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Abstract
The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs’) niche in the current UK higher education system by means of reflecting on the results of a survey undertaken at a department of the University of Sheffield. The survey highlights that GTAs occupy an ambiguous niche; they are simultaneously teachers, researchers, students and employees, with considerable tensions emerging as a result of the often conflicting rights and responsibilities associated with such roles. The paper concludes that a dialogue should take place within and between universities in order to decide the desired status of the GTA within the UK higher education system and design a workable framework to sustain it.
Notes
1. Undergraduate student growth has slowed down recently; the overall number of students in higher education in the UK rose by a considerable 9% between 1997/1998 and 2001/2002 but only by 1.8% between 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 (HESA Citation2006).
2. Departmental Memorandum, 9 March 2006, on file with author.
3. The survey form was open in format but several interesting themes emerged; due to space restraints, however, only the dominant ones will be considered in this section.
4. Departmental Training Module for Part-Time Teachers, 2007–2008, on file with author.