Interpreting changing academic roles and identities in higher education

The evolution of academic roles represents an instructive socio-historical barometer of changing higher education priorities and goals over time. Change has characterised institutions of higher learning since their inception, but the last decade provides a particularly interesting snapshot of ways in which universities as organisations have transformed in response to changing social, economic, political and policy imperatives. Of particular interest in this chapter is the changing nature of academic labour, and the factors shaping academic identities in this inconstant environment. Discussion is limited to Anglo-Saxon higher education systems, with full acknowledgement that the research–teaching–service configuration does not necessarily apply globally, and that this has not always been the predominant academic work paradigm in universities. Nevertheless, it proves a useful vehicle for interpreting some of the changes taking place in academic roles and identities, and the implications of these for the sector