Academics’ perceptions of their professional contexts

Abstract

The prioritisation of research over teaching by institutions impacts upon the teaching and learning experiences of academics and students. Quality review and teaching performance focus on outcomes as opposed to providing the necessary inputs for academics to meet the needs of diverse student populations and to engage with a range of appropriate pedagogical approaches. This is an important study in a European context as the findings suggest that academics are dealing with a variety of areas within their professional roles. The study highlights fragmentation as academics try in different contexts to meet their professional obligations across the different areas of teaching, research, administration, academic writing, networking and acquiring new skills and competencies. In many ways the profession is not structured and consequently academics try to address a range of areas simultaneously without adequate institutional support. This chapter argues that it is only through the analysis of these tensions that insights can be gained about the needs of academics in the context of institutional priorities and their individual efforts to reconcile different aspects of their professional role. The implications of such analysis are of fundamental importance not only for the academic profession itself but also higher education systems more generally.