Abstracts - Earli

etween research and teaching it is necessary to investigate academics’ epistemological beliefs, i.e.conceptions about knowledge and knowledge-growth. This research project focuses on theresearch-teaching nexus in a faculty of Arts. The aim was to better understand how academicsperceive research, teaching, and knowledge, and how these are related to each other.Thirtyacademics from the faculty of Arts of Leiden University were interviewed about their conceptionsof the different components of the research-teaching nexus. The respondents were selected using 6different strata to capture all disciplines in the Arts. Their conceptions were investigated usingmetaphors as these may stimulate people to become aware of their own implicit beliefs and helpthem to explicate these beliefs. Respondents were encouraged to react on each of the six presentedmetaphors for each topic. It appeared that there was a great variety in how academics in the Artsperceive knowledge. The continuum ranges from knowledge as existent outside the self, toknowledge as a construction which exists only in interaction. Many respondents referred explicitlyto research when asked about knowledge. However, only for some of them knowledge, researchand teaching appeared to be an integrated whole.Scientific research dispositions in research, teaching and learningRoeland van der Rijst, Leiden University, NetherlandsJan van Driel, Leiden University, NetherlandsJan Kijne, Leiden University, NetherlandsNico Verloop, Leiden University, NetherlandsMany research intensive universities are searching for ways to strengthen the link betweenresearch and teaching. Understanding differences and similarities between academics’ conceptionsabout what is important in research can help to enhance the linkage. The aim of the present studyis to understand the variation in academics’ conceptions of scientific research dispositions. Bothacademics’ conceptions of scientific research dispositions of researchers as well as academics’conceptions of scientific research dispositions for students to acquire during their studies wereexplored. Participants were 23 academics from the faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences ofLeiden University. Academics varied from post-doctoral researcher to full-professor, andrepresented various disciplines within Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Six different aspects ofscientific research dispositions emerged, which reflect the qualitative variety in which academicsconceptualise scientific research dispositions: inclination (1) to know, (2) to share, (3) to becritical, (4) to do, (5) to understand, and (6) to be innovative. Participants put different emphasiswithin their conception of the most important aspects of scientific research dispositions. A deeperunderstanding of scientific research dispositions can be used during professional development ofacademics. The results of this study provide academics with extra knowledge how to stimulatestudents’ scientific research dispositions with various strategies during their courses.– 288 –