The Academic Profession in Tanzania
Issues and Implications for University Leadership and Management
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22006233 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samson John Mgaiwa (0000-0001-9230-8755, Deakin University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SAGE Open (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/21582440251406855 |
| OpenAlex | W7131650440 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 81 |
The academic profession in developing countries faces numerous challenges that affect its effectiveness and sustainability. I explores these issues using Tanzania as a case study, with the aim of shedding light on the structural and systemic factors impacting higher education in similar contexts. Employing a qualitative research methodology, I draws on documentary analysis and in-depth interviews to generate both new insights and a synthesis of existing knowledge. Key findings indicate that the academic profession in Tanzania is confronted with several persistent systemic and structural issues: insecurity of academic tenure, academic brain drain, insufficient staffing, low academic qualifications, and diminishing academic freedom. These challenges affect both academic performance and the quality of higher education in the country. The study is limited by its geographic scope, focusing solely on Tanzania, and by the scarcity of existing literature on the topic, which constrained broader comparative analysis. Nonetheless, the findings have significant implications for university leadership and policymakers. A nuanced understanding of these challenges is essential for developing targeted strategies to strengthen academic capacity and improve the quality of higher education in Tanzania and other developing contexts. Notably, this research fills a gap by offering both practical and policy-oriented recommendations based on empirical evidence
Empirical research · Higher education · Learning development · Qualitative research · Scarcity · Tanzania · African cultural and philosophical studies · Global and Cross-Cultural Management · Higher Education Governance and Development
The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future
Academics job satisfaction and job stress across countries in the changing academic environments
Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research
Academics’ job satisfaction in Tanzania’s higher education
The systemic neoliberal colonisation of higher education
Navigating an Academic Career in Marketized Universities
Sticky and slippery destinations for academic mobility
Remittances and the Brain Drain
The Changing Academic Profession in Japan
Academic freedom and the decolonisation of knowledge
The intellectual-state relationship and academic freedom in China
Permanent contracts and job satisfaction in academia
Five Systematic Transformations and Their Impacts on Academic Profession in China
Introduction
High‐skilled emigration and child health in Africa
Gatekeeping in professional higher education in Norway
The Status of Academic Freedom in Ethiopia
Our University
Academics’ Responses to Job Insecurity
Trajectories within international academic mobility
Neoliberalism, academic capitalism and higher education
Neoliberalism, higher education and the knowledge economy
Addressing Career Obstacles within a Changing Higher Education Work Environment
Job Satisfaction of the Highly Educated
The limits of the ‘African Miracle’
Factors Contributing to Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction among Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
Academic freedom and the fallacy of a post-truth era
Using thematic analysis in psychology
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
Managed freedom in precarious times
Academic Mobility as Freedom in Africa
Perspectives of Australian higher education leadership
Academic freedom, institutional autonomy and the corporatised university in contemporary South Africa1
Hong Kong Universities in the Shadow of the National Security Law
The Politics of Education in Kenyan Universities
Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |