by Julian Salisbury

Created on: May 03, 2008   Last Updated: May 05, 2008

Those referred to as arrogant have an over inflated sense of self-importance and are absorbed with their own ego. Some individuals may be viewed as arrogant or not, but what is more difficult to countenance is that a whole group, profession or sector might be labelled as such.

Yet these traits are sometimes attributed to individuals based on an impression, or a feeling. The validity or deservedness of such a description has much to do with our personal likes and dislikes. One might be viewed as dressing arrogantly, walking arrogantly, or something especially pertinent in the UK; one might be viewed as speaking with an accent that conveys a sense of social or economic superiority.

As we go about our daily lives we see the world through a set of prisms developed through primary and secondary socialisation. These prisms help us to understand the social world and as such they are useful, but they can also lead us to form pejorative views about people based on the most fleeting of contacts.

Although forming negative impressions about individuals is part of the human condition, attributing arrogance to a whole profession is harder to justify. This negative labelling is particularly unwarranted when it is directed towards practitioners working in Colleges of further education.

Stereotyping

The American journalist Walter Lippman (1922) coined the phrase stereotype and for him it meant a narrow view that was resistant to change and that carried negative connotations. The arrogance alluded to is a stereotype and it comes from the belief that post secondary educators occupy ivory towers, insulted from the harsh realities of capitalism and the pressures of modern life. That they prance about with airs and graces, pontificate about their latest views and propagate their political agendas to a captive audience. Like all stereotypical generalisations about group traits, this assessment is far from accurate and demonstrates a shocking ignorance of the working environment in question.

Status Deficit

If anything, College lecturers have a conspicuous status deficit and are reminded of their subordinate position in the overall scheme of things on a daily basis. Those whose primary responsibilities are dedicated to teaching and learning are deluged by administrative tasks from their line managers. Much of this work is routine, often mind numbing and never ending; the analogy of a mouse running on a wheel is actually a very apt one. Research on stress and work/life balance has consistently

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>