(EDU2d) Sociology of Education in Higher Education Institutions IV

This session features papers that draw on empirical, theoretical, or methodological issues in the realm of Higher Education. Cross-listed with the Canadian Association of Sociology of Education (CASE). Tags: Education

Organizers: Cathlene Hillier, Crandall University, Maria Brisbane, University of Waterloo; Chair: Anastasia Kulpa, University of Alberta/Concordia University of Edmonton

Presentations

Anne-Marie Bresee, Western University

Student care: The onus on women professors

A 2023 online survey, involving professors working in the arts, social sciences and humanities at Ontario universities, indicates this is not an equally shared workload among professors. Women professors are significantly more likely to be asked to provide student care than men professors. Findings indicate that hiring rank, age and ethnicity play only a minor role in who receives student requests. Not surprisingly, a student’s perception of supportive faculty is linked to the successful completion of a degree. However, such emotional labour is often undervalued and unrewarded for women professors. Findings show that student care results in higher stress levels in women professors than men professors.

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This paper associated with this presentation has received the 2024 Sociology of Education Research Cluster's Best Student Paper Award.

Franziska Lessky, University of Innsbruck; Alison Jefferson, University of Toronto

Exploring the Impact of the Research-Teaching Nexus on Academics' Job Satisfaction: A Comparative Study in Canada, Germany and Austria

Growing importance of third-party funding and excellence policies challenge the Humboldtian idea of the research-teaching nexus. This study investigates: What is the effect of the relationship between research and teaching on the job satisfaction of academics in Austria, Germany, and Canada? We applied structural equation modelling by analysing APIKS survey data. The findings indicate that the teaching-research nexus significantly influences job satisfaction, with notable differences moderated by national contexts. The study additionally reveals major differences in job satisfaction related to employment status. The findings emphasize the importance of national contexts and career structures in shaping academic experiences and satisfaction.

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Non-presenting authors: Corinna Geppert, University for Continuing Education Krems; Nicolai Götze, International Center for Higher Education Research

Anastasia Kulpa, University of Alberta/Concordia University of Edmonton

Imagined, but not Experienced, Community in Grading in Higher Education

Although existing research demonstrates that academic disciplines develop their own cultures, these cultures do not address all aspects of academic work. Based on interviews with faculty in psychology, this paper argues that faculty draw on silences in their disciplinary cultures to construct themselves and their grading in ways they understand as both positive and legitimate, including be essentially the same, or better than, what their colleagues are doing. Their responses to these silences also suggest some expectation of a disciplinary culture related to grading, but not a willingness to seek out the interactions which might produce such a culture.