Webinar 1 | Working-class Professional Service and Administrative Staff in UK Higher Education: Reflections on Reward, Recognition and Responsibility
- Jess Pilgrim Brown, Postdoctoral Research Assistant at University of Oxford and Senior Research Associate at University of Bristol
Event Materials
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The professional experiences of non-academic, professional services and administrative staff have been well documented in recent years. From work around professional identity, contribution to research culture and personal development, the role of non-academic staff in higher education in the UK has focused fundamentally on their human capital and contribution to their working environment. Over the last fifteen years, academic research has documented the personal, experiential side of different stakeholders within university spaces, and particularly how these experiences relate to both protected and non-protected personal characteristics. As yet, the connection between social class and the personal lives and perspectives of staff who occupy non-academic roles has been scarcely made. This presentation draws on a series of interviews conducted as part of research for an EdD Doctor of Education award. The research drew on the experiences of thirteen people working in UK Higher Education who self-defined both as working-class and as either professional services or administrative staff. Exploring career pathways, progression, and opportunities for development it discusses the perspectives and insights from people currently working in UK Higher Education.
Event Notes
This webinar is part of the CGHE webinar series on ‘Research on Research’, based on the CGHE Research on Research project. Find out more about other webinars from this series here.
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Dr Jess Pilgrim-Brown is a sociologist and researcher in education. She focuses on issues relating to social class, gender and wider social inequalities. Her thesis research ‘Doing the heavy lifting, the experiences of working-class professional services and administrative staff in Russell Group universities’ was the first of its kind in the UK. Her research interests span sociological theory, innovative methods in qualitative research designs and research ethics. She is a current Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford.
