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1.
Efforts to systematically integrate graduate attributes across university curricula have relied on academic staff acceptance and ability to translate top-down policy into teaching practice. The literature and anecdotal reports over the past two decades show limited success in the area using this approach. Why is this so? Teaching staff across 16 Australian universities were surveyed, as part of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council-funded grant, regarding their beliefs about graduate attributes and their willingness and confidence to teach and assess them. The study found that although 73% of academic staff surveyed believed graduate attributes were important, there was a substantial difference between beliefs and actual emphasis reported in practice. We consider the major influences on the teaching and assessment of graduate attributes, the implications for policy development and implementation, and propose a rethink in relation to how to work towards improved graduate attribute outcomes in universities.  相似文献   

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The paper reports the findings of a small‐scale qualitative investigation into academic staff perceptions of research cultures across 10 English and Scottish university education departments. The study sheds light on four interrelated issues: the nature of research cultures, perceived facilitators, perceived constraints and the emotional landscape of working within a research environment. The findings indicate that perceptions vary according to staff academic and scientific capital, largely determined by career background and the type of university institution in which they work. While there is evidence of a culture of performativity and intensification, there is also evidence of widespread commitment to (and enjoyment of) educational research, especially where its value is broadly conceived to include outputs of applied research (including action research) as well as basic and strategic research. It is concluded that a broader policy conception of what constitutes value in research, coupled with a deeper understanding of the complex social and emotional factors that impact on academic well‐being, will be important to building both commitment and long‐term research capacity.  相似文献   

5.
This article discusses the processes and outcomes of an attempt to encourage academic staff to use a web‐supported learning package in a UK post‐1992 university. The researcher adopts an ‘insider’ approach to research, drawing on participant observation, an analysis of policy documents and a small number of semi‐structured interviews. The view of organisations as forming unitary ‘cultures’ that can be easily transformed, evident in some literatures on managing change, is critiqued. Instead, the existence of diverse cultures within universities is acknowledged, and conflict between groups is viewed as a useful method of problem solving. While no dramatic increase in the numbers of staff using the new technology was observed in the first year of implementation, the research suggests this is viewed not as a failure but indicative of the incremental and complex process of change within higher education institutions.  相似文献   

6.
Increasing demands on academic work have resulted in many academics working long hours and expressing dissatisfaction with their working life. These concerns have led to a number of faculties and universities adopting workload allocation models to improve satisfaction and better manage workloads. This paper reports on a study which examined the workload models in use across a large Australian university. Analysis revealed that the various models could be categorised into three types. The pros, cons and impacts of these three categories of model were compared from both a management and staff perspective. The study found that while models of all types can lay the foundation for equitable distribution of workload, some categories of model can have unintended consequences with negative effects on the work culture and hence staff satisfaction.  相似文献   

7.
Di Adams 《Higher Education》1998,36(4):421-435
Over the last three decades there have been numerous surveys in Australian universities which have attempted to describe the perceptions of academic staff to various aspects of their roles. Each of these surveys appears to have been inspired by changes resulting from contemporaneous government policies and/or community expectations. Calls for “Efficiency and Effectiveness”, “Accountability”, and “Quality and Diversity”have coincided with massive expansion in the higher education system, the change from a binary system to the Unified National System, and consequent changes to student profiles, funding arrangements, and academic workloads. Academic culture, with its tradition of freedom and autonomy, has been besieged by the alien culture of managerialism with its own vocabulary of “client”, “quality assurance”, and “product”: but has this assault made any difference to how academics perceive their work and their perceptions of quality in university teaching ? This paper reports on an analysis of data (relating to academics' perceptions of their work) from surveys conducted in universities from the late 70s and throughout the 80s and 90s. The paper analyses, compares and contextualises academic perceptions across these decades, and draws some conclusions about the perseverence of academic culture under siege.  相似文献   

8.
The purpose of this article is to examine the validity of perceptions by academic staff about their past and present workload and working hours. Retrospective assessments are compared with time‐series data. The data are drawn from four mail surveys among academic staff in Norwegian universities undertaken in the period 1982–2008. The findings show that many academic staff retrospectively perceive that expectations of their work and task performance have increased and hence that they now work longer hours. In contrast, when time‐ series data are used to measure changes in time use (on an aggregate level) no empirical evidence is found in support of this claim; instead, a slight decline in the average number of weekly working hours can be observed. Two possible reasons for this disparity are discussed. First, that heavier workloads do not necessarily imply that academic staff work longer hours. Second, that younger generations of academic staff may report fewer work hours than previous counterparts.  相似文献   

9.
Australian social scientists generally are highly critical of Commonwealth Government higher education policy and funding levels, and the new commercial, entrepreneurial and managerial university environment. They are frustrated with increased workloads, higher degrees of regulation and reporting requirements, incompetence of university management and often deteriorating social relations within academic departments. At the same time, many social scientists have proved to be remarkably adaptable, showing high degrees of interest in and commitment to their teaching and research, impressive levels of research productivity and substantial involvement in providing policy advice to government and in commercial activities, including recruiting fee‐paying domestic and international students, consultancies and attracting external research funds. Many work effectively with colleagues or in research teams, and often publish jointly with colleagues from their own and other institutions. Despite strong research links with government agencies, respondents report that their research is primarily driven by intrinsic interest and to generate inputs to teaching, rather than by utilitarian motives.  相似文献   

10.
Modelling is a powerful learning tool in any professional discipline. This paper describes how a group of academic developers attempted to model practice as an underlying strategy for introducing academic staff to the possibilities and problems of student centred flexible learning. Practice was modelled through a flexibly delivered Graduate Certificate in Higher Education available to staff of the university. Modelling practice was manifest in a number of ways including staff development, new course design and implementation and the development of purpose designed software for teaching. The process was also explicitly designed to act as a team building and staff development exercise for the staff of the academic development unit.  相似文献   

11.
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) introduced a performance appraisal system (PAS) designed to improve performance indicators across the board in Public Service including academic/faculty staff at the University of Zimbabwe as part of a nation wide strategy. The Public service is a body responsible for all civil workers including academic staff, whose responsibility is to lecture to students, provide university to the community and conduct research activities. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of five years of PAS on productivity and job satisfaction of academic staff. A random sample of academic staff was studied using questionnaires and interviews. Job satisfaction and some indices of productivity decreased by half following introduction of PAS. A possible contributory factor for the decline in job satisfaction was that PAS was introduced without adequate preparation and when the socio‐cultural environment was not conducive to its implementation. This study underpins the importance of community ownership of interventions targeted at performance management improvement prior to their implementation.  相似文献   

12.
The principles of social inclusion have been embraced by institutions across the higher education sector but their translation into practice through pedagogy is not readily apparent. This paper examines perceptions of social inclusion and inclusive pedagogies held by academic staff at an Australian university. Of specific interest were the perceptions of teaching staff with regard to diverse student populations, particularly students from low socio-economic (LSES) backgrounds, given the institution's reasonably high proportion of LSES student enrolment (14%). A mixed-method approach was utilised: (i) in-depth interviews with a representative sample of academic staff and (ii) an online survey targeting all academic staff across the institution. The results point to the dual responsibilities of students and institutions in enacting inclusivity in order to move beyond reductive standpoints that simply apportion blame.  相似文献   

13.
This paper describes a study of how academic development units use on‐line technologies for academic staff development. Changes in technology and in the academic workplace are making it increasingly possible to use on‐line learning opportunities for professional development, and on‐line learning environments might thus be expected to provide opportunities for university teachers to reflect on their teaching practice and share these insights and experience with colleagues within and across disciplines. The study reported here reviewed 31 web sites in Australia and the UK to determine what range of aims of academic staff development where being met in their implementation of on‐line learning. The paper concludes that in most contexts the World Wide Web was considered useful for the administrative rather than the educational needs of academic staff.  相似文献   

14.
The traditional German system of academic appointments and careers has recently become a focus of policy reorganisation. The article analyses the ongoing debates and changes on the basis of an examination of the origins and overall function of the academic career system. It is argued that the recruitment, promotion, and appointment of academic staff are seen as more important issues in countries, like Germany, where they shape the institutional pattern of higher education and where they are a major link to the state and society.  相似文献   

15.
In changing times for higher education that are dominated by a neoliberal ideology, we set out to uncover how Heads of Departments (HoDs) perceive their role with respect to supporting their staff and their academic freedom. Freedom to pursue academic research is seen as key to the generation of new knowledge yet it is potentially constrained by funding regimes and university accountability systems. As HoDs operate at the interface between university systems and individual academic projects, how they perceive their role can have a profound influence on the working environment of their departmental staff. The research study is located in two successful departments in a research intensive university in England. The study shows that the HoDs were not captured by the neoliberal discourse and aimed to protect their staff so they could ‘get on with their work’. In so doing they interpreted university demands to the best advantage of their departments but were not active in challenging university driven changes, thus raising questions about the effects of accommodating to change, so risking incremental change, and of how less successful departments might be able to protect their staff and their academic freedom.  相似文献   

16.
Abstract

The role of the academic developer mirrors that of the current day academic. It is increasingly diverse and complex. Staff employed in academic development units are expected to respond to the needs of individual academics and are also expected to provide leadership in teaching and learning, conduct research into higher education, contribute to policy on a broad range of issues, and undertake community service. In addition they are expected to take responsibility for their own professional development. They are constantlyjuggling priorities of personal, professional and organizational commitments. To maintain competence in the face of multiple demands there must be significant overlap between work and learning. The learning opportunities inherent in working within a large multi‐dimensional organization must be acknowledged and embraced through the concept of a ‘learning organization’. It is important that the organizational culture of the Academic Development Unit (ADU) values learning, encourages reflection and fosters collaborative practice. This paper outlines an organizational model of academic development highlighting the opportunities for intervention at the level of organizational culture, staff development and student learning. It also suggests strategies for organizing and managing an ADU that provides a positive model of an effective working and learning environment.  相似文献   

17.
In the last decade there has been a shift in the discourses around professional staff in higher education that has been influenced by neoliberal agenda that focused on driving education reforms. Earlier discussions centring around nomenclature variations have progressed to those about creating and developing borderless professionals operating in the third space – a notional space where professional staff and academic staff with diverse and valuable skills work as equal professional partners on complex and multifaceted projects. This article looks at the evolution of the debates around professional staff. It considers how the notions of professionalism and professionalisation are being reconceptualised in the third space. Discussion progresses towards capability building and developmental opportunities of aspiring third space professional staff in higher education settings. Possible pathways of engaging with and empowering professional staff in designing their future careers and professional identities are considered. Building a community of research practices under the auspices of the Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) and engaging postgraduate students in the university third space project work are proposed as potential areas for further research in the field of professional staff capability building.  相似文献   

18.
Space has been of growing significance in social theory in recent years, yet, explorations of it in the scholarship of higher education have been limited. This is surprising, given the critical role space has in shaping staff and students' engagement with the university. Taking a practice-based approach and focusing on academic identities, this article analyses the spatial experience of an institution by defamiliarising spaces encountered in everyday work. We identify formative pressures upon institutional space, and how space then shapes experience: university spaces are designed for one purpose but come to be used for many, so that working within them can be a diverse and contradictory experience. The identification of academics with spaces is complex, and there are no simple experiences of belonging; rather, there is a constant project of identity-formation and change within mutable spaces.  相似文献   

19.
Lurking on the fringes of university culture are academic identities that do not fit into the usual disciplinary communities. Aiming to explore the experience of ‘being academic’ when not linked directly to a discipline, this paper examines the stories of a diverse group of SoTL scholars who work in a centralised multi-campus academic skills support centre in an Australian university. Framed as group auto-ethnography, the paper inquires into the everyday experience of these academics through narrative analysis of multiple first-person accounts and makes apparent the monstrousness of de-affiliated academic identities. Despite diverse disciplinary backgrounds, the author-participants found that they now shared a tripartite academic identity formed through the negotiation of three roles: the teacher, the disciplinarian, and the educational researcher. Using the chimaera, a mythical three-headed monster as an organising metaphor, this paper aims to provide agency and visibility for often under-represented and unacknowledged academic identities.  相似文献   

20.
Academic workloads in online learning are influenced by many variables, the complexity of which makes it difficult to measure academic workloads in isolation. While researching issues associated with academic workloads, professional development stood out as having a substantive impact on academic workloads. Many academics in applied health degrees commence their educational careers as specialists or experts within their profession, rather than as professional educators. New educators may have limited access to professional development when orientating to their new role. The available professional development focuses on technological and presentation aspects, rather than pedagogy in practice, increasing workloads and adding complexity without the understanding. This study argues that academics become empowered to better understand and manage their workloads through the implementation of targeted professional development, as well as the use of clear institutional frameworks for instructional design. A framework for course design (LATARE) is presented as part of this study.  相似文献   

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