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Language and learning advisors as a valuable but under-recognised workforce in higher education: a Bourdieuian analysis of their professional development in international education
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posted on 2019-01-01, 00:00 authored by Ly TranLy Tran, Nghia Tran, Cam Khuong, Thi Thanh Truc LeLanguage and learning advisors (LLAs) play a vital role in supporting the academic development of a fast-growing population of international students. This paper tackles the professional development practices for LLAs and barriers to their professional development. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of field and habitus, the paper addresses the mutual interactions between the work environment and LLAs’ thinking and actions regarding providing language and learning advice to international students. The analysis of 44 semi-structured interviews with LLAs from 18 institutions shows that there was a scarcity of targeted professional development opportunities for LLAs to improve their expertise directly related to international students and internationalisation of education. Financial shortage, time constraints, casualisation conditions, managerial issues, academic to professional employment re-classification for LLAs and the ongoing marginalisation of LLAs have created unfavourable contexts for LLAs’ professional development. The paper points out the critical need to create better work conditions for LLAs, to ensure more investment in creating targeted opportunities for LLAs’ professional development and to provide more resources and attention to support their enactment of agency and development of professional capacities.
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Journal
Teaching in higher educationVolume
24Issue
6Pagination
755 - 771Publisher
Taylor & FrancisLocation
Abingdon, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1356-2517Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2018, Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupUsage metrics
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