Not in the Greater Good: Academic Capitalism and Faculty Labor in Higher Education

Spinrad, Mark L.; Relles, Stefani R.; Watson, Doris L.

doi:10.3390/educsci12120912

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…In this context, a particular conception of the world was constructed in which knowledge is only valid if it is marketable, if researchers are entrepreneurs, and if higher education and research are in the service of global capitalism and neoliberal rationality (Bori and Block 2024). Moreover, public universities in the United States adopted the practices and norms of a business mindset that are more closely consistent with corporate goals and values instead of social institutions responsible for knowledge creation and dissemination (Spinrad et al 2022).…”

Section: Changing the Academic Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dysfunction of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy: Impeding the Accumulation of Scientific Knowledge in the Japanese Academic Sector

Hirao,

Hoshino

2024

Administrative Sciences

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Since the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development presented its comprehensive Innovation Strategy in 2010, numerous countries have been updating their innovation policies. Subsequent to the promulgation, the innovation policies of Japan shifted the focus from discipline-specific to social issue-oriented approaches. This study investigates the response of the Japanese academic sector to this policy shift and the characteristics of the research projects associated with innovation policy by utilizing descriptive statistics from policy documents and the database of Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research. The findings reveal that Japanese researchers have increasingly aligned their efforts with government-proposed research themes in recent years, with a notable shift toward short-term research projects. Moreover, Japanese universities are undergoing reforms that are transforming them into entrepreneurial institutions by altering incentive structures. Although these reforms may yield short-term research outcomes, they may not always address long-term societal needs. The narrowing focus on research themes could restrict the potential impact of research and impede the development of innovative solutions to societal challenges. From this viewpoint, assessing the relationship between government-proposed research themes and the research productivity of Japan is critical. Universities and public research institutions play a vital social role in broadening the foundational knowledge base through basic research, while private enterprises may lack the motivation to invest in research and development with low appropriability. These results may be beneficial for policymakers in reconsidering the division of labor in industry-academic collaboration in a knowledge-intensive economy.

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Section: Changing the Academic Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dysfunction of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy: Impeding the Accumulation of Scientific Knowledge in the Japanese Academic Sector

Hirao,

Hoshino

2024

Administrative Sciences

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“…Consequently, American higher education environmental climates have become increasingly fast-paced and competitive, making faculty-student graduate mentoring seem daunting. As tenured faculty navigate the pressures of academic ranking, reputation, accountability, and productivity [6], graduate mentoring relationships have also shifted into economic metrics and resource management [6]. The advent of a global knowledge economy [2] and the accentuation of higher education disparities [1] have gradually reshaped academic knowledge production, trading, and student accessibility.…”

Section: Compassion-focused Mentoring: An Antidote To Adverse Faculty...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion-Focused Mentoring: An Antidote to Adverse Faculty-Student Mentoring Outcomes?

Kaye

2024

OBM Integr Complement Med

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Fueled by decreased state support, economic pressures, and a growing emphasis on academic capitalism, higher education in the United States faces significant challenges. These shifts have fostered fast-paced, competitive environments, impacting the quality and equity of faculty-student mentoring in graduate programs, particularly for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and first-generation students. This article proposes a novel framework, the compassion-focused mentoring conceptual model (CFM-CM), to address the complex challenges faced by under-represented students seeking meaningful faculty mentorship. The CFM-CM expands on Johnson's model for mentor competence by integrating principles from Gilbert’s compassion-focused therapy (CFT) approach. It emphasizes the cultivation of a compassionate Self-identity in mentors, grounded in compassion motivation and mindfulness, as a foundation for fostering ethical, equitable, and supportive mentoring relationships. By exploring the limitations of current mentoring practices and analyzing negative mentoring experiences through the lens of CFT, this article suggests that the CFM-CM can pave the way for improved faculty-student relationships, fostering well-being, inclusivity, and success for BIPOC and first-generation students in graduate education.

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“…Over a similar period, academic staff have also reported increased workloads, particularly in respect to administrative tasks (Allen, 2019;Allen et al, 2020;Allen et al, 2021). Some academic institutions have been criticised for operating under a businessoriented model, prioritising profitability over education (Pucciarelli & Kaplan, 2016;Spinrad et al, 2022); however, there are several changes that may also contribute to increased workloads.…”

Section: Context: Ai In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using leadership to leverage ChatGPT and artificial intelligence for undergraduate and postgraduate research supervision

Cowling,

Crawford,

Allen

et al. 2023

AJET

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ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) have hit higher education by storm. Much of the research focuses on how this – and similar – tools can be leveraged for effective education of undergraduate coursework students. In this study, we explore the emerging benefits and limitations of ChatGPT and LLMs in the context of undergraduate and postgraduate research supervision. What we found was that psychological need fulfilment, research student autonomy and relatedness were key outcomes that could be cultivated at the student level. At a unit or subject level, the opportunity for formative feedback was seen as a strength. We also discuss some key limitations to the tool, including how limited its ability to deconstruct social injustice and generate content appropriate to context. We used an example of leadership research to highlight that it may preference good outcomes and likewise present information related to current and normative practices rather than desired future practices. We conclude by considering the broad implications of this work on research supervision relationships. Implications for practice or policy: ChatGPT has the ability to enhance research higher degree research practices. AI and LLMs may support student psychological need fulfilment, autonomy, competence and relatedness. ChatGPT could provide preliminary formative feedback support for research and doctoral students prior to submitting drafts to supervisory teams. Policy safeguards are needed to ensure research responses to lack of context, data bias, equity concerns and lack of an ethical framework.

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Not in the Greater Good: Academic Capitalism and Faculty Labor in Higher Education

Cited by 6 publications

References 61 publications

The Dysfunction of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy: Impeding the Accumulation of Scientific Knowledge in the Japanese Academic Sector

The Dysfunction of Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy: Impeding the Accumulation of Scientific Knowledge in the Japanese Academic Sector

Compassion-Focused Mentoring: An Antidote to Adverse Faculty-Student Mentoring Outcomes?

Using leadership to leverage ChatGPT and artificial intelligence for undergraduate and postgraduate research supervision

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