This paper stems from the findings of a longitudinal research project that examined the perceptions and experiences of teaching assistants who support teaching and learning in schools (predominantly women) who have gained a vocational degree. Drawing on our previous research (Dunne et al 2008), it challenges rhetoric surrounding the benefits of lifelong learning and of gaining vocational skills and qualifications for professional advancement. The researchers were interested in considering how teaching assistants’ perceptions of themselves, and their place or positioning within schools were influenced by their experiences of ‘earning and learning’. This study drew upon Bourdieu’s (1997) theoretical framework of habitus and explored shifts in economic, cultural and social capital for a particular group of educational professionals. It considered the changing power relations within schools as a consequence of UK workforce remodelling.

This is a qualitative longitudinal study that adopts a mixed method approach with the use of a survey and life histories. One hundred and fifty seven graduate teaching assistants were invited to respond to a postal survey that asked questions about the impact of doing a vocational degree on their personal and professional lives. This was followed up with seven case study life-history interviews.

Whilst there were personal benefits stemming from studying for the degree, such as a perceived increase in self-confidence, economic shifts as a consequence of career development opportunities were limited and in some cases non-existent. Several respondents indicated that they had increased responsibility without the accompanying pay, suggesting a form of potential exploitation. There appeared to be a failure of employers to both recognise the degree as a higher education qualification and to acknowledge the subsequent social and cultural repositioning of this group of educators. The research also exposed the personal challenges and hidden ‘costs’ involved in vocationally driven lifelong learning. In particular, the female teaching assistants experienced a powerful conflict between fulfilling their professional aspirations and their responsibilities towards their families and dependents. This conflict was seen as detrimental to the learning experience and deterred further study. At the same time, the teaching assistants’ assimilation of the socio-cultural changes they experienced created a dissonance, whereby the current hierarchical culture of schooling was questioned and renegotiated. The absence of change in economic capital for many, however, suggested that the apparent enticement of people to ‘earn and learn’ to advance their careers could actually represent a false presumption. This paper calls for a more candid acknowledgement of the complex and shifting positioning of teaching assistants and the potential personal benefits and sacrifices involved in studying whilst working.