Associations between research and teaching in Australian higher education

Abstract

This article describes results of an empirical investigation of the relationship between research and undergraduate teaching in Australian higher education. Two research indexes (weighted number of publications, and number of research activities) were used. Scores on a Likert-type scale of reported commitment to teaching undergraduate students formed the main criterion of teaching effectiveness. This was supplemented by student ratings in one of the aggregate-level analyses. The results revealed typically no relation or a negative relation between teaching and research at the level of the individual and at the level of the department, across all subject areas. The only exceptions concerned one group of former colleges of education. Further analysis by staff self-rating of academic quality showed that there existed one group of staff, mainly in the universities, who were committed to teaching and highly active researchers. However, the data did not support a causalinterpretation of the association. It is concluded that there is no evidence in these results to indicate the existence of a simple functional association between high research output and the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching. Some implications for policy and student course choice are discussed.

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

“…When the research focuses on topics that are relevant to the content of those courses, the faculty members can incorporate evidence from their own and their colleagues' research into the course content [10], [11]. In conclusion, researchers view that doing research is helpful in building a variety of competencies in teachers such as improving cognitive capacities, forcing rigorous in thinking and to be able to apply the principles of science and logic [8], [30], [31]. And the same competencies can be transmitted to students.…”

“…Some research works conducted in the field indicate that there is a significantly positive relationship between research and teaching in terms of enriching the teaching-content. However, some other research finds that such relationship may not be beneficial for the students [5]; [6] even though students do not necessarily oppose to their professors' research activities as essential to the profession rather they incline for being informed about such process [2], [7], [8]. As a matter of fact, research expectations from the university faculty have been rising for the last several decades to an extent that research productivity has become the dominant and sometimes the sole criterion for hiring, tenure, and promotion at research universities [9]- [12].…”

Developing and Sustaining a Culture of Scholarship

“…What little has been published on the relationship has focused on undergraduate education in general and in evaluating such a setting, little or no relationship has been demonstrated between achieving high levels of research activity and effective education. [22][23][24][25] Arguably and in accord with these findings, outcomes data for entry-level pharmaceutical education, based on first-time pass rates of the NAPLEX exam, suggest that a research focus currently has little influence on the abilities of colleges of pharmacy to produce graduates who meet the minimum requirements necessary for licensure. However, because this is an indirect marker of educational success that deals with minimum standards, it does not necessarily address the issue of the relationship.…”

Developing teaching and learning innovations in dental training: the example of the Progress File Learning System

“…Teachers would be able to carry out, and reap the benefits of action research in their own teaching/learning environments, an approach that has been employed in curricular development in schools and is widely accepted as a model for change in courses and teaching. 33 Appropriate staff development would enable teachers to go beyond routine evaluation of teaching 34 and the rigorous use of social science methods, tools and concepts, including theory to underpin research, 22 would help to ensure sustainable, ongoing development. Table 1 depicts the conditions under which teaching innovation/reform might thrive in HE/dentistry.…”