Changing Academic Work : Developing the Learning University

by Martin, Elaine

• ISBN13: 9780335198832
• ISBN10: 033519883X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Summary

Higher education has changed enormously in recent years. For instance, it now serves a more diverse range of students and is under closer government scrutiny and control. There is consequently a significant number of academics who are uneasy with current values and practices and who work with them reluctantly. Universities may speak publicly of efficiency and effectiveness but they cannot function successfully if their academic staff are disillusioned.Changing Academic Work explores the competing tensions in contemporary work: the need to balance individualism with collaboration; accountability with reward; a valuing of the past with preparation for the future. The aim is to help staff build a contemporary university which is as much a learning organization as an organization about learning. Elaine Martin develops a set of simple but sound principles to guide academic work and, through case study material, she provides engaging and convincing illustrations of these principles in action. She offers insight and guidance for academic staff at all levels who wish to make their working environment more satisfying and productive.

Author Biography

Elaine Martin is Professor and Head of the Curriculum and Academic Development Unit, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. She has worked and researched in the area of tertiary teaching and academic staff development in both the UK and Australia for twenty years.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
Changes in Academic Work	1	(5)
Experiences of Change in Academic Work	6	(19)
Learning and Teaching in Higher Education	25	(24)
Organizational Change and Learning Organizations	49	(21)
Finding a Way Forward	70	(8)
Visions and Missions and Reality	78	(16)
Collaboration and Independence	94	(18)
Accountability and Reward	112	(17)
Encouraging Change: Valuing the Past, Preparing for the Future	129	(18)
A Final Word: A Better Working Life	147	(9)
Bibliography	156	(5)
Index	161	(6)
The Society for Research into Higher Education	167