Achieving an Appropriate Balance between Teaching and Research in Institutions of Higher Education: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

 Abstract—Achieving an appropriate combination of teaching and research as the two key elements of education offered by the institutions of higher education in the world has been and is a challenging task for the educational leadership and policy makers. Therefore, this paper is dedicated to analyze the existing theories of teaching and research integration with a purpose of: diagnosing the pros and cons of teaching and research integration; identifying implications associated with the education model based on teaching and research integration for the institutions of higher education; and finally, presenting certain specific recommendations for the institutions of higher education to achieve a better combination between teaching and research activities. The paper " s findings suggest that a balanced combination of teaching and research activities affects positively the overall education quality and standards. Nonetheless, in order to create optimal conditions for such a balanced and strategic integration between these two different but interdependent educational activities the institutions of higher education must demonstrate a strong academic and research leadership, commit all the required resources, show operational flexibility, and last but not least, build supportive institutional culture. Index Terms—Balance between research and teaching, Benefits of research and teaching integration, pedagogy, research and teaching integration models.