, critical thinking and their identities as academics, but that this potential is often not brought to fruition.<br/><br/>Using Ashwin’s (2009) lens of agency as a dynamic process involving limiting and enabling factors at the structural and agentic level, we isolate a lack of articulated expectations as a structural limiting factor for making the most of the kappa, and propose that this limitation can be balanced by conversations about what the kappa can be. In our presentation, we call for a discussion of what academic developers can do to facilitate such conversations, which we view as agentic spaces. Such work is important, we argue, not only for maintaining independent, critical thinking as a core competence in doctoral education, but also for safe-guarding democratic values.}},
author = {{Nordrum, Lene}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{06}},
title = {{Agency in compilation theses : The kappa as a vessel for independent, critical thinking}},
year = {{2026}},
}