Exploring allied professionals' perspectives on academic development in South African higher education institutions : a social realist case study

Abstract

This study examines how allied professionals perceive and experience academic development within a South African university, employing a qualitative case study approach. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, evaluation form and focus groups with 25 participants from varied professional roles. The analysis draws on Margaret Archer's Social Realist Theory and General Systems Theory to interpret the interaction between individual agency, institutional structures, and systemic relationships. Using Social Realist Theory, the study explores how structural conditions, such as policy frameworks and hierarchical arrangements, and cultural norms, including academic–administrative divides, shape and constrain professional agency. Thematic analysis highlights how participants navigate these conditions through identity work and collaborative practices, sometimes reinforcing and at other times challenging existing norms. General Systems Theory complements this perspective by situating these dynamics within the institution as an interconnected system. The findings reveal that fragmentation between academic and administrative domains disrupts systemic coherence, limiting the institution's ability to achieve integrated academic development. The study contributes to ongoing debates by framing academic development as a relational and systemic practice rather than an exclusively academic function. It challenges dominant discourses that marginalise non-academic staff and advocates for inclusive governance and integrated support structures. By foregrounding allied professionals' experiences and theorising them through Social Realist Theory and General Systems Theory, this research offers a more holistic and context-sensitive understanding of academic development in higher education.