Collaborative Working in Higher Education: The Social Academy

Collaborative working is an increasingly vital part of Higher Education academic life. Traditionally, university culture supported individual research and scholarship. Today, the focus has shifted from the individual to the group or team. Collaborative Working in Higher Education takes the reader on a journey of examination, discussion, and reflection of emerging collaborative practices. The book offers suggestions for developing practice via a broad overview of the key aspects of collaboration and collaborative working, informed by focused case studies and the international perspectives of the contributing authors.

The book has three main parts:

Part I: Examines the social nature of collaborative working from a practical and critical perspective, focusing on four dimensions of collaborative working: academic practice, professional dialogues, personal and organizational engagement and social structures. It considers organizational models, varied approaches, potential challenges posed by collaborative working, and reflection on the management of collaboration at different stages.

Part II: Focuses on the different aspects of collaborative working, building on the dimensions introduced in Part I, and addressing the crossing of boundaries. It looks at different contexts for collaboration (e.g. discipline-based, departmental, institutional and international) using case studies as examples of collaborative strategies in action, providing learning points and recommendations for practical applications.

Part III: In addition to considering forms of collaboration for the future, this part of the book engages the reader with a though-provoking round-table discussion that itself embodies an act of collaboration.

Collaborative Working in Higher Education is a comprehensive analysis of how collaboration is reforming academic life. It examines the shifts in working practices and reflects on how that shift can be supported and developed to improve practice. Higher Education faculty, administrators, researchers, managers and anyone involved in collaborative working across their institution will find this book a highly useful guide as they embark on their own collaborations.

Lorraine is Director of Academic Professional Development at the University of Dundee. Her main areas of research include academic identities and inter-disciplinary working. Lorraine is co-author with Peter Kahn for Developing your Teaching (Routledge, 2006). She is a Fellow of the RSA.

Peter is Educational Developer at the University of Liverpool, where he co-directs the MA in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. His research interests now focus on applications of social theory in the study of higher education. He is a Fellowship holder of the Staff and Educational Development Association.