Working in the shadows of professionalism: An investigation into the career experiences and dynamics of paraprofessionals

该项目扩展了对准专业人员的职业动态和经验的了解，同时旨在为他们的职业成果和意义做出贡献。在现代社会中，人们通过职业生涯寻求工作的意义。这可以嵌入在追求一种召唤，实现真实的自我或成功和地位的感觉中。虽然职业学者已经调查了许多职业的职业经验，这项研究的重点是准专业人员。准专业人员被定义为“专业任务的特定方面被委托给他们，但他们没有被许可作为完全合格的专业人员执业”的人（牛津词典，2015年）。他们包括护士、学术界的支持人员，以及本研究的重点，法律的行业的律师。辅助专业人员与专业人员的区别在于他们缺乏专业地位。专业人士获得地位和意义的一种方式是通过既定的职业轨迹。然而，辅助专业人员仍然被排除在这些服务之外。此外，人们认为，他们的工作几乎没有给他们个人发展或进步的空间。通常，任务被认为是平凡和重复的。因此，我们认为在职业生涯中提供意义的特征似乎并不适用于准专业人员。那么，职业的概念对他们来说代表着什么？他们在哪里找到意义？在英格兰和威尔士的法律的劳动力中，律师助理占54,000人，超过了律师和大律师的总和。因此，他们对法律的工作作出了重大贡献。然而，到目前为止，他们仍然处于那些具有专业地位的人的阴影之下，因为学术研究的重点是了解律师和大律师的经验。直到最近，律师如果没有培训合同，就被排除在职业生涯之外。虽然许多人渴望成为专业律师，但这对他们的职业流动性构成了障碍。2014年，律师监管局（SRA）推出了“同等收入计划”，作为建立在实践经验而不是教育资格基础上的替代职业道路。然而，鉴于其及时性，人们对其影响仍然知之甚少。这项多方法研究旨在通过采访律师、律师、人力资源专业人员、专业机构和客户，了解准专业人员，特别是律师的职业动态和经验。选择了一种定性的方法，结合数据收集技术，确保研究的学术严谨性：-第1部分调查了律师事务所和替代商业结构（ABS）在英格兰的律师职业生涯的经验。50名参与者将接受采访，并通过创新的艺术为基础的方法，他们的经验图纸将被收集，以揭示感受到的经验。- 第二部分记录了代表机构10名成员的叙述，以说明他们对律师工作的看法和旨在改善职业前景的现行举措。它特别试图了解专业协会在保护专业标准的同时开辟职业轨迹是否存在冲突。- 第3部分提供了组织和社会动态的知识。对3家律师事务所的比较研究将分析组织实践对律师职业的影响。此外，通过采访30名律师、律师事务所合伙人、律师、人力资源专业人员和客户，调查了社会动态的基础。这项研究的影响可能对一般的准专业人员和专业人员以及律师和具体的法律的专业人员产生变革性的影响。该研究将通过推动学科和方法的界限以及对非学术受众产生重大影响，为知识做出重要贡献。

This project extends knowledge on the career dynamics and experiences of paraprofessionals, while aiming to contribute to their career outcomes and meaning making. In modern societies, people seek meaning at work through their careers. This can be embedded in the pursuit of a calling, the realisation of authentic selves or feelings of success and status. While career scholars have investigated the career experiences of many occupations, this study focuses on paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals are defined as persons "to whom a particular aspect of a professional task is delegated but who is not licensed to practise as a fully qualified professional" (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). They include nurses, support staff in the academic profession and, this study's focus, paralegals in the legal industry. What distinguishes paraprofessionals from their professional counterparts is their lack of professional status. One way how professionals obtain status, and hence meaning, is through established career trajectories. However, paraprofessionals have remained excluded from these. In addition, it is assumed that their work gives them little room for personal development or advancement. Often tasks are considered to be mundane and repetitive. Hence, characteristics that we associate as providing meaning in our careers do not seem to apply to paraprofessionals. So what does the concept of the career represent to them and where do they find meaning?Paralegals make up 54,000 of the legal workforce in England and Wales, more than the combined number of solicitors and barristers. Hence they significantly contribute to legal work. Yet, to date they have remained in the shadows of those with professional status as academic research has focused on understanding the experiences of lawyers and barristers. Until recently, paralegals were excluded from professional career trajectories if they do not have a training contract. While many aspire to become professional solicitors, this has presented a barrier to their career mobility. In 2014, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) introduced the 'equivalent means scheme' as an alternative career path built on practical experience rather than educational qualification. Yet, given the timeliness, its effect still remains little understood. This multi-method study aims to provide understanding of the career dynamics and experiences of paraprofessionals, particularly paralegals, by interviewing paralegals, lawyers, HR professionals, professional bodies and clients. A qualitative methodology was chosen that combines data collection techniques, ensuring the academic rigour of the study:- Part 1 investigates the career experiences of paralegals in law firms and alternative business structures (ABS) across England. 50 participants will be interviewed and through an innovate arts-based methodology, drawings of their experiences will be collected to uncover the felt experiences. - Part 2 captures the narratives of 10 members of representative bodies to illuminate their perceptions of paralegal work and ongoing initiatives aimed at improving career prospects. It particularly seeks to understand if there is a conflict for professional associations in protecting professional standards while opening up career trajectories. - Part 3 provides knowledge on organisational and social dynamics. A comparative study of 3 law firms will analyse the influence of organisational practices on paralegal careers. In addition, by interviewing 30 paralegals, law firm partners, solicitors, HR professionals and clients, it investigates the underpinning social dynamics. The implications of this study could be transformative to paraprofessionals and the professions generally, as well as paralegals and the legal profession specifically. The research will make important contributions to knowledge by pushing disciplinary and methodological boundaries as well as having significant impact for non-academic audiences.