In the last few years, Higher Education institutions have undergone profound and fundamental changes that have strongly affected perceptions about the very mission of these organisations, the characteristics of the activities they develop, and the results obtained by those working in them. This new scenario is deeply affecting scholars’ professional identity, in addition to their working life and working conditions

Different studies have pointed out a set of changing elements that constitute the new social weave, to which the University also actively contributes. Among them we find: (a) The systems of production, access, disclosure and recognition of knowledge in the post-industrial societies (Lyotard, 1984; Gibbons, et al, 1995). (b) The digitization of information that shifts attention from purposes, values and ideals to "the media and techniques to obtain efficient [optimum] results" (Marshall, 1998:9). (c) The combination of new economical perspectives with the "explosion" of information and communication technologies that are favouring the apparition of new forms of organization for higher education (Hanna and associates, 2000). (d) The generalization of the use of the digital information and communication technologies that enable and demand new ways of teaching and learning, selection, appraisal and interpretation of the information and, therefore, of assessing the process and the results of the learning (Hanna and associates 2000¸ Jochems and others 2004). (f) The characteristics, needs and expectations of new generations of students who are digital natives in front of their analogical (digital immigrant) teachers. (g) The full incorporation of women to a space traditionally reserved for the men (Morley and Walsh, 1996). (h) In Europe, the construction of the European Space for Higher Education (Bologna Declaration). All these changes are putting considerable pressure on higher education institutions and their personnel (Garrison and Anderson, 2003; McIntosh, 2005, Metcalfe, 2006).

However, most studies have been carried out from a structural perspective in which scholars’ views about their working conditions, expectations, and worries are collected through statistic-based questionnaires or not taken into account at all.  This is the reason underpinning the research project this paper builds on: The Impact of Social Change in Higher Education Staff Professional Life and Work. (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. SEJ2006-01876. 2006-2009), whose main aim is to explore and understand how scholars establish a dialog, resist, adapt themselves or adopt changes and construct their professional identities.  The focus of this presentation is the change and the continuity found in the teaching practice of 24 scholars throughout their professional career.

Bourdieu, Pierre (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge; New York : Cambridge University Press. Bourdieu, P. (1994). Raisons pratiques. Sur la théorie de l’action. París: Seuil. Cole, Ardra L. and Knowles, J. Gary (2001). Lives in context : the art of life history research. Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press. Goodson, I. & Numan, U. (2003). Life History and Professional Development: Stories of Teachers’ Life and Work. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Jochems, W., van Merriënboer, J. and Koper, R. (Ed.) (2004). Integrated e-learning: implications for pedagogy, technology and organization. NewYork: RoutledgeFalmer. Lyotard, Jean François (1984). The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge. Minneapolis. University of Minnesota Press. Marshall, 1998:9). Donald E. Hanna and Associates (2000). Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition: Choices and challenges. Madison, WI.: Atwood Publishing. McIntosh, C. (2005). Lifelong Learning and Distance Higher Education Overview. París: UNESCO. Metcalfe, Amy (Eds.) (2006). Knowledge management and higher education a critical analysis. London: Information Science Pub Gibbons, Michael; Limoges, Camille; Nowotny, Helga ; Schwartzman, Simon; Scott, Peter and Trow, Martin (1994). The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage. Morley, L. y Walsh, V. (eds.) (1996) Breaking Boundaries: Women in Higher Education. Londres: Taylor and Francis. Garrison, D R and Anderson, Terry (2003). E-Learning in the 21st Century: a framework for research and practice. London: RoutledgeFalmer.