Who are we? An autoethnographic investigation into professional role identity of the Learning Developer

This presentation was based on a proposed small-scale research project which aimed to investigate how a small team of Learning Developers (six) feel about their professional identity, and whether the job title of Academic Skills Advisor (ASA) at Edge Hill University has accurately reflected their combined experience and professional standing. This research project was designed to be undertaken within the Student Engagement Team Community of Practice (SETCoP) and had been identified as a useful chance to explore the Learning Development (LD) skills base through the practice of collaborative autoethnography (Chang, 2022). Eyre and Slawson (2018) recognise that self-descriptions enable Learning Developers to maintain control over defining the value of LD practice. This research project employs a qualitative research approach to investigate whether participants’ self-identify matches with the given job title. Ethical approval was sought internally within Edge Hill University. Thus, this presentation also highlighted the readiness of the professional role identity of the Learning Developer team and how they managed to build inclusive LD space within their Community of Practice in order to connect socially, emotionally, and physically. They also discussed how they planned for data gathering and evaluating the collective feelings of the ASAs to reflect the impacts of the evolution of the job title as an LD role which enabled them to show their identity, practices, values, and status.