The researcher as inter-disciplinarian: a reflection on professional identity in a specialised world

I have been a senior lecturer and advanced researcher in a ‘widening participation’ university in the East of England for the past 9 years. I have worked in a couple of academic departments that focus on education - one that specialises in teacher education (mainly teaching on qualifications in post-compulsory education in alliance with further education colleges), the other focused on teaching undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in education. Prior to my time in higher education, I worked primarily in adult and further education, mainly in the fields of adult literacy and teacher education (and employed by further education colleges). In terms of research, I have published a couple of books looking at the connections between political philosophy and education that focus on aspects of citizenship and democracy. I have also been published in a range of academic journals including the Journal of Philosophy of Education, the British Educational Research Journal and Modern Psychoanalysis.