in press)). Professional transitions in the academy: A conversation

Journeys are funny things—they do not always take you were you were expecting them to, or even where you want to go. But if you are open to the experience, and committed to reflection, there are interesting lessons to be learned. What does it mean to shift from a practising professional (a lawyer–a social worker) to a discipline-based academic? Or to move beyond a narrow discipline to become a scholar of teaching and learning? What dangers lurk in the swamp of managerialism? How can we escape from the towers of solitude and isolation that characterise debates around academic identity and become true barrier breakers and boundary blenders? The key, for these two travellers, lies in recognising the transformative potential of epistemological fusion. Keywords critical reflection, personal transformation, transformative learning This article is a personal reflection, in the form of a conversation between two academic journeyers, on our travels through the epistemological kingdoms of pro-fessional and academic identity. This reflection, and conversation, arose directly from our experience of moving between several different ‘‘roles’ ’ in our professional lives and the challenges to personal and professional identity that these shifts posed