Tensions in the construction of academic identities in a Chilean university

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the ways in which academics build their identities in a Chilean university. Being an academic involves both an ontological status (who the academic is) and, the tasks attached to the role. This study uses a qualitative approach through which 20 interviews with academics of diverse characteristics were conducted. Also, several institutional documents were analyzed in order to gain a sense of the institutional context. Results show a tension between academics’ ideal visions about being an academic and the tasks they have to conduct. Academics also refer to how their identities are conditioned by individual, institutional and global factors. The analysis allows the identification of a confrontation between macro-structures and agentic behaviors on the part of academics. This study might help to understand the academic profession as well as to contribute to both public and institutional policies that respond to global and national tendencies.