Identity Struggles at the Crossroads of National and International Expectations In the Context of National Higher Education Reform in Qatar

Drawing on a social constructionist approach, this study explores institutional identity and professional identity struggles at the nexus between local and global expectations. The study proposes a view of reform of national universities as a re-creational project and argues for an exploratory investigation into experiences of early career national academics or Teaching Assistants (TAs). The study recommends that a narrative approach to data gives voice to marginalised stories within the institution and aims to highlight challenges and struggles that are overlooked in the literature. Analysis of the discursive work carried out in the construction of identity aims to link micro-social events with macro-social structures to understand the concept of professional identity from the prospective of women. This, as the study argues, is key to illuminate institutional culture, power relations, and processes of inclusion and exclusion that controls access, development and change.