When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention: addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university: Addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university

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Názov: When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention: addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university: Addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university
Autori: Evans, Linda
Zdroj: Evans, L 2025, 'When teaching competes with research for academics’ attention : Addressing a key challenge in developing teaching excellence in the European university', European Journal of Teacher Education, pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2024.2446497
Informácie o vydavateľovi: Informa UK Limited, 2025.
Rok vydania: 2025
Predmety: HE teaching awards, teaching-focused academics, research-focused academics, the European Forum for Enhanced Collaboration in Teaching, centres of HE teaching excellence, the academic workforce, ideal job situations, proximity theory
Popis: 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.
Druh dokumentu: Article
Jazyk: English
ISSN: 1469-5928
0261-9768
DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2024.2446497
Prístupová URL adresa: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/2e88d938-1b1a-4f19-a78d-f6f73b89122e
https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2024.2446497
Rights: CC BY
Prístupové číslo: edsair.doi.dedup.....df078f3c83dd65ee1da45c1c9127dcd7
Databáza: OpenAIRE
Popis
Abstrakt: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.
ISSN:14695928
02619768
DOI:10.1080/02619768.2024.2446497