1. Professional Identity
in higher education administration
and management
Kenton Lewis
E kenton.lewis@heacademy.ac.uk
@kenton_lewis

2. Setting the context
 What is ‘professional’?
 Theoretical and analytical frameworks
 Key themes explored
 Discussion topics
 Summing up

@kenton_lewis

3. Context
HE has gone, and is going, through
significant change
 Complexity in the system
-New providers
-Managerialism
-Globalism/Internationalism
-Commercialisation/consumerism

@kenton_lewis

4. 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, 1)
@kenton_lewis

5. Context
“UK universities need a bigger administrative
machine today than they did 30 years ago. The
reasons include a more complex legal
framework and laborious application
procedures for research grants, as well as
advancement of fundraising and alumni
relations.”
(Oppenheimer, 2011, 2)
@kenton_lewis

6. Context
“There is a growing tension between the
professional managerial approach and academic
life – the need to account for resource and
time, the need to produce and measure. Those
engaging in academic management are being
required to take decisions and responsibility in
greater amounts.”
(Holbeche, 2012, 3)
@kenton_lewis

7. Context
So how complex is the situation?
Here’s an overview of the English set up
(HEFCE and Deloitte, 4)

8. Context
HE Change 1963-2000
HE Change since 2000
1963
Robbins Report
2003
Roberts Review (of
research assessment)
1986
Research Assessment
Exercise
2004
The HE Act (variable fees
and OFFA)
1988
Education Reform Act
2005
NSS
1997
Dearing Report
2010
The Browne Review
1997
QAA Established
2011
White paper (Students at
the heart of HE)
1998
Teaching and HE Act
2012
Introduction of £9k ‘fees’
2014
Research Excellence
Framework
Not just about overall complexity.
2006
Access Agreement
1992
FE&HE Act
We should also Act
FE&HE (Scotland) consider the speed of change
(Lewis, 2012, 5)

9. Context
Within this confusing, unstable and uncertain
system, what is it to be ‘professional’?
“Constructions of professional
identity within UK higher education
administration and management: the
importance of collective selfconfidence”
@kenton_lewis

10. Context

What does ‘professional’ mean to you?

Are you part of a ‘profession’?

If yes, what are the distinguishing features
of your ‘profession’?
@kenton_lewis

11. Theoretical Framework
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
IDENTITY
PROFESSIONALISM
PROFESSIONAL BODY (AUA)
@kenton_lewis

12. Theoretical Framework
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
IDENTITY
PROFESSIONALISM
PROFESSIONAL BODY (AUA)
@kenton_lewis

13. Theoretical Framework
IDENTITY
PROFESSIONALSIM
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
PROFESSIONAL BODY (AUA)
@kenton_lewis

14. On professionalism



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
@kenton_lewis

15. On professionalism
By 1930s further clarity was forming:
 skill/ability linked to competency and quality
driven specialist training
 collective identity through formal association
 clear articulation of values and codes of
conduct linked to high level integrity
 autonomy and independence
 focus on service to others and to society
@kenton_lewis

16. On professionalism
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

@kenton_lewis

17. On professionalism
‘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, 6)
@kenton_lewis

18. On identity
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


@kenton_lewis

19. On identity
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 of
threat of change is very likely to provoke
concerns about who or what we are

@kenton_lewis

20. On identity
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
@kenton_lewis

21. On identity
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 ‘nonacademic’

@kenton_lewis

22. Collective self confidence
The loss, or absence, of professional selfconfidence 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

@kenton_lewis

23. Nuts and Bolts




If you want to know what people think, a
good starting point is to ask them!
Semi-structured interviews with 23
individuals from 6 different HEIs (cross
representative (sex, age, experience,
seniority, structural location))
Three further interviews with staff from two
international HEIs
Socially constructed data where
meaning is made rather than observed
@kenton_lewis

24. Analytical Framework
@kenton_lewis

25. Analytical Framework
@kenton_lewis

26. Analytical Framework
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

@kenton_lewis

27. Analytical Framework
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

@kenton_lewis

28. Discussion
In small groups, consider a single theme
 Consider the prompt questions
 Consider the examples from my own data
 Be ready to feedback to the whole group

@kenton_lewis

29. Discussion
What do you collectively understand by
this theme?
 What personal experience do you have
that relates to this theme?
 Do you recognise it? If so, how and
where?
 How might awareness of this theme
enhance your own professional practice?

@kenton_lewis

30. My key observations
Academic empathy as a key resource in
HE management
 The need to better promote HE
management as a career of choice (the
“accidental administrator”)
 Space for the AUA to develop a confident
and commanding ‘voice’
 Opportunity to embrace the term ‘HE
professional’

@kenton_lewis

31. Professional Identity
in higher education administration
and management
Kenton Lewis
E kenton.lewis@heacademy.ac.uk
@kenton_lewis

32. Additional slides
Kenton Lewis
E kenton.lewis@heacademy.ac.uk
@kenton_lewis

33. About me
Worked in HE administration /
management since 1996
 Bristol, Oxford, SGUL, HEA
 WP, Student Recruitment, Community
Engagement, Mar/comms, TNE, Student
Experience, Student Transition, L&T
 P/T MA Communications and PR
 P/T Doctorate at the IoE 2006-2012
 FAUA and AUA Trustee

@kenton_lewis

34. References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Wild, A. and Wooldridge, E. (2009). The development of professional careers in UK Higher
Education. London: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education
Oppenheimer, C. (2011). ‘A Chance to Break Free of Administrative and Regulatory
Tyranny', Times Higher Education (pp. 27). London: 6-12 January 2011
Holbeche, L. (2012). Changing Times in UK Universities: What Difference Can HR Make?
[Online]. Available at:
http://www.uhr.ac.uk/uploadedfiles/Documents/Changing%20times%20in%20UK%20uni
versities%20%28extended%20version%29.pdf. [Last accessed 25 May 2012]
Higher Education Funding Council for England and Deloitte. (2012). Mapping the Higher
Education Funding and Regulatory System in England. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/about/introduction/workinginpartnership/i
rpg/marchpapers/summary_report.pdf. [Last accessed 4 May 2012]
Lewis, K. (2012). Constructions of professional identity within UK higher education
administration and management: the importance of collective self-confidence. Available at
Institute of Education, University of London, or directly via Kenton Lewis
Barnett, R. (2008). 'Critical professionalism in an age of supercomplexity'. In B.
Cunningham (Ed.), Exploring Professionalism. London: Bedford Way Papers.
@kenton_lewis

35. List of acronyms
BIS
DfE
DH
ENQA
HEFCE
HESA
HMRC
NHS BSA
NDPB
OIA
OFFA
Ofsted
PSRBs
QAA
SHAs
SLC
TDA
UCAS
UKBA
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Department for Education
Department of Health
European Association for Quality Assurance in higher
education
Higher Education Funding Council for England
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
National Health Service Business Services Authority
Non Departmental Public Body
Office of the Independent Adjudicator
Office for Fair Access
Office for Standards in Education
Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies
Quality Assurance Agency
Strategic Health Authorities
Student Loans Company
Training and Development Agency
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
United Kingdom Border Agency

36. Nuts and Bolts
Research questions:
 How do UK higher education
administrators/managers construct their
professional identity?
 To what extent CAN UK higher education
administrators/managers construct an identity
as professionals?
 Is the term ‘professional’ a legitimate/suitable
alternative to ‘non-academic’?
 What role can the AUA play in supporting
higher education professionals?
@kenton_lewis

37. Nuts and Bolts
Interviews transcribed and anonymised
 Worked through all data to identify
themes (‘codes’)
 Initial 247 codes eventually rationalised
into a branch structure to group and
relate themes
 Managed through NVIVO QSR software

@kenton_lewis

38. Aims/achievements
Mapping construction of professional
identity in a clear and accessible format
 Demonstrating the extent to which HE
administration/management is
professionalised
 Empowering the AUA to develop a
confident external voice
 Empowering HE administrators and
managers to collectively embrace selfconfidence and assert professional status

@kenton_lewis

39. Further research options
To what extent does nationality, both of the
individual and of the institution, influence the
construction of professional identity amongst
higher education administrators and managers?
 To what extent does institutional culture
influence the construction of professional identity
amongst university administrators and
managers?
 Tipping the scales: does professionalisation of
managerial and administrative staff within
higher education contribute to the deprofessionalisation of the academy?

@kenton_lewis