Changing European Academics

European academics have been at the centre of ongoing higher education reforms, as changes in university governance and funding have led to changes in academic work and life. Discussing the academic profession, and most importantly, its increasing stratification across Europe, Changing European Academics explores the drivers of these changes as well as their current and expected results. This comparative study of social stratification, work patterns and research productivity: Examines eleven national, higher education systems across Europe (Austria, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) Provides a panoramic view of the European academic profession Confronts misconceptions of academic work and life with compelling results and detailed analyses Discusses new dilemmas inherent to the changing social and economic environments of higher education A thoughtful and comprehensive study of the changing academic profession in Europe, this book will be of interest to higher education practitioners, managers and policy makers, both in Europe and globally. Changing European Academics will benefit anyone whose work relates to changing academic institutions and changing academic careers.

This book presents the analysis of the representative survey about the academic profession in twelve European countries. Higher education in Europe has experienced a substantial change in recent years: Expansion progresses further, the expectation to deliver useful contributions of knowledge to the “knowledge society” is on the rise, and efforts to steer academic work through external forces and strong international management are more widespread than ever. Representative surveys of the academic profession in twelve European countries show how professors and junior staff at universities and other institutions of higher education view the role of higher education in society and their professional situation and how they actually shape their professional tasks. Academics differ across Europe substantially in their employment and working conditions, their views and their activities. Most of them favour the preservation of a close link between teaching and research and feel responsible for both theory and practice. Most consider efforts to enhance academic quality and social relevance as compatible. The overall satisfaction with their professional situation is rather high.

This book explores the perceptions of academic staff and representatives of institutional leadership about the changes in academic careers and academic work experienced in recent years. It emphasizes standardisation and differentiation of academic career paths, impacts of new forms of quality management on academic work, changes in recruitment, employment and working conditions, and academics’ perceptions of their professional contexts. The book demonstrates a growing diversity within the academic profession and new professional roles inhabiting a space which is neither located in the core business of teaching and research nor at the top level management and leadership. The new higher education professionals tend to be important change agents within the higher education institutions not only fulfilling service and bridging functions but also streamlining academic work to make a contribution to the reputation and competitiveness of the institution as a whole. Based on interviews with academic staff, this book explores the situation in eight European countries: Austria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland.

This book is the first of several with the results of a collaborative European project supported by the European Science Foundation on changes in the academic profession in Europe (EUROAC). It provides a short description of the ESF EUROHESC programme and the particular forms of international collaborative research projects which are funded under the umbrella of this programme. It then outlines the EUROAC project. This project has chosen three foci (governance, professionalisation, academic careers) to analyse changes in the work of the academic profession. The first results in the form of in-depth literature reviews constitute the content of the book. These eight literature reviews about the state of the art of existing research feature the various dimensions of the overall theme. A particular emphasis is put on factors leading to changes in the work tasks of the academic profession in Europe and how the academic profession is coping with these new challenges. Thus, the book provides a state of the art account of existing research about the following themes: main results of previous studies on the academic profession; the academic profession and their interaction with new higher education professionals; professional identities in higher education; extending work tasks: civic mission and sustainable development; academic careers in academic markets; the changing role of academics in the face of rising managerialism; the influence of quality assurance, governance, and relevance on the satisfaction of the academic profession.

Globalization, the information age, and the rise of the knowledge-based economy are significantly transforming the way we acquire, disseminate, and transform knowledge. And, as a result, knowledge production is becoming closer and more directly linked to economic competitiveness. This evolution is also putting new and urgent demands on academic institutions to adjust to the changing needs of society and economy. In particular, there is growing pressure on the institutions of higher education and research in developed economies to find and affirm their new role in the national innovation system. Their counterparts in developing economies need to define their role in supporting emerging structures of the innovation system. This book examines the role of universities and national research institutes in social and economic development processes. Featuring contributions that showcase initiatives and innovations from around the world, including China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe, it offers timely insight that will be of interest to policymakers, university administrators, economic and social leaders, and researchers alike.

This volume explores the various issues that have an impact on the academic career of professionals in European higher education. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are currently subject to profound uncertainties and are more challenged than ever on quality issues, both with regard to their conceptual nature and in the extension and amendment of their mission. Divided into three parts, the first part of the book deals with the challenges and issues in higher education academic careers. It addresses such topics as the influence of European policies and changes, the cultural differences in the preferences of academics for teaching or research, the increasing inequality in working conditions for academics, and the changing nature of academic strategy in the transformational world of higher education with its implications for academic structures, work and careers. The second part of the book analyses the findings of a national study on satisfaction of academics in Portuguese higher education, carried out at the Centre for Research on Higher Education Policies (CIPES). The third part offers a comparative analysis of a number of national European case studies, focusing on the changing relevance of and increasing expectations around academic careers. The concluding chapter discusses whether the academic profession is merely an artificial term that has to do with a heterogeneous range of occupations, or if there are important common elements of the academic profession across European Higher Education systems.

This book provides an overview on the major findings of a questionnaire survey of academic profession in international perspective. More than 25,000 professors and junior staff at universities and other institutions of higher education at almost 20 countries from all over the world provide information on their working situation, their views and activities. The study “The Changing Academic Profession” is the second major study of its kind, and changes of views and activities are presented through a comparison of the findings with those of the earlier study undertaken in the early 1990s. Major themes are the academics’ perception of their societal and institutional environments, the views on the major tasks of teaching, research and services, their professional preferences and actual activities, their career, their perceived influence and their overall job satisfaction. Emphasis is placed on the influence of recent changes in higher education: the internationalisation and globalisation, the increasing expectation to provide evidence of the relevance of academic work, and finally the growing power of management at higher education institutions. Overall, the academics surveyed show that worldwide discourses and trends in higher education put their mark on the academic profession, but differences by country continue to be noteworthy. Academics consider themselves to be more strongly exposed to mechanism of regulations, incentives and sanctions as well as various assessments than in the past; yet their own freedom, and responsibilities and influence shape their identity more strongly and are reflected in widespread professional satisfaction.

All over Europe, universities are moving over to English as the language of instruction. This development has been accelerated by global forces, and its pedagogical consequences have yet to be fully explored. This book examines this situation from the point of view of students and teachers, focusing particularly on the acquisition of English language writing skills in European university contexts. It takes an academic approach, and is firmly grounded in the bibliography on teaching academic writing to second language users in English-speaking countries, as well as in the bibliography on teaching English in Europe in higher education. In addition to providing sound pedagogical guidelines, it also brings together the most recent critiques of current practice and an overview of the innovative approaches devised in the last ten years. This is a book for all those who are involved in the changing European university scenario: English teachers and writing instructors, lecturers faced with the challenge of teaching their courses in English, university administrators and decision-makers.