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‘I’d rather be seen as a practitioner, come in to teach my subject’: Identity Work in Part-Time Art and Design Tutors

This article examined how the experience of being both a tutor and creative practitioner has the potential to impact on the learning experience of students in art and design, with reference to a specific case where the relationship was experienced as very one sided, with an emphasis on the practitioner role. The text challenged the assumption that practitioners are necessarily best placed to teach about the nature of practice, and explored the problematic nature experienced by some people, of the relationship between teaching and being a creative practitioner. This was unique in the frame of art and design (previous studies of practitioners teaching had been in the context of health studies). Although similar issues have been identified in art and design they are usually positioned as a need to continue with creative practice, or emphasise the need to be a practising artist or designer whilst teaching and have not examined the lived experience of those who describe themselves as teachers and practitioners. The empirical study used a phenomenographic approach to analyse variation in tutors' experiences (doctoral research completed 2008); it was followed through using activity theory within case studies to examine explanations, significance and impact of ways to experience relations. For many practitioners who come into an academic role, whether part time or full time, there is a threat to existing identities and to adjusting to teaching roles. This was the first study in art and design to empirically explore the potential challenges for the individual as a creative practitioner and the impact this had on students’ learning. For those new into teaching this frequently resonates with their own experiences. Outcomes from the work included use by UAL's teaching and Learning PG Cert where it became the most frequently cited reference on the programme.