TY - JOUR
T1 - When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention
T2 - Addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university
AU - Evans, Linda
N1 - Linda Evans is (full) professor of education at the University of Manchester in the UK, where she is currently the deputy head of the School of Environment, Education and Development. Her research is located in the broad field of working life in education contexts, and incorporates foci on, inter alia, professionalism, professional development, researcher development, workplace attitudes, and leadership. She is known for having developed original theoretical perspectives and conceptualisations, including conceptual models of the componential structures of professionalism and professional development.
PY - 2025/1/9
Y1 - 2025/1/9
N2 - Many academics prioritise research activity over the pursuit of teaching excellence – a prioritisation that threatens the European Commission’s agenda for teaching excellence in higher education. This article considers what underpins such prioritisation, and how the tension it creates may be addressed. The discussion centres on micro-level theoretical perspectives on people’s attitudes to their work. The author’s ‘proximity theory’ explains such attitudes as determined by what people perceive as the proximity between their ‘actual’ and their ‘ideal’ job situations, and the extent to which their work requires them to compromise on their values and priorities – which for some academics may be research-focused and for others teaching-focused, while some may value a teaching-research balance. A policy of specialisation is accordingly proposed for the European HE sector, allowing academics to play to their strengths – teaching for some, research for others – with the aim of, collectively, achieving sector-wide excellence in both.
AB - Many academics prioritise research activity over the pursuit of teaching excellence – a prioritisation that threatens the European Commission’s agenda for teaching excellence in higher education. This article considers what underpins such prioritisation, and how the tension it creates may be addressed. The discussion centres on micro-level theoretical perspectives on people’s attitudes to their work. The author’s ‘proximity theory’ explains such attitudes as determined by what people perceive as the proximity between their ‘actual’ and their ‘ideal’ job situations, and the extent to which their work requires them to compromise on their values and priorities – which for some academics may be research-focused and for others teaching-focused, while some may value a teaching-research balance. A policy of specialisation is accordingly proposed for the European HE sector, allowing academics to play to their strengths – teaching for some, research for others – with the aim of, collectively, achieving sector-wide excellence in both.
KW - proximity theory
KW - the academic workforce
KW - ideal job situations
KW - the European Forum for Enhanced Collaboration in Teaching
KW - centres of HE teaching excellence
KW - HE teaching awards
KW - research-focused academics
KW - teaching-focused academics
U2 - 10.1080/02619768.2024.2446497
DO - 10.1080/02619768.2024.2446497
M3 - Article
SN - 0261-9768
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - European Journal of Teacher Education
JF - European Journal of Teacher Education
ER -