Category: Academic Practice Reading
FW: Studies in Higher Education: latest articles on Taylor & Francis Online
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FW: Cultural Studies of Science Education, Vol. 10, Issue 1 – New Issue Alert
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FW: Top 10 articles of 2014 from @SAGEEdResearch
Free access to trending articles in Educational Research
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FW: ephemera CFP: The labour of academia
Call for papers for an ephemera special issue on:
Issue Editors: Nick Butler, Helen Delaney and Martyna Śliwa
It is well known that the purpose of the contemporary university is being radically transformed by the encroachment of corporate imperatives into higher education (Beverungen, et al., 2008; Svensson, et al., 2010). This has inevitable consequences for managerial interventions, research audits and funding structures. But it also impacts on the working conditions of academic staff in university institutions in terms of teaching, research, administration and public engagement. Focusing on this level of analysis, the special issue seeks to explore questions about how the work of scholars is being shaped, managed and controlled under the burgeoning regime of 'academic capitalism' (Rhoades and Slaughter, 2004) and in turn to ask what might be done about it.
There is a case to be made that the modern university is founded on principles of rationalization and bureaucratization; there has always been a close link between money, markets and higher education (Collini, 2013). But the massification of higher education in recent years, combined with efforts to reduce the reliance on state funding, has led to the university being managed in much the same way as any other large industrial organization (Morley, 2003; Deem, et al., 2007). This is particularly pronounced in an economy that privileges knowledge-based labour over other forms of productive activity, which underlines Bill Readings' (1996: 22) point that the university is not just being run like a corporation – it is a corporation. We witness this trend in the increasing prominence of mission statements, university branding and cost-benefit analysis (Bok, 2009). We also see it in the introduction of tuition fees, which turns students into consumers, universities into service-providers, and degree programmes into investment projects (Lawrence and Sharma, 2002). Universities are now in the business of selling intangible goods, not least of all the ineffable product of 'employability' (Chertkovskaya, et al., 2013).
In parallel, there has been a marked intensification of academic labour in recent years, manifested in higher work-loads, longer hours, precarious contracts and more invasive management control via performance indicators such as TQM and the balanced scorecard (Morley and Walsh, 1996; Bryson, 2004; Archer, 2008; Bousquet, 2008; Clarke, et al., 2012). The personal and professional lives of academic staff are deeply affected by such changes in the structures of higher education, leading to increased stress, alienation, feelings of guilt and other negative emotions (Ogbonna and Harris, 2004).
While many scholars suffer under these conditions, others find themselves adapting to the tenets of academic enterprise culture in order to seek out opportunities for career development and professional advancement. The consequences for the quality of scholarship, however, may be far from positive. Indeed, recent studies suggest that academics may be more willing to 'play the publication game' at the expense of genuine critical inquiry (Butler and Spoelstra, 2014). There is a palpable sense that 'journal list fetishism' (Willmott, 2011) is coming to shape not only patterns of knowledge production in higher education but also how academics are coming to relate to themselves and their own research. These trends suggest that the Humboldtian idea of the university – which measures the value of scientific-philosophical knowledge (Wissenschaft) according to the degree of cultivation (Bildung) it produces – has been superseded by a regime based on journal rankings, citation rates, impact factors and other quantitative metrics used to assess and reward research 'output' (Lucas, 2006).
Some scholars have pointed to the possibilities for resistance to the regime of academic capitalism. Rolfe (2013) suggests that what is required is the development of a rhizomatic paraversity that operates below the surface of the neoliberal university. This would serve to reintroduce the 'non-productive labour of thought' (2013: 53) into university life, thereby emphasizing quality over quantity and critique over careerism. Efforts such as Edu-factory may also point towards fruitful directions for the future of higher education beyond neoliberal imperatives (Edu-factory Collective, 2009). In this special issue, we seek to diagnose the state of the contemporary university as well as uncover potentialities for dwelling subversively within and outside the 'ruins of the university' (Readings, 1996; Raunig, 2013). Towards this aim, we invite submissions that consider the following questions:
· What are the new and emerging discourses of academic work?
· What is being commodified under conditions of academic capitalism and what are the consequences?
· How are current trends shaping the way academics relate to themselves, their research, peers, students, the public and other stakeholders?
· How does alienation and exploitation occur in the academic labour process?
· In what ways do gender, race, sexuality, age and class matter to the study of academic labour?
· What is happening to academic identity, ethos and ideals in the contemporary university?
· How do academics cope with the demands and tensions of their work?
· How can we theorise the historical shifts surrounding academic labour?
· How is the academic labour market being polarized?
· What are the varieties of academic capitalism in different terrains?
· How do we account for the historical shift in academic labour?
· What are the rewards and riches of contemporary academic labour?
· How can we imagine alternative choices, collectives, discourses and identities in the university?
· Is it worth defending the current conditions of academic work?
Deadline for submissions: 28th February 2015
All contributions should be submitted to one of the issue editors: Nick Butler (nick.butler@fek.lu.se), Helen Delaney (h.delaney@auckland.ac.nz) or Martyna Śliwa (masliwa@essex.ac.uk). Please note that three categories of contributions are invited for the special issue: articles, notes, and reviews. All submissions should follow ephemera's submissions guidelines (www.ephemerajournal.org/how-submit). Articles will undergo a double blind review process. For further information, please contact one of the special issue editors.
References
Archer, L. (2008) 'The new neoliberal subjects? Young/er academics' constructions of professional identity', Journal of Education Policy, 23(3): 265-285.
Beverungen, A., S. Dunne and B.M. Sørensen (2008) 'University, failed', ephemera: theory & politics in organization, 8(3): 232-237.
Bok, D. (2009) Universities in the marketplace: The commercialization of higher education. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bousquet, M. (2008) How the university works: Higher education and the low-wage nation. New York: NYU Press.
Bryson, C. (2004) 'What about the workers? The expansion of higher education and the transformation of academic work', Industrial Relations Journal, 35(1): 38-57.
Butler, N. and S. Spoelstra (2014) 'The regime of excellence and the erosion of ethos in critical management studies', British Journal of Management, DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12053.
Chertkovskaya, E., P. Watt, S. Tramer and S. Spoelstra (2013) 'Giving notice to employability', ephemera: theory & politics in organization, 13(4): 701-716.
Clarke, C., D. Knights, and C. Jarvis (2012) 'A labour of love? Academics in business schools', Scandinavian Journal of Management, 28(1): 5-15.
Collini, S. (2013) 'Sold out', London Review of Books, 35(20): 3-12.
Deem, R., S. Hillyard and M. Reed (2007) Knowledge, higher education, and the new managerialism: The changing management of UK universities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Edu-factory Collective (2009) Towards a global autonomous university. New York: Autonomedia.
Lawrence, S. and U. Sharma (2002) 'Commodification of education and academic labour: Using the balanced scorecard in a university setting', Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 13(5): 661-677.
Lucas, L. (2006) The research game in academic life. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International.
Morley, L. (2003) Quality and power in higher education. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International.
Morley, L. and V. Walsh (eds.) (1996) Breaking boundaries: Women in higher education. London: Taylor & Francis.
Ogbonna, E. and L.C. Harris (2004) 'Work intensification and emotional labour among UK university lecturers: An exploratory study', Organization Studies, 25(7): 1185-1203.
Readings, B. (1996) The university in ruins. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Rolfe, G. (2013) The university in dissent: Scholarship in the corporate university. London: Routledge.
Rhoades, G. and S. Slaughter (2004) Academic capitalism and the new economy: Markets, state, and higher education. Baltimore: JHU Press.
Raunig, G. (2013) Factories of knowledge, industries of creativity. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Svensson, P., S. Spoelstra, M. Pedersen and S. Schreven (2010) 'The excellent institution', ephemera: theory & politics in organization, 10(1): 1-6.
Willmott, H. (2011) 'Journal list fetishism and the perversion of scholarship: reactivity and the ABS list', Organization, 18(4): 429-442.
Student engagement
This image was posted on Facebook by Mindshift with a link to an article on their blog biy.ly/1hNnFPm. (the article is an interesting discussion of a report on schools in the USA)
This highlights for me the oversimplification of the argument about student engagement - is it a simple one-dimensional concept. Is rebellion a sign of diverted attention and lack of commitment?
I was reminded how the discussion at the Higher Education Academy conference was dominated by the concept without any critical analysis. The experience was highlighted for me as I was reading the introduction to the Ignorant Schoolmaster by Paul Ranciere at the time about the debate within the French left around 1968 - should students rebel against the hierarchical structure of higher education, or use it to learn the theories and analysis they need to be good revolutionaries.
Where is the political discussion of student engagement?
Creative academic
Creative academic - HOME: "Creative Academic is a not for profit, voluntary and community-based educational social enterprise. Our purpose is to champion creativity, in all its manifestations, in higher education in the UK and the wider world. Our goal is to become a global HUB for the production and curation of resources that are of value to the higher education community. Membership is free and open to anyone who shares our interests and values."
Queen Mary Conference – videos
Cultural Studies of Science Education, Vol. 9, Issue 3 – New Issue Alert
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FW: PESTLHE (Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) Special Issue – OUT NOW
Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education has just published its latest issue at http://community.dur.ac.uk/pestlhe.learning/index.php/pestlhe. This is a special issue with a selection of papers from the HEA Wales 2014 Future Directions Conference.
We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest.
In 2015 we are also planning a special edition on 'Threshold Concepts' on 2015 as well as two standard issues in April and October 2015 - submissions welcome throughout the year. If you have an idea for a special edition then again let us know and we may be able to help.
Thanks for the continuing interest in our work,
Kind regards
Jane
Vol 10, No 1 (2015)
Table of Contents
HEA Wales Special Issue 2015
HEA Wales Future Directions Conference Special Issue - Guest Editorial; |
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Helena Lim, Nick Potter |
1-2 |
Using student dialogue sheets to inspire teaching |
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Mary Jacob, Grace Burton |
3-17 |
From despair to somewhere: activating students in a distance learning environment |
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Karen Foley, Dave Middleton, Ian Fribbance |
18-32 |
'Skills for employability? No need thanks, we're radiographers!' |
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Keren Williamson |
33-53 |
Learning in and for the workplace - technologies that deliver |
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Jeffrey Lewis |
54-66 |
Initial Professional Development: A case study in embedding employability in an undergraduate psychology degree programme. |
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Alison Walker |
67-83 |
Preventing Decay: Collaborative partnership between students and staff to prevent deterioration of dental undergraduate practical skills |
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Susan Mary Jenkins, Keith Wills, Sarah Pick, Sarah Al-Kutubi |
84-101 |
Developing flexible learning degree programmes for early childhood practitioners: using students' perceptions to inform programme development and promote widening access. |
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Glenda Wyn Tinney, Ann-Marie Gealy |
102-119 |
Dr Jane Pritchard, SFHEA
Staff Development Manager (Academic)
Academic Staff Development
Human Resources Division
University of Bristol
Senate House
Tyndall Avenue
Clifton
Bristol
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0117 928 7776
<http://www.bristol.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/academicstaff/>
Editor in Chief PESTLHE - online journal -