‘Square peg – round hole’: the emerging professional identities of HE in FE lecturers working in a partner college network in south‐west England

Abstract

The professional status of further education lecturers has been widely debated and contested within the published literature. This article presents the results of a series of semi‐structured interviews undertaken with a small sample of college lecturers working within a partner college network in south‐west England. Regardless of the level of the higher/further education teaching the lecturers identities remain strongly rooted in their role as teachers and commitment to supporting learners attain their educational ambitions. The lecturers’ identities were in a state of flux due to the dual demands of their employer (the college) and collaborating institution (the university). Their shifting identities may only be mediated through wider recognition being afforded to the role of a higher education lecturer working in a further education college from their managers, universities and supporting bodies.

Keywords:

• professional identity
• higher education
• further education

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the UPC lecturers who contributed to this study. We would also like to thank Ken Gale for his insightful discussions on professional identity issues. This research was supported by the Higher Education Learning Partnership CETL.