Occupying a ‘third space’: research trained professional staff in Australian universities | SpringerLink Advertisement Search Log in Search SpringerLink Search Published: 22 November 2009 Occupying a ‘third space’: research trained professional staff in Australian universities Judith E. Berman1 & Tim Pitman1   Higher Education volume 60, pages157–169(2010)Cite this article 673 Accesses 26 Citations 9 Altmetric Metrics details Abstract Despite the expansion and professionalisation of university administration over the past 20 years there has been no scholarly study on the extent to which universities, which promote the value of generic skills from research degrees to prospective research students and their employers, capitalize on the research and transferable skills of PhD graduates later employed in the university sector as professional staff. Findings from this study of research-trained professional staff at one research-intensive Australian university suggests that these professionals are using their research and generic skills in management roles, to the benefit of the university. In the context of the knowledge based economy, this study suggests that universities could benefit from actively targeting the products of their own system for professional roles. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. Access options Buy single article Instant access to the full article PDF. US$ 39.95 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Subscribe to journal Immediate online access to all issues from 2019. Subscription will auto renew annually. US$ 99 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Rent this article via DeepDyve. Learn more about Institutional subscriptions References Aanerud, R., Homer, L., Nerad, M., & Cerny, J. (2006). Paths and perceptions. In P. L. Maki & N. A. Borkowski (Eds.), The assessment of doctoral education. Virginia: Stylus. Google Scholar  Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM). (2001). The capacity of public universities to meet Australia’s higher education needs, Submission to Senate employment, workplace relations, small business and education references committee, 1–4. http://www.atem.edu.au/downloads/pdf/submission-Public-unis-Meet-Aust-HE-Needs.pdf Accessed 7 May 2008. Association of University Teachers (AUT). (2001). Building the academic team: A report on the contribution of academic-related staff to the delivery of higher education. London: Association of University Teachers. Google Scholar  Brooks, I. (2008) Joan Chesney leads the charge for NPA’s postdoctoral core competencies. The POSTDOCket. 6(3):6. http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/atf/cf/%7B89152E81-F2CB-430C-B151-49D071AEB33E%7D/POSTDOCket_Summer08.pdf Accessed 12 Dec 2008. Carpenter, S., & Stimpson, M. T. (2007). Professionalism, scholarly practice, and professional development in student affairs. NASPA Journal, 44(2), 165–284. Google Scholar  Coaldrake P., & Stedman L. (1999). Academic work in the twenty-first century: changing roles and practice. Occasional paper series 99H. Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA). Collinson, J. A. (2006). Just ‘non-academics’? Work, Employment & Society, 20(2), 267–288. Article  Google Scholar  Collinson, J. A. (2007). ‘Get yourself some nice, neat, matching box files!’ Research administrators and occupational identity work. Studies in Higher Education, 32(3), 295–309. Article  Google Scholar  Dearing, R. (1997). Higher education in the learning society, report of the National Committee of inquiry into higher education. London: HMSO. Google Scholar  Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). (2007). Students 2006 [full year]: selected higher education statistics. http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/higher_education/publications_resources/profiles/students_2006_selected_higher_education_statistics.htm Accessed 2 Nov 2007. Dever, M., Morrison, Z., Dalton, B., & Tayton, S. (2006). When research works for women: Report from the project. Melbourne: Monash University. Google Scholar  Dobson, I. R. (2000). ‘Them and Us’–general and non-general staff in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 22(2), 203–210. Article  Google Scholar  Dobson, I., & Conway, M. (2003). Fear and Loathing in university staffing: The case of Australian academic and general staff. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 15(3), 123–133. Article  Google Scholar  Eveline, J. (2004). Ivory basement leadership: Power and invisibility in the changing university. Crawley, WA: University of Western Australia Press. Google Scholar  Gornitzka, A., & Larsen, I. M. (2004). Towards professionalization? Restructuring of administrative work force in universities. Higher Education, 47, 455–457. Article  Google Scholar  Graduate Careers Australia. (2005). Postgraduate destinations 2004: The report of the Graduate Destinations Survey. Melbourne: Graduate Careers Council of Australia. Google Scholar  Marginson, S. (2007a). Global position and position taking: The case of Australia. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(5), 5–32. Article  Google Scholar  Marginson, S. (2007b). Shanghai rankings set benchmark, Higher Education, The Australian, 28 Nov 2007: 31. Marginson refers to a paper by Ellen Hazelkorn presented at the Shanghai conference, 28–31 Oct 2007. Marginson, S., & Considine, M. (2000). The Enterprise University: Power, governance and reinvention in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar  McInnis, C. (1998). Academics and professional administrators in Australian universities: Dissolving boundaries and new tensions. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 20(2), 161–173. Article  Google Scholar  Nerad, M., Rudd, E., Morrison, E., & Picciano, J. (2007). Social Science PhDs—five+ years out: A national survey of PhDs in six fields—highlights report. CIRGE Report 2007-01. CIRGE: Seattle, WA. http://depts.washington.edu/cirgeweb/c/publications/142/ Accessed 12 Dec 2008. Research Council UK. (2001). Joint statement of skills training requirements of research postgraduates, http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/rescareer/rcdu/training.htm Accessed Jan 8th 2009. Rhoades, G., & Sporn, B. (2002). New models of management and shifting modes and costs of production: Europe and the United States. Tertiary Education and Management, 8, 3–28. Google Scholar  Ross, J. (2008). A prescription for the economy: Doctorates, Campus Review, 19(35), 3. Google Scholar  Schiermeirer, Q. (2005). Special report. Nature, 434, 540–541. Article  Google Scholar  Sim, J. (1998). Collecting and analysing qualitative data: Issues raised by the focus group. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(2), 345–352. Article  Google Scholar  Szekeres, J. (2006). General staff experiences in the corporate university. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 28(2), 133–145. Article  Google Scholar  Szerkes, J. (2004). The Invisible Workers. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 26(1), 7–22. Article  Google Scholar  Watson, L. (2003). Lifelong learning in Australia. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training. Google Scholar  Western, M., Kubler, M., Western, J., Clague, D., Boreham, P., Laffan, W., & Lawson, A. (2007). PhD graduates 5 to 7 years out: Employment outcomes, job attributes and the quality of research training. Prepared for DEST: University of Queensland. What do PhDs do? – Trends. (2007). The UK Grad Programme, https://vitea.ac.uk/cms/files/UKGRAD-WDPD-Trends-Sep-2007.pdf. Accessed 2 Dec 2008. Whitchurch, C. (2006a). Professional managers in UK higher education: Preparing for complex futures. Interim report, London: Leadership foundation of higher education, research and development series, 1–23. http://www.lfhe.ac.uk/publications/research.html Accessed March 2008. Whitchurch, C. (2008). Beyond administration and management: reconstructing the identities of professional staff in UK higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 30(4), 375–386. Article  Google Scholar  Download references Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the respondents who generously set aside time to respond to our survey question. Author information Affiliations Research Services M459, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia Judith E. Berman & Tim Pitman Authors Judith E. BermanView author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Tim PitmanView author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Judith E. Berman. Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions About this article Cite this article Berman, J.E., Pitman, T. Occupying a ‘third space’: research trained professional staff in Australian universities. High Educ 60, 157–169 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9292-z Download citation Published: 22 November 2009 Issue Date: August 2010 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9292-z Keywords Professional and general staff Generic and transferable skills Research training Higher education policy Access options Buy single article Instant access to the full article PDF. US$ 39.95 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Subscribe to journal Immediate online access to all issues from 2019. Subscription will auto renew annually. US$ 99 Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Rent this article via DeepDyve. Learn more about Institutional subscriptions Advertisement Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips Switch Edition Academic Edition Corporate Edition Home Impressum Legal information Privacy statement California Privacy Statement How we use cookies Manage cookies/Do not sell my data Accessibility Contact us Not logged in - 40.76.139.33 Not affiliated Springer Nature © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.