Working Time and Role Strains of Research and Teaching Staff in a Modern Russian University

Abstract

Abstract. The article touches upon the changes in roles within the academic profession in Russia arising from the education and science reform. The analysis is made through the example of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE). Both quantitative and qualitative data is used to suggest a typology of faculties based on their work time allocation. The typology includes five types of faculties: teacher researchers, teachers, researchers, "universal soldiers", and experts. Each type displays different levels of satisfaction with their work time budget: those who do a lot of teaching and administrative work tend to be less satisfied. This can be explained by the changes in the system of faculty certification in Russia and by how academic staff respond to those changes. Interview results are used to highlight the typical work time allocation problems faced by faculties. These include a low degree of freedom to manage one's own work time, the lack of boundary in work-life balance, excessive teaching load, an increase in unscheduled tasks, and the problem of delegating workloads which require high research and management skills. Keywords: work time allocation, academic profession, education and science reform, job satisfaction, types of academic professionalism. 10.17323/1814-9545-2017-1-88-111 The academic systems of many countries are undergoing huge changes induced by a combination of factors: the spread of e-learning, the digitalization of library databases, welfare commercialization, and the growing competitive power of the nonacademic sector as a produc- DOI:

Qualitative characteristics of lectures employment in the Russian universities in conditions of precarity

“…We believe that in the list above, the last circumstance has the greatest negative impact on changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of teachers in Russian universities. We find indirect confirmation of the stated hypothesis in the increased number of studies on the precarity of employment of university lectures, both in the world (for example, [2,3]) and in the Russian (for example, [4,5]) scientific space.…”

“…Characteristics were determined on the basis of interviews with teachers regarding the feelings they experience in performing professional functions, evaluating work activities and perceptions of the situation. And also, the authors analyzed publications on the research topic (in particular, [5]).…”

Threats and vulnerabilities of the academic profession vs university personnel potential development

“…Abramov and co-authors declare that "professional activity in the academic sphere is becoming more and more stressful: the idea of a relaxed work regime of university teachers and scientists is becoming a thing of the past under the pressure of the managerial principles of managing higher education and science" [6]. Further the main components of stressfulness in academic activity are demonstrated.…”

Untitled

“…: 10.17323/1814-9545-2020-2-278-302 Academic profession is a significant issue in modern educational research. In Russia, researchers in this field analyze faculty contracts and the recruiting system [Sivak, Yudkevich 2009;Andrushchak, Kuzminov, Yudkevich 2013], identify professional preferences and roles of faculty members [Kozmina 2014;Abramov, Gruzdev, Terentev 2017], and assess the extent of academic freedom inside the hierarchical structures of universities [Kurbatova, Kagan 2015;. Authors seek to link their findings with the changing faculty working conditions.…”

“…Sectors of Research on the Academic Profession structure might be related to the institutional norms of professional and management culture [Abramov, Gruzdev, Terentev 2017]. Professors' perceptions of work overload represent an individual area of research.…”