Becoming Sociologists: Professional identity for part-time teachers of university sociology

Abstract

This article is based on research undertaken as part of a project designed to promote support for part-time teachers in sociology. Contemporary changes in higher education are the backdrop for suggesting that a reflexive sociology should scrutinise itself, including the conditions and experiences of part-time teachers in their own department. Empirical data raises issues about the implications of the working conditions of part-time teachers for the formation of sociology as a discipline in the current higher education system, and for the formation of an individual's professional identity.