As depicted in the above graphic, the scholar practitioner has qualities that can be characterized as having the following: critical thinking, lifelong learning, effective communicating, acting with integrity, a leader in their field and reflecting and assessing on research and theory.
A critical thinker, is someone who objectively analyzes and evaluates an issue related to their field in order to form a quality judgment. The Scholar Practitioner must be a critical thinker because “…it is the way in which students glean new ideas, theories and models that inform their theses and research” (Queens University, ON 2019).
Being an individual who is a lifelong learner is another important characteristic as a Scholar Practitioner. “Lifelong learning is a form of self-initiated education that is focused on personal development”, (taken from valamis.com). To develop oneself as a learner, one should always be learning.
Effective communication is a relevant characteristic of a Scholar practitioner. In order to communicate effectively, a scholar practitioner must be clear with their words both verbally and in print as “writing skills are imperative to creating a lasting career, putting truth to the adage of publish or perish” (Ferguson, 2009). Scholar practitioners need to ensure that their communication is succinct, concise and correlates well with their subject matter.
As a scholar practitioner, one must act with integrity. Integrity and having moral principles, and being honest is crucial to ones’ work and research as they are a doctoral candidate. In as much, the scholar practitioner should be driven by their personal values.
Being a leader in one’s field of study, is another critical component of being a scholar practitioner. By doing so the scholar practitioner can be the crux of where all others in their fields can go to for information, data and mentoring. As leaders are seen as professionals, this should be the ultimate goal of a post-graduate scholar.
Finally, reflecting and assessing on the impact of one’s work, utilizing a problem solving approach, having experimental knowledge in the research and theory enables one to become an excellent scholar practitioner.
It is important to be driven by one’s personal values as a scholar-practitioner, and as you stated here, integrity that encounters honesty and moral principles. While it can be assumed that those in the field of education have this understanding of these concepts, it is necessary to define this in the role of scholar-practitioner. Similar to a business entity that leads with their core values, the scholar-practitioner is his/her own entity (person) that should lead using the core values he/she has. I enjoyed reading your post. Thank You.