How do university systems' features affect academic inbreeding? Career rules and language requirements in France, Germany, Italy and Spain

Seeber, Marco; Mampaey, Jelle

doi:10.1111/hequ.12302

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(85 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Spanish, Italian, and US researchers share similar problems and concerns (at least regarding the presence of QRPs). However, crucial elements such as the academic job market structure, R&D investment levels, or the academic structure vary across countries (Seeber & Mampey, 2021 ), particularly when comparing the US and its European counterparts (UNESCO, 2021). Therefore, country-specific policies should be developed in each case to ensure that the issues mentioned above are ameliorated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, Spanish academia is a system transitioning towards an empirically oriented research culture (Fernández-Quijada & Masip, 2013 ; Rodríguez-Gómez & Goyanes, 2020 ), illustrative of several similar research contexts (e.g., Italy). In this sense, the Spanish and Italian research systems share many common characteristics (e.g., closed research job markets that favor local researchers) not found in Anglo-Saxon academic contexts (Seeber & Mampey, 2021 ).Secondly, Spanish researchers could be particularly susceptible to QRPs and problematic incentives due to the adverse effects of the 2008 economic crisis on Spanish academia: increased job instability, unemployment, and the exacerbation of a publish-or-perish culture (Rodríguez-Gómez & Goyanes, 2020 ). Thirdly, Spanish researchers might show a high sensitivity to academic rewards (as illustrated with Spain being the second most efficient country in research spending; Nature, 2020 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring COVID-19 research credibility among Spanish scientists

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Amidst a worldwide vaccination campaign, trust in science plays a significant role when addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Given current concerns regarding research standards, we were interested in how Spanish scholars perceived COVID-19 research and the extent to which questionable research practices and potentially problematic academic incentives are commonplace. We asked researchers to evaluate the expected quality of their COVID-19 projects and other peers’ research and compared these assessments with those from scholars not involved in COVID-19 research. We investigated self-admitting and estimated rates of questionable research practices and attitudes towards current research status. Responses from 131 researchers suggested that COVID-19 evaluations followed partisan lines, with scholars being more pessimistic about others’ colleagues’ research than their own. Additionally,researchers not involved in COVID-19 projects were more negative than their participating peers. These differences were particularly notable for areas such as the expected theoretical foundations or overall quality of the research, among others. Most Spanish scholars expected questionable research practices and inadequate incentives to be widespread. In these two aspects, researchers tended to agree regardless of their involvement in COVID-19 research. We provide specific recommendations for improving future meta-science studies, such as redefining QRPs as inadequate research practices (IRP). This change could help avoid key controversies regarding QRPs’ definition while highlighting their detrimental impact. Lastly, we join previous calls to improve transparency and academic career incentives as a cornerstone for generating trust in science. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-02797-6.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring COVID-19 research credibility among Spanish scientists

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, financially and geographically disadvantaged universities may choose to employ their own graduates as a suitable option (Pan, 1993). In some disciplines and regions, language requirements contribute substantially to academic inbreeding (Seeber & Mampaey, 2021).…”

Section: Benefits and Risks Of Academic Inbreedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic Inbreeding: A Risk or Benefit for Universities?

Balyer¹

2022

JEL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Academic inbreeding is a recruitment practice for universities of hiring their own graduates as future academicians. Despite its benefits, it may have damaging effects on the academy. From this point of view, this qualitative research investigated whether academic inbreeding brings benefits to universities or poses risks. It was also purposed to determine how academicians define academic inbreeding and experience it in their daily practices. To this end, twenty academicians were interviewed, and the data were analyzed with content analysis technique. Results revealed that while few academicians underlined its benefits, most academicians manifested its risks and negative experiences. Thus, it is recommended that mobility among academic staff should be encouraged.

show abstract

“…Jones and Jefferson (2021) argue that three distinct, but complementary concepts may be used to explain the existence or absence of academic inbreeding in higher education systems: internal and external academic labour markets, vertical stratification, and social and cultural capital. Seeber and Mampaey (2021) explore the causes of academic inbreeding in European higher education systems, and argue that macro-level factors, such as career rules designed to guarantee quality and language requirements, represent barriers to attract international scholars and to promote multidisciplinary engagement, while contributing to the formation and prevalence of academic inbreeding. Macfarlane and Jefferson (2021) use a historical perspective to argue that academic inbreeding should be understood relative to the rules of medieval guilds, in the sense that such as it was the case in medieval guilds, the path of academic inbreeds relates to having access (privilege) to specific academic career entrance pathways.…”

Section: The S Tud Ie S and A B Rief Summary Of Their Find Ing Smentioning

confidence: 99%

New perspectives and analytical approaches to better understand academic inbreeding

Horta

Tavares²,

Amaral³

et al. 2022

Higher Education Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This is the introduction to a special issue focused on offering new perspectives and analytical approaches to better understand academic inbreeding. The seven papers of this special issue offer original analyses and new avenues of research on this highly resilient social phenomenon in academic settings. The findings and arguments forwarded by these papers can be used to further develop future studies and policies to curtail this practice, known to be detrimental to academia and scholarship.Este artigo serve de introdução a uma coletânea de artigos científicos que visam enquadrar a endogamia académica a partir de novas perspetivas e análises. Os sete artigos científicos desta coletânea oferecem análises originais e novas avenidas de investigação relativamente a este fenómeno social que se caracteriza por ser persistente na academia. Os resultados e argumentos apresentados pelos artigos científicos desta coletânea podem ser usados para desenvolver estudos futuros sobre endogamia académica e políticas que visam mitigar esta prática, reconhecida por ser nefasta para a academia e para o avanço do conhecimento.

show abstract

How do university systems' features affect academic inbreeding? Career rules and language requirements in France, Germany, Italy and Spain

Abstract: Studies on academic inbreeding have mostly focused on institutional inbreeding and its negative effects, whereas little research has explored its causes. We identify current explanations of the macro-, meso-and micro-level factors that sustain academic inbreeding as well as research gaps.

Cited by 21 publications

References 51 publications

Exploring COVID-19 research credibility among Spanish scientists

Exploring COVID-19 research credibility among Spanish scientists

Academic Inbreeding: A Risk or Benefit for Universities?

New perspectives and analytical approaches to better understand academic inbreeding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About