A Juggling Act? Navigating academic practice
Jill Dickinson
I was delighted to be invited to write this piece around balancing various aspects of academic practice, yet my first thought was ‘Do I have the time?’ – the irony! However, particularly when you believe in something, there can often be a way around things, so here goes.
In this account, I set the scene by exploring what inspired my career transition into Higher Education (HE), and the potential multiplicity of the academic role. I then reflect on some of the challenges and opportunities that I have encountered along the way. In doing so, I offer some strategies that may help others in navigating academic practice – the benefit of hindsight is also a wonderful thing!
Before moving into academia, I spent ten years working as a Solicitor. I particularly enjoyed working with trainee solicitors and work placement students, supporting them with their professional development and aspirations, and seeing them progress in their careers. These experiences inspired my move into HE, and I’ve not looked back since!
Making the transition from practice into academia was both exciting and daunting. I hadn’t been in a HE environment since my undergraduate days, and that was some time ago now. As a new academic, I also experienced ‘imposter syndrome’ (Clance and Imes, 1978). By way of illustration, I remember walking up to the door of my new, shared office, reading down the list of name plates that all began with ‘Dr’ and then my name, at the bottom and without a title. It felt a bit like I was starting my career all over again.
Moving from practice into academia presented a steep learning curve in other ways too. It seemed like the more I learned, the more I needed to learn. It also quickly became clear to me that I needed to further develop my juggling skills to help me navigate this new environment (Griffiths and Dickinson, 2023). By way of illustration, there seemed to be a new, HE specific language and associated set of acronyms to learn. (I’ve also since found that different institutions have developed their own lexicons). In addition, I was mainly involved in teaching (to start with), but needed to explore the research side of things too. This included: pursuing a doctorate (which route?); seeking funding (where from?); getting published (how and where?); and being returned in the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Whilst I was experienced in supervising others, I was also conscious that I didn’t yet have a formal teaching qualification, nor professional recognition with Advance HE. All of these things presented themselves alongside ‘the day job’ that included preparing and delivering new teaching and learning materials, marking assessments and providing feedback, concurrent module leaderships, and speaking to prospective new students at Open Days.
Reflecting back, I’m very glad that I had my time in practice but particularly enjoy academia and the multiple opportunities that it presents, including around: teaching, learning, and assessment; supervising and examining postgraduate research; supporting students and colleagues with their professional development; research, evaluation, and scholarship; leadership; and bringing together, and developing collaborations with multiple stakeholder groups, including students, colleagues, and external organisations. I really value the eclectic nature of the role. For me, no one day in academia seems to be the same. Even if you’re teaching the same seminar for the third time in a day, each group of students might approach the material with different perspectives, thoughts, and questions. Particularly when you’re trying to juggle things, I have found that this diversity both motivating and inspiring.
I also feel like I have more autonomy in academia than I did as a lawyer; for example, on spotting a need to develop a community of practice, I have tended to find that I can press ahead without requiring too many, if any, prior approvals. However, such academic freedom can present a double-edged sword; in academia, there may not be the same levels of administrative support available as there are in professional practice. It can be more down to the individual to make things happen. By way of illustration, leading an event as an academic might also include setting up an EventBrite page, advertising the event, making the arrangements with the speakers, ordering refreshments, and creating a follow up feedback form. Having such holistic responsibilities presents opportunities for learning and skills development, and it’s also rewarding to have such opportunities to see things through from start to finish. Yet, it can be challenging to balance things alongside an already full academic work load.
Alongside my current position as Professor of Law and Professional Development, I sit on the Senior Leadership Team, and I have line management responsibilities. In terms of juggling everything, I’m not sure if I’m there yet (does anyone ever feel like that?) but I’ve shared three strategies below that have helped me along the way so far (in no particular order):
Working out the best route for you
After making the transition into academia later on in my career, I was very conscious of the need to complete a doctorate, publish peer-reviewed papers, and have my work returned in the REF, alongside the commitments of my full-time role. I was delighted to find that there were multiple routes available to completing doctoral studies, including the PhD by published works that I subsequently pursued. This route facilitated opportunities for me to: divide up my research into more manageable chunks (the individual papers); receive feedback from multiple reviewers across the field that helped to cultivate my approach; and further develop my self-efficacy as a researcher. (I further reflect on the multiple benefits of this route in a blog, co-authored with Dr James Marson, and published by the Advancing Wellness in Law Network (Dickinson and Marson, 2022).
‘Finding your people’
In her chapter on the role of networks and professional identity for the collection on Professional Development for Practitioners in Academia: Pracademia (Dickinson and Griffiths (eds.), Dr Helen Taylor (2023) talks about the importance of ‘finding your people’. This is something that continues to really resonate with me. It can take time to work out who you need to be speaking to, and why, and build meaningful professional relationships with them. Yet, it can pay dividends in terms of the practicalities around balancing multiple commitments but also more broadly, and perhaps more importantly, in fostering associated senses of belonging and community. In terms of developing networks, I have been fortunate enough to have benefitted from professional development initiatives as both mentor and mentee, and coach and client. Examples include the Advance HE Aurora Scheme (2025). Having such opportunities to talk through what’s on the ‘to do list’ and identify strategies for navigating multiple responsibilities, with the benefit of an independent perspective, and in a confidential setting, can be really helpful for thinking things through and working out what needs to happen, when, and how.
Collaboration
Related to the above, I tend to gravitate towards collaborative projects. I find working with others interesting, enjoyable, and rewarding. If I’m part of a collaboration, I’m inclined to push that project to the top of my ‘to do’ list, not least because I don’t want to let others down. I also seem to find more of a sense of achievement when working as part of a team. In addition, I always enjoy the opportunities to learn from collaborations; for example, when I work with people from multiple disciplines, and who bring with them different experiences, perspectives, and ways of doing things. Developing a collaborative approach has particularly helped me in balancing my research, alongside the other elements of my role; for example, in terms of combining and developing a range of theoretical, empirical, and reflective approaches, and taking it in turns to manage, and make progress with, the research around other commitments.
Drawing together these three strategies of: working out the best route for you, ‘finding your people’, and identifying opportunities for collaboration, one example is the multidisciplinary collection on Professional Development for Practitioners in Academia: Pracademia (Dickinson and Griffiths (eds.) that I published with Springer Nature. I had previously built up a body of peer-reviewed publications but this was my first book, and I was conscious that there were multiple ways of approaching it. Taking the route of an edited collection proved really beneficial for the research and my own professional development; for example, in terms of weaving together different perspectives, methods, and approaches to writing. In terms of both ‘finding your people’ and collaboration, I was fortunate to be able to draw on existing networks and bring together a team of 29 contributors from across the UK and internationally. I particularly enjoyed the meetings with the group and the opportunities to reflect on progress, share challenges, work together to identify strategies in response, and further inspire, motivate, and support each other.
Where Next?
One of the ways in which you might balance different commitments, such as teaching and research is through Small Project Working and Co-Creation developing teaching and learning through research collaboration with colleagues, students, and/or external collaborators
Or
As you continue to take on responsibility for teaching and learning, you may encounter challenges relating to Student Wellbeing and Pastoral Care which you need to navigate.
Where After?
In navigating the multiple challenges and opportunities presented by academic practice, you might find it helpful to contact your institution’s academic development team to explore what opportunities there may be for related professional development. By way of illustration, these may include mentoring or coaching with colleagues from your institution or elsewhere, for example, as part of the Advance HE Aurora Scheme.
Sources:
Advance HE, ‘Aurora’ (Advance HE, 2025). https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/programmes-events/developing-leadership/aurora.
Advance HE, ‘Fellowship’ (Advance HE, 2025). https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/fellowship.
Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Ament Imes, ‘The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention.’ [1978] Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241-247. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1979-26502-001.
Jill Dickinson and Teri-Lisa Griffiths (eds), Professional Development for Practitioners in Academia: Pracademia (Springer Nature 2023). https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-33746-8.
Jill Dickinson and James Marson, PhD by Published Works: The Mindful Route?’ (Advancing Wellness for Law, 2021). https://advancingwellnessinlaw.wordpress.com/2021/08/12/advancing-wellness-for-law/.
REF.ac.uk, ‘REF 2029’ (REF.ac.uk, 2025). http://2029.ref.ac.uk/
Teri-Lisa Griffiths and Jill Dickinson, ‘Collaboration in a liminal space: Pracademia.’ [2023] Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 11(3), 167-171. https://jpaap.ac.uk/JPAAP/article/view/580/678.
Further Reading:
Chris Ashford and Jessica Guth (eds) The Legal Academics Handbook (Palgrave 2016)
Mary Kitchener A Field Guide to Working in Higher Education (Routledge, 2025)
