Professionals in the third space

Findings from Whitchurch’s (2008 p.384) research led her to redefine professional identities and group them into four categories: bounded professionals; cross-boundary professionals; unbounded professionals and blended professionals (see Figures 3 & 6).

Figure 6 – Categories of professional identity (Whitchurch 2008 p.384)

Categories Characteristics

Bounded professionals Work within clear structural boundaries (e.g. function, job description)

Cross-boundary professionals Actively use boundaries for strategic advantage and institutional capacity building

Unbounded professionals Disregard boundaries to focus on broadly- based projects and institutional

development

Blended professionals Dedicated appointments spanning professional and academic domains It seems that something of the role of EAP tutors can be seen in the category of bounded professionals:

Individuals who located themselves within the boundaries of a function or organisational location that they had either constructed for themselves, or which had been imposed upon them. These people were characterised by [...] the performance of roles that were relatively prescribed.

(Whitchurch 2008 p.383)

However, as has been seen from the previous discussion of the EAP literature, although the role of EAP tutor may appear bounded, there is a considerable amount of variation and discussion over what should be included in the role. Uncertainty regarding job title is also illustrative of this. Additionally, as has been pointed out, EAP tutors are often positioned in ‘perimeter’ roles and the nature of their work there tends to be unbounded as it is often not defined by the university. There is more potential, therefore, for EAP tutors to cross

boundaries although this may only happen to a limited extent in reality. As mentioned above, there is more scope for EAP managers, Hadley’s (2015) BLEAPs, to do this as they

may sometimes participate in joint projects with professional or academic staff from other parts of the university.

MacDonald (2016 p.111), writing from a Canadian perspective, states that EAP teachers could be considered to be “third space professionals in terms of the literal and figurative spaces they occupy and the roles they carry out”. She suggests how EAP units can use the third space to their advantage, and although some of her propositions seem idealistic, they can apply to a UK setting. She notes that EAP tutors can create their own idea of

professionalism in the third space through presenting at conferences and becoming involved in professional associations. She does not mention the specific details such as whether this would be in the staff’s own time or whether scholarship time would be given for this. MacDonald (2016) sees the third space in a positive light as a space to experiment and innovate in areas such as materials development because of the freedom from

departmental restrictions. She suggests that EAP staff should cross boundaries to share their expertise on internationalisation and second language development, for example. She also suggests links between the EAP unit and academic departments, where the focus is on collaboration. The latter may frequently take place to a greater or lesser extent in UK universities, but the type of collaboration aimed for is that where neither party is in the position of the ‘butler’s stance’.

2.4.5 Summary

This section has highlighted how discussions regarding professionalisation are complex and contested, and this can be seen in the case of EAP. The uncertainties evidenced in other aspects of the EAP tutor role also seem to be reflected in discussions regarding

professionalisation. Although the professional status of EAP is disputed, it is clear that EAP has taken significant steps towards professionalisation and that there are further

opportunities for development.

2.5 Conclusion

This chapter has shown how an interrogation of the literature from three areas, EAP, the position of EAP in universities, and professionalisation, provides the background to this study into the position and professional status of EAP tutors. Although it is recognised in the

literature that the EAP tutor is an under-researched area, several key themes have emerged, including: the contested nature of EAP; variations in the designations and roles of EAP tutors; issues regarding status in academia; the pressures placed on EAP units by neoliberal universities; differences of opinion regarding whether EAP can be considered a profession; and the steps EAP has taken towards professionalisation. Despite the thorough nature of existing studies, the voices of EAP tutors in UK universities are missing from the data. This research, therefore, aims to build on the themes highlighted and add EAP tutors’ views of their lived experiences to existing research. It is hoped that this will create a fuller

understanding of these themes.

Through listening to the lived experiences and opinions of EAP tutors, this study aims to find answers to the following research questions that have emerged from the three strands of literature:

• How do EAP tutors view their role in universities?

• How do EAP tutors view their position in relation to other groups in universities? • To what extent can the role of the EAP tutor be considered a profession?

Chapter 3 – Methods

3.1 Introduction

This chapter sets out the methodological considerations behind this study and describes the process followed in order to answer the following research questions:

• How do EAP tutors view their role in universities?

• How do EAP tutors view their position in relation to other groups in universities? • To what extent can the role of the EAP tutor be considered a profession?

• What are the implications of this research for the field of EAP?

Firstly, the methodological perspectives underpinning the research are presented, followed by details of the sample. The method employed to collect data is then outlined, and the ethical considerations are considered. The procedure followed for analysing the data is described, and finally the methods used in this research are analysed and their limitations considered.

3.2 Methodological perspectives