Full Description
Against a background of changing patterns of academic labour in the UK and other English speaking countries, this book draws on empirical research which identifies a shift towards more open-ended approaches to roles and careers in higher education. This has resulted in what the authors describe as 'concertina-like' careers, in which individuals stretch the spaces and timescales available to them. Underpinning this process, the concept of 'career scripts' shows how the career paths of individuals may be informed by formal career structures (Institutional scripts) but also by activity associated with professional practice (Practice scripts), and by personal strengths, interests and commitments (Internal scripts). This has led to new forms of activity, within both the formal institutional economy, including promotion criteria and prescribed career pathways, and the informal institutional economy, represented by personal interests and initiatives, professional relationships and networks. The 'concertina' process enables individuals to address a series of common misalignments and disjunctures within formal institutional economies, including those associated with disciplinary and departmental affiliations, job profiles, progression criteria, and work allocation models. The book also explores directions that academic careers may take in the future, and how institutions might adapt to these changes.
Contents
Series Editor's Foreword
Acknowledgements
Notes on Authors
1. The Changing Parameters of Academic Work
2. Academic Career Trajectories and Aspirations
3. The Study and Early Findings
4. The Significance of Career Scripts
5. The Rise of the 'Concertina' Career
6. Negotiating Misalignments and Disjunctures
7. Whither the Academic Profession?
8. Rethinking Academic Careers in a Post-Pandemic World
Appendix 1: Survey Questionnaire
Appendix 2: Topic Guide for First Round of Interviews Autumn 2017 to Spring 2018
Appendix 3: Topic Guide for Second Round of Interviews Autumn 2019 to Spring 2020
References
Index
