You certainly don't get promoted for just teaching
Experiences of Education-Focused Academics in Research-Intensive Universities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4097822 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stephanie Bull (0000-0002-1284-1902, University of Exeter), Alison Cooper (0009-0004-0580-2069, University of Birmingham), Anne Laidlaw (0000-0003-1214-4100, University of Aberdeen, corresponding author), Louise Milne (0000-0003-1645-8553, University of St Andrews), Shelley Parr (University of Southampton) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 239-255 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2024.2333946 |
| OpenAlex | W4393410531 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 24 |
| References cited | 26 |
Changes in drivers of academic roles within higher education institutions globally have resulted in increased proportions of academics in education focused (EF) posts. International and UK research suggests that EF academics can experience dissatisfaction with career progression and the perceived value of their work, including those in research-intensive universities. Previous UK research was conducted prior to the introduction of the TEF which has altered the landscape. Therefore, it was timely to examine the current experience of EF academics in research-intensive universities through a theoretical lens to understand barriers and facilitators to career progression. This interview-based study used two theoretical frameworks, Feldman and Ng’s Framework for Career Mobility, Embeddedness, and Success and Kanter’s theory of Power within organisations to explore the experiences of 43 EF academics across 12 research-intensive UK universities. Four contract types were identified, some of which allowed promotion. Three broad themes were derived from the data, including (1) Lack of agreement on the definition of education-focused academic roles, (2) Level of value and appreciation of educational expertise and the impact on education-focused academics, (3) Career development opportunities for education-focused academics. Recommendations to further enhance the experience and career progression for EF academics in research-intensive universities further include; ensuring transparency in recruitment into EF posts as to whether career development is possible within that post, the need to continue the sector-wide discussion on the definition of EF roles that recognises the complexity and diversity of activity and continued work to value and recognise appropriately educational expertise
Engineering ethics · Higher education · Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Engineering · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Medicine · Psychology · Reflective Practices in Education
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Understanding the experiences of academic staff in fostering engineering students’ digital capabilities
Why academics in an Australian university want teaching-focused roles
Frugal pedagogical innovation
Education focused academic roles – a critical review of the literature
Learning, leadership, and legitimacy
Beyond doctoral completions
Community perspectives on the contextual knowledge of pedagogical development in higher education
Making hay in the desert
When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention
The university research assessment dilemma
Scholarship reimagined
Reinventing the teaching-research nexus to foster university education in the twenty-first century
Strong identity, yet exit
Using generative artificial intelligence to reimagine feedback in higher education
Expanding institutional analysis
Reimagining the academic landscape
A tech-tonic shift
The importance of personality and personal beliefs for understanding work-life balance in higher education
Doctoral qualifications matter in the competitive faculty job market
Fairness of reward for academics
Inhabiting uncertain terrain’
The joy of the teaching track
The Changing Academic Profession
Analyzing Qualitative Data
Workplace resources to improve both employee well-being and performance
Careers
Scholarship and academic capitals
What constitutes high quality higher education pedagogical research
Strength in numbers? A test of Kanter's theory of tokenism
Sample Size in Qualitative Interview Studies
Higher education faculty and job embeddedness
Quality of working life of academics and researchers in the UK
| Unique citing works | 24 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 12 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 23 |