Challenges and Options: The Academic Profession in Europe (eBook)

Maria de Lourdes Machado-Taylor, Virgílio Meira Soares, Ulrich Teichler (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2017 | 1st ed. 2017
VI, 267 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-319-45844-1 (ISBN)

Infos

This volume explores the various issues that have an impact on the academic career of professionals in European higher education. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are currently subject to profound uncertainties and are more challenged than ever on quality issues, both with regard to their conceptual nature and in the extension and amendment of their mission. Divided into three parts, the first part of the book deals with the challenges and issues in higher education academic careers. It addresses such topics as the influence of European policies and changes, the cultural differences in the preferences of academics for teaching or research, the increasing inequality in working conditions for academics, and the changing nature of academic strategy in the transformational world of higher education with its implications for academic structures, work and careers. The second part of the book analyses the findings of a national study on satisfaction of academics in Portuguese higher education, carried out at the Centre for Research on Higher Education Policies (CIPES). The third part offers a comparative analysis of a number of national European case studies, focusing on the changing relevance of and increasing expectations around academic careers. The concluding chapter discusses whether the academic profession is merely an artificial term that has to do with a heterogeneous range of occupations, or if there are important common elements of the academic profession across European Higher Education systems. 

Inhalt

Contents 6
Chapter 1: Introduction 8
References 14
Part I: Higher Education Academia: Global Challenges 16
Chapter 2: Teaching Versus Research: An Endangered Balance? 17
2.1 Introduction 17
2.2 The Ideal of a Teaching-Research Link 17
2.3 Imperfections of the Teaching-Research Link 19
2.4 Comparative Research on the Academic Profession 21
2.5 Teaching and Research in Europe: The Findings of Comparative Studies 25
2.5.1 Involvement in Teaching and Research 25
2.5.2 Work Time Spent on Teaching and Research 26
2.5.3 Preferences for Teaching and Research 28
2.5.4 Links Between Teaching and Research 29
2.5.5 The Issue of Relevance in Teaching and Research 29
2.5.6 Internationalisation of Teaching and Research 30
2.5.7 Managerial Power Regarding Teaching and Research 31
2.6 Concluding Observations 32
References 32
Chapter 3: A Bastion of Elitism or an Emerging Knowledge Proletariat? Some Reflections About Academic Careers with an Economic Slant 35
3.1 Introduction 35
3.2 Academic Careers and the Economics of the Labour Market 36
3.3 Markets in Higher Education and Changes in the Academic Profession 38
3.4 Market Forces and Changes in the Academic Profession 39
3.4.1 The Labour Market Conditions for New Academics 40
3.4.2 Working Conditions in Academic Careers 44
3.4.3 A More Unequal Academic Labour Market? – Trends and Challenges 47
3.5 Concluding Remarks 50
References 51
Chapter 4: Academic Strategy in the Emerging University – A Transformational Perspective 54
4.1 The Emergence of Transformational Change in Higher Education Institutions 54
4.2 Transforming the Academic Structure 58
4.2.1 Knowledge Structure 58
4.2.2 Educational Process 60
4.2.3 Research Role and Emphasis 61
4.2.4 Educational Improvement Performance 61
4.2.5 Faculty Academic Performance 61
4.3 Some Implications for Academic Work and Careers in the Transformed Institution 63
4.3.1 While Disciplinary Departments are Likely to Continue, Many Faculty are More Likely to Work in Academic Structures, Centres or Programs that are Problem Centred 64
4.3.2 The Focus on Learning, Rather than on Teaching, will Alter the Nature of Academic Work 64
4.3.3 The Making of Formal Procedures to Hire Academics 65
4.3.4 Faculty Educational Performance will More Likely Be Judged Based on Assessment of Student Learning and Improvement than Traditional Grading Practices 66
4.3.5 Similarly Faculty Selection 66
4.3.6 Multiple Academic and Institutional Cultures 67
4.3.7 Globalised Academic Labour Market and Increasing Influx of Academics is Noticed 67
4.3.8 The Demographic Developments 67
4.4 Conclusion 68
References 68
Part II: Portuguese Higher Education Academia 72
Chapter 5: Academic Job Satisfaction and Motivation: Perspectives from a Nation-Wide Study in Public Higher Education Institutions in Portugal 73
5.1 Introduction 73
5.2 The Academic Career in Portugal: Issues and Challenges 76
5.2.1 Evolution and Organization of the Portuguese Higher Education 76
5.2.2 The Academic Career 80
5.2.2.1 Shaping the Academic Career in the Early 1970 80
5.2.2.2 The Diversification of Academic Careers in Higher Education 81
5.2.2.3 The Academic Career in the 2000s 83
5.2.2.4 Academics’ Functions 84
5.2.3 Coping with the Changes 85
5.2.4 Challenges 87
5.3 Models for Examination of Academic Job Satisfaction 89
5.3.1 Some Models of Faculty Satisfaction 89
5.3.2 Suggested Model for Faculty Satisfaction 93
5.4 Methodological Approach 94
5.5 Results 97
5.5.1 Satisfaction with Teaching Climate by Institutional Type 97
5.5.2 Satisfaction with Management of the Institution/Department/Unit by Institutional Type 98
5.5.3 Satisfaction with Colleagues by Institutional Type 98
5.5.4 Satisfaction with Non Academic Staff (Administrative Staff, Technical and Laboratorial Staff…) by Institutional Type 99
5.5.5 Satisfaction with Physical Work Environment by Institutional Type 100
5.5.6 Satisfaction with Conditions of Employment by Institutional Type 100
5.5.7 Satisfaction with Personal and Professional Development by Institutional Type 101
5.5.8 Satisfaction with Institutions’ Culture and Values by Institutional Type 102
5.5.9 Satisfaction with Institutions’ Prestige by Institutional Type 103
5.5.10 Satisfaction with Research Climate by Institutional Type 103
5.5.11 Overall Satisfaction by Institutional Type 105
5.5.12 Overall Motivation by Institutional Type 106
5.5.13 Satisfaction with Teaching Climate, Management, Colleagues and Work environment: A Structural Equation Model 106
5.5.14 Synthetic Indexes 107
5.5.15 Satisfaction and Motivation 109
5.6 Interviews 111
5.7 Analysis 113
5.7.1 Dimensions of Job Satisfaction 113
5.7.2 Indicators in Each Dimension of Job Satisfaction 114
5.7.3 Job Satisfaction and Motivation by Institutional Type 114
5.7.4 Job Satisfaction and Motivation by Gender 115
5.7.5 Job Satisfaction and Motivation by Academic Rank 115
5.7.6 Motivation and Satisfaction 115
5.8 Conclusion 116
Appendices 118
Appendix 1 118
Appendix 2 121
A Note on Privacy 121
I. Satisfaction Dimensions 122
II. Motivation 126
III. Satisfaction, Motivation and Performance 127
IV. Academic Decision at Your Institution 127
V. The New Regulation for Faculty Careers (Answer Only If You Are Professor of Public Higher Education) 128
VI. Academic/Professional Context 129
Teaching 130
Teaching management 132
Management 133
Research 133
All Activities in Higher Education 135
VII. General Information 136
References 139
Part III: Country Chapters 144
Chapter 6: Academic Careers During the Massification of Austrian Higher Education 145
6.1 Introduction 145
6.2 The Chair Structure and the Dominance of the Academic Oligarchy 146
6.2.1 Status and Working Conditions of ‘Middle-Rank’ Academics 147
6.2.1.1 Quantitative Developments 1955–1975 149
6.2.2 The ‘Group University’: The Status Increase of Middle-­Rank Academics 150
6.2.2.1 Academic Career Structures 1975–1993 151
6.2.2.2 Quantitative Developments 1972–1993 152
6.3 The Managerial University: Radical Change 154
6.3.1 UOG 93 – Transition to Managerialism 154
6.3.2 UG 2002 – The Breakthrough of Managerialism 156
6.3.2.1 Academic Career Structures and A Quantitative Overview 158
6.3.2.2 A Farewell to the ‘Cultural State’ 161
6.4 The Managerial University: Persisting Traditions 162
6.4.1 The Persistence of ‘Academic Estates’ 162
6.4.2 Habilitation Versus Tenure Track 163
6.4.3 The Austrian Version of a Tenure Track 166
References 167
Chapter 7: The Academic Profession in Germany 169
7.1 Introduction 169
7.2 The Conventional View and Perceived Recent Changes 170
7.3 A New Information Base: The Survey Undertaken in 2007 174
7.4 Socio-biographic Characteristics 176
7.5 Career Path 177
7.6 Employment Conditions 178
7.7 Working Time 180
7.8 Teaching and Research 182
7.9 Internationality 184
7.10 Steering 185
7.11 Satisfaction 188
7.12 The Academic Profession in Germany – Lessons from Survey Research 189
References 191
Chapter 8: Between Tradition and Transition: The Academic Career in Italy 194
8.1 Introduction 194
8.2 The Historical Evolution of the Professoriate – 1946–2010 195
8.3 Changes in the Legal Framework of Academics 198
8.4 Non-Tenured Academics: From Patrimonialism to Institutionalised Precarization 203
8.5 Academic Responses to Recruitment and Career System Reforms 204
8.6 How Academics Perceive Their Career Conditions 207
8.7 Conclusion 209
References 210
Chapter 9: The Societal Embeddedness of Academic Markets: From Sex to Gender in the Swiss Context 212
9.1 Sex Differences in Academic Careers 213
9.1.1 Different Instruments 214
9.1.2 The Disciplinary Bias 215
9.1.3 The Swiss Academic Market in International Comparison 218
9.1.4 Distribution Between Teaching and Research 219
9.2 From Sex Differences to Gender Equality Resistance 220
9.2.1 The Product of History: Gender and Society 220
9.2.2 Resistance at a Structural Level 222
9.2.3 Invisible Inequalities: Between Systemic and Individual Resistance 224
9.2.3.1 Introducing New Tasks with a Discriminating Filter? 225
9.2.3.2 Societal Resistance 225
9.2.3.3 Individual Filters Resisting Equality? 226
9.3 Conclusion: Changing the Sex of Universities, a Complex Operation? 227
References 229
Chapter 10: From Academic Profession to Higher Education Workforce: Academic Careers in the UK 231
10.1 Introduction 231
10.2 UK Higher Education and the People Who Work in It 232
10.3 Identity Changes and Ambiguities in the Lives of UK Academics 239
10.4 A Closer Look at the Evidence 241
10.5 A Changing Distribution of Power 243
10.6 Shifts from ‘Collegial’ to ‘Competitive’ Relationships Between UK Academics 247
10.7 Conclusion: Changing Roles and Changing Boundaries 250
References 251
Erratum 253
What Is the New Academic Profession? 254
The State of Discourse 254
The Background and the Thrust of this Book 258
Academic Careers and the Situation of Junior Academics 260
Job Satisfaction in Academia 262
The Implications of the Diversity in Higher Education Systems for the Academic Profession 264
Variety or Convergence Across Europe Regarding the Academic Profession 266
Concluding Observations 267

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 21.2.2017
• Reihe/Serie: The Changing Academy – The Changing Academic Profession in International Comparative Perspective
• Reihe/Serie: The Changing Academy – The Changing Academic Profession in International Comparative Perspective
• Zusatzinfo: VI, 267 p. 72 illus., 8 illus. in color.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Erwachsenenbildung
• Schlagworte: Academic career of professionals in European Higher Education • Analysis of the changing nature of academic strategy • Cross-national approach on academic careers in Higher Education • Higher education institutions (HEIs) • Results of the national Portuguese satisfaction study • Review on the human capital literature in the higher education
• ISBN-10: 3-319-45844-2 / 3319458442
• ISBN-13: 978-3-319-45844-1 / 9783319458441