Redundancies,re‐organisations,transfers and mergers in the higher education sector: Employment law and human resources aspects

This is part one of a paper based on a Keynote presentation delivered at the AUA Annual Conference, Promoting excellence in HE Management, at the University of Nottingham, 2–4 April 2007.     

Australian academics’ perspectives on quality and accountability

Abstract

Universities have been challenged as teaching as well as research institutions. On the one hand, universities have been required to teach more students and pay more attention to quality of teaching and educational programmes; on the other hand, there has been increasing focus on faculty research performance. This paper examines whether these are conflicting demands, or whether university faculty are able to fulfil these requirements simultaneously. In Norway, the number of university students almost doubled between 1987 and 1995. Norway is, therefore, a sound case to examine the impact of massification on university research.     

A Case for Mentor Challenge? The Problem of Learning to Teach Post-16

This article investigates a tension in mentoring in secondary Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England and Wales. Neither the ITT Standards nor the literature clarify which mentor strategies can be effective in the particular domain of the post-16 classroom. A case study was conducted on a sample of distance learning Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students and their mentors as the former learned to teach post-16. Five research instruments were developed and used iteratively to generate qualitative data. This revealed that ITT mentoring is inconsistent in relation to post-16 teaching. While some mentor support was given, opportunities presented for challenge were not taken up. The results illuminate the need for more effective models of post-16 mentoring in ITT, including the use of challenge alongside support. The conclusions have implications for mentors in secondary ITT, and will be a source of help for student teachers.     

Examining gender similarity and mentor’s supervisory status in mentoring relationships

This study examined the influence of mentor’s status (supervisor vs. non‐supervisor) and gender similarity (homogeneous vs. diversified) of mentor–protégé dyads on protégé’s perception of mentoring functions and outcomes. We collected and analyzed data from 217 mentor–protégé dyads comprised of working professionals from a variety of industries. Results of MANCOVA indicated that supervisory mentors provided more career development functions than non‐supervisory mentors. Mentor–protégé gender similarity and mentor’s supervisory status interacted to influence psychosocial support, career development, and career satisfaction. Key findings are discussed in terms of implications for future research and career counseling in industry and education.     

Reports on Books

This paper offers a case study of Rhyddings School as it rethinks its approach to school planning. It provides a critique of existing practice before outlining and developing a new framework for planning in the school. In evaluating a new model of planning, it provides a set of 'implications for schools' as a means of reviewing key aspects of the new model.     

Research News

In secondary schools, subjects dominate teaching and also the organizational structures. Typically, subject department heads perform a middle-management role in secondary schools and often this role is taken-for-granted and unquestioned. In this article, we examine the impact on secondary school culture and the resulting changes to practice when the department middle-management structure and roles are open to revision. We investigate the experiences of two schools that are part of a longitudinal study on reculturing and restructuring in all secondary schools in one school district in Ontario, Canada. Our research indicates that structural change initiated by school level participants is a prerequisite to real change and that structural changes preceded cultural changes. However, it is the process of creating the new structures that is the key consideration as mandating an alternative might not be facilitative of cultural change. The primary research question guiding this article is: what impact does involvement in restructuring a middle-management organizational model have on the culture of a school and the change process experienced by staff members?