Institutional culture and academic career progression: Perceptions and experiences of academic staff

Abstract

Orientation: The South African higher education system is highly dependent on institutional cultures to enable the progression of academics with the aim to unlock the research potential of the country. Institutional cultures are directed by the values, practices and behaviours of its members.Research purpose: Establish and present, from the academics’ point of view, the values, practices and behaviours that facilitate an enabling institutional culture, which supports the career progression of academic staff.Motivation for the study: A comprehensive and deeper understanding of any higher education institutional culture requires analysis beyond the structural elements and established procedures of the institution. An understanding of how individuals interpret their environment, to support their career progression, is equally important.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative, phenomenological approach was followed, through individual, semi-structured interviews with 17 academics, across all career phases.Main findings: An institutional culture in support of academic career progression includes three major values of: equity and inclusion, an ethic of care and collaboration, that are interconnected to practices such as performance management, a career management system, a comprehensive induction and orientation, a collaborative structure, remuneration, as well as resources and support, together with behaviours, comprising the articulation of team values, alignment of individual and institutional values, as well as a systemic approach.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding the values, practices and behaviours within the context of higher education offers leaders and talent management practitioners the necessary factors to consider as they grapple to understand a culture that enables the career progression of academic staff.Contribution/value-add: Deeper understanding, from the academics’ point of view, the values, practices and behaviours that facilitate an enabling institutional culture, which supports the career progression of academic staff.

A Bibliometric Review of Career Education from Contemporary Literature with Vosviewer and Biblioshiny

“…It must also consider a socio-environmental system as this would support the individual career development process. However, evidence of this relationship remains scarce (Barnes, Du Plessis, et al, 2021). On the other hand, career educators in higher education seek to constantly be engaged with industrial partners so that they could prepare students towards enhancing their decision-making skills and personality traits for the job (Bohn, 2019).…”

Retracted

“…Articles from the healthcare sector included studies by Kovacs and Drozda [62], Veith and Marin [63], and Wijaya et al [64]. Research and higher education-related articles were contributed by Barnes et al [65], Borah et al [66], Huang and Brown [67], Kumaraswamy and Chitale [68], Saetnan and Kipling [69], and Samuel et al [70].…”

A scoping review on what constitutes a good research culture

“…Consider feedback initiatives to support continued professional development for supervisors and team leaders or collate benchmarking data focused on the culture of the research team between supervisorstudent (23,24,42,43,48,54,57,59,60,62,64,66,70,80,92,(98)(99)(100)(101)(102)(103)(104)(105)(106)(107)(108)(109)(110)(111) 4…”

“…Explore opportunities for leadership and management training (including project management) for all staff, levels, stages, and position within academia) (24,43,54,57,60,62,64,66,67,70,90,95,96,100,103,104,107,(112)(113)(114)(115)(116)(117)(118)(119)(120)(121) 5 6…”

“…Explore ways to support staff with line management skills including appraisal and inclusive management practices and motivate managers to prioritise these duties, including upskilling of staff (43,54,69,118,125,130) Reduce hyper competition and provide a culture of kindness…”