58From change project to conflicted identities: reflections on a practitioner led study in Higher EducationDR. MYFANWY DAVIESBangor UniversityDR. GELAREH ROUSHANBournemouth UniversityDR. NIA WILLIAMSBangor UniversityDR. SUE CLAYTONBangor UniversityAbstract #83This paper will outline a practitioner-led change project that developed into a wider study exploring some of the ways that academics live with multiple identities and accountabilities. The paper will be of interest to those exploring professional and academic identities but may also be helpful to change managers.In order to facilitate an institution-wide portfolio review, the lead author was tasked with delivering a risk-based and responsive approach to programme design, approval and review. Mindful of the potential criticisms of practitioner-led research (Fleming, 2018), she convened a research group with expertise in management research and teaching enhancement and including a full-time teaching and research academic to recruit and interview participants.Given that several cohesive groups would need to be involved in the new programme process, Haslam and Reicher’s Social Identity Approach was used to identify and build on areas and practices important to each and to establish shared goals. This focused on reflecting on valued practices, representing these in the change and providing the opportunity to realise them (Haslam & Reicher, 2016).The initial sample comprised of Heads of Schools, Heads of Services, Student Union representatives, Senior Managers, members of the governing body and programme leads (N = 12).Research questions focused on:•the perception of the change (portfolio review) and•aspects of developing, approving and reviewing teaching that were valuedIn terms of findings from the “reflecting” phase, we will describe areas that were valued by members of groups and discuss some areas of commonality. We incorporated practices reflecting these into the new system which was presented to participants for consultation during phases of “representing” and “reflecting”. Feedback on the new system and other indications such as throughput and an independent audit have been positive.
59While participants from professional and management groups articulated a clear identity and position in relation to the change, academics struggled to construct acceptable versions of themselves as teachers, researchers, employees, and socially-situated actors in the face of a range of ongoing pressures. A further 10 interviews with academics were used to explore these tensions.A number of studies have explored conflicts in professional identities or struggles to articulate identities in relation to new, liminal or stigmatized work. These accounts have also assumed that people seek to create unified accounts of themselves. In contrast, Beech and colleagues (2016) propose a concept of self-questioning identity work that consciously accommodates ongoing tension and may use it asmotor for creativity (Beech, Gilmore & Hibbert, 2016). We will consider participant accounts of satisfying multiple performative demands using these insights and outline plans for further research around wider issues of academic identity using a self-questioning approach and the associated concept of identity-in-the-work.The final section of the paper will outline a wider research agenda around emerging or conflicted professional identities in HE particularly in the context of intersectionality and will consider the positive contribution practitioner research can make to the field (Harris & Patton, 2019). The research team invite others to collaborate in further stages of this study.