2. July 2015 14:38
Three books from The Academic Profession in Europe: Responses to Societal Challenges (EUROAC) project
The Academic Profession in Europe: Responses to Societal Challenges (EUROAC) was a Collaborative Research Project, coordinated by Ulrich Teichler and Barbara M. Kehm (University of Kassel, Germany) under the umbrella of the EUROCORES programme Higher Education and Social Change. Three books in total arising from the EUROAC project have been published as part of the Springer Series 'The Changing Academy – The Changing Academic Profession in International Comparative Perspective'. The Changing Academy series examines the nature and extent of the changes experienced by the academic profession and aims to address these changes from an international comparative perspective.
Academic Work and Careers in Europe: Trends, Challenges, Perspectives (Volume 12, 2015)
Editors: Tatiana Fumasoli, Gaële Goastellec, Barbara M. Kehm
This book explores the perceptions of academic staff and representatives of institutional leadership about the changes in academic careers and academic work experienced in recent years. It emphasizes standardisation and differentiation of academic career paths, impacts of new forms of quality management on academic work, changes in recruitment, employment and working conditions, and academics’ perceptions of their professional contexts. The book demonstrates a growing diversity within the academic profession and new professional roles inhabiting a space which is neither located in the core business of teaching and research nor at the top level management and leadership. The new higher education professionals tend to be important change agents within the higher education institutions not only fulfilling service and bridging functions but also streamlining academic work to make a contribution to the reputation and competitiveness of the institution as a whole. Based on interviews with academic staff, this book explores the situation in eight European countries: Austria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland.
The Work Situation of the Academic Profession in Europe: Findings of a Survey in Twelve Countries (Volume 8, 2013)
Editors: Ulrich Teichler, Ester Ava Höhle
This book presents the analysis of the representative survey about the academic profession in twelve European countries. Higher education in Europe has experienced a substantial change in recent years: Expansion progresses further, the expectation to deliver useful contributions of knowledge to the “knowledge society” is on the rise, and efforts to steer academic work through external forces and strong international management are more widespread than ever. Representative surveys of the academic profession in twelve European countries show how professors and junior staff at universities and other institutions of higher education view the role of higher education in society and their professional situation and how they actually shape their professional tasks. Academics differ across Europe substantially in their employment and working conditions, their views and their activities. Most of them favour the preservation of a close link between teaching and research and feel responsible for both theory and practice. Most consider efforts to enhance academic quality and social relevance as compatible. The overall satisfaction with their professional situation is rather high.
The Academic Profession in Europe: New Tasks and New Challenges (Volume 5, 2013)
Editors: Barbara M. Kehm, Ulrich Teichler
This book is the first of several with the results of a collaborative European project supported by the European Science Foundation on changes in the academic profession in Europe (EUROAC). It provides a short description of the ESF EUROHESC programme and the particular forms of international collaborative research projects which are funded under the umbrella of this programme. It then outlines the EUROAC project. This project has chosen three foci (governance, professionalisation, academic careers) to analyse changes in the work of the academic profession. The first results in the form of in-depth literature reviews constitute the content of the book. These eight literature reviews about the state of the art of existing research feature the various dimensions of the overall theme. A particular emphasis is put on factors leading to changes in the work tasks of the academic profession in Europe and how the academic profession is coping with these new challenges.
Thus, the book provides a state of the art account of existing research about the following themes: main results of previous studies on the academic profession; the academic profession and their interaction with new higher education professionals; professional identities in higher education; extending work tasks: civic mission and sustainable development; academic careers in academic markets; the changing role of academics in the face of rising managerialism; the influence of quality assurance, governance, and relevance on the satisfaction of the academic profession.
