Attitudes of academic staff from different stages of their proficiency in research and teaching activities in sports sciences: A case study of the University of Montenegro

Abstract

The goal of this research was the identification of differences between academic staff in sports sciences based on their proficiency from early-career researchers to experts related to different academic activities. A survey of professors from the University of Montenegro from different stages of their proficiency was conducted. Data collection included two standardized tools: 1) a questionnaire (N=23 respondents) and 2) interviews (N=6 respondents) about different academic activities, such as writing, researching, teaching, and learning. The results obtained revealed a lack of formal writing training as a barrier in academic writing, as well as other activities, including workloads (e.g., teaching, administration (54.6%)) and lack of time generally (45.5%) for early-career researchers. In the context of teaching support, early-career researchers confirmed a higher position to develop teaching competencies compared with expert teachers. Generally, the results showed that centralized support for teachers at this institution exists more for research than teaching activities at all career stages, which was expected according to standards and conditions for career progress. The theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.