Square peg - round hole:the emerging professional identities of HE in FE lecturers working in a partner college network in the South West.

The professional status of further education lecturers has been widely debated and
contested within the published literature. This article presents the results of a series
of semi-structured interviews undertaken with a small sample of college lecturers
working within a partner college network in south-west England. Regardless of
the level of the higher/further education teaching the lecturers identities remain
strongly rooted in their role as teachers and commitment to supporting learners
attain their educational ambitions. The lecturers’ identities were in a state of flux
due to the dual demands of their employer (the college) and collaborating
institution (the university). Their shifting identities may only be mediated through
wider recognition being afforded to the role of a higher education lecturer working
in a further education college from their managers, universities and supporting
bodies.