The balance between teaching and research in Dutch and English universities in the context of university governance reforms

Abstract

The expectations and demands with respect to teaching and research have been changing for universities due to changes in their institutional environments. Born out of changing national research policies and modern governance arrangements, efficiency, effectiveness and output-oriented cultures have become increasingly important. In this article we ask the question of what the consequences of these changing institutional environments are for the teaching-research nexus as experienced by academics at universities. We explore the changing practices of teaching and research in eight research units in research-led universities in England and The Netherlands. The sources of our empirical investigation are documentary evidence as well as interview data from 48 academics in biotechnology and medieval history. Our findings suggest that teaching and research are increasingly falling apart as two distinct activities. Success or failure in research acquisition and performance assessments has serious implications for the work portfolios in terms of teaching and research load of the research units.

La evolución de la carrera académica en universidades con foco en investigación en Chile

“…First, there has been an increase in societal expectations and pressures involving the role of universities as generators of scientific knowledge (Altbach et al, 2010;Brennan, 2006;Leisyte et al, 2009), a situation that is also present in Chile (Bernasconi, 2005;Brunner, 1986) and which may have affected the historical development of the academic regulations of the universities examined, given their research focus. Second, we posit that Chilean research-centered universities have begun imitating the research-centered universities that have performed well in terms of academic production indicators in hopes of attaining the same results.…”

“…First, the widespread growth and social diversification of undergraduate enrollment due to the expansion of the service sector of the economy (Altbach, Reisberg, & Pacheco, 2012;Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2010;Clark, 1997;OECD, 2013;van Vught, 2008). Second, there have been increasing expectations for and pressures on institutions and faculty alike from governments and the public to conduct advanced research in the context of the knowledge society in attempt to achieve or maintain economic development (Altbach et al, 2010;Brennan, 2006;Codling & Meek, 2006;Leisyte, Enders, & De Boer, 2009). …”

“…Faculty working in social sciences and the humanities are likely to value different research requirements, and therefore could be limited by these types of obligations (Colbeck, 1998;Griffiths, 2004;Healey, 2005;Horta, Dautel, & Veloso, 2012;Leisyte et al, 2009). Nevertheless, publication in peer-reviewed journals is the type of productivity that has been endorsed in Chile, as we have pointed out above.…”

Strategic Human Resource Development for Enhanced Job Performance and Universities’ Competitiveness

“…Meanwhile, academic linkages and research collaboration are likely to provide a platform for knowledge transfer that will enrich quality teaching and research (Burke and Rau, 2010). In a related development, research collaboration and academic linkages are capable of enhancing lecturers intellectualism which allows them to keep updated on learning and teaching integration skills, pedagogical research, sharing valuable ideas and experiences (Griffths, 2004;Leisyte, Enders and Boer, 2009). Sequel to the literature reviewed, we therefore propose the following hypothesis:…”

The balancing role of evaluation mechanisms: cases of publicity funded research institutions: MPG, HGF, and CAS

“…Standardised operational targets within one PRI, such as active collaboration (Heinze & Kuhlmann, 2007) and good-quality education, are distributed to heterogeneous research fields and institutes, which may result in tensions. For example, Leisyte et al (2009) propose that teaching and research are increasingly falling apart as two distinct activities in the context of university governance reforms; the balance between teaching and research can also be 20 targetd by PRIs. These hypothetical conflicts are still to be tested.…”