Implications for Professional Development

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the working knowledge of academics in a 'new' university in Australia. Working knowledge, or knowledge 'put to use' in day-to-day work, describes what academics actually do. What knowledge academics use day to day is vital for those concerned in the development of academic staff. Academic development has of late focused on supporting academics to respond to the changing demands of new forms of work, and has been accused of lacking an epistemological base or a clearly articulated position. The findings of this study make suggestions concerning a philosophical and practical way forward for the development of academic staff.This study adopts and develops phenomenographic method. It explores interviews with 20 academics to identify differences concerning what is necessary and valuable to know in order to work day-to-day as a practising academic. From the perspective of academics, this analysis identified three domains of working knowledge within daily academic practice. Unsurprisingly two of these domains are the relatively wellexplored fields of teaching and research. The third, previously unidentified as a specific field, was institutional administration. Understanding of and practice in this third new field was not only pivotal to the constitution of academic practice, but it appeared to mediate the ways in which the other two domains of teaching and research were brought together. Of further significance, working knowledge of institutional administration was implicated in academic identity and also signalled academics' more fundamental understandings of what constituted knowledge.The findings suggest the object of academic development is supporting the attainment of ontological and epistemological certainties and its subject is working knowledge.This repositions academic development practice away from fragmentation towards holistic, whole-of-work approaches.