Academic practice: international and national contexts

Transcription

1 Academic practice: international and national contexts Concepts of academic practice vary considerably from country to country, and the terms used to describe its attributes may also differ significantly. What we have tried to do below is to provide a brief overview of this variation, which we hope and expect will get fleshed out during the conference. Following on from these notes are a) a brief glossary of UK terminology, and b) a list of terms that are used variably in different national contexts. In the UK, key policy initiatives relating to early career academics include a 1996 Government White Paper that emphasised the need for more effective career management of contract research staff (CRS). This led to a Research Careers 'Concordat' between higher education institutions and research funding bodies, designed to provide a career management framework for CRS. This was followed in 2000 by the Government-initiated Roberts Report, which recommended additional training for doctoral students as well as postdoctoral researchers, including those intending an academic career. This report led to Government funding for the development of broader professional and personal skills for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers being funded by the UK Research Councils. The Research Councils agreed on a joint skills training statement for the PhDs and postdoctoral researchers they fund which requires a certain number of days training per year in personal and professional skills for each student, and funds to support such training activities. As for career possibilities, recent reports show newly graduated doctoral students cannot expect to get academic positions. A survey of PhD graduate first destinations ( ) reported: 36% in research roles (all sectors); 22% postdoctoral researchers; and 14% higher education lecturers (more from the social sciences, arts and humanities than the sciences). The remaining 30% could be found, for instance, in finance, business and IT, and public administration. For those who find posts in higher education, those in research positions report uncertain career prospects and lack of clear career structures. Similarly, for lecturers, funding cuts and other changes have led to a tighter labour market and a growth in fixed-term and casual rather than permanent, tenured posts. Disincentives for both lecturer and university research positions include: uncertainty and insecurity due to lack of clear career pathways; low salaries in comparison with other sectors; and competitive, pressured environments which impact quality of life. This contrasts with reports of non-academic positions that are described as fulfilling and interesting. Perhaps it is not surprising then that there are reports of higher education institutions experiencing difficulties recruiting new academics, with a sizeable group also noting additional difficulties retaining them. Within Australia, a 1994 government funded study of the casualisation of research postgraduate employment showed that the proportion of contract researchers in universities had increased from around 28% in to 62% in Challenges associated with career advancement for contract researchers were further highlighted by a 1996 study commissioned by the Australian Research Council -- Australia's primary research funding body -- on their research fellowship schemes. The study showed that surprisingly few fellows went on to academic positions. To improve future academic employment prospects, the ARC subsequently introduced postdoctoral fellowships with a teaching and research option -- offered on a 75% ARC funding and 25% host institution funding basis. Holders of these fellowships spend a quarter of their time teaching or undertaking other academic duties. The

2 1998 government-initiated West report extended concerns with broadening the skills training of researchers to include doctoral students. A majority of Australian universities now offer generic capabilities programs for their PhD students, though these do not necessarily address the specialised set of capabilities and skills required for academia. In North America, since there are no mechanisms for national higher educational policies, initiatives originate through other means. In Canada, these have largely been driven by research funding councils as well as initiatives of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies an association of Deans of Graduate Studies. For example, a national study of postdoctoral fellows in 1998 showed that 70% of respondents felt that they had not received sufficient counselling for career planning. Nevertheless, it appears that relatively large numbers of doctoral graduates plan on postdoctoral positions, e.g., 34%. of PhD graduates. Whether or not, these individuals can expect a more positive experience of counselling for career planning than the earlier cohort remains unknown. In the USA, the need for better preparation of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers as future academics has been evident in the "Preparing Future Faculty" (PFF) initiative ( and the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate ( The PFF initiative is a national program of support for preparation programs for doctoral students intending an academic career. Launched in 1993, it provided 10 years of funding for the development of academic career preparation programs within individual institutions. Ongoing support since 2003 has been provided in the form of program design guidelines and publications emanating from the first 10 years, plus administrative support for ongoing and new programs. In 2002, the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate arose as a response to widespread concerns about poor preparation of doctoral students for subsequent employment, both in academia and elsewhere. The initiative, which recently ended, was a program of research and action aimed at improving doctoral education in American universities through work at the departmental level. It was premised on the idea of developing 'stewards of the discipline'. Nevertheless, a recent report based on a national survey of social science PhD graduates calls for better career preparation and better support for learning to manage careers. In Europe, policy related to early career academics has been largely driven by the Bologna Declaration which has as its basis the creation of a coherent European Higher Education Area as a means to a) ensure mobility and employability throughout Europe and b) improve international competitiveness and attractiveness of European higher education throughout the world. The Declaration encompasses a very concrete programme of action with specific objectives the ones pertinent here being: The restructuring of programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels, where the undergraduate is a prerequisite for a graduate programme and where an undergraduate diploma is relevant for the labour market; The creation of a common frame of reference to understand and compare diplomas; The reduction of impediments to student and teacher mobility. By the start of the 2006/07 academic year, the three-cycle structure was in place in virtually all signatory countries with doctoral studies regarded as the third cycle of higher education. Doctoral students are selected via an admissions procedure; applicants are required to present

3 an outline of their doctoral dissertation and appear for an interview. In their most recent meetings, the ministers of education of the EU emphasised that the normal workload in the third cycle in most countries should correspond to three to four years of full-time study, and highlighted the importance of research training as an integral part of the third cycle. Thus, in nearly every country, doctoral programmes include some form of research training (theoretical courses) on either a compulsory or optional basis in addition to individual research. It appears that data regarding PhD first destinations is not easily accessible in the EU. However Enders (2002) notes of the German context that post-doctoral experiences might range from more or less stable employment on a career ladder, or what is experienced as a prolonged job search process. From his study showed that German doctoral graduates are generally successful in finding employment, although periods of unemployment are reported, higher among females and social scientists. These doctoral graduates found employment in a range of sectors, including public and private institutions. Higher Education remained a dominant employer, varying by discipline (16% in electrical engineering, 32% social sciences, 53% mathematics). For those in the HE sector, fixed term contracts were becoming increasingly common (and more likely for females). In summary post-doctoral employment in some of the disciplines has a transitory character that is in the long run, however, successfully mastered by most of our respondents who found unlimited or long-term employment inside or outside higher education (p.502). Changes such as these highlight the need for greater consideration of how best to prepare today s doctoral students, research staff and postdoctoral researchers for future careers and to better understand their perspectives on what they are experiencing. Glossary of UK terms CETL CRS DIUS D.Phil HEA HEFCE Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning: a UK government funded programme intended to reward excellent teaching practice, and to further invest in that practice so that funding delivers substantial benefits to students, teachers and institutions. Contract Research Staff: generic term covering a wide range of people on short-term research contracts in UK universities; but often taken to mean post-doctoral researchers. Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills. Derived from two former government Departments - for Education and Skills, and for Science - this is effectively the UK government s Ministry for Higher (and Further) Education, with a remit to promote research, and widen participation in tertiary institutions. At Oxford, the Doctor of Philosophy degree is abbreviated D.Phil. but in other respects is equivalent to a Ph.D. elsewhere. Higher Education Academy: a government-funded institution (similar to the Carrick Institute in Australia) which aims to help institutions, discipline groups and all staff to provide the best possible learning experience for their students. Higher Education Funding Council for England: the body responsible for distributing public funds for higher education in England. Most HEFCE funding is distributed as block grants to institutions, allocated according to formulae which take account of certain factors within each institution, including the number and type of students, the subjects taught and the amount and quality of research undertaken.

4 The so-called binary line which distinguished UK universities from the more vocationally- orientated polytechnics was abolished in 1992 by the Conservative government led by John Major. The polytechnics were allowed to rebrand themselves as universities, and did so with some enthusiasm and flair; but the old dividing line still persists in the use of phrases such as pre and post HoD NPC PGRS Pre/post 92 universities Head of Department: in UK universities such roles are often considered onerous and isruptive of academic careers, and are frequently shared out on a rotating basis. National Postgraduate Committee: the NPC is a charity intended to advance, in the public interest, postgraduate education in the UK. Made up of postgraduate student representatives from educational institutions with postgraduate students, the NPC aims to promote the interests of postgraduates studying in the UK, while remaining politically non-aligned. Postgraduate Research Student: a term used to distinguish those postgraduates on track for research-based doctoral degree from those undertaking taught courses at Master s level. QAA Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education: an independent body established in 1997, funded by subscriptions from UK universities and colleges of higher education, and the main UK higher education funding bodies. QAA works with higher education institutions to define academic standards and quality, and carries out and publishes reviews against these standards. Assurance denotes an approach based on ensuring value for money through meeting standards, and differs from Enhancement, as below. RAE RCUK Roberts funding Russell group TQEF UK GRAD Research assessment exercise: a peer review exercise to evaluate the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, which is used to inform the selective distribution of funds by the UK higher education funding bodies. The current RAE, being carried out in and due to report in December 2008, is expected to be the last undertaken in the current format. Research Councils UK: RCUK is a strategic partnership between the seven UK Research Councils. RCUK was established in 2002 to enable the Councils to work together more effectively to enhance the overall impact and effectiveness of their research, training and innovation activities, contributing to the delivery of the Government s objectives for science and innovation. SET for Success was a 2002 review led by Sir Gareth Roberts, President of Wolfson College, Oxford, which concluded that many science PhD graduates lacked skills required by employers. In response, the government provided funding through the Research Councils to support the development of training opportunities for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in all subjects. This money is known colloquially as Roberts funding. An association of 20 research-intensive UK universities, formed at a meeting in 1994 at the Russell Hotel in central London. The group s members would regard themselves as having shared values at the leading edge of UK higher education. Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund: a HEFCE funding stream which has been used since 1999 to promote developments in teaching and learning. Enhancement connotes efforts to improve quality, as distinct from the QAA assurance approach based on maintaining standards. The so-called quality wars were an often unedifying feature of UK higher education in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The UK GRAD Programme works with universities, supervisors and other national organisations to support doctoral researchers in developing the skills they need to complete their research projects and to manage their careers. International variations in meaning of terms:

5 Academic: Faculty: Course: Programme: Module: In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, this term can refer to individuals, e.g., an academic, and is also used as an adjective to describe activities by academic staff. In Europe, it has a similar use; however, academic is also used as an adjective to describe programmes. In New Zealand, Australia and the UK, an institutional unit; in North America as a noun it can also refer to academics as a group and be used as an adjective equivalent in meaning to academic, i.e. faculty member/ academic staff, faculty development/ academic development. European usage is similar to the UK. In the UK, equivalent to what is called a program in North America. In Europe, course refers to the subjects taught or classes in a programme. In New Zealand-Australia, the term course is used both to refer to subject taught within a suite of such courses (i.e. programme) and to the suite itself, with the former becoming more common. In North America, this refers to a course of study; as regards doctoral education, there are often many more formal requirements than in programs elsewhere (UK, NZ-Australia); in Europe, it is a collection of courses also referred to as curriculum. In the UK, it refers to a part of a course usually assessed separately; some universities have adopted a modular approach, others have papers (meaning courses) which are often taught and assessed distinctively, but typically in a series of end-of-year exams. In Europe, it also represents a part of a course. In New Zealand and Australia, the term refers to a part of a course, as in the UK. Graduate/ Postgraduate/ research student: In the UK, those doing post-bachelor level study are usually termed postgraduates, whereas in North America they are referred to as graduates. In New Zealand-Australia and Europe, these individuals may sometimes be regarded as paid staff employees which is usually not the case in North America or the UK, even if similar teaching work is undertaken. In Europe, a distinction is made between bachelors, masters and doctoral students. In the latter category, PhD-students (preparing a PhD with a scholarship, having no teaching load) are differentiated from teaching assistants (paid by the university, having a teaching load) (This sounds far more straightforward than it is!!! In some Faculties PhD students are allowed to teach.) Professor: Lecturer: Research staff: In North America, this is a generic term that describes any academic staff member; elsewhere it is a term reserved to designate what in North America is called full professor. In the UK and Australia, the term generally used for academic staff to designate that they are teaching and researching; it also designates a certain position in terms of promotion with a range of terms used to designate movement towards professor-ship. In Europe, it often refers to teaching staff without a PhD. In the UK and NZ-Australia, sometimes called contract research staff, this category of employment designates individuals hired to conduct already funded research (in contrast with postdoctoral positions where the individual him/herself has been awarded funding); positions are temporary and can vary in length from a few months to several years; in Europe, this term refers to professors who don t teach; in North America, the term most frequently used would be research fellow or researcher. Postdoctoral fellow: A term used generally to designate an individual awarded funding to conduct research. Science: There is variation in the use of this term between European and English-speaking countries, with European use encompassing a broader range of activities and disciplines than in English-speaking countries.