Are Academics Driven by Managerialism? Governance and the Changing Role of Academics on the Way Towards a Knowledge Society

Changes in the governance system have been viewed as one of the key issues of higher education since about the 1990s. In many countries, the “managerial university” emerged accompanied by a controversial discourse about its strengths and about dangers implied. As academics are key actors performing key functions in higher education and as governance reforms increased the power of university management to steer academics, the academics’ perception of and response to the “managerial university” is crucial for its successes and failures. International comparative surveys of academics undertaken in the early 1990s and during the years 2007-2010 indicate that the modes of governance and the responses to these modes by academics vary more substantially across countries than the convergent international discourse suggests. Altogether, scholars’ views and behavior seem to have changed to a lesser extent than expected. The third comparative survey of that kind addresses similar issues, but additionally raises the question of whether strong footprints can be observed of the move toward a “knowledge society” with regard to the governance of higher education and academics’ views and activities.

From Collegiality to Managerialism in Lithuanian Higher Education

In this paper we focus on the development and academics’ perceptions of managerialism in Lithuanian higher education (HE). We systematically investigate historical changes in HE governance and policies in Lithuania and conduct an analysis of data collected through the APIKS Lithuania project survey of academics at Lithuanian public universities (N=389). We find that Lithuanian HE policies shifted to a rather market-oriented paradigm. The survey results reveal that the majority of respondents perceive their university as highly managerial, which points out to high managerialism in practice in line with the policies. Based on our key findings, we discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Management and Governance in Higher Education: South African Universities under Siege

The recent spate of changes in university management worldwide should be carefully considered, interrogated and assessed against its impact on the capacity of the university fulfilling its unique role in society. For various justifiable reasons, South African higher education has been finding itself under the spotlight of the international community since 1994. The article surveys the South African academic profession vis à vis the changes that have been taking place regarding university governance and management. It is concluded that the South African academic profession, as far as (de jure and de facto) governance and management are concerned, find themselves sandwiched between two forces: from national and institutional governance on top, and the student corps from the bottom. This threatens the very survival of the university. A new exercise surveying the South African academic profession, as provided for by the Academic Profession in Knowledge Society (APIKS) international survey of the academic profession currently taking place, appears both timous and promising.

The Finnish Academic Profession’s Divided Opportunities in Management and Governance

Finnish higher education consists of research-oriented universities and teaching-oriented universities of applied sciences, and both sectors have a role in research, development and innovation. This paper focuses on governance and management at the institutional and academic unit levels, based on responses to several questions in the APIKS survey regarding the influence of academics, performance targets of academic units and the influence of academics in decision making and workload. Institutions in both sectors of Finnish higher education emphasise strategies and are heavily reliant on public funding. Both sectors also have an orientation to strong performance management.

Work Motivation and Career Autonomy as Predictors of Women’s Subjective Career Success in STEM

The minority status of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions makes their successful career development difficult. Due to gender-specific challenges, career dissatisfaction contributes to women dropping out of STEM careers. Therefore, women’s subjective career success (SCS) is important to persist and progress in their STEM careers. This study analyzed the influence of different types of work motivation and the perceived career autonomy on SCS of women. Specifically, 318 women working in STEM professions in Germany completed a quantitative online questionnaire. Using an ordinary least squares regression for variables predicting SCS measured as career satisfaction, we found that an intrinsic work motivation positively affects women’s SCS. The perception of high career autonomy was related positively, and the perception of low career autonomy was related negatively to SCS. Unexpectedly, the findings also revealed the positive influence of income on women’s SCS. The findings show that intrinsic work motivation and high perceived autonomy are promoting factors for SCSs, which could also contribute to their retention in STEM professions.

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Development of Higher Education

The main research directions of the situation in European higher education and Ukraine such as emergency transition to distance learning and teaching; problems related to internationalization and academic mobility; the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on research; the importance of cooperation with various organizations; strengthening of European higher education at the international level; and consequences of the crisis and prospects for higher education have been defined. The threats and potential emergence of destabilizing natural circumstances for the development of educational systems in a society, in particular higher education, have been described in global, European and national dimensions.Four groups of teachers that have been formed in forced transition to distance education. The groups have included the teachers of the subjects that required a significant amount of practical and laboratory work; teachers who actively used digital technology before the pandemic; teachers familiar with digital technologies; teachers who failed to master new tools for organizing learning, teamwork and expanded use of digital resources. The problems of the lack of professionally developed programs for online learning, insufficient funding, the need for methodological training of teachers to work with students online, which are common to most universities, have been identified.

Internationalisation of Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe: Conceptualisation of the Definition Inside the Region

The article sets out to analyse previous research on the internationalisation in higher education in Central and Eastern Europe with a particular focus on the conceptualisation of ‘internationalisation’. While there is quite a lot of research regarding both theory and implementation of internationalisation, the majority of it is conducted in the West and the most commonly accepted definition hails from the research traditions of the Anglophone world. This literature review shows that when researchers in Central and Eastern European countries use the term ‘internationalisation’, they either refer to a policy change encouraged (or necessitated) by a supranational institution or global education discourse, or an education process through which an international or intercultural dimension is integrated into higher education.

Institutional Influence of Academics in Argentinean Public Universities in a Context of External Control

The paper studies the institutional influence of academics in Argentina within a context of increasing external control as a consequence of deep public reforms in the Higher Education system. Drawing on data from the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society (APIKS) survey, the aim is to analyse how much and in what sense the recent changes on the public policy level and the intermediate level of the state agencies have affected the academic profession in Argentina over teaching, research and social engagement activities, and its effects over the perception of institutional influence. Although we assume that academic power has been reduced within the new scenario, we believe that not all academics have responded in the same manner.

Professional Ethical Aspects in the Study and Internship Environment: Research in Tallinn Health Care College

The exposure of healthcare professionals to (un)ethical situations starts in the educational institution, and the first serious cases occur during internships. The aim of the current study is to investigate the problems and causes (concerning unethical situations) related to students’ perception of ethics in the study and practice environment and to describe the awareness of Tallinn Health Care College’s students of professional ethics and the use of existing support systems in solving unethical problems.The findings indicated the importance of ethical communication and behaviour by all respondents. Empathy, ethical feedback, and confidentiality were perceived to be an integral part of ethical standards within the study and training environment. Respondents pointed out that ethical issues may occur not only between a health care professional and a patient, but also between a health care professional and doctor, supervisor, or teacher. A practical approach to ethical decision-making integrated into professional training has been assessed by all respondents.

The University Administrative Staff Perception of Inclusion in Higher Education

This study investigates university administrative staff perception of inclusion in higher education at the university level. The study uses the University of Latvia as a case to answer the following research questions: What constitutes inclusion in university education, how accessibility is provided? What are the support systems provided for diverse students? What support and training are provided to administrative and academic staff to ensure that the educational needs of diverse student bodies are met? The methodology employed is exploratory and descriptive, and uses the interview method and semi-structured questionnaire. The sample is made of seven administrative staff members representing all levels of administration in the University. Findings suggest that administrative staff members perceive inclusion as a new principle for HE, where diversity is perceived in its broader sense. Findings indicate that support is provided to all students, but that the support is not designed specifically for students with diverse needs. Findings suggested that none of the administrative staff or academics had received training on how to address student diversity.