Marginalised or just transient? a study of the experience of architectural educators on casual and part-time contracts

In architecture, those on casual and part-time contracts often make a significant contribution to teaching, yet many universities have systems which appear to undervalue the importance of their work and practice experiences. This article reports the results of a study which set out to examine the experiences of people employed on such contracts in a school of architecture in New Zealand. The main intention of this article is to tell the story of people on such contracts, and thus, give a voice to this group. The findings suggest that the issues facing those striving to combine practice and teaching are greater than in the past, while delight in teaching and love of the profession seem to underpin desirability of this part-time teaching.