Borderlanders: academic staff being and becoming doctoral students

Abstract

This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it. Borderlanders: Academic Staff being and becoming Doctoral StudentsThe notion of borderlands implies a boundary demarcating a crossing to/from an unfamiliar territory. It is a productive metaphor for dual-status academicsthose employed in academic roles in universities who concurrently undertake doctoral studies. We argue that dual-status academics dwell in an extended form of boundary crossing, potentially to-ing and fro-ing several times a day, inducing unforeseen impacts on identities. Having previously reported the structures that frame this boundary crossing, here we re-analyse an existing data set for the visceral: the stories of code-switching, of peripheral existence and of agentic purpose. Our data indicate that dual-status academics adopt a transactional approach to doctoral supervision that results in a 'fight or flight' response to the emotional and relationship challenges these borderlands present with implications for how academics manage colleague supervision, both as supervisor and supervisee. Our study leads us to recommend tailored institutional and supervisory support pedagogies for these academics.

An Assessment of the Status, Practice and Challenges of Doctoral Supervision at Lupane State University in Zimbabwe

“…It is a staff benefit not to pay academic tuition fees while employed by the university. This makes them what Billiot, King, Smith and Clouder (2021) refer to as "borderlanders". They play the dual role of being lecturers to undergraduate students, while being doctoral students at the same institution, in line also with the study of Smith et al (2020).…”

Working in the borderlands: critical perspectives on doctoral education

“…Time constraints, arising from the ebb and flow of academic work, impinge on research time and create tensions with supervisors (see Bosanquet, Mantai, and Fredericks 2020 in a recent special issue in the journal for more about the centrality of time to the doctoral experience). Billot et al (2021) conclude by noting the high level of attrition in their sample, where some candidates 'felt the need to "fight" to complete their studies' (p.449) while others opted for flight. They therefore recommend tailored institutional and supervisory support for academic candidates within this Andzaldúan 'no-man's land ' (p.439, 440 & 451).…”