Hargreaves and O’Connor (2018 p4) define collaborative professionalism as “creating stronger and better professional practice together” and as a pracademic that exists in a boundary spanning positionality (Walker 2010), I draw upon a wide range of contextual learning opportunities that include listening to and producing podcasts, writing blogs, undertaking collaborative research and attending conferences. Pracademics simultaneously straddle practice, policy and academia (Holweck, Netolicky and Campbell 2022) and as a full-time Director of a School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provision and a part-time PhD student, I often find myself inhabiting the liminal space between professional practice and academia.
In August 2026, I attended the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) in Tampere, Finland, where I co-presented findings from an international research project exploring the experiences of teacher educators as they navigate their professional roles. While presenting at an international conference was a significant milestone, the journey to get there was equally important.
Through participation in conference presentations, workshops, and professional discussions, I was exposed to contemporary research, emerging debates, and innovative practices from an international audience, enabling me to critically reflect upon my own professional context and assumptions. This experience also facilitated the development of broader professional networks and helping to strengthen collaborative relationships, which are recognised as important mechanisms for supporting ongoing professional growth and knowledge mobilisation (Jaldemark et al., 2022). As a pracademic, the conference further strengthened my boundary-spanning positionality by providing opportunities to engage with academics, practitioners, and policymakers simultaneously. Hollweck, Netolicky and Campbell (2022) argue that pracademics occupy a space between practice, policy, and academia, acting as boundary spanners who facilitate the exchange and mobilisation of knowledge across different professional communities. Attendance at the conference therefore enhanced my capacity to translate research into practice while also bringing practice-informed perspectives into scholarly discussions, reinforcing the reciprocal relationship between professional practice and academic inquiry.
As a part time, PHD learner, who also work full time in Initial Teacher Education, leading school based teacher training provision in England, the exploration of identity through the work of Cambell (2022), Hollweck, Netolicky and Campbell (2022) enabled me to make a reflexive shift in unpacking my own complex identity as a pracademic through reflecting on the work of other teacher educators that were presenting at the conference. This positioning as a pracademic and teacher educator enables me to relate research directly to the practical realties of implementing research findings into practice. By engaging through Hargreaves and O’Connor’s (2018) collaborative professional framework with others in this space deepened my awareness of the importance of reconciling your own positionality and identity as a pathway to inculcating your own professional learning from these experiences.
Attendance at the international conference contributed to the development of a stronger sense of belonging within my professional tribe. Belonging has been identified as a central component of professional identity, influencing how individuals perceive themselves as members of a profession (Cornett, Palermo and Ash, 2023). Through engagement with researchers, practitioners and policymakers, the conference provided opportunities to participate in a wider community of practice, facilitating knowledge exchange, social learning and professional networking (Noar et al., 2023). As a result, I experienced an enhanced sense of connection to the international professional community, reinforcing both my professional identity and my pracademic, boundary-spanning positionality. This reflects Sternszus et al.’s (2024) argument that professional development involves not only learning and becoming, but also belonging within a recognised professional community
Engaging with a PHD is more than just academic engagement and producing a thesis. It requires core skills that need to be developed such as the dissemination of work (Salmons and Kara 2019), at conferences, publications, as well as extending the research in future through funded projects (Rainford and Guccione 2023). The opportunity to attend ECER enabled me to hone these skills by applying for funding, engaging with international academics to extend my thinking, and developing the work, as well as presenting the work. Attending ECER was made possible through Quality-Related Research (QR) funding provided by the university through which I am undertaking my PhD. Accessing this funding with guidance and support from my PhD supervisor required me to apply for and secure ethical approval for the international research project first. Both processes were entirely new to me and were key aspects of professional learning and an example of collaborative professionalism (Hargreaves and O’Connor 2018 p4).
Fortunately, I have benefited from the support of a proactive and encouraging doctoral supervisor who guided me through each stage of the process. The value of a close working relationship with Doctoral supervisors is outlined by Rainford and Guccione (2023) and a strong relationship enables a high-quality learning relationship, which in turn enables an effective mentoring relationship as per Connor and Pokora (2017).
Conferences provide much more than opportunities to present research. They create spaces for knowledge exchange, collaboration and professional networking which facilitates significant opportunities for engagement with researchers, practitioners and policymakers from diverse international contexts (Acuña Mora and Borregaard, 2024). Conferences also function as communities of practice (Wenger 1998), support social learning through participation (Wenger 1998, Lave and Wenger 1991, Bandura 1977) and the sharing of professional expertise across organisational and geographical boundaries (Noar et al 2023).
My key message to fellow professional development practitioners and aspiring researchers is simple: ask for help. If academia feels like a foreign land, particularly when it comes to funding applications, ethical approval processes or conference participation, seek advice from those who have travelled the path before you. Find mentors who through the professional learning relationships that develop (Connor and Pokora 2017 can guide you through unfamiliar processes in a place of psychological safety (Oberholzer and Boyle 2023).
International conferences are a fantastic way to share emerging work, broaden your perspectives and connect with passionate people from across the world. Just as importantly, make the most of the unstructured moments between keynotes, seminars, paper presentations and workshops. These conversations can be every bit as valuable as the formal programme itself.
So, be brave. Seek out funding opportunities and other “tribes” such as the International Professional Development Associations Early Career Researcher (ECR) events. This forum provides opportunities for PhD students and ECRs to engage with experts who can help with applying for funding and bids, as well as publications. If bigger international conferences seem daunting, write an abstract for the next IPDA conference in 2027 that is taking place in Edinburgh in 2027.
References
Acuña Mora, M. and Borregaard, B. (2024) ‘From networking to knowledge sharing: cracking the code of scientific conferences’, European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 23(4), pp. e28-e30. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvae035.
Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
Campbell, C. (2022) ‘Afterward? Moving onwards for developing pracademia and pracademics in education’, Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 7(1), pp. 98-108.
Connor, M. and Pokora, J. (2017) Coaching and Mentoring at Work: Developing Effective Practice. 3rd edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Cornett, M., Palermo, C. and Ash, S. (2023) ‘Professional identity research in the health professions: a scoping review’, Advances in Health Sciences Education, 28(2), pp. 589-642. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-022-10171-1.
Hiebl, M.R.W., Richter, J.F. and Zoni, L. (2025) ‘Filling the management gap between practitioners and academics: the emerging role of the pracademic’, Organization Management Journal.
Hollweck, T., Netolicky, D.M. and Campbell, P. (2022) ‘Defining and exploring pracademia: identity, community and engagement’, Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 7(1), pp. 19-37.
Jaldemark, J., Håkansson Lindqvist, M., Mozelius, P., Öberg, L.-M., De Laat, M., Dohn, N.B. and Ryberg, T. (eds.) (2022) Proceedings for the Thirteenth International Conference on Networked Learning. Aalborg: Aalborg Universitet.
Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Noar, A.P., Jeffery, H.E., Ponniah, H.S. and Jaffer, U. (2023) ‘The aims and effectiveness of communities of practice in healthcare: A systematic review’, PLOS ONE, 18(10), e0292343. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292343.
Oberholzer, L. and Boyle, D. (2023) Mentoring and Coaching in Education: A Guide to Coaching and Mentoring Teachers at Every Stage of their Careers. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Rainford, J. and Guccione, K. (2023) Thriving in Part-Time Doctoral Study. Insider Guides to Success in Academia.
Salmons, J. and Kara, H. (2019) Publishing from Your Doctoral Research. Insider Guides to Success in Academia.
Sternszus, R., Steinert, Y., Razack, S., Boudreau, J.D., Snell, L. and Cruess, R.L. (2024) ‘Being, becoming, and belonging: reconceptualizing professional identity formation in medicine’, Frontiers in Medicine, 11. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2024.1438082.
Walker, K. (2010) Boundary Spanning Roles in Educational Leadership. (Include full reference details if cited in your doctoral work.)
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.
