Drawing on two international research projects, Reconstructing Relationships in Higher Education: Challenging Agendas looks behind formal organisational structures and workforce patterns to consider the significance of relationships, particularly at local and informal levels, for the aspirations and motivations of academic faculty. In practice, and day-to-day, such relationships can overlay formal reporting lines and therefore inform, to a greater or lesser extent, the overall relationship between individuals and institutions. As a result, from an institutional point of view, relationships may be a critical factor in the realisation of strategy, and can in practice have a disproportionate effect, both positively and negatively. However, little attention has been paid to the role that they play in understanding the interface between individuals and institutions at a time of ongoing diversification of the workforce. For instance, they may provide space, which in turn may be implicit and discretionary, in which negotiation and influence can occur. In this context, Reconstructing Relationships in Higher Education also reviews ways in which institutions are responding to more agentic approaches by academic faculty, particularly younger cohorts, and the significance of local managers, mentors and academic networks in supporting individuals and promoting career development. The text, which examines the dynamics of working relationships at local and institutional level, will be of interest to senior management teams, practising managers at all levels, academic faculty, and researchers in the field of higher education.

First Published in 2013. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Reconstructing Identities in Higher Education: The Rise of Third Space Professionals draws on studies conducted in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to explore the roles and identities of a growing number of staff associated with broadly based institutional projects such as student life and welfare, widening participation, learning support, community partnership, research and business partnership, and institutional research. Thus, at the same time as professional staff are acquiring academic credentials, some academic staff are moving in a more project-oriented direction. This has effectively created a Third Space between professional and academic spheres in which lateral interactions, involving teams and networks, occur in parallel with formal institutional structures and processes, and give rise to new forms of management and leadership. Yet such developments have tended to occur ‘under the radar’, and have not been fully articulated. The concept of Third Space is offered as a way of exploring the knowledges, relationships, legitimacies and languages that characterise those who work in less boundaried roles, and the implications of these developments for both individuals and institutions. The ability to problematise and accommodate a series of paradoxes and tensions, for instance between formal and more open-ended structures and relationships, would appear to be at the heart of working in Third Space. Individuals also grapple with the fact that Third Space can, at one and the same time, be a safe haven for experimentation and creativity, and also a risky space in which there is likely to be contestation and uncertainty. The text is addressed to professional and academic staff who, by design or default, for long or short periods, find themselves working in Third Space environments; to those to whom such staff may be responsible, including senior management teams; and also to researchers interested in changing identities in higher education.

"Higher education as we know it today is on the verge of a major transformation. We'll be forced to re-examine our ways in light of rapid changes in demographics, costs, lifelong and distance learning, and even in the way we best ..."--Publisher's website.

Now more than ever, race has become a morphing relational dynamic that has less to do with the demographic census box we check and more with how we make sense of our lives--who we are and who we can become in relationships with others. Using anecdotes from her practice as a licensed psychologist and as an African American growing up in the South, Walker provides a way for educators and social service professionals to enter into cross-racial discussions about race and race relations. She identifies three essential relational skills for personal transformation and cultural healing that are the foundations for repairing the damage wrought by racism. While Walker does not sugarcoat the destructive history of racism that we all inherit in the United States, the book's vision is ultimately affirming, empowering, hopeful, and inclusive about the individual and collective power to heal our divisions and disconnections. Book Features: Presents a new way of understanding race as a relational dynamic and racism as a symptom of disconnection. Synthesizes, for the first time, two important systems of thought: relational-cultural theory and race/social identity theory. Includes "Pause to Reflect" exercises designed to stimulate group conversations in book clubs, social justice groups, staff development, classrooms, and workplace training. Offers practical, everyday solutions for people of different races to better understand and accept one another.

* How can academics carve out new and effective ways of working with students against a background of constant change and policy pressure? * How can university teachers both enhance student learning and realize their own educational values? * What might be the shape of a new professionalism in university teaching? At the heart of this book is a small group of academics from very different disciplines making sense of their teaching situations. We witness each of their struggles and celebrations in designing a new course, engaging a large first year class, introducing a mentoring programme, nurturing independent learning through project work, using debates to develop students' critical thinking, and evaluating the success of their teaching. This book is the story of a higher education project, and central to the story are the attempts of university teachers to enact a critical professionalism in their everyday lives in teaching and learning; and also their development of a shared and collaborative dialogue. Each of the team seeks not only to improve their practice of teaching but also to explore amongst themselves what kind of professional they want to be and how to realize it in their work with students. Reconstructing Professionalism in University Teaching reveals how academics working together on researching their own teaching can both improve their students' learning and start to redefine their own professional roles.