Academic growth and development - How do university academics experience it?

Abstract

This paper reports the outcomes of a study, undertaken from a phenomenographic perspective, of university academics' experiences of their own growth and development, i.e., what it means to them, what they are trying to achieve, how they go about it, why they do things that way . . . The outcomes presented are based on a series of interviews with teaching and research academics at a research intensive university. The group as a whole showed a range of views of academic development, representing in particular a varying focus on:• Academic performance, in terms of increasing work output, academic standing or work quality; • Personal learning, in terms of ongoing accumulation of new knowledge and skills or increasing depth of understanding in one's field of study; • Disciplinary or social change, in terms of contributions to one's field of study or a relevant social community. Implications for our understanding of academic development and academic work are discussed.

Developing female middle-managers in Australian universities

“…The significance of the academics' management role appears to be under-rated. Contracting funds, greater workloads, fewer vacancies for new staff and more casual and part-time staff narrow academics' view of their development (Akerlind 2005). This needs more investigation.…”

“…Our study adds to the knowledge base of learning and development for women middle-managers in universities. Women's individual experience of academic development have been explored in small qualitative studies (Akerlind 2005;Jo 2008), and individual Australian institutions (White 2003;Wallace 2006). In Scotland a 'feminised academic ghetto' is partly attributed to a lack of human capital in the form of appropriate qualifications (Ebner 2007, p. 4).…”

“…Future research using in-depth qualitative methods could address additional questions including those raised by Akerlind (2005). Is there a natural point at which learning and development is finished?…”

“…While the development of staff has received attention in terms of teaching, and to a lesser extent, research (Akerlind 2005;Padilla 2008) there is a gap in the literature regarding female academics' development in their administrative or management roles, particularly at the middle levels. There is also a marked gap regarding the development experiences of women working in the administrative streams in universities.…”

“…Human resource development (HRD) encompasses formal education and training, including induction, management and leadership development and less formal, situated processes such as on-the-job learning, mentoring, coaching and career development (Werner and DeSimone 2006). In the university context, women's development has different meanings for individuals including increasing performance to avoid or reduce anxiety or inadequacy and desire for challenge and satisfaction (Akerlind 2005). This paper is particularly interested in women's development in the context of emerging ideas about sustainability in the knowledge economy and the role of learning and development (Kamoche 2007).…”