Researchers

• Monica van Winkel - PhD candidate
• Prof. dr. Roeland van der Rijst - supervisor
• Prof. dr. Rob Poell - supervisor, Department of Human Resource Studies, Tilburg University

Research focus

This PhD research examines how lecturers at a Dutch University of Applied Sciences (UAS) — who have expanded their teaching-only roles to include research — perceive their evolving academic identities and experience their identity-based role transitions into new researcher roles, while simultaneously fulfilling responsibilities in research, education, and professional practice. We study identity development as a balancing act among three forces:

1. Personal goals (agency, aspirations)
2. Institutional expectations (formal and informal policies, norms, and performance pressures)
3. Contextual/structural opportunities (funding, networks, career paths, time, support structures)

Study context

Since the early 2000s, higher professional education institutions in various European countries have been tasked with combining applied research and teaching and have named themselves Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs). The Dutch government has emphasised applied research as vital for developing professional competencies. This shift has created new expectations for lecturers in UASs (hogescholen), encouraging them to integrate inquiry-based learning and research insights into their teaching.

A unique group within this context, known as lecturer-researchers (docent-onderzoekers), conducts applied research in conjunction with their teaching tasks. The objectives of their research groups (kenniskringen), led by practice-oriented professors (lectoren), are:

1. Development of knowledge to improve professional practice;
2. Professional development of lecturers (hogeschooldocenten);
3. Improvement of the curriculum based on practice-based research and professional experience.

Scientific relevance

In higher education, four distinctive responsibilities are associated with the academic role: research, teaching, integration (trans- and interdisciplinarity), and application. In the interplay between academics’ affinities and context-bound forces in higher education, academics’ role identity might undergo or need revision. Academic identities are formed in relation to many areas in academics’ working lives, such as profession, discipline, career, institution, and society.

This study aims to enhance our understanding of variations in academic identity in higher (professional) education and of the multiple transitions and movements through which faculty members navigate the balancing of responsibilities in research, education, and professional practice.

Social relevance

This study provides insights for universities of applied sciences, policymakers, and professional fields by showing how lecturer-researchers can meaningfully and successfully balance research, teaching, and practice. It highlights conditions under which identity development contributes not only to individual careers but also to curriculum innovation and professional practice improvement.

Perspective

This PhD study examines the lived experiences of lecturer-researchers and focuses on three key aspects:

1. Expansion of the lecturers’ role portfolio;
2. Expansion of the university’s core activities to include research;
3. The dynamic interaction between the lecturer-researchers and the social domains of teaching, research, and professional practice.

These aspects are visualised in Figure 1 below, derived from Van Winkel et al. (2011).

Design/methodology

The study collected oral and written narratives from 18 lecturer-researchers over the course of one year using an interview–diary method. Data included a pre-log questionnaire and a pre-log interview, biweekly log entries over a six-month period, and a final log entry after one year. Educational and narratological concepts guided both within-case and cross-case analyses, while grounded theory methodologies were applied to examine participants’ identity reconstructions and their sense-making of identity changes over time. Together, these approaches informed four interrelated sub-studies, each addressing a distinct aspect of the overarching research question.

Trajectory of the PhD

This PhD project started in 2012 at Leiden University, in collaboration with HAN University of Applied Sciences, supported by a HAN UAS PhD stipend. Its extended duration reflects my dual role as a lecturer and researcher at HAN UAS and, from 2019–2024, my secondment as lecturer to Radboud University. In addition, the methodological innovation of adapting a narrative‑literary approach for the social sciences required significant time to develop and apply. A period of illness and recovery following an accident also contributed to the timeline. Throughout the project, I have sought to improve educational and professional practice, building partnerships with colleagues, students, and practitioners—aligning my innovative and collaborative efforts with the insights emerging from my research work. In this sense, I have practised what I studied, as reflected in scientific and professional publications. Completion is expected by the end of 2026.

Completed and planned sub-studies

This PhD research consists of four interrelated sub-studies, each exploring different aspects of identity-based role formation and role transitions of lecturer-researchers.

Related references

• Winkel, M.A. van, Poell, R.F., Rijst, R.M. van der, & Jurriëns, J.A. (2011). 'Lecturer´s acquisition of research competence in Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences: Theoretical perspectives and a research agenda'. In R. Pieters & S. Weijers (Eds.), HAN Business Publications (pp. 63-78). Arnhem: HAN Press.
• Winkel, M. A. van. (2013, november). 'Naar blikverbreding bij integratie van onderzoek in onderwijs'. HAN UAS Arnhem, Nijmegen: HANovatie.
• Winkel, M. van, Peterman, Y., & Brand, E. (2016). Ontdek het beroep: Leren in 3 werelden. OnderwijsInnovatie, 4, 10-13.

• higher education

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