The elitism dispositif: hierarchization,discourses of excellence and organizational change in European economics

From the 1990s onwards, economics departments in Europe have changed toward a culture of “excellence.” Strong academic hierarchies and new forms of academic organization replace “institutes” and “colleges” by fully equipped “economics departments.” This article seeks to demonstrate how and why hierarchization, discourses of excellence and organizational change takes place in European economics departments. The concept of “elitism dispositif” will be developed in order to understand these changes as a discursive as well as power-related phenomenon based on rankings, on the formation of new academic classes as well as on the construction of an elite myth. An elitism dispositif is defined as a discursive power apparatus that transforms symbolic differences among researchers, constructed by rankings, into material inequalities, based on an unequal distribution of academic capital between departments and researchers. Based on an empirical study, the article will focus on a selection of economics departments in Germany and in the UK, in order to study the emergence of an “elite class” as well as the functioning of an “excellence culture” that is based on discourses of power and inequality.     

Research output in Australian university research centres in economics

During the 1980's, there has been considerable concentration of research resources into Centres of Excellence within higher education, in the belief that greater research output per capita would result. This article tests this belief for Australian university-based research centres in economics, recognizing that the conclusions may not be applicable to other disciplines.Using a method which assigns points to publications according to the quality of the journal in which they appear, the research output of staff in six research centres was compared with that of lecturers in teaching departments of economics. Research centre staff were estimated to have 75 per cent greater time per head to carry out research. For the period 1974–78 and 1979–83 respectively, research output per capita in the research centres was 75 and 59 per cent greater than that of teaching departments. When time is taken into account, then, the evidence does not support the belief that research centres in economics are more productive. In the Australian context, it may be noted, there is little qualitative difference in the research produced by research centres and that of teaching departments.     

Evaluating the Efficiency of Research in Academic Departments: an Empirical Analysis in an Italian Region

This paper investigates the efficiency of university departments in science, technology and medicine in an Italian Region (Lombardy). The aim of the paper is twofold: (i) to analyse the changes in productivity in recent years (from 2004 and 2007); and (ii) to detect factors that are potentially affecting efficiency. The research benefited from a new and unique dataset (called QuESTIO) developed by the Lombardy Regional Government. Using facilities and academic staff as inputs and research grants and publications as outputs, the research activity of academic departments was modelled. The methodological approach for computing efficiency scores is (DEA) Data Envelopment Analysis; Malmquist indexes have been used to measure changes in productivity, while Kruskal‐Wallis tests were employed to study the potential determinants of efficiency. Two main results were obtained. First, the academic departments improved their efficiency but, at the same time, the efficiency frontier worsened. Second, external and measurable factors (such as scientific sector, proportion of tenured staff, location, etc.) have a limited impact in explaining efficiency differentials. The policy implications of both results are discussed.     

Measuring research competitiveness in UK universities: introducing the Herfindahl Index to the 2008 and 2014 research assessment exercises

Like its 2008 predecessor, the, 2014 Research Excellence Framework was a high-stakes exercise. For universities and their constituent departments, it had zero-sum implications for league table position in a way that the 2001 exercise did not, and post facto it is having a significant effect on investment and disinvestment as departments vie with each other internally for dwindling estate and staffing resources. Yet there has never been an analysis of how different Units of Assessment compare with each other in terms of their competitiveness, and how the percentage of staff submitted in each discipline affects the competition space. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to introduce the Herfindahl Index, currently used as the basis for antitrust regulation in the US, to an educational setting; and to apply the Index to the 2008 and 2014 research assessment exercises to gauge the competitiveness of individual disciplines. It finds that competition in the UK research sector is exceptionally tough, but that competitiveness in some subjects, especially Education, is hugely increased when the metric used as base is the total number of staff eligible, rather than the total number of staff submitted, which suggests a very concentrated market in terms of quality.     

Bundled or unbundled? A multi-text corpus-assisted discourse analysis of the relationship between teaching and research in UK universities

Creating and disseminating knowledge through research and teaching has long been regarded as the hallmark of the modern university. However, new university business models have called into question the ‘bundling’ of teaching and research, and sustained research on the relationship between teaching and research has found little evidence of an insoluble connection between the two activities. In this article, we explore the relationship between teaching and research from the perspective of universities’ institutional discourse. We use corpus-assisted discourse analysis to examine the relationship between research and teaching as presented in two sets of institutional texts currently influential in UK Higher Education: Research Excellence Framework environment statements and Teaching Excellence Framework provider submissions (a total of 2143 documents and 12,492,071 words). Our findings show that, while universities emphasise the value of research to their teaching, they do not always emphasise (or sometimes even decry) the influence of teaching on their research. We empirically evidence that, according to what universities themselves write in institutional texts, teaching and research are not always in a mutually beneficial entanglement, but often rather a one-way relationship in which research expertise and institutional prestige are used to bolster claims of teaching excellence. This has implications for the communication of both the vision and the purpose of a university in regulatory exercises and wider policy, but also speaks to the broader idea and practice of being a university in the twenty-first century.     

The Gendering of Excellence Through Quality Criteria: The case of the Swiss National Science Foundation Professorships in Switzerland

The Swiss National Science Foundation Professorships Programme is presented as a programme that aims to promote outstanding young scholars to professorial positions. Academic excellence is presented as the main selection criterion. The emphasis put on the research portfolio and on the age of the candidates means that the beneficiaries of these professorships put forward an image of excellence that is more embedded in data-based sciences, than in the humanities and social sciences, thus strengthening the domination of a sector of scientific activity essentially occupied by men over the sector that has opened up more widely to women. This paper aims to deconstruct the criteria of academic excellence as they appear in this programme, and to show that what seem to be quality criteria are inspired by a specific model. These biases tend to undermine the gender equality aims of the programme.     

The Performance‐Based Research Fund: research assessment and funding in New Zealand

The Performance‐Based Research Fund introduces research assessment and links this with the state funding of institutions of higher education in New Zealand. There has been considerable support from the university sector for this initiative in the belief that it will divert funding from polytechnics and other tertiary education organisations. This sectoral support borrows a thirdway rhetoric of rewarding excellence also used by Government, but becomes problematic at the point where institutional shares are determined. The paper explores how a rhetoric of rewarding excellence in research is subordinated to a new mangerialist thrust for efficiency and greater productivity from academics. The methodology of the Performance‐Based Research Fund is analysed as providing an imperfect local driver for the global phenomenon of new managerialism in higher education.     

Unpacking (un)conscious social class bias in faculty hiring processes in Chile: PhD prestige granting university and network

Social class of origin is apparently an imperceptible attribute among doctorate holders seeking academic jobs. Yet, recent studies in different countries reveal that social class of origin may still be influencing the chances of PhD holders from low social class being hired at prestigious universities. Drawing from the theory of social and cultural reproduction, normative ‘fair’ academic hirings frameworks, and qualitative evidence collected in Chile, this research identifies the mechanisms that trigger (un)conscious social class bias in the stages of recruitment and selection of candidates in seven academic departments in economics and industrial engineering (46 interviews). Findings did not prove explicit classism manifestations, but practices of inclusion/exclusion of candidates based on the prestige of PhD-granting universities, and networks. These reproduce the relationship between social class and unequal chances of being connected to prestigious universities. Recommendations to address (un)conscious social class bias in academic hiring are discussed.     

Performativity,work-related emotions and collective research identities in UK university education departments: an exploratory study

The paper reports the findings of an investigation into academic staff perceptions of a rapidly changing research work environment in UK university education departments. The study sheds light on the emotional landscape of an environment shaped by performance-driven change. Based on an integrated triplex framework of analysis, the study addresses the complex interrelationship between performativity, work-related emotions and collective research identities. The findings highlight concerns about the emotional impact of work intensification and barriers to collective research identities. However, there is also evidence of strong motivation and a performativity that is internally and intrinsically driven. The implications for research leaders are considered, both in terms of leadership strategy and the leadership of staff in building vibrant research cultures at a time of major change in the sector in response to global challenges and opportunities.     

The prevalence of service excellence and the use of business process improvement methodologies in Australian universities

ABSTRACT

Service transformation is an increasingly common pursuit in the higher education sector, with university strategic plans frequently featuring a service excellence objective and the adoption of leaner and more sustainable service models. Previous studies agree that service excellence is intentional not incidental, and systematic not ad-hoc in nature, requiring a planned and structured approach with consistent and repeatable experiences. This study analysed public documents to discover the universities engaged in service excellence and efficiency endeavours and the prevalence of business process improvement (BPI) methodologies as a tool for this purpose. It is concluded that universities are increasingly focused on service excellence, institutional sustainability and BPI methodologies to enable institutional strategic objectives. The study suggests that future studies could focus on investigating and gaining primary evidence on the progress and success of universities in the service excellence and BPI space.     

The role of head of department in the pursuit of excellence

This article discusses the role and functions of heads of departments as analysed in the literature with particular reference to heads in one Australian university. Data on staff's expectations and perceptions of their head's role are examined.Staff from eight departments of the University of Queensland filled in a questionnaire designed to give feedback to heads. The results show clearly that staff attach great importance to the head's encouragement function: staff wanted their head to encourage good teaching in the department, to stimulate research and publication, and to take account of each staff member's special talents and interests.This was supported by data obtained from over one hundred structured interviews conducted with staff. They were asked, inter alia, what encouragement was given in their department to excellence in teaching and in research; what they would like to see done to encourage teaching and research more and what barriers to excellence existed in the department. Responses indicate that the majority of staff experienced no encouragement for excelling in teaching, whereas most departments and department heads encouraged active participation in research and publication by overt approval, funds, assistance with obtaining outside grants and a variety of other ways. Staff made suggestions on how to overcome the barriers to excellence; these were mostly realistic and practical and, in fact, implemented in those departments where staff felt encouraged in their pursuit of excellence.     

Recent Developments in the Funding of University Research

The UGC norm-based allocation of 1986, the current proposals for the rationalisation of departments, and the proposals of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils (ABRC) for R, X and T class universities are assessed against the actual operations of productive science departments and their patterns of expenditure on research as revealed born a recent sample survey. It is concluded that the UGC's norm-based allocation did not in any systematic way secure increases related to current research activity except for those cases where this came from the student number-based teaching element. Only the creation of larger departments seems likely to increase research output, and often that will best be achieved by increases in student numbers and their associated funding. Institutions similar to T class universities can be achieved by encouraging the recruitment of students at the expense of the public sector, but the distribution between R and X class universities is unsustainable.     

Excellence in doctoral supervision: an examination of authoritative sources across four countries in search of performance higher than competence

Supervision is generally recognised as playing a crucial role in the quality of a research student’s doctoral experience and their academic outcomes and, in common with most areas of higher education, there is an oft-stated desire to pursue excellence in this important area. Excellence in research degree supervision is, however, an elusive concept and on close scrutiny most of the discussions of high-quality supervision, even those that purport to be identifying excellence, refer to competence rather than excellence. This paper examines two potentially national authoritative perspectives from which excellence in research degree supervision might be explicated (codes of practice and learning and teaching awards) from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom but concludes that the complex nature of the activity and the complexity of the concept itself mean that rather than identifying excellence in supervision we can only respond to claims for excellence.     

Issues in the Management of Social Science Research Centres1

Recent years have seen a marked increase in the number, size and importance of social science research centres. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), government departments and the universities have variously been responsible for this development, which has accompanied a greater emphasis on applied and multi-disciplinary research. The business-orientation of the centres has encouraged a new, managerial approach to research activity. Here, issues are discussed which relate to corporate development and performance control, finance, personnel, strategy and development, external relations, dissemination and utilisation. It is concluded that centres need to consolidate their role, and that this can only be achieved with the assistance of the sponsoring institutions.     

卓越本科生科研训练体系构成要素及运行机制——基于美国高校实践的分析

本科生科研训练是培养创新人才的重要举措.美国高校在20世纪60年代开始实施本科生科研训练,迄今已经形成了较为完善的训练体系,积累了丰富的经验.美国专业机构—本科生科研理事会根据会员高校多年来的实践经验,总结出了美国本科生科研训练体系的12个构成要素,即目标定位、组织管理、校园文化、研究项目、配套课程、暑期研究计划、成果管理、激励措施、评价机制、资金支持、研究平台和师资力量.本研究结合美国高校实施本科生科研训练的具体案例,对这12个要素及其运行机制展开分析.     

Critical incidents as formative influences on the work of educational researchers: understanding an insider perspective through narrative enquiry

Drawing on insights from phenomenological sociology and various strands of socio-cultural theory, this paper reports the findings of a qualitative investigation into critical incidents as formative influences in the research orientation and research cultivation of 22 academics working in research-intensive university education departments. The study first outlines the context in which educational research has taken place, focusing on evidence of tension and conflict associated with differences in epistemological and professional orientation. The research findings indicate two ideal-type categories of educational research professional: the ‘intellectual-academic’, motivated primarily by the intellectual virtue of research excellence and accountability to the academic community; and the ‘humanistic-professional’, motivated by service to the wider community. It is concluded that a synergy of both orientations is necessary in producing quality research that is both rigorous and meaningful to a constituency of stakeholders extending beyond the immediate interests of academe.     

Disciplinary and Contextually Appropriate Approaches to Leadership of Teaching in Research‐Intensive Academic Departments in Higher Education

This paper reports aspects of an international study of leadership of teaching in 19 departments with outstanding teaching records in 11 research‐intensive universities. Leadership was found to take different forms in different discipline areas, in different organisational cultures, and in response to major problems affecting the department. While most of the heads conceived of leadership of teaching in similarly sophisticated ways, and there were other common themes across contexts, how these conceptions were evident in action to support and develop teaching was highly context‐dependent. To illustrate this point, two departments are contrasted in terms of leadership activities found most frequently across all 19 departments. It is clear from this comparison that teaching excellence was achieved in entirely different ways involving widely contrasting leadership behaviour. The paper argues that advice and guidance for heads of department on their leadership of teaching should pay careful attention to the context rather than make assumptions about the general applicability of leadership theory or advice.     

University Efficiency: Complementariness versus Trade‐off between Teaching,Research and Administrative Activities

University managers should be aware of the importance that efficiency has for their own universities, orientating their actions towards research and teaching excellence. This study estimates teaching and research efficiency of the different departments of a university and tests the complementariness versus trade‐off between them. The results obtained show high levels of efficiency for the departments analysed, which is important for budget allocation, as one of the main challenges faced by a university is the allocation of budgets to different departments. The results also support the trade‐off between teaching efficiency and research activity, the complementariness between teaching efficiency and research efficiency, between research efficiency and time deducted from teaching, as well as the complementariness between research efficiency and administration activity.     

Gender salary differences in economics departments in Japan

By using unique survey data, we conduct a detailed study of the gender salary gap within economics departments in Japan. Despite the presence of rigid pay scales emphasizing age and experience, there is a 7% gender salary gap after controlling for rank and detailed personal, job, institutional and human capital characteristics. This gender salary gap exists within ranks. We find no gender promotion differences. In addition, we find a concentration of the salary gap in public universities and in research oriented universities. Our results show no evidence that the gender salary gap is reducing over time, and reject the hypothesis that females’ choice between household work and market activities is responsible for the gender salary gap.     

The visible hand of research performance assessment

Far from allowing a governance of universities by the invisible hand of market forces, research performance assessments do not just measure differences in research quality, but yield themselves visible symptoms in terms of a stratification and standardization of disciplines. The article illustrates this with a case study of UK history departments and their assessment by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), drawing on data from the three most recent assessments (RAE 2001, 2008, REF 2014). Symptoms of stratification are documented by the distribution of memberships in assessment panels, of research active staff, and of external research grants. Symptoms of a standardization are documented by the publications submitted to the assessments. The main finding is that the RAEs/REF and the selective allocation of funds they inform consecrate and reproduce a disciplinary center that, in contrast to the periphery, is well-endowed with grants and research staff, decides in panels over the quality standards of the field, and publishes a high number of articles in high-impact journals. This selectivity is oriented toward previous distributions of resources and a standardized notion of “excellence” rather than research performance.