Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others
This case study discusses the introduction of a new student support role, the Senior Academic Coach, at the University of Wolverhampton. Firmly located in the ‘third space’, Senior Academic Coaches reside in the liminal space between the traditional academic and administrative roles. Using skills a...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1224 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832576300592660480 |
|---|---|
| author | Jenni Jones Debra Cureton Julie Hughes Jimmy Jennings Matthew Pearce Harveer Virdi |
| author_facet | Jenni Jones Debra Cureton Julie Hughes Jimmy Jennings Matthew Pearce Harveer Virdi |
| author_sort | Jenni Jones |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This case study discusses the introduction of a new student support role, the Senior Academic Coach, at the University of Wolverhampton. Firmly located in the ‘third space’, Senior Academic Coaches reside in the liminal space between the traditional academic and administrative roles. Using skills and knowledge gained through the completion of the ILM Effective Coaching and Mentoring qualification, they lead faculty-based academic coaching teams. These teams provide the predominant support that levels 3 and 4 and international level 7 students receive as they transition into and through higher education. Students’ interactions with the Academic Coaches provide them with the knowledge and tools to be successful. Using a narrative approach, Senior Academic Coaches were interviewed about how the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) course supports them in developing and delivering their roles. The findings are delivered via a composite Senior Academic Coach, who relates the transformative impact of the ILM on a personal and professional level. It was found that the ILM provided the framework which not only underpins how coaches work with students, but also how they navigate supporting their teams as first-time line managers. The ILM encouraged them to reflect on their own development and helped them challenge feelings of imposterism, as well as providing them with the skills that they needed to challenge senior staff as they worked to develop, and advocate for, the role. We close by arguing that there is no better time to listen to the lived experiences of these marginalised HE workers in order to better understand the impact of providing more funding to support these types of third-space roles.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b92313546ebb45e08eee4a51db12a234 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1759-667X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-b92313546ebb45e08eee4a51db12a2342025-01-31T07:56:42ZengAssociation for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE)Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education1759-667X2025-01-013310.47408/jldhe.vi33.1224Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support othersJenni Jones0Debra Cureton1Julie Hughes2Jimmy Jennings3Matthew Pearce4Harveer Virdi5University of WolverhamptonUniversity of Wolverhampton University of Wolverhampton University of Wolverhampton University of Wolverhampton University of Wolverhampton This case study discusses the introduction of a new student support role, the Senior Academic Coach, at the University of Wolverhampton. Firmly located in the ‘third space’, Senior Academic Coaches reside in the liminal space between the traditional academic and administrative roles. Using skills and knowledge gained through the completion of the ILM Effective Coaching and Mentoring qualification, they lead faculty-based academic coaching teams. These teams provide the predominant support that levels 3 and 4 and international level 7 students receive as they transition into and through higher education. Students’ interactions with the Academic Coaches provide them with the knowledge and tools to be successful. Using a narrative approach, Senior Academic Coaches were interviewed about how the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) course supports them in developing and delivering their roles. The findings are delivered via a composite Senior Academic Coach, who relates the transformative impact of the ILM on a personal and professional level. It was found that the ILM provided the framework which not only underpins how coaches work with students, but also how they navigate supporting their teams as first-time line managers. The ILM encouraged them to reflect on their own development and helped them challenge feelings of imposterism, as well as providing them with the skills that they needed to challenge senior staff as they worked to develop, and advocate for, the role. We close by arguing that there is no better time to listen to the lived experiences of these marginalised HE workers in order to better understand the impact of providing more funding to support these types of third-space roles. https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1224student supportILMthird space professionalsacademic coachesmentoring and coaching |
| spellingShingle | Jenni Jones Debra Cureton Julie Hughes Jimmy Jennings Matthew Pearce Harveer Virdi Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education student support ILM third space professionals academic coaches mentoring and coaching |
| title | Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others |
| title_full | Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others |
| title_fullStr | Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others |
| title_full_unstemmed | Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others |
| title_short | Professionalising the contribution of HE third space professionals – developing themselves to support others |
| title_sort | professionalising the contribution of he third space professionals developing themselves to support others |
| topic | student support ILM third space professionals academic coaches mentoring and coaching |
| url | https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1224 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jennijones professionalisingthecontributionofhethirdspaceprofessionalsdevelopingthemselvestosupportothers AT debracureton professionalisingthecontributionofhethirdspaceprofessionalsdevelopingthemselvestosupportothers AT juliehughes professionalisingthecontributionofhethirdspaceprofessionalsdevelopingthemselvestosupportothers AT jimmyjennings professionalisingthecontributionofhethirdspaceprofessionalsdevelopingthemselvestosupportothers AT matthewpearce professionalisingthecontributionofhethirdspaceprofessionalsdevelopingthemselvestosupportothers AT harveervirdi professionalisingthecontributionofhethirdspaceprofessionalsdevelopingthemselvestosupportothers |