Universities and the knowledge-based economy: perceptions from a developing country

This paper considers the role of universities in the creation of a knowledge-based economy (KBE) in a developing country, Pakistan. Some developing countries have moved quickly to develop a KBE, but progress in Pakistan is much slower. Higher education plays a crucial role as part of the triple helix model for innovation. Based on the perceptions of university leaders and academic staff, the paper examines how the transformation towards a KBE in Pakistan is viewed within higher education and identifies some of the blockages and contradictions that hinder development. In particular, the paper suggests that a more integrated education system bringing together primary, secondary and tertiary education to work for a common purpose will be essential.     

Is There a Need for a European Institutional Research?

Recent changes in European higher education have accompanied a strong desire and need by national ministries to have comparable data across institutions and a growing recognition from campus leaders that effective planning and decision-making requires reliable institutional data and analyses. This has induced changes and restructuring of duties and roles of administration, administrative staff and academic staff. In North America, internal institutional data analysis is often referred to as institutional research. We examine the roles and functions of institutional research within North America and how the changes within European higher education have created a purpose for institutional research. Specifically, we explore the topical areas of institutional assessment, data management, institutional governance, as well asthe changing identity of academic professionals within European universities. Within our examination, we explore in-depth one European country’s higher education system to demonstrate how history, culture and legislative changes manifest into a need for institutional research.     

Academic Development as Academic Work

In this paper the authors reflect on their experiences of being academic developers and suggest how our profession might advance in the future. Our inquiry focuses on academic development and how we can support our clients more effectively. We propose that the profession of academic development should aim for academic status with many more research‐active staff contributing to its knowledge base. If this profession were located within the already recognized research field of higher education, we believe a number of potential benefits could accrue. These include a new level of professional standing, greater efficiency in our universities and a more substantial academic development community. Our thoughts and arguments on the nature of our work are framed within a discussion of professional identity, knowledge and academic freedom.     

Environmental education scholarship in a 'marketised' setting: A case study in a university environmental education programme

For more than a decade the traditional roles of universities and the traditional and conventional views of scholarship (academic work) have been called into question. These shifts in the academe have led to the introduction of various forms of practice, which has often resulted in conflicting viewpoints and tensions. Restructuring in higher education in South Africa (as elsewhere) has been linked to global, social and economic trends and a general decrease in revenue for universities from state sources (Jansen, 2001; Mora & Villarreal, 2001). This has forced universities into an entrepreneurial culture which has had far reaching implications for the work of academics. This has led to conflict between intrinsic work motivation and working towards extrinsic reward systems. In this paper we describe a university-based case study which demonstrates how a practice of scholarship in environmental education can be in conflict with conventions related to the construct of scholarship at institutional and broader academic levels in a 'marketised' environment. In terms of our experience we argue for a broader view of scholarship which focuses on more than 'brownie points' and 'bean counts' and includes service rendered to various academic communities as indicators for scholarly practice and scholarship in environmental education.     

Aspects of promotion procedures in Australian universities

This paper describes formal procedures for the promotion of academics in Australian universities within the general context of economic constraints and increasing pressures on promotion to higher categories. Government statistics show that, over the last decade, tertiary education in Australia has become more expensive to maintain. In the universities the major reason for this has been the rising cost of the academic staff establishment, a trend which has come under increasing public scrutiny. Financial restrictions have resulted in a lack of recruitment and a consequent lack of staff mobility. With annual progression within the staff categories, there is now a concentration of academics at the top of the respective salary scales and the problem is compounded by a naturally rising age factor. Promotion opportunities and a system of tenure have led to a situation in which more than half of academic staff are in the senior categories. Recent studies show that academics themselves are becoming more concerned about promotion issues.A comparison is made of formal promotion procedures before the passing of recent federal legislation on equal opportunity in employment. Although there are differences in detail, procedures for promotion to senior lecturer and reader/associate professor reveal a very high level of consensus on what constitutes rewardable academic performance. Nevertheless, promotion opportunities for academic staff are of necessity becoming more restricted, a trend which has far-reaching implications for the Australian university system.     

Academics Hard at Work: the place of teaching and professional development related to teaching

Abstract

Recent studies of academic work have identified increasing pressures on universities and academics throughout the world. These pressures relate to such factors as diminishing resources available to the higher education sector, widening diversity of the student clientele, moves for increased accountability and tensions between the research and teaching goals of academic work. Among the pressures being placed on the teaching component of academic work are the need for increased accountability of teaching performance and the need to update professional competence related to teaching. This paper reports a study of a selected group of academics — relatively junior staff who have participated in significant professional development activities related to their teaching. The data provided by the interviews with these academics allow a glimpse at their academic lives and how they fit teaching and professional development related to teaching into their working lives. The study highlights how these academics structure their work around their teaching commitments and how, although they make time available for professional development related to their teaching, this is done in response to the activities offered rather than as a proactive component of their career planning.     

Academics and their work under dawkins: A study of five NSW universities

This paper reports views of academic staff from five Australian institutions of higher education on a number of issues relating to teaching and research and changes affecting their work since the introduction of the unified national system. While most academics are satisfied with their jobs, staff morale is given a low rating. Academics cite a number of limitations experienced in carrying out their research and teaching. The academic work week is just under 50 hours, but there are clear differences between the established and newer universities in the apportioning of time to research and teaching related activities. This pattern is repeated in the publication record, grant success and perceived pressure to upgrade professional qualifications. The data suggest that the newer universities feel under pressure to emulate the structure and organisation of the traditional “elite” universities rather than seeking a legitimate niche for their particular type of operations within the unified national system. This means that for some years they will find considerable difficulty competing with traditional universities using the standard measures of research performance.     

Teaching and Learning in the University: New Directions for Australian Higher Education

The purpose of this paper is to outline recent changes to higher education in Australia and assess the implications of those changes for teaching and learning in universities. Three main changes have been identified:
1. The meta-policy context that has transformed a binary system of higher education into a unified national system of universities. This has given rise to the concept of the comprehensive university accompanied by an economic rationalist approach to the funding of higher education. Issues identified are the relativities to be accorded to teaching and research in the new universities and the push for more efficient modes of teaching.
2. Institutional changes that have influenced the traditional character of universities. These changes include the politicisation of Vice-Chancellors whose peak body is now recognised by the government as the single voice of the university sector, the changing student composition of universities as a result of government policies relating to overseas students and students who have been traditionally underpresented in universities and the introduction of academic staff appraisal. An assessment is made of this broad range of changes on teaching and learning.
3. Changing conceptions of teaching are discussed with a particular emphasis on the work of Shulman and its implications for teaching in the university.     

New Approaches to Staff Recruitment in Higher Education

This paper describes briefly the academic tenure and its legislative terms in the UK, over the last twenty years. The author refers to the current wider situation/trends in the international higher education arena of two categories of academic staff – “established” staff (on permanent contract) and fixed‐term staff – and to how their levels of protection can have an impact on the overall health of the universities and their academic freedom.     

Understanding the real barriers to technology-enhanced innovation in higher education

Background: Academic staff have a key role to play in the innovation efforts of universities aiming to exploit the potential of web-based learning technologies. Although learning technologies are an important building block of educational innovation, the eLearning adoption rate of European academic staff appears disappointing. The majority of curricula in European universities are stalled in the traditional pedagogical model of knowledge transmission, which continues to dominate teaching and learning.

Purpose: This conceptual paper explores underlying structural and cultural barriers to technology-enhanced innovation in higher education.

Sources of evidence: Starting from the underdeveloped state of eLearning in European universities, the paper challenges arguments that visible barriers such as technical issues, budget constraints or lack of interest in technology amongst academic staff represent the actual reasons for the slow advancement of learning technologies in university curricula.

Main argument: The paper argues that the lack of faculty interest and engagement for eLearning are visible symptoms for deeply rooted causes, which hinder current innovation efforts of universities. It explores theoretical viewpoints for structural peculiarities of universities, motivational and habitual traits of academic staff, and long-standing cultural values in the academic community in an attempt to understand their impact on technology-enhanced innovation in higher education.

Conclusions: The real dilemma for eLearning innovation is caused by macro-level influence factors that even committed universities can hardly overcome at institutional level. University leaders have to take the underlying innovation barriers into account when they try to engage academic staff for the use of learning technologies. With a realistic view on existing limitations, institutional eLearning adoption efforts have to be tailored to serve real learning needs and motivations of academic staff; and they have to consider specific goals and contexts within different universities.     

Cultural Disintegration and the Decline of the Engaged Intellectual: the transformation of academic work

Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion about the impact of globalization on universities. Globalization theorists seek to explain how neoliberal strategies have transformed the economic infrastructure of countries; in turn globalization has forced universities to become more market oriented while government invests less in tertiary education. By way of 126 interviews with academic staff, administrators, and related personnel, the author investigates the redefinitions of academic work in a globalized economy. The author works from a cultural perspective of organizations to understand the changing nature of academic work. The author first outlines the problems that he found and concludes by suggesting how to resolve the problems. Among other suggestions, the importance of institutional mission and the role of the intellectual in the life of the university are considered.     

The academic profession in North Macedonia: A never ending transition

The context of Macedonian higher education has changed dramatically in the last fifteen years. A rapid increase in the number of public and private institutions and a greater diversity of higher education degrees have not been associated with improvements in quality. The research output of academic staff is modest; academics contribute little to the society's development. Academia in North Macedonia is under pressure due to chronic underfinancing of higher education and research, and an underdeveloped system of quality assurance, as well as growing expectations for relevance and internationalisation. This article presents an original empirical study on academic staff. It examines how 388 faculty at higher education institutions in North Macedonia perceived changes in the environment of the academic profession, and how changes in their working conditions potentially influence their academic identity and wellbeing. The results are compared to European data. Findings show that about half of research participants believed that the overall conditions for work and the quality of teaching, learning and research have deteriorated in recent years. This contributes to a perception of the academic profession as stressful and unattractive which results in lower levels of overall academic wellbeing which constitutes a threat to academic identity amongst the staff. Consequently, we expect further decreases in motivation, work ethic and productivity in the academic profession, as well as an increase in the desire of academics to leave Macedonia.     

An exploratory study into work/family balance within the Australian higher education sector

The higher education landscape is undergoing major transformation, with a significant impact on the work and family practices of academics and professional staff. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the extent to which (1) time-related, (2) strain-related and (3) demographical variables impact on the work/family balance of academic and professional staff in Victorian universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. Our findings reveal that university employees experience greater work/family imbalance. The results of this research demonstrate how the three constructs contribute to work/family imbalance in academia, especially within the university sector. This paper is believed to be the first to explore work/family balance from an Australian cross-sectoral perspective. It provides an agenda for future theory and research to increase understanding of work/family balance from a cross-sectoral perspective.     

The cracked glass ceiling: equal work but unequal status

The achievement of gender equity in universities continues to warrant attention. Globally, universities have much work ahead of them if they are to redress the gender imbalance in senior positions and remuneration rates. To examine this issue, multiple sources of evidence were used to observe teaching and research workload of academic staff employed at mid-tier business faculties from two urban Australian universities which had more women employed in junior academic ranks. This article argues that although gender equity, in terms of workload, has improved, inequality, in terms of pay and status, still exists. Specifically, while workload differences between genders were largely not evident, fewer women were employed in senior ranks. These results suggest, despite policy reforms, that inequity continues to be a problem in the Australian higher education sector with implications for the recognition (and addressing) of inequity in the global higher education industry. In summary, higher education institutions, senior policy-makers and managers must be cognizant of balancing teaching workloads with opportunities and support systems for research-related activities and directing human resource efforts and promotion opportunities.     

Higher Education and Industry

University research in Australia has in the past been devoted primarily to basic curiosity-initiated research based on the English model. Most senior academic staff have had advanced degrees from British universities and the ethos of pure research has permeated their work. In 1984 68 per cent of all higher education research and development was classified as basic research. The impetus for change in the early 1980s has come largely from federal government. In particular shrinking per student grants have forced universities to try to supplement their incomes from other sources. This paper summarizes and analyses some of the new initiatives and concludes with an examination of future prospects.     

Re-empowering academics in a corporate culture: an exploration of workload and performativity in a university

Neo-liberal reforms in higher education have resulted in corporate managerial practices in universities and a drive for efficiency and productivity in teaching and research. As a result, there has been an intensification of academic work, increased stress for academics and an emphasis on accountability and performativity in universities. The paper proposes that while managerialism in modern universities is now the norm, corporate approaches have disempowered academics in their institutions and reduced productivity because they ignore the nature of academic work. Using Foucault’s conception of power relations in institutions, policies that directly affect academic work such as workload allocation and performance management are identified as key ways in which power is exercised in universities. The paper reports on a case study in one university which explored the relationship between the academic workload allocation and performance management policies and concludes that a more balanced power relationship is needed in which academics can have more influence over these key processes which control their work so they preserve the self-managed aspects of academic work and the intrinsic motivations driving their careers.     

Current Practice in the Allocation of Academic Workloads

Significant factors within UK higher education include explicit competition, regulatory demands and pressures to maintain student numbers despite tuition fee increases. Universities have responded by more actively managing finances and quality but seemingly not staff time. This paper sets out findings on the processes and practices surrounding academic workload allocation (WLA) in universities, based on 59 detailed interviews from a cross section of staff. The main findings from this research are that there are a huge variety of different practices surrounding WLA and much potential for improvement. The approaches observed can be seen to work in a continuum from informal to partial, to the more comprehensive. Although many felt the disciplinary context to be very important to the process chosen, the findings of the research reveal that this is not the case.     

Changing attitudes of Australian academics

This article reports on the changing work-related attitudes and demographics of academic staff in Australia, in four universities and four former colleges of advanced education (CAEs, comparable to polytechnics), surveyed in 1979, 1984 and 1990. The surveys were of all academic staff in each institution, with response rates averaging 47%. As in other countries, the former binary system of education has recently been ended by reconstituting colleges of advanced education as universities. Differences in work-related attitude are examined, and shown to differ consistently between the types of institution, across the elapsed time, and between the sexes, ranks and academic disciplines of the respondents. In particular, each institution has shown a sustained increase in academic staff alienation and dissatisfaction over the eleven-year period. The differences in demographics and in work-related attitudes between original universities and former colleges of advanced education remain after the ending of the binary system. The differences are discussed in relation to a number of current policy issues, including the ending of the binary system of higher education. Since similar policy changes and similar pressures are occurring in a number of countries, the findings of the study have implications beyond Australia.     

Tensions for educational developers in the digital university: developing the person,developing the product

ABSTRACT

Digital education, now common in higher education, is particularly evident in the expansion of blended and fully online offerings at universities. Central to this expansion are educational developers, staff who support teaching and learning improvement in courses they do not themselves teach. Working closely with staff, students, and the curriculum, educational developers see first-hand how the digital learning agenda is both implemented and experienced. This article reports on findings from a national study of three educational development groups: academic developers, academic language and learning developers, and online educational designers, from 14 Australian universities. Although their institutional settings, roles, and work practices varied considerably, a central theme was the tension arising from a perceived shift in institutional priorities from ‘people development’ to ‘product development’: that is, from building human (educator) capacity towards curriculum resource development, particularly for the online environment. Participants reported a decline in autonomy, with institutional strategy and targeted projects increasingly directing both the work that gets done, and the skill sets required to do it. Their observations have implications for how universities conceptualise the development and support of the educational process.     

Occupational stress in UK higher education institutions: a comparative study of all staff categories

The higher education sector in the UK continues to experience significant change. This includes restructuring, use of short‐term contracts, external scrutiny and accountability, and major reductions in funding. In line with this, reports of stress at work in higher education institutions have also increased. The study reported here was carried out using a stratified random sample of all categories of staff (academic and non‐academic) from 14 UK universities and colleges. Levels of occupational stress were measured using the ASSET model. The results showed that the most significant source of stress for all higher education staff (irrespective of category of employee) was job insecurity. In comparison to the normative data, staff also reported significantly higher levels of stress relating to work relationships, control, and resources and communication, and significantly lower levels of commitment both from and to their organization. However, they also reported significantly lower levels of stress relating to work‐life balance, overload and job overall, and lower levels of physical ill‐health. Significant differences were identified between staff working at Old versus New universities and by category of employee. These results support the growing evidence that universities no longer provide the low stress working environments they once did.