Academics' perceptions of the influence of the university environment on the practice of the academic profession: case study in a Greek university

ANNA SOLOMOU, ANNA ASIMAKI

Abstract

This study, which is part of a larger ongoing work, utilizing the concepts of "scientific field", “scientific capital” and “symbolic power” from Pierre Bourdieu's theory, as a framework of theoretical presuppositions and heuristics of understanding in the analysis of the data, aims to investigate the perceptions of a Professor (informant) in a Greek university regarding the influence of the university field and the constraints it imposes on the “practice of the academic profession” through the dialectical relationship between teaching and research work. The research was conducted using the biographical narrative interview. The results of the study showed that the university field has a significant impact on the academic profession. It was further shown that administrative positions, progression through the ranks and the immense, profound importance of the research rather than teaching dimension of the academic’ roles are crucial parameters in the practice of the academic profession.

Keywords

Βiographical research, biographical narrative interview, biographical narrative analysis, scientific field

Full Text:

PDF

References

Aleomoni, L. M. (1984). The dynamics of faculty evaluation. In P. Seldin (Ed.), Changing practices in faculty evaluation: A critical assessment and recommendations for improvement (pp. 75-79). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Angrosino, M. V. (1989). Documents of interaction: Biography, autobiography and life history in Social Science perspective. Florida, USA: University of Florida Press.

Archer, M. S. (2003). Structure, agency and the internal conversation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Argyris, C., Putnam, R., & McLain Smith, D. (1985). Action Science San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Arreola, R. A. (1984). Evaluation of faculty performance: Key issues. In P. Seldin (Ed.), Changing practices in faculty evaluation: A critical assessment and recommendations for improvement (pp. 79-85). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Aubrecht, J. D. (1984). Better faculty evaluation systems. In P. Seldin (Ed.), Changing practices in faculty evaluation: A critical assessment and recommendations for improvement (pp. 85-91). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Barcan, R. (1996). The body of the (humanities) academic, or “what is an academic?”. Southern Review, 29(2), 128-145.

Beverley, J. (2005). Testimonio, subalternity, and narrative authority. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 547-557). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Birnbaum, R. (1988). How colleges work: The cybernetics of academic organization and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bourdieu, P. (1988). Homo Academicus. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1992). Microcosms. Three field studies. Athens: Delfini. (in Greek).

Bourdieu, P. (1999). Language and symbolic power. Athens: Kardamitsa. (in Greek).

Bourdieu, P. (2003). Participant Objectivation. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 9(2), 281-294.

Bourdieu, P. (2005). On science and its social uses. Athens: Polytropon. (in Greek).

Bourdieu, P. (2006). The rules of art. Genesis and structure of the literary field. Athens: Patakis. (in Greek).

Bourdieu, P. (2007a). Science of science and reflexivity. Athens: Patakis. (in Greek).

Bourdieu, P. (2007b). Masculine domination. Athens: Patakis. (in Greek).

Cabrera, A. F., Nora, A., Terenzini, P. T., & Hengstler, D. (1992). The convergence between two theories of college persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 63(2), 143-164.

Centra, J. (1993). Reflective faculty evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making sense of qualitative data. London: Sage

Davis, N. L. (2021). A constructive approach to managing faculty conflict: An action research study. Theses and Dissertations, Educational Leadership Studies, 34. Retrieved from https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edl_etds/34.

Denzin, N. (1997). Interpretive Ethnography: Ethnographic Practices for the 21st Century. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Finger, M., & Asun, M. (2000). Adult Education at the crossroads. Learning our way out. London: Zed Books.

Fischer-Rosenthal, W., & Rosenthal, G. (1997). Narrationsanalyse biographischer Selbst-präsentationen. In R. Hitzler & A. Honer (Eds.), Sozialwissenschaftliche Hermeneutik (pp. 133-164). Opladen: Leske & Budrich.

Geis, G. L. (1984). The context of evaluation. In P. Seldin (Ed.), Changing practices in faculty evaluation: A critical assessment and recommendations for improvement (pp. 101-107). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Giddens, A. (1984/2004). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Grawitz, M. (1981). Methods des Sciences Sociales. Paris: Dalloz.

Hatch, M. J. (1997). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Josselson, R., & Lieblich, A. (1993). The Narrative Study of Lives. Sage Publications.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Kreber, C. (2002). Teaching excellence, teaching expertise, and the scholarship of teaching. Innovative Higher Education, 27, 5-23.

Mertens, D. (2005). Research and evaluation in education and psychology. Athens: Metaichmio. (in Greek).

Ochberg, R. (1994). Life stories and storied lives. In A. Lieblich & R. Josselson (Eds.), The narrative study of lives, 2 (pp. 113-144). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Oevermann, U., Tilmann, A., & Konau, E. (1980). Zur Logik der Interpretation von Interviewtexten. In T. Heinze, H.-W. Klusemann & H.-G. Soeffner (Hrsg.), Interpretationen einer Bildungsgeschicht (pp. 15-69). Bensheim: Pädextra.

Palios, Z., & Kyriazi, O. (1999). Greek academics. Science and Society, 2, 199-233. (in Greek).

Plummer, K. (2000). Documents of Life. Athens: Gutenberg.

Rasis, S. (2010). The academic profession: From rationality to commercialization. From the economics of knowledge to the commodification of knowledge. Social Science Tribune, IE(59), 7-39. (in Greek).

Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Sage Publications, Inc.

Rosenthal, G. (2006). The narrated life story: On the interrelation between experience, memory and narration. In K. Milnes, C. Horrocks, N. Kelly, B. Roberts & D. Robinson (Eds.), Narrative, Memory and Knowledge: Representations, Aesthetics and Contexts (pp. 1-16). Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield Press.

Sandler, M. (2000). Career decision-making, self-efficacy, perceived stress and an integrated model for student persistence: A structural model of student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 41(5), 537-580.

Savvakis, M., & Tzanakis, M. (2004). The researcher, the field and the issue of entry: Two cases of Ethnographic Research concerning asylums in Greece. Sociological Research Online, 9(2). Retrieved from http:// www.socresonline.org.uk/9/2/savvakis.html.

Schütze, F. (1983). Biographieforschung und Narratives Interview. Neue Praxis, 13, 283-293.

Seldin, P. (1984). Changing Practices in Faculty Evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Solomou, A., Asimaki, A., Tsiolis, G., & Ravanis, K. (2016). The relationship dynamic between researchers and subjects in the biographical interview: A case study in a Greek University. Culture, Biography & Lifelong Learning, 2(2), 45-54.

Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from Higher Education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89-125.

Tinto, V. (1988). Stages of student departure. Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 438-455.

Tsiolis, G. (2006). Life stories and biographical narratives. The biographical approach in sociological qualitative research. Athens: Kritiki. (in Greek).

Tsiolis, G. (2010). The relevance of the biographical approach in qualitative social research. In M. Pourkos & M. Dafermos (Eds.), Qualitative research in Social Sciences. Epistemological, methodological and ethical issues (pp. 347-370). Athens: Topos. (in Greek).

Tsiolis, G., & Siouti, E. (Ed.) (2013). Biographical (re)constructions in post modernism. Theoretical and methodological issues in biographical research in the social sciences. Athens: Nisos. (in Greek).

Tsiolis, G. (2014). Methods and techniques in qualitative social research. Athens: Kritiki. (in Greek).

Waller, S. (2004). Conflict in Higher Education Faculty Evaluation. Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, 5(1). Retrieved from https://www.creducation.net/resources/cmher_vol_5_1_waller.pdf.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.26220/mje.3854

View Counter: Abstract | 0 | times, and PDF | 0 | times

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Mediterranean Journal of Education | ISSN: 2732-6489 |  Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood EducationUniversity of Patras.

Pasithee | Library & Information Center | University of Patras