From academic profession to higher education workforce: academic careers in the UK Based on a forthcoming article by John Brennan, Monica Franco and Rajani Naidoo

CAP project Changing nature of the Academic Profession Initiated early 2000 as a follow up to the 1992 Carnegie Study on the Academic Profession Totally bottom up driven project, no central funding, academic collaboration One common questionnaire, limited national variations Initially 18 countries, subsequently evolved to 25+ countries On-line survey launched in participating countries Respondents for practical reasons limited to ‘regular’ university academic staff; casual/sessional staff excluded Reasonable response rates that allow for generalisations Book series “The Changing Academy” with Springer Publishers

Some distinctive UK features Traditional autonomy and authority at institutional levels State and professorial levels of authority weaker than in many places A high degree of ‘vertical’ institutional differentiation No binary distinctions Traditions of academic freedom

Changing contexts Erosion of institutional autonomy Mixture of market and state regulatory mechanisms ‘Competitive state’ replacing ‘welfare state’ ‘Elite’ within ‘mass’ supported by rankings Key roles and powers for administrators ‘Trust’ and ‘responsibility’ replaced by evaluation and accountability Students as ‘consumers’ (not ‘junior members’) Competition replacing collaboration University as ‘business’ replacing university as ‘university’

Academic loyalties of UK academics % indicating that the following are ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to them Academic discipline/field % Department/school % Institution %

Academic ‘boundary crossing’ % who would emphasise the following as characteristics (“much” or “very much”)of their current research: Basic/theoretical Applied/practical Single disciplinary - 40 Multidisciplinary

Changing work conditions % experiencing improvement % experiencing deterioration % job as source of considerable personal strain % high or very high job satisfaction

UK academics considering changing their jobs % considering % taking action Management job in present institution Academic job elsewhere in UK Academic job abroad Work outside HE No changes considered 23.5

UK academics’ views on their institutions % agreeing or strongly agreeing that…… Strong emphasis on ‘mission’ Good communications between management and academics Top-down management Collegial decision-making Strong performance emphasis Cumbersome administration

UK academics’ views on their profession % agreeing or strongly agreeing that….. Poor time to begin an academic career 50.7 Would not now become an academic 22.5 Job is considerable source of strain 58.4

Some comparative perspectives (based on CAP project data) ‘Unusual’ features of UK being…… High sense of deteriorating working conditions, especially among older, established academics Substantial differences in ‘satisfaction’ levels between older and younger academics with latter more satisfied The relatively high number of teaching hours

Some more comparative perspectives (based on CAP project data) UK academics ‘most likely’ to have considered changing jobs Overall job satisfaction lowest in UK Greatest perceived decline in working conditions Most ‘top down’ style of management Worst communication between academics and management Lowest perceived competence of top level administrators and least informed about institutional developments Highest proportion saying ‘wouldn’t choose to be an academic again’ UK academics ‘lowest’ in loyalty to institution

Some questions…… Defining an ‘academic’ Defining ‘profession’ Institutional, subject and generational differences Collaborative v competitive relationships Changing career routes Changing boundaries and ‘new professions’