This research explores the emerging position of teaching professionals in research universities through the framework of 'third space professionals'. The third space is described as an overlapping space between the professional and academic domains in university and usually staff who are neither traditional academics nor traditional professionals…

In environments characterised by complex structures and processes, universities rely on co-operation and goodwill between staff to function effectively, underpinned by good service quality. However, there is a lack of research on relationship quality in internal service settings and on the role support staff play in the development and enhancement…

This qualitative study investigated staff retention in higher education by focusing on the retention of academic advisors. Academic advisors play an integral role in student success and advising is notably one of the fields in higher education with the greatest turnover. This turnover comes at great costs, financial and otherwise, for the…

Many postsecondary students in the United States exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, such as race, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, and legal status. Amidst a tumultuous sociopolitical context, a number of higher education institutions in the United States established Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs),…

One fundamental aspect of organizational transformation in higher education is the change to the profile of universities' non-academic workforce. Key staffing trends identified in recent studies conducted in a variety of national settings include an increase in the proportion of non-academic staff at universities and a shift toward more highly…

This mixed methods phenomenological study explored experiences and perceptions of professional support personnel in higher education regarding roles, responsibilities, and contributions to their institutions. Professional support personnel are the largest population of nonfaculty staff in higher education institutions, and they serve an integral…

K-12 schools utilize a growing number of technologies to operate effectively, ranging from technologies for learning to technologies that manage student and personnel data. We share findings from an analysis of 23 school district websites for technologies used in a number of K-12 school districts surrounding a public, research university in a…

Civic learning and democratic engagement (CLDE) work has become a central piece of higher education's mission, woven in daily tasks. This chapter explores how the community engagement professional (CEP) role can be reimagined across institutions and the opportunities, challenges, and next steps for moving forward. The strategic positioning of…

This dissertation focuses on identifying essential characteristics of initiatives that build cooperative relationships and solidarity to advance democratically engaged community-campus partnerships. As such, it involves understanding the conditions that undermine these relationships, the critical practices that strengthen them, and the role of…

Over the past decade, less than 20% of 12th-grade high school students in Georgia had proficient science knowledge. The lack of content knowledge makes it difficult for high school students to compete for high-paying jobs in a global economy driven by innovations in science and technology. Such innovations are essential components of science,…

Purpose: Scholarly studies on student engagement are mostly focused on the perceptions of students and academic staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) with a few studies concentrating on the perspectives of professional staff. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims to examine how professional staff who are members of a professional…

This paper presents the outcomes of a small research project that sought to explore the value of a Staff Associate Scheme linked to the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) in a post-92 university. The Associates are a group of academic and professional service staff seconded from their Schools and services for one day a week, usually for a…

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to examine the roles instructional designers (IDs) play in the integration of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into their higher education institutions, and how they use GenAI technologies in their own professional practices. Data were collected from 15 participants in the United States…

Specialized literacy professionals (SLPs) are an integral part of schools, serving as interventionists, coaches, coordinators, and more. They are called on to guide reading and writing in their schools, helping to build academic success for students. However, these individuals are asked to do so much in schools that they have difficulty meeting…

This dissertation is a mixed methods study exploring the experiences and perceptions of professional support personnel in higher education regarding their roles, responsibilities, and contributions to their institutions. A combination of surveys and interviews of current professional support personnel examined their job demands, job resources…