Reconciling Research, Teaching and Scholarship in Higher Education: An Examination of Disciplinary Variation, the Curriculum and Learning

Abstract

Integrating research and teaching in research-intensive universities is an unresolved issue as we head into the 21st century. While studies conclude that the early years of the undergraduate curriculum should be more intellectually exciting, few universities have implemented approaches such as research-led learning. The conceptual shift that is necessary involves harmonisation of the collegial and developmental cultures. Of the forces that support convergence, focusing on the curriculum and learning design may offer the best potential for connecting students and academics to knowledge communities and linking the research, teaching and scholarship missions. An important element in transforming the research-intensive university is recognising the importance of flexible and equitable reward systems ‘in order to promote an overall balance in the relative importance of research and undergraduate education’ (Gray, Froh, & Diamond, 1992, p.15).