Shifting Identities and Blurring Boundaries: The Emergence of Third Space Professionals in UK Higher Education



15

The study is suggestive of trends in UK professional staff identities, of which the
implications have not been fully recognised. Not only are individuals interpreting
their given roles more actively, but they are also moving laterally across boundaries
and contributing to the development of a
third space between professional and
academic domains. Rather than drawing their authority solely from established roles
and structures, they increasingly build their credibility on a personal basis, via lateral
relationships with colleagues inside and outside the university. In particular, new
forms of
blended professional are emerging, with mixed backgrounds and portfolios,
dedicated to progressing activity comprising elements of both professional and
academic domains. However, although
third space activity assists institutions both to
build capacity and to develop for the future, it may reduce opportunities for
professional staff to obtain mainstream ‘management’ experience.

As professional staff work across and beyond boundaries, they are re-defining the
nature of their work. It may be that the most mature institutions will be those that are
able to incorporate, and facilitate, a balance of professional staff that is appropriate
for their shape and direction of travel, taking a view of where and how these might be
clustered. It may also be that those institutions that are able to give recognition to
more extended ways of working will be the most likely to maximise the contribution
of their staff, and to achieve an effective accommodation with their current and future
environments. It is suggested, therefore, that new forms of
third space professional
will continue to emerge.

Notes:

1. This paper is a fuller version of a conference paper delivered at the Society for
Research into Higher Education Conference at Brighton on 11-13 December
2007 (
www.srhe.ac.uk). An earlier version also appears at
www.cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/publications.php? s= 1.

2. The study described in the paper was carried out with the support of King’s
College, London, and also of a research grant from the UK Leadership
Foundation for Higher Education, both of which are gratefully acknowledged.

References

Archer, M. (2000). Being Human: The Problem of Agency. Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press.

AUT (2001). Building the Academic Team: A Report on the Contribution of
Academic-Related Staff to the Delivery of Higher Education
. London, Association of
University Teachers.



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