A New Collegiality in Collaborative Work and Practice

At a time of deep institutional and professional institutional and professional divisions within and across the higher education sector, any book that reminds us of the nature and purpose of academic work performs an important, timely and critical function. This book drills down into the experience and practice of academic work, and in doing so helps us understand some of the seismic shifts that are currently shaping further and higher education, locally, nationally and globally. Through its insights into academic working lives, their experiences and practices, it enables us to understand some of the deep codes of educational and social change operating across society. This is an important book that speaks to academic workers, institutional mangers and policy-makers - and which will undoubtedly impact upon their work at the level of practice, organisational ethos and strategic planning. This chapter seeks to explore the story of a group of people from different backgrounds and institutions with differentiated 'value systems' and institutional norms learned to work together in collaboration, partnership.