academics' understandings of the research and teaching relationship; a preliminary report on...
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Academics' understandings of the research and teaching relationship; a preliminary report on
research in university Education Departments in England and Scotland
Rosemary Deem & Lisa Lucas
Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol
Introduction
Academic debates about teaching and research link tend to focus on: positive, negative, zero and complex correlations; the disadvantages to students; the different skills involved in the 2 activities and problem-based student learning as research oriented approach
UK (mainly England) policy debates focus on the high cost of research/need to be selective and often stress the quality of non-research related teaching (though latter not borne out by QA outcomes)
In USA has been emphasis on how to relate teaching/research for research intensive universities
The Context of Contemporary Academic Work
Teaching & research quality are now audited in many countries (Shah, 2000, von Tunzelmann, & Mbula 2003)
Publicly funded HE increasingly permeated by new managerialism/new public management (Pollitt, 2003; Exworthy, 1999) with emphasis on performance/targets
Proletarianisation of academic work (Halsey, 1992), manifested by declining pay/status, rising workloads
Countered by claims of communitarian re-professionalisation (Henkel, 2000): traditional values of research/teaching and attachment to subject/basic unit
The Scotland/England Policy Context
Since Scottish Parliament began in 1999 even greater divergence in education between England and Scotland
HE not exempt from this despite UK wide RAE
E.g. Quality Assurance Scotland more developmental than QAA England
Less emphasis of Scotland separating teaching & research than England
No CETLs but yearly L & T themes in Scotland
Applied Educational Research Scheme (AERS) SHEFC/SEED fosters HEI collaboration & different climate for Educational research
The Research Focus
To explore aspects of the social relations and cultural organisation of research and teaching within five Education departments in UK universities.
To examine the ways in which Education academics in England and Scotland perceive the links between research and teaching and where they think scholarship fits into this.
To consider whether the different policy context of education and educational research in England and Scotland affects Education academics’ work in and their views about teaching and research.
The Research Study: 1
Roadside University (post-92, 23,000 students) Townside University (pre-92, 17,000 students) Grant-town University (post-92, 10,000 students) Drayside University (pre-92, 20,000 students) Parkside University (pre-92, 14,000 students) All but one Education Department 40+ academic
staff; cross section of RAE and QA grades
The Research Study: 2
40 interviews, mainly face to face Interviewed in 2003 or 2004 21 in Scotland, 19 in England 18 women, 21 men Taught on full range of programmes Not all respondents were entered in last RAE;
not all are currently research-active
Interviewees Career Backgrounds
Entry point: many had entered academe in mid-life after successful professional career and often with some management experience
More than half had more experience of professional practice and teaching than research at entry to HE
Entry to HE part-time at first also evident for some Some still studying for postgraduate degrees at entry New academics in Education departments often have to
learn about research rather about than teaching, the reverse of many academics’ experience
Perceptions of the relation between teaching and research (Robertson & Bond, 2001)
Research and teaching are mutually incompatible activities
Little or no connection exists between research and teaching at undergraduate level
Teaching is a means of transmitting new research knowledge
Teachers can model and encourage a research/critical inquiry approach to learning
Teaching and research share a symbiotic relationship in a learning community
How are Teaching and Research Related? Interviews suggest:
Little or no Connection Scant evidence of this
Transmission Content of teaching – leading edge knowledge
Model and Encourage a Research/Critical Approach Research provides teaching with criticality Teaching involves an inquiry-based approach to learning
Symbiotic Relationship Research encourages teacher enthusiasm and inspiration Research and teaching both involve learning
Parkside Academic
“…Chartered Teachers studies module…I formed a study group and I had been researching the notion of communities of teachers as learners…the group determines the activities that they will do… It is pursuing inquiry and what do we mean by inquiry so we will research that notion… I will tape discussions or ask for individual responses… So if you like that is a demonstration of the link between my research and teaching.”
Boyer’s (1990) Notions of Scholarship
The scholarship of discovery or ‘traditional research’
The scholarship of integration, which makes connections across subjects/disciplines and contextualises particular disciplines or sub-areas
The scholarship of application (administration and other institutional service), including the practical application of knowledge
The scholarship of teaching and research on teaching
Involvement in Scholarship: different forms of
scholarship? Interviews suggest:
The Scholarship of Integration Keeping up with the literature Knowing your subject Reading current journals/books
The Scholarship of Teaching Drayside: encouragement of research into own
teaching practice: e.g. school placements, groupwork and assessment practices.
Research Cultures in Departments
Roadside: coherent, inclusive but compartmentalized, strong link to teaching
Townside: small research group linked to teaching but culture has permeated further
Parkside: individualised research culture, core researchers and others developing, heavy teaching loads
Drayside: segregated culture, core of researchers (some with relatively little teaching)
Grant-town: research a minority activity, most don’t do research to any significant extent
What Inhibits/Increases Academics’ Involvement in Research? Interviews suggest:
Resources Time High teaching (student placements) and administrative workloads
Experience and Skills Research know-how: methods, theories, bidding for funding,
writing reports, managing staff Anxiety/fear of unknown or failure
Departmental Research Cultures Funding and research assistance Research mentors Seminars and workshops on research/methods Collaborative research culture
Drayside Academic
“…this school as a whole, there’s scope to do more on that front, to get people on board, rather than having researchers as researchers doing their own thing and the others well trying to grab crumbs that are falling of the table and maybe trying to get their own…there are strong people in this school who I think could have a clearer role to bring more staff on board so they can appreciate how research might influence their teaching, cos that’s what it’s about, you know, teaching will benefit…”
Is there a Scotland/England Divide? What are the differences?
Scottish System Separate National TT system: more isolated Chartered Teacher Initiative AERS and HEI collaborative research
English system More Cosmopolitan Some Academics in England believe the Policy
Rhetoric - research funding must be selective, teaching can be done by non-active researchers?