The niche of Graduate Teaching Assistants: perceptions and reflections

Muzaka, V. (2009)

Teaching in Higher Education, 14(1): 1–12.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs’) niche in the current UK higher education system by means of reflecting on the results of a survey undertaken at a department of the University of Sheffield. 

The survey highlights that GTAs occupy an ambiguous niche; they are simultaneously teachers, researchers, students and employees, with considerable tensions emerging as a result of the often conflicting rights and responsibilities associated with such roles. 

The paper concludes that a dialogue should take place within and between universities in order to decide the desired status of the GTA within the UK higher education system and design a workable framework to sustain it.

Cite this article

Muzaka, V. (2009)

The niche of Graduate Teaching Assistants: perceptions and reflections.
Teaching in Higher Education, 14(1): 1–12.

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