THE JOURNAL OF ASIA TEFL Vol. 14, No. 2, Summer 2017, 307-319 http://dx.doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2017.14.2.7.307 307 The Journal of Asia TEFL http://journal.asiatefl.org/ e-ISSN 2466-1511 © 2004 AsiaTEFL.org. All rights reserved.. Understanding academic identity development in a changing landscape: The case of university English teachers in Malaysia Ida Fatimawati Adi Badiozaman Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia The changing landscape of higher education (HE) and the expansion of academic work have impacted on academic identity development. However, there is very little known about the academic identity development of English language teachers who transition from teaching in the school sector to working in higher learning institutions in Malaysia. This paper thus seeks to explore how university English teachers’ (UET) academic identities are developed and to identify factors that are pertinent to this development through the lens of self-concept. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and the analysis was done using the framework of self-concept. The findings reveal that UETs’ self-concepts are dynamic constructs influenced by multiple internal and external factors from their past and present contexts. When UETs were placed into a new setting, they had to reflect on and re-evaluate their abilities in order to adapt to internal and situational changes. Self-concept thus played a role in restructuring the self and is strongly associated with motivation and is driven by goals for self-improvement. The findings of this study suggest that strategies which can support and sustain a positive transition for UETs into academia be implemented to ensure improved recruitment and retention. Keywords: academic identity, identity development, university, English language teachers, self- concept Introduction Academic careers are complex and dynamic. According to Kaulisch and Enders (2005), the academic career is distinct from conventional hierarchical, bureaucratic models. In fact, traditional academic career systems have features that reflect characteristics of a more traditional career model, such as ‘tenure’ and a fairly rigid career hierarchy. Traditionally, universities were perceived as organisations that emphasise the dominant role of academics as the most important locus of power and control (Berdahl, 1990), giving them autonomy and academic freedom in their practice (Santos, 2016). Nonetheless, global changes in higher education (HE) have had a profound impact on the nature of the profession (Sutton, 2015). The changes, which were brought about by the requirements of the knowledge society and various political and economic constraints (Castelló et al., 2015), have resulted in increasingly measured universities and intensification of academic work (Neary & Winn, 2016). This is evident in the vision, policy, and governance of higher learning institutions (Altbach, 2004). Malaysian HE is also impacted by changing market needs (Sirat, 2010). To illustrate, with strong