The paradoxical management of casual academics: an Australian case study

‘Sometimes I wonder if our best really is our best’: Tutor reflections on the challenges of shifting to online tutoring during the pandemic

“…For example, she focuses on the opportunities it provides her to develop her own skills. This seems to be in contrast to literature that often speaks to the lack of professional development opportunities afforded tutors (Richardson, and Suseno Wardale, 2021). Instead, Haesu seems to view tutoring as an act of professional development in itself, that is, that tutoring enables her to develop and improve her teaching skills that would make her a professor 'one day' (Gucciardi, et al, 2016).…”

“Teaching Through Your Fingertips”: A Descriptive Study to Understand the Experiences and Needs of Online Educators in Postgraduate Nursing Education in Australia

“…Participants in this study reported the timeframes and estimates provided by their institution to prepare their teaching material and to teach and engage with students were not realistic or evidence based. For sessionally-employed educators, the expectation they should be willing to undertake unpaid preparation work in their own time is seen by participants as unreasonable but inevitable because of the high levels of job insecurity that exist in Australia's higher education sector ( Richardson et al., 2021 ). Likewise, educators employed in permanent positions expressed dissent that their employer doesn’t appreciate or acknowledge that online teaching and learning often occurs outside usual business hours, assuming educators will willingly work their usual hours as well as outside business hours to support the online course and students.…”

Supporting casual teaching staff in the Australian neoliberal university: A collaborative approach

“…For example, Brett shares how team members cover for one another as needed by stepping into different roles. This is distinct from the common experiences of casual academics feeling unable to take a break from tutoring for fear of being excluded from future opportunities (Richardson et al, 2021). Collaboration reduces the burden on individual teachers while ensuring continuity for the students and the course.…”

“…Echoing scholars in the field, we found that collegial relationships are a critical element of effective collaborative teaching for online education (see Bywater & Mander, 2018;Richardson, 2021). The development of peer relationships helps to counter the professional and personal isolation experienced by staff in the neoliberal university.…”