Globally, higher education (HE) institutions have transformed over recent decades adapting to a rapidly changing, uncertain, and interconnected world. Universities now operate in highly competitive environments (Djerasimovic & Villani, 2020), balancing research leadership with increased accountability (Pekkola et al., 2024) and regulatory requirements. Arguments for universities to return to the public realm are voiced (Grant, 2021; Ling & Livingston, 2024; Selkrig et al., 2021) amidst changes that are influenced by neoliberal agendas such as massification, marketization, and managerialism (Bobârnat, 2023; Fleming, 2021). These transformations have led to a redefinition of academic careers in Europe (Pekkola et al., 2024) and the systematic disadvantaging in some contexts of “professionals in fields that are not considered a priority” (Bobârnat, 2023, p. 103), namely: women, early career professionals and those from minority groups.

Within HE institutions, academics face constant pressures to navigate institutional policy changes, technological advancements, and shifting teaching methodologies, impacting their wellbeing, teaching practices, and research productivity (Bobârnat, 2023; Nehring & Brunila, 2023; Heffernan, 2021). There is a fear that if collegiality that was once apparent in HE is controlled by communities, “then it is likely to lead to passive obedience, lack of initiative and, like extreme neoliberalism, to corruption” (Brown & Edmunds, 2020, p. 104). Academics’ identities evolve, but without the support of their institutions this has led to the precarity of academic careers (Pekkola et al., 2024), and as Djerasimovic and Villani (2020) argue, has led to institutions “generally failing, for most, to foster ‘Europeanness’ in their academic self” (p. 262). In our post-pandemic world, understanding how academics navigate this ever-changing landscape is crucial, with mental health and wellbeing of staff recognized as critical concerns requiring institutional support (Lemon et al., 2024). Alas, there is evidence that some early career researchers, as one sub-group of HE academics, have learnt to not expect support from their institutions (Djerasimovic & Villani, 2020).

Objectives

The research objective for the larger international research project upon which we draw for this paper--Turning points: Changes academics make to shape their working lives—was to interrogate how academics adapt and adjust to the ever-changing HE environment in which they work.

Research Questions

The main research question guiding this project was: How do academics who work in a changing HE environment articulate and represent (a) the turning points that have caused them to change course and do something differently in their faculties, and (b) the holding points, where the changes have taken hold? 

In this presentation we focus on sub-questions related to how academics describe the turning points they experienced in their working lives; the changes they experienced during their turning points and the consequences of the change.

Theoretical Framework

To consider the cognitive, intellectual work along with the affective and emotional dimensions of academic work we draw on aspects of Arendt's (2018) concepts of understanding and the human condition, Ahmed's (2010) promise of happiness, and Nehring and Brunila’s (2023) notion of public secrets. These theoretical frames offer complementary lenses through which to analyse academic life: Arendt's concept of understanding as reconciliation with reality, combined with her model of labor, work, and action, is used to examine how academics engage with and make meaning of their multifaceted roles, while Ahmed's 'happy objects' framework illuminates how this engagement intersects with institutional promises of fulfillment and the positioning of certain academic achievements. Nehring and Brunila’s notion of public secrets informs the unspoken yet widely recognized challenges within academic life. This theoretical synthesis provides insights into how academics balance institutional expectations with personal aspirations, critically reflect on academic norms, and navigate professional tensions.

Our research adopted a phenomenological approach (Cohen et al., 2011) to explore how academics navigate the changing landscape of HE. After obtaining ethics approval (#27530), we employed snowball sampling via email and social media to recruit current academics and those who had left the sector within the past five years. To maximize participation from various parts of the world we designed an online survey in which we incorporated arts-based and digital methods to generate data within the survey allowing us to explore not only the cognitive-linguistic aspects, but also the affective, emotional, and embodied dimensions of participants' experiences. These forms of research counter traditional and linear approaches (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2010; Leavy, 2015) and offer researchers the ability to draw from, and develop, multiple ways of generating and analyzing data. The survey comprised three sections. Firstly, we collected demographic information to provide context for our analysis. Secondly, we posed a series of short-answer questions about changes to participants' work, encouraging open-ended responses. Finally, we asked participants to provide a description of an image or artwork representing their changed approach to work, as well as to name a song or piece of music that represented these changes. We employed an AI generator to transform image descriptions into visual representations, inspired by Manathunga et al.'s (2017) concept of communicating "powerful aesthetic experiences" through image and sound. This approach, influenced by Leavy's (2015) work on arts-based research methods, aimed to unveil perspectives that might remain hidden using traditional methods. Our study yielded 124 complete responses, with the majority from Australia and 32% from international participants. This diverse sample provided a rich dataset to explore the complex realities of academic life in today's changing HE environment. Data analysis involved thematic and visual analysis of multimodal data (Dicks, 2012). Text responses underwent thematic coding (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Descriptions of images/artworks were transformed into visual representations using an AI generator, which were then analyzed visually (Savin-Baden & Wimpenny, 2014). Music/sound descriptions were analyzed thematically. The research team conducted individual and collaborative analyses, along with AI sources to explore relationships between text, images, and sound. Emerging themes were compared to existing literature to contextualize findings. Through this multifaceted approach, we sought to capture the turning points causing academics to change course and the holding points where changes endured. This methodology opened new possibilities for understanding the lived experiences of academics in a rapidly evolving HE landscape.

In this presentation we will focus on our analysis and finding of academics' experiences of change within their institutions, as revealed through their image and music responses. By interweaving these visual and musical expressions through theoretical perspectives, we develop a rich picture of academic life. Through Arendt's (2018) perspective on understanding we can consider academics' efforts to reconcile with the realities of their profession. This is evident in visual responses depicting institutional complexity often with abstract or tangled imagery such as intricate patterns, labyrinths, or knotted structures, symbolizing the multifaceted nature of academia. Similarly, musical selections about resilience, change, and self-discovery align with Arendt's model of labor, work, and action, representing the various dimensions of academic engagement. Ahmed's (2010) framework of the 'promise of happiness' illuminates the tension between institutional ideals and personal experiences. Visual representations of work-life balance struggles or questioning of established norms reflect this dichotomy. Musically, this manifests in songs celebrating academic freedom or expressing nostalgia for scholarly identity, revealing the complex relationship academics have with institutional promises of fulfillment. Nehring and Brunila's (2023) concept of 'public secrets' helps uncover the unspoken challenges permeating academic life. Visually, this emerges in imagery depicting the navigation of chaos or systemic questioning. Musically, it's expressed through tracks dealing with adversity, hardship, or protest against academic norms, giving voice to these hidden struggles. This reveals how scholars balance institutional expectations with personal aspirations, critically reflect on academic norms, and navigate professional tensions. This approach offers valuable insights into effectiveness, resilience, and the delicate balance required in scholarly pursuits, furthering our understanding of the academic experience.

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