Coping, conversation, and change: Socialisation of the new female academic.

This paper examines a new female academic's experiences of organisational induction within a New Zealand university. The study adopts Stanley and Wise's (1993) `feminist fractured foundationalist' framework which positions the teacher developer and new academic-participant as working together. The study illustrates how a 'conversational' approach (Ford & Ford, 1995; Ford, 1999) to organisational induction allows for the newcomer's emergent learning needs to be addressed with an experienced organisational veteran. In a feminist study, it is crucial that the account produces `knowing feminisms' (Stanley, 1997, p. 1) that are both action-orientated and analytical. The paper offers practical strategies for new female academics and teaching developers to facilitate socialisation and learning processes. It also identifies departmental and organisational change that resulted from the new employee voicing her concerns with the socialisation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]