Continuing Professional Development in Higher
Education: Voices from Below
Karin Crawford
The study examines
faculty-based
academics’ views on
what influences their
understandings,
behaviours and
attitudes towards their
continuing professional
development (CPD).
Informed by critical
realist ontology, the
research explores
academics’ accounts of
professional
development in their
practice context. In
doing so, it addresses
an under-representation
in the literature of the
voices of faculty
academics about what
influences their
approaches to
professional
development.
June 2009
‘Staff expertise is the most important asset in a university;
without it literally nothing can be achieved’ (Blackmore and
Blackwell 2003: 23); by implication, the professional
development of these staff, in this case academics working
in faculties, is of significant importance. Findings from this
qualitative cross-case study research project have enabled
new themes and areas for reflection to emerge about the
constraints and enablements academics perceive in respect
of their continuing professional development CPD. The
conclusion is drawn that the significance of agency raises
the importance of opening the debate and responding to the
‘voices from below’.
Common themes emerge from the voices of the academic
participants across the two case study institutions, one ‘old’
university, and one ‘new’ university. Academics’
professional backgrounds and allegiance to subject-related
professional bodies are shown to have more dominance and
power in influencing their understandings, behaviours and
attitudes to professional development than the historical
background of their employing institution.
The following key themes are summarised in this synopsis.

The influence of how academics understand continuing
professional development

The significance of professionalism and values in
academia

The influence of incompatible initiatives and priorities

The influence of supportive networks.
The significance of agency emerges within all of these
themes.
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Background
‘Continuing
Professional
Development? I’m
looking at a jigsaw
puzzle with pieces
missing’ (Sharon)
‘Demands on
academics are so great
these days, constant
efficiency, increasing
student numbers,
decreasing staff
numbers, more
assessment, more
auditing, greater
performance
management regimes,
where do you find time
to do any of that
[continuing professional
development]?’ (Phillip)
The term ‘continuing professional development’ is widely
used across a range of occupational fields. There is, however,
a lack of clarity and agreement about how it is defined, and
some acceptance that the concept is ‘neither innocent nor
neutral’ (McWilliam 2002: 289). Within the context of higher
education, professional development for academics occurs in
a complex environment of changing national policy
directives; increasing demands on both institutions and
academics themselves (Deem et al. 2008). The academic role
has been changing to include a wider range of tasks and
responsibilities (Blackmore and Blackwell 2003). Academics
are required to have subject, research, teaching, leadership
and administrative expertise. Additionally, debates about the
‘neo-liberalist’ university (Clegg 2009) and performance-led
cultures reflect wider concerns about the impact of regulatory
forces on professional development.
The theoretical frame of critical realism
The ontological meta-theory of critical realism has guided this
research. Postulating that reality exists independently of
whether it is observed or experienced, Bhaskar (1978)
describes three domains of reality; it is the domain of the real,
or causal level that is of particular relevance to this study. At
this level generative ‘mechanisms’ can result in change or
‘events’ and, whilst they may not be tangible, they can
produce ‘tendencies’; the consequence being that we seek to
understand and explain these tendencies (Houston 2001). At
the core of this research has been the relationship between
structure and agency. Critical realism asserts that both have
causal powers that need to be understood, or analysed
separately.
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‘Continuing
professional
development to me is
kind of a term that
gets bandied about a
lot within the
University and it’s
something that you
feel obliged to do
without ever knowing
what it might be’
(Diana)
The influence of how academics understand
continuing professional development
The data shows that the meanings academics attribute to CPD
and the terminology in use significantly influences their
attitudes, values and approaches towards their development.
Whilst explicit clarity of definition and consistency of
terminology may be considered desirable, common language
does not necessarily equate to common understanding and,
furthermore, common understanding cannot be taken to imply
agreement (Sayer 1992).
The significance of professionalism and values in
academia
The voices of academics raised through this research indicate
concerns and confusions about professional status. These
‘Any profession that
wants to maintain its
status … its power
base, has to
demonstrate to society
that they are engaged
in a process of
development, that
their staff are up to
date and have
contemporary
knowledge’ (Sven)
‘constellations of concerns’ have significance for defining
action and determining practices (Archer 2007: 17) related to
CPD. Professionalism in academia is positioned between the
tensions of a ‘government-imposed form of “expert
professionalism” … focused on skill and standards’ (McLean
2008: 124), and the concepts of academic autonomy and
critical social engagement. The data shows a divide between
those who work within the mandatory requirements of an
external, professional body and those who do not. Academics’
allegiances to disciplinary professional bodies can be highly
influential. Some academics feel mandatory requirements do
not meet their needs, are constraining and negatively
influence their approaches to professional development. Other
voices, particularly those who work within an external
discipline-related framework, were more tolerant of such
approaches.
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The influence of incompatible initiatives and
priorities
‘When they get their
PGCert, they sit
back and OK that’s
been done and
completed and let’s
focus on my
research, which is
what I prefer to do
the most’ (George)
‘I’m very lucky
really because I
work with three
other full time
people in one office
… and it’s great
because we’ve got
our individual desks
but we’ve got a big
table as well so we
certainly work
together, we help
and support each
other, we, yes, you
feel very you know,
you feel very well
supported.’
(Chandra)
Misaligned policies and priorities can have negative
influences on academics’ attitudes and behaviours in respect
of their CPD. Perceived incompatibility and lack of
correlation between institutional and individual priorities are
particularly constraining. Academics perceive their employers
as having, at best, different priorities and, at worst, competing
priorities. Greater compatibility between priorities of the
external environment, the individual and their employing
university, along with an holistic view of academic practice
could be facilitated through shared, collaborative approaches
to academic development, based on dialogue, listening and
responding to all the relevant voices.
The influence of supportive networks
Whilst academics respond favourably to having individual
control over their CPD, they experience support, guidance
and clarity at institutional and extra-institutional levels as
enabling and influential. Empowering relationships,
commonly formed through informal, ad hoc mentoring-type
alliances, were influential not only to career planning, but in
influencing approaches to practice and CPD. Within both
case study institutions however the approach to such
networks or mentoring was inconsistent. Academics also
described being highly motivated to develop, maintain and
grow external subject-related networks to support a range of
academic endeavours, including CPD and career
progression. They also saw ‘externality’ as being achieved
through allegiance to their discipline-related professional
body and they described how subject-related conferences
provided inspiration and motivation.
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‘There are
opportunities there if
people want to take
them on…I would
say that it was led by
the academics, in my
experience’ (Imran)
‘You see someone
who is a senior
professor … how did
they get to there?
How can I learn
from their journey?
So I’m always
paying attention, as
I … certainly want
to get on … I’m
thinking about how
do I do that? (Marie)
The significance of agency
Individual, sometimes very personal, concerns can be seen
to be a significant influence on how academics respond to
professional development; examples include career
progression, performative competence and personal
circumstance. Within the latter, academics commonly
included less tangible, often value-based, personal
influences such as being interested, or stimulated, having a
personal philosophy that values CPD, being able to see a
‘fit’ with personal circumstances and being able to make
autonomous decisions about the direction of their
professional development. An individual’s concerns act as a
conduit to the influences on their approaches to professional
development. The voices of academics participating in this
research reveal all of the complexities of human
deliberations and decision making, ‘using their own
descriptions’ (Archer 2007: 12) that result in intentions and
expectations.
Conclusion
‘The problem of continuing professional development … of professionals in higher
education is that it operates around a series of unresolved tensions’ (Clegg 2003: 37). These
tensions result in a range of constraints and enablements, some of which arise from extrainstitutional factors, others from within the academic’s employing institution and others are
very personal and intangible. This research suggests that it is possible for structural causal
powers, in the form of extra- and intra-institutional approaches, to be more facilitative,
aligned and responsive in order to generate enablements wherever possible. A more
inclusive and holistic approach to academics’ CPD might be achieved by responding to the
concerns of academics and engaging them in a construction of academic professionalism.
The status of ‘professional’ ‘needs to be earned’ and includes ‘responsibility’ (McLean
2008: 125). Therefore whilst there is a right to participate and be listened to, there is a
corresponding obligation to engage. The implications of what might be termed ‘academic
citizenship’ (Macfarlane 2007) would include responsibilities related to one’s own and
others’ professional development through overt engagement, articulation, supportive and
sharing practice, and mentoring.
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About the research
Situated in the context of higher education in England, this qualitative study focuses on
academics’ narratives of CPD. To gain a comprehensive understanding of academics’
CPD practices this investigation set the data within the context of their discipline, their
employing institution and national drivers (Crawford 2009). Data was collected during the
academic year 2007-8, commencing with a pilot single case study. In recognition of the
two different types of institutions that characterise the English system of higher education,
the substantive qualitative data was collected in two case study English universities, one
‘old’ university and one ‘new’ university. The qualitative comparative-case study
approach included semi-structured, narrative interviews with academics, more structured
interviews with ‘key informants’ and examination of relevant institutional documents.
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Acknowledgement
This research was made possible by the hospitality, interest and honesty of participants in
the case study institutions; their receptiveness to this research has been very much
appreciated
More information about the research and the researcher can be found at
http://webpages.lincoln.ac.uk/kcrawford/ and www.karincrawford.info or email
kcrawford@lincoln.ac.uk
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