Pracademics? Exploring transitions and professional identities in Higher Education
Jill Dickinson, Andrew Fowler & Teri-Lisa Griffiths 2020
I picked up this article over the interesting title, reflectively from reading upon it, the study is wide and based across all university types and not just creative institutions. The word ‘Pracademic’ is a combination of practitioners and academics, the authors explored those who have transitioned from practitioner to academics and where they feel they sit in the world of academia.
The first part of the article explores the UK Higher Education (HE) recruitment processes, the competition between universities through the ‘ranking game’ and the attention towards the educational business market classification and brand-building.
The highlight here in this section was the awareness that the Research Excellence Framework has brought a bias to the recruitment process over favouring “‘career academics’ at the expense of employing staff with relevant industrial experience.”
I have noticed this within my own department, that the younger academics have no industry experience and are mostly full-time ‘academics’ working across all year groups in the pastoral and teaching sectors.
I can only reflect on my experience another highlight in this section is that the authors have put forward that Maanen and Schein (1997) note the potential for ‘pracademics’ to create an entirely new professional identity. This is something I am trying to conceive through my research into technical pedagogy, while the authors have mentioned the “‘affinities’ and ‘tensions’ between the worlds of academics and practice, and those inhabiting them, before making recommendations for building links between them for mutual benefit”.
This world of ‘pracademic plays on the idea of a revolving door, or one foot in and the other is out. The authors explore the benefits and the relationship between teaching and practice as well as engaging in student relationships and learning. The real moment in this practice is the encouragement of ‘knowledge-abled’ through experience to encourage students to engage in constructivist learning.
This area made me consider that these practitioners or ‘pracademics’ could include technicians as I know I am talking with bias, but I feel this is how creative technicians develop their teaching practice while relying on their industry practice, one this else pointed out here by the authors was that Posner (2009) mentions that these practitioners can use their practice to help forge networks and facilitate industry-university collaborations (KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE).
The ending of this section rings through on the tension and differences that have been observed through academics and pracademics and that both groups need to perceive each other as equals, and benefit as a whole teaching group, sharing of knowledge, skills and experience.
The Fragile Academic selves portion of this article explores imposter syndrome in the workplace and believe me, this goes through all areas of work, I have seen workshops within the overall in-house training at UAL there is workshops on imposter syndrome and that Is great to see from reading this paper that the educational board are listening to you can find the link here to the last workshop. (LINK).
One of the key aspects of this section is the author’s deliverance on two aspects of this ‘imposter phenomenon’ the first being ‘Aspirants’ those who seek, and ‘Existentialists’ those who doubt, now I have simplified those themes, but one that is pointed out one or more can lead to ‘excessive over-commitment’. I feel looking at these two examples I personally would lead to more an Aspirant, as I feel that the majority of my time outside of technical teaching is learning about teaching, and trying to better myself in this field as sometimes I question if I belong in either academia or the technical fields.
The other highlight of this section was the importance of relationship building between new and old employees, supervisors and the also the university as a whole organisation, such workshops in coaching, empathy, performance expectations, and peer group dialogues can be used to help combat issues around professional identity in higher education jobs.
which leads into the last section of these observations, the ‘professional identity’ the areas of interest are those aspects of self-development and the social construction of identity, the authors point out that Wanger (1998) mentions that aspects of both practice and identity are intertwined in individual professionals, which in hand can be appreciated and acknowledged in a wider community practice.
“through the negotiation of meaning action and interaction within the community, which is influenced by both history and context individuals make sense of their place within the community of practice. Moving from practice into academia (like all changes in community membership) involves the negotiation of an individual’s
place within that group.” Dickinson, Fowler and Griffiths 2020
I have selected this quote, as it contributes to a part of my research, in the area of community and building upon a better working environment through peer engagement and community collaboration. Am I setting out to encourage technical staff to transition from the technical pathway? Or to help build a new technical pathway. Either or I encourage both areas, but my feelings and personal experience are that technicians are left in the dark and aren’t properly introduced into academia.
The article then illustrates that there is an incomplete career transition from practice to academia, the argument here is that individuals transition from one ‘stable professional identity in practice to another within the HE context.’
The authors explained the ethics of their research and adapted a primary data analysis method, using thematic analysis to develop an understanding of the transitions in careers from practice to the academic world. The research was set forth into 2 themes;
- Practice-informed teaching: ‘Prepare them for what it’s like in the real world’
- Professional identities: ‘Accidental Academic’
The first theme presented reflects on the practitioners’ experiences, transferable skills and how these are applicable in their academic and teaching roles. There were a few points in this theme that stood out, the emotional impact and toll pastoral care has on the academic, and they feel under-supported in this area in general. Being overly critical in teaching roles that it might cause young practitioners to make the professional career choice, using real-life problem-solving to allow students to engage critically through problem-solving which prepares students for the workplace. A few indications of past tense imposter syndrome, which using in that manner foretold that this feeling as past.
The collective evidence shows that ‘pracademics’ demonstrate experience from practice to innovate teaching and learning environments while providing student support, with a conscious determination to support the workforce of the future, by developing skills in both professional and vocational areas.
The second theme ‘Accidental Academic’ relates to the professional identities and the engagement of practitioners with their teaching community. The highlighted section here was that ‘aspirant’ (me) academics were aware or thought of their practice as a shelf-life currency and showed a need to feel validated through continued achievements.
“Participants also expressed concerns about the lack of support available to enable them to make the transitions from practice to academia” Authors – Dickinson, Folwer and Griffiths 2020
Other metaphors around naming these job roles came into question or agreement, with ‘chameleon’ approaches to professional identity, favoured suggestions were ‘reflective practitioner’ or ‘accidental academic’ the other side of this was one research participant said that if you want to become an academic the university will allow you to do so, although mentioning the commitment as it consumes a lot of time and conscious decision to engage in professional development.
The findings in the second theme show that ‘pracademics’ believe in the importance of practice-informed teaching for its multiple benefits, while also recognising the issues faced by multi-faceted identities.
Concluding points:
- ‘Reflective Practitioner’ was a recurring theme throughout.
- Teaching the next generation of critical, reflective and value-led practitioners, through the lens of practitioner experience.
- The majority associated with the professional label Academic
- Specific contributions to teaching of ‘pracademics should be acknowledged and distinct.
- Participants revealed desires to maintain industry links.
- Balancing periods of ‘self-managed’ time to reconnect to practice.
- Such initiatives of ‘self-managed practice’ could benefit the individual, practice and HEI.
- Both reflective practitioners and accidental academics are particular types of pracademics that could be further investigated and researched.
- Authors advocate that academics with practice backgrounds are important assets to HEIs.
- Organisations should move away from maximising research income and focus on multiple experience impacts on the learning environments.
- “Nurturing pracademics’ practice-informed teaching, professional values, networks and identities could realise myriad benefits for the in individual, the student experience and the HEI.”
Reflective:
This article was hard to read, but very interesting in establishing a greater sense of academics in a wider HEI context not just creative education, I did find some key assets that I could use in the presentation and findings on a later day when I write up my report.
It is interesting that these pracademics do seem to be technical, but this article never mentions the word technical, or technician at all but practice their can be a difference in practitioners and technical teachings, but the majority of technicians are practitioners or have an industry working practice, so it was a little confusing not to see any evidence (that is visible) on technical body of HEIs.