Examining the overlapping identities of teaching focused academics and academic developers: expanding ideas

ABSTRACT

Researching the experiences of teaching focused academic (TFA) roles reveals challenges and alienation. Investigating their practices can enrich theorisations of their role. We conducted a focused ethnography capturing data from institutional materials, focus groups, and key informant interviews. We present two vignettes demonstrating the multi-faceted practices of TFAs as they navigate supercomplex landscapes. More than learning to be an expert teacher or researching teaching, an identity as an academic developer (AD) emerged. We argue that TFAs are seeking to shape non-TFAs to influence how teaching is valued. This hybrid teacher-academic developer identity has consequential implications for the AD community.

KEYWORDS:

• Teaching focused academic (TFA)
• academic identity
• academic specialisations
• supercomplexity
• academic development (AD)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

N. Godbold

Nattalia Godbold is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

K. E. Matthews

Kelly Matthews is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Teaching and Learning Innovation at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

D. Gannaway

Deanne Gannaway is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Teaching and Learning Innovation at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.