Professional Identity in university administration: The importance of collective self confidence
Kenton Lewis E [email protected]
@kenton_lewis
Setting the context
A model to explore professional identity
What do we mean by
“professional” and “identity”?
A model to explain professional identity
Are we professional and are we a
profession?
@kenton_lewis
Simple show of hands
Are you professional in your work?
Are you a professional?
Are you part of a profession?
@kenton_lewis
HE has gone, and is going, through
significant change
Complexity in the system
-New providers
-Managerialism
-Globalism/Internationalism
-Commercialisation/consumerism
Context
@kenton_lewis
Context
“The role of professional administrative and
support staff is becoming more pivotal as the
sector becomes more competitive, more
business and market focussed, and more
international…the old divide between academic
and “non-academic” is starting to change.”
(Wild and Wooldridge, 2009)
@kenton_lewis
Context
(HEFCE and Deloitte, 2012)
So how complex is the situation?
Here’s an overview of the English set up
Context
(Lewis, 2012)
Not just about overall complexity.
We should also consider the speed of change
HE Change 1963-2000
1963 Robbins Report
1986 Research Assessment
Exercise
1988 Education Reform Act
1992 FE&HE Act
FE&HE (Scotland) Act
1997 Dearing Report
1997 QAA Established
1998 Teaching and HE Act
HE Change since 2000
2003 Roberts Review (of
research assessment)
2004 The HE Act (variable fees
and OFFA)
2005 NSS
2006 Access Agreement
2010 The Browne Review
2011 White paper (Students at
the heart of HE)
2012 Introduction of £9k ‘fees’
2014 Research Excellence
Framework
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
PR
OF
ES
SIO
NA
LIS
M
IDE
NT
ITY
PROFESSIONAL BODY (AUA)
Theoretical Framework
@kenton_lewis
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
PR
OF
ES
SIO
NA
LIS
M
IDE
NT
ITY
PROFESSIONAL BODY (AUA)
Theoretical Framework
@kenton_lewis
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
IDE
NT
ITY
P
RO
FE
SS
ION
AL
SIM
PROFESSIONAL BODY (AUA)
Theoretical Framework
@kenton_lewis
13th Century - traditional, exclusionary definition: theology; law; and medicine.
19th Century - rise of ‘professional’ civil service; distinct from the ‘ruling classes’ and able to manage an increasingly complex government
19th/20th Century - occupational groups seeking professional recognition through collective association ethical codes / formal learning / licensing
On professionalism
@kenton_lewis
Yet there are differences between the traditional definitions and experienced understandings
Contemporary professionals face multiple, concurrent drivers: -gaining and managing expert knowledge -operating entrepreneurially -managing limited resources -navigating regulatory guidelines -meeting clients needs and expectations
Professionals are: -losing autonomy / authority -no longer sole owners of knowledge -experiencing increased levels of regulation
On professionalism
@kenton_lewis
‘trust’, ‘integrity’, ‘service’ and ‘authority’
being replaced by
‘quality assurance’, ‘performance
indicators’, ‘standards’, and ‘efficiency’
“professionalism is witnessing a lurch from
an ethic of service to an ethic of
performance” (Barnett, 2008)
On professionalism
@kenton_lewis
Considerations of ‘sameness’
Demonstrated through the affiliations we choose, and have chosen for us, with different groups
Inherent link with the verb to ‘identify’; something that needs to be established
Through identification, one’s identity is open to change and reconceptualisation over time
Identity is therefore a socially constructed entity which is constantly being reconfigured and reformed
On identity
@kenton_lewis
We are not limited to a single ‘identity’;
we all experience multiplicity
We all constantly reassert, reconsider and
reconceptualise our identities
Therefore any actuality, expectation or
threat of change is very likely to provoke
concerns about who or what we are
On identity
@kenton_lewis
Identity as a theme within HE:
Governmental desire for greater control over HE’s contribution to economy and society
New forms of regulation place greater burden on universities
Massification of the sector creates desire for recognition and status from different groups
Universities have become accustomed to operating in a multidimensional environment (public/private, competitive/collaborative)
Blurring of the boundaries between groups of all types and at all scales
On identity
@kenton_lewis
In such a context, identity is a process:
continuous; changing; reflexive; and
without a defined end point
Freedom to create new, or redefine
existing, identities
Creation of ‘third space’ roles, that
straddle the boundaries between
traditional views of ‘academic’ and ‘non-
academic’
On identity
@kenton_lewis
Analytical Framework
@kenton_lewis
Analytical Framework
@kenton_lewis
Nomenclature – the descriptors
individuals and collectives choose, and the
labels applied to them by others
The behaviours we (un)consciously
choose in order to shape our working
lives
How perceptions of ‘professional’ staff
are ascribed and (re)negotiated
Analytical Framework
@kenton_lewis
The relevance of acquired skills,
experience and qualifications in
enacting one’s duties and in engaging with
(academic) colleagues
The influence of perceived and formal
(relative) status
The formal and informal structures that
shape the environment in which HE
‘professionals’ (re)construct their identity
Analytical Framework
@kenton_lewis
The loss, or absence, of professional self-
confidence makes it disproportionately harder
to operate as a professional
lack of assurance and self-confidence prevent a
unified and proud claim of professional status
We need the self-confidence to champion and
promote our work as a desirable and rewarding
career that contributes to the greater good of
higher education and, by extension, to the
greater good of society
Collective self confidence
@kenton_lewis
Academic empathy as a key resource in
HE management
The need to better promote HE
management as a career of choice (the
“accidental administrator”)
The importance/relevance of collective
self-confidence
Opportunity to embrace the term ‘HE
professional’
My key observations
@kenton_lewis
Simple show of hands
Are you professional in your work?
YES
Are you a professional?
YES
Are you part of a profession?
YOU ARE IF YOU WANT TO BE!
@kenton_lewis
Professional Identity in higher education administration
and management
Kenton Lewis E [email protected]
@kenton_lewis
BIS Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
DfE Department for Education
DH Department of Health
ENQA European Association for Quality Assurance in higher
education
HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England
HESA Higher Education Statistics Agency
HMRC Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
NHS BSA National Health Service Business Services Authority
NDPB Non Departmental Public Body
OIA Office of the Independent Adjudicator
OFFA Office for Fair Access
Ofsted Office for Standards in Education
PSRBs Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies
QAA Quality Assurance Agency
SHAs Strategic Health Authorities
SLC Student Loans Company
TDA Training and Development Agency
UCAS Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
UKBA United Kingdom Border Agency