Professional Transitions in the Academy: A Conversation

Abstract

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.