Changing Academic and Professional Identities in Higher Education: The
Challenges of a Diversifying Workforce
Dr Celia Whitchurch
Institute of Education, University of London, UK
Professor George Gordon
University of Strathclyde, UK
The Study
Academic and Professional Identities in Higher Education: The Challenges of a Diversifying Workforce (Routledge, November/December 2009)
Twelve authors, six countries: UK, France, USA, Australia,
South Africa, Japan
Themes
Global contexts (Gordon) Academic identities (Henkel; McInnis) A ‘holistic’ workforce (Rhoades) Professional identities (Whitchurch; Law) Managing academic and professional staff
(Gappa; Usherwood; Smit/Nyamapfene) Career pathways (Strike; Oba) Recruitment (Musselin) Professional development (Middlehurst)
Issues
Diversifying disciplinary baseCasualisation/fractionalisationMovements in and out of HE Increased specialisation alongside
emergence of ‘blended’ rolesDistributed institutional management
Challenges
Changing aspirations and expectations New forms of recognition and reward Diffusion of management and leadership
responsibilities Institutional adaptation Global downturn
Variables
National contexts Institutional environmentsLegal/regulatory frameworks Level of ‘professionalisation’ Interface between academic and
professional spheres of activity
Tensions
Disciplinary, professional, institutional allegiances
Lateral networks vs formal structures Direction/control vs facilitation/negotiation Accommodation of new spaces/identities Legitimacy accorded to these
‘Future Worlds’(From ‘Managing Tomorrow’s People: The Future of Work to 2020’ (PWC, 2007))
Blue World
Corporate
Capitalism
(cf ‘managerialism’)
Green World
Social Responsibility
(cf ‘collegiality’)
Orange World
Collaborative Networks (cf project orientation)
Approach to managing people
‘People and Performance’
(‘a hard business discipline’)
‘People and Society’ (‘innovative solutions’)
‘People Sourcing’ (‘a flexible workforce’)
Organisational challenges
Maximising human capital
Performance management
Risk of non-socially responsible behaviour
Sustainability
Lack of orgn’l infrastructure
Based on social capital
Multiple contracts
Profile of individuals
Individuals negotiate their roles on basis of value as human capital
Socially engaged
Value placed on overall employment package
Fluid roles
Portfolio careers
Skill and knowledge networks
Issues for the future
Less commonality around academic or professional identities
Less clarity about boundaries Increasing influence of external
collaborations and partnerships Creativity around rewards and incentives The employment ‘package’
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