This paper presents a study of the use of wikis to support online group projects in two courses at the UK Open University. The research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a wiki in supporting (i) student collaboration and (ii) tutors' marking of the students' collaborative work. The paper uses the main factors previously identified by the…

In 2009, a reform in teachers' pay, linking remuneration to performance, was implemented in China. The intention was to improve the quality of education by making teachers more diligent and creative and removing the inequality in pay between teachers in different schools. A review of this reform reveals that it has resolved the problem of…

Attraction and retention of highly qualified employees has become an area of concern for Australian universities. It has been suggested that flexible work arrangements can be utilised to achieve this goal once the factors affecting their uptake have been identified. This mixed-method study of 495 academic and general staff at an Australian…

Scrutiny over faculty allocations of time and subsequent outcomes is frequent in postsecondary education, especially at state research universities (those that receive appropriations from the state). Particularly during economic downturns, college officials and legislators must make difficult choices in fund allocation. For this reason, faculty…

This article argues that mentoring reflects a form of hidden labor within pre-service teacher education. Using Marx's concern for the ways in which aspects of an economic system are rendered invisible, the article draws on discussions from an American mentor teacher advisory council to illuminate otherwise marginalized aspects of mentors' work.…

A considerable amount of research exists about political science careers at community colleges and liberal arts institutions, as well as about training and hiring practices across different types of institutions. However, there is virtually no commentary available on political science careers at comprehensive institutions, where a significant…

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about how contingent faculty might improve their working conditions through various kinds of alliances. (Contains 1 note.)

There is a paucity of studies investigating how early career academics (ECAs) form attitudes towards aspects of their work and gain skills in research, teaching and service. This is especially the case with respect to research. A review of the pertinent literature revealed the prominence of a notion of research self-efficacy (or confidence) and…

This paper examines perceptions by academics of their work in the Australian state of Victoria, and places such perceptions within the context of international and Australian debates on the academic profession. A 2010 survey conducted by the National Tertiary Education Union in Victoria was analysed in light of the literature on academic work…

The relationship between teaching and research is a touchstone in thinking about higher education. However, the last 40 years has seen the "dislocation" of these core academic activities as a result of policy and operational decisions to distinguish the way they are funded, managed, assessed and rewarded. The activities of…

This paper presents a detailed case study of the development and implementation of a quantifiable academic workload model in the education faculty of an Australian university. Flowing from the enterprise bargaining process, the Academic Staff Agreement required the implementation of a workload allocation model for academics that was quantifiable…

Service is not an optional part of being an assistant professor. The trick is knowing how to do enough without doing too much. In Part 1 of this series, the author enumerated the "good deeds" that assistant professors do in the realm of teaching that tend to blow up or backfire. He cautioned that, while doing good for students was their primary…

Increasing numbers of academics world-wide are migrating as higher education institutions internationalise. Yet academics' experiences of cross-cultural transition remain underexplored, especially in comparison with students. This small-scale narrative study, employing focus group interviews, aimed to explore the cross-cultural transition…

When General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs) were introduced in the late 1980s, coursework was included as a requirement in many subjects. Coursework was intended to help best represent students' attainments, but concerns about various issues (e.g., tasks becoming formulaic, authenticity of student work, workload) led to a review and…

This paper analyses two aspects of developing formative assessment processes within universities in Spain: the academic performance of the students and the workload that formative assessment creates for both academic staff and students. It presents the results of 10 research projects covering the first semester of the 2007-08 academic year, mainly…