The work of an academic: Jack of all trades,or master of one?

Abstract

This paper stems from conversations between the authors who recently came to work together in staff and educational development. Having pursued different academic careers in Higher Education (HE), we questioned whether we had a common understanding of our academic community. In particular, we discussed two aspects. First, the extent to which our different disciplinary backgrounds influenced our perspectives on academic practice and our attitudes and approaches to staff and educational development. If we held different views on academic practice, how many other variations were we likely to encounter? Second, we felt it important to be sensitive to the needs of our colleagues in terms of their practices. The research that emanated from our discussions began with an empirical study, reported in this paper. We explore tensions between the various work activities performed by academics at the University of Sheffield. Eighty staff maintained a diary over a specified week early in the academic year 1997‐98. They recorded time spent on the activities of research, teaching, administration, external work, and professional development. Biographical data, including staff grade, length of service in HE, and length of service at the University were collected via a questionnaire attached to the diary. It would appear that the majority of academics surveyed support a role in both teaching and research, with a preference to spend more time on research at the expense of administration but not at the expense of teaching. These empirical data help us to understand more about the role of academics in changing times, and how we, as staff and educational developers, might become more effective and efficient.     

Health Science Curriculum Reform: A framework for evaluation

This paper presents a framework for evaluating curriculum changes undertaken in the University of Sydney's Faculty of Health Sciences. In a climate of shrinking resources for higher education in Australia and an international move away from 'mono-disciplinary' educational practices, the Faculty of Health Sciences has undertaken curriculum reform to decrease the staff time associated with preparing and delivering many versions of similar units of study and increase the opportunities for disciplinary mingling at an undergraduate level. Twenty-nine cross-disciplinary units of study in which students from a range of disciplines will work together have been introduced to replace 100 units of study unique to individual disciplines. It is expected that the curriculum changes will create savings in terms of staff time that can be diverted to other activities, such as research, reduce the workload demands of assessment on staff and students and improve students' learning experiences, particularly with regard to working in teams, multidisciplinary teaching and learning environments and overall course satisfaction. The paper presents a framework of cost-consequence analysis for evaluating the curriculum changes and presents some preliminary comparative data.     

Academic development units and the improvement of teaching

A survey of those educational development practices which directors of educational (academic) development units in Australia found most effective in their institutions for the improvement of teaching was conducted in late 1983. The responses are presented and discussed.Academic staff are one of the targets of educational development. A series of interviews with 100 academic staff of the University of Queensland at about the same time confirmed that the approaches taken by units for improving teaching are approved of by staff. In particular staff recognised and valued the connection between evaluation and development.The staff development programme at the University of Queensland responded to the expressed needs of staff for specific developmental activities. It is described as one example of a systematic approach to staff development with emphasis on formal workshops/seminar sessions and evaluation of teaching. Practicalities and problems are discussed.This article is derived from an invited paper to the conference, Tertiary Teaching. Techniques for Improvement - The Australian Experience, University of Western Australia, 18 May 1984.     

Preparing for new academic roles: An holistic approach to development

Abstract

In recent years there has been sustained emphasis in many countries on preparing academic staff for their teaching role. However, the necessary emphasis on teaching has distracted attention from the fact that university teachers are facing many other complex demands. University teachers are being appointed from a greater range of backgrounds and types of experience and performing an increasingly diverse range of roles. Moreover, while the emphasis has tended to be on the needs of full‐time tenurable staff, the numbers of casual and contract staff have grown. While much has been achieved, staff development provision is not coordinated, resources are not necessarily provided, centralized schemes do not link with departmental activities and responsibilities are often ambiguous.

The paper identifies some of the influences on preparation for academic roles being faced today and argues that new frameworks are needed. It suggests that a holistic view should be adopted: one which places as central the staff members and their roles, and which emphasizes negotiation and flexibility in response to the diversity of academic activities. The paper outlines the dimensions of such an approach.     

我国研究型大学人才培养若干问题的实证研究

研究型大学是20世纪世界教育与科技迅猛发展的结果,是以科研和培养高级创新性人才为目标的高水平大学的集合体,因此研究型大学的人才概念包括优秀的科研教学骨干和一流的研究生两个方面。研究型大学依靠自身强大的师资、一流的科研设施和雄厚的经济基础在人才培养方面发挥着不可替代的作用。以清华大学、北京大学、南京大学等15所国内研究型大学为例进行实证研究和分析,并从学校的教学、管理、科研和经费投入四个方面提出了四点政策建议。     

关于市级开放大学师资队伍建设的思考

办好开放大学是国家教育发展的战略目标,师资队伍是开放大学最重要的人力资源,是办好开放大学的关键所在。开放大学的新型教育理念对师资队伍建设提出了更高的要求。从某市级开放大学师资队伍现状的调研情况看,还存在着高级职称人数偏低、专业结构不合理及外聘老师管理难等问题,应重视学科建设,强化中青年教师培养,完善教师管理制度,加强教学团队建设,提升教师科研能力,只有这样才能建设一支高水平的开放大学师资队伍,满足教学科研的需要。     

Monitoring the Use of a Staff Student Liaison Committee for Feedback in Quality Engineering Education

The paper explores the use of a staff student liaison committee (SSLC) as one of the mechanisms for assuring quality in civil engineering education. The School of Civil Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, is used as a case study. The school has a SSLC which meets about six times per year and has representatives of all undergraduate courses and some academic staff. It was thought that the SSLC was well regarded by staff and students and contributed to the learning experience of students within the school. A questionnaire was used to ascertain the views of staff and students regarding the effectiveness of the committee in promoting good quality education. The findings indicated that the SSLC was playing an important role, but that it was not as well regarded as academic staff thought, and that many students were not fully aware of its activities. The school has used the findings to adopt new methods of distributing information to the student body and for ascertaining student opinion, principally electronically.     

高校图书馆应该积极面向社区服务

长期以来,高校图书馆服务对象都是校内师生员工,最大限度满足校内的教学和科研需要。随着知识经济的发展,人们对图书信息的需求与日俱增,要求高校图书馆向社区开放的社会呼声越来越高。高校图书馆应该积极采取对策,主动面向社区服务。     

宜春学院龙舟运动的发展现状与对策分析

运用文献资料法、专家访谈法,对宜春学院龙舟队运动的开展现状进行研究,发现目前存在着开展范围小、龙舟运动的可持续发展不够重视、教学资源匮乏等问题.同时对影龙舟运动发展的因素进行分析,探讨式提出了要明确发展目标,加快龙舟队产业化发展,加强科研力量等建议,旨在推动宜春学院龙舟队运动的可持续发展.     

研究型大学国际化发展的实践与探索

国际化是研究型大学发展的必然趋势。文章通过对我国研究型大学在办学理念、师资队伍、学生、科学研究、课程、合作办学等方面国际化的探索和实践的调研,对研究型大学国际化发展模式进行了归纳总结,对存在的不足进行了分析,并对高校加快国际化进程提出了政策建议。     

Staff Development in Problem-based Learning

It is argued here that for problem-based learning (PBL) to succeed, a sound programme of staff development is required. This paper highlights, from both the literature and from experience, that there is limited research into the process and management of PBL staff development. The current shift towards PBL within higher education suggests that staff development needs to be a key component in any PBL implementation strategy. This paper focuses on the experience of introducing PBL into Nursing and Midwifery curricula at the University of Dundee. It is argued that the staff development described played a key role in the effectiveness of the subsequent implementation of PBL. The key components of such a programme are described with evaluatory evidence to support its efficacy. Recommendations are made for those considering implementing PBL into the curriculum.     

Developing a Vision for Teacher Education Programmes: A Values‐based Approach

This article presents one approach to the development of initial teacher education programmes that are based on a vision, premissed on values shared consensually by faculty staff and students. The article first provides a brief historical background of the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, where this values‐based approach was attempted. It addresses some of the key problems faced in the development of a coherent and organic course of studies with students following graduate and post‐graduate courses, and gives an account of the way some of these problems were addressed. It is claimed that the approach adopted at the University of Malta can help other teacher educators in clarifying objectives as they set out to create coherent programmes that provide a sense of mission based on identifiable values and principles.     

Future and changing roles of staff in distance education: a study to identify training and professional development needs

Abstract

The roles of distance education teaching staff are changing, necessitating role clarity and the development of appropriate competency frameworks. This article investigates the perceptions of the teaching and research staff at the University of South Africa, regarding the current and future roles of distance educators, their own competencies in each role and training that they require in order to address competencies required in these future roles. This research forms part of a larger project that focuses on capacity and continuous professional development processes that are necessary to train staff to be prepared for these changing roles. A quantitative web-based survey was sent to all academic (teaching and research) staff at the University of South Africa. Key results indicate that competencies in the roles of technology and instructional design have emerged as crucial for distance educators, and that future training programmes need to be developed to support these areas.     

The history of UTAUT model and its impact on ICT acceptance and usage by academicians

This paper started with the review of the history of technology acceptance model from TRA to UTAUT. The expected contribution is to bring to lime light the current development stage of the technology acceptance model. Based on this, the paper examined the impact of UTAUT model on ICT acceptance and usage in HEIs. The UTAUT model theory was verified using regressions analysis to understand the behavioral intention of the ADSU academic staffs’ acceptance and use of ICT in their workplace. The research objective is to measure the most influential factors for the acceptance and usage of ICT by ADSU academic staff and to identify the barriers. Two null hypotheses were stated: (1) the academic staff of ADSU rejects acceptance and usage of ICT in their workplace. (2) UTAUT does not predict the successful acceptance of ICT by the academic staff of the Adamawa State University. In summary, our findings shows that the four constructs of UTAUT have significant positive influence and impact on the behavioral intention to accept and use ICT by the ADSU academic staff. This shows that university academic staff will intend to use ICT that they believe will improve their job performance and are easy to use. The facilitating conditions such as appropriate hardware, software, training and support should be in place by the management. In the Adamawa State University, EE and SI are found to be the most influential predictors of academic staff acceptance of ICT and use among the four constructs of UTAUT. The greatest barriers are time and technical support for staff. Knowledge gained from the study is beneficial to both the university academic staff and the Nigerian ICT policy makers.     

Opportunity costs associated with the provision of student services: a case study of web-based lecture technology

Universities aim to provide services that are not only beneficial to students but also efficient relative to possible alternative services. Using opportunity cost, this study considers staff and student perceptions of the usefulness and valuation of web-based lecture technology (WBLT). It reveals that a quarter of students did not use WBLT while many staff members thought WBLT had a negative impact on their face-to-face teaching. Further, over a third of students sampled said they would not be affected if WBLT were not made available and many staff members felt constrained by WBLT technology. Some staff members spent a lot of time preparing WBLT while others eschewed the technology altogether. Nevertheless, a relatively small number of students place enormous value on WBLT, as do some staff, even if only simple audio of lectures are provided. The academic policy implications of this study suggest that university provision of WBLT could take into account the opportunity cost of WBLT use as a valuation-basis, possibly recovering costs through extra fees. This would allow for improved decision-making by university administrators and facilitate a move towards a useful measurement basis of WBLT. A wider academic policy implication is to consider whether all universities should produce and deliver WBLT at all and to what extent it should encourage staff to develop enhanced WBLT. Provision of sophisticated WBLT or any other service for students bears an opportunity cost in terms of less preparation by staff for face-to-face lessons or other effective teaching or research.     

The Birmingham Outreach Programme: The continued training of nursery nurses beyond NVQ III

Some of the recent debates and discourses about higher education have embraced the development of shared aims and values within the professional context. The opportunity to engage in critical reflexive pedagogy is being widely acknowledged as an important element in the continuing professional development in the sector. In this paper a case study model of professional development practice is outlined: the Teaching Development Group at the University of Gloucestershire. As part of a review of its own organizational structure for some aspects of professional development, a multi‐method research project was undertaken during 2001. The first phase was a questionnaire survey of the university's academic staff to establish some baseline data and to plot general patterns and trends. This generated a database of 101 returns; a response rate of 31%. The second phase was a series of four ‘focus group’ meetings to develop a more nuanced understanding of the key themes and issues that emerged from the survey. These highlighted the positive spirit in which the scheme was received in the first instance, the difference of opinion over the direction taken by different groups and agenda setting, and some perceptions about a formal framework for teaching observation as part of on‐going professional development. From the perceptions of preferences and/or optimal practice identified in the two phases of the research, a scheme of this kind has the potential to contribute effectively to professional development when appropriately resourced, small, cognate groups have autonomy and when there is a clear differentiation between on‐going staff development and formal appraisal activities.     

XX高校教学科研人员绩效考评案例研究

文章在对我国XX高校现有绩效考评现状进行调查分析的基础上,依据我国教学科研人员绩效考评指标体系,从能力素质、工作环境、工作过程、工作业绩等四个方面对该校教学科研人员进行360度全方位考评和数据分析。分析结果显示,该指标体系适合XX高校教学科研人员的绩效考评,其考评结果对该校教学科研人员的专业发展和绩效激励具有促进作用;与此同时,我们也发现XX高校在教学科研绩效管理等方面存在一些问题。另外,该指标体系的某些指标设置不合理、一些关键指标体现不明显以及某些指标标度描述不清晰,容易造成一些误解。总之,通过绩效考评的应用,改变了XX高校原来的"德、能、勤、绩"评价模式,提高了XX高校的人力资源管理水平。