Work‐life balancing strategies used by women managers in British “modern” universities

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Woodward
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Women Managers ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrate Work ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe “work‐life balance” literature is mainly concerned with the provision and up‐take of flexible employment patterns. The purpose of this qualitative study of women managers' coping strategies for reconciling work with their other roles and responsibilities is to provide a complementary perspective.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured extended interviews were carried out with 16 women managers of academic or “support” departments in eight UK post‐1992 universities, about their working practices and how they sought to integrate work with other parts of their lives.FindingsThese women reported high workloads, requiring long working hours, which consumed time and energy otherwise available for other relationships and commitments and their own leisure. Various strategies were adopted to manage the situation, including establishing rigid boundaries between work and non‐work, and shifting these boundaries in favour of work when necessary. Temporal, spatial and symbolic distinctions were used to contain work. Women without dependent children were more likely to be able to redefine boundaries when necessary to favour work.Research limitations/implicationsAs a small and possibly unrepresentative sample of UK women managers in higher education, the study could usefully be extended through comparisons with male peers, and with women managers in other sectors. (It is the preliminary phase of a comparative study of women employed in universities in the UK and Japan.) However, the findings broadly replicate other studies.Practical implicationsThere are policy implications for universities, which need feedback from staff about the impact of equal opportunities initiatives to inform further progress.Originality/valueThis study provides qualitative information on women working in non‐traditional key posts in higher education, who are well‐placed to challenge organisational cultures and act as role models.

Does working to pay for higher education really harm French academic results?

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliane Bonnal ◽  
Pascal Favard ◽  
Kady Marie-Danielle Sorho-Body
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
First Year ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Student Profiles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Results

Purpose This paper is the first of its kind to look at first-year undergraduates in France. The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of holding down a job on the probability of students dropping out of higher education or passing their first year. Design/methodology/approach Given the existence of relevant unobserved explanatory variables, probit models with two simultaneous equations have been estimated. The first equation will enable us to explain paid employment or working hours, and the second academic outcomes that allow for dropout. Findings The results show that being employed means students are more likely to drop out during their first year and less likely to pass. The latter finding is comparable with results for subsequent academic years although the impact is greater for first-year undergraduates. The more intensive the work, the greater the adverse effects of employment. Originality/value By refining the research, this negative impact of employment is not verified for all the student profiles. For some of them, e.g., those with honours at the secondary bachelor, employment does not harm their academic results.

scholarly journals Impact assessment in higher education: a strategic view from the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 94-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth L. Ayres
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perspective Drawing ◽  
Assessment In Higher Education ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Strategic Perspective ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper focuses on the importance of impact in higher education from a strategic perspective, exploring its value to institutions, learners and prospective students in today’s higher education context, using the UK as a case study. The increasing prominence of impact assessment in higher education is discussed, with consideration given to the operational structures, tools and approaches which can be adopted to monitor and evaluate the impact of any strategic project or initiative introduced by a higher education provider. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a strategic view of impact assessment in today’s higher education landscape. Findings The significance of impact assessment in higher education is discussed from a strategic perspective, drawing upon relevant studies, UK Government policy and initiatives. Consideration is given to the tools and approaches that can be adopted by higher education providers in assessing the impact of any strategic initiatives and projects that have been implemented. Originality/value The paper is of value to 'any higher education provider that is currently undertaking, or planning to deliver large-scale strategic projects and initiatives which have been designed to enhance the student learning experience.

scholarly journals Culture, consent and confidentiality in workplace autoethnography

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-319
Author(s):  
Catherine Lee
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
School Teacher ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Professional Identities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the author’s experiences as a school teacher and a lesbian. It considers the culture and discourses of power in the school and the ethical implications of telling the author’s story. Utilizing autoethnography as a method of inquiry, it draws on a critical incident to explore the incompatibility of the author’s private and professional identities, and reflect on the impact of homophobic and heteronormative discursive practices in the workplace, on health, well-being and identity. Design/methodology/approach This research is grounded in an interpretivist philosophy. It utilizes writing about the self as a method of inquiry. Findings This research examines the incompatibility of the author’s private and professional identities and offers insight into the steps that those in positions of power will take to protect and perpetuate the heteronormative discourse of rural life. Research limitations/implications This research presents the perspective of only one lesbian teacher in a rural context. Consequently, generalizations are inappropriate and recommendations are difficult. Whilst the absence of clear ethical regulation presents an infinite number of possibilities for autoethnographers, the silence that surrounds the prescription of the ethics of autoethnography leaves those of us at the beginnings of our research careers without clear guidance. Originality/value This research specifically addresses a dearth of research examining the experiences of the rural lesbian (or gay) teacher in the UK. Headteachers of rural schools must ensure that their schools are inclusive and welcoming environments for teachers, and their equalities policies are living documents that are not simply cast aside in the face of rural parent power. Young people in the countryside deserve access to the full pool of teaching talent and should have access to the diverse role models that their urban and suburban counterparts are beginning to enjoy.

Higher Education and student engagement: implications for a new economic era

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 635-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Millican
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of rising fees and the increasing privatisation of higher education on the expectations of its students. It compares experiences in Canada, Australia and the US with conversations carried out in a UK university in 2012 (after the UK fee rise). Design/methodology/approach – The research was informed by Burns Systemic Action research (2007), following emerging lines of enquiry and responding to resonance in these. It brings together conversations held with new undergraduates, second and third year students and staff tasked with introducing engagement into the curriculum. Findings – Findings indicate that student expectations are heavily influenced by secondary schooling and a target-driven consumer culture but that change has been gradual over a number of years. Alongside wanting “value for money” and “a good social life and a good degree” students are heavily motivated by experience and keen to be challenged. Research limitations/implications – Because of the research approach, the research results may lack generalisability. Practical implications – By comparing banking or transactional approaches to teaching and learning with critical pedagogy this paper hopes to highlight the importance of opening up rather than closing down opportunities for social engagement and experiential learning. Social implications – This paper makes a plea for social engagement that properly responds to the needs of communities resisting market-driven forces that treat students as consumers and expecting more rather than less from them in return. Originality/value – Lecturers are encouraged to rethink the pressures placed upon them by the current economic era and the tensions between competing agendas of employability and engagement.

The impact of role identity on student expectations

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Davis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Peer Relations ◽  
Role Identity ◽  
Student Expectations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Student Role ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the viewpoint that student role identity, its dimensions and salience, impact strongly on student expectations of college-based higher education (CBHE) within the UK. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on doctoral research undertaken within the context of CBHE in the UK and is further supported through engagement with a range of pertinent literature. Findings – The paper suggests ways in which the individually constructed student role identity may impact on the expectations of the experience of CBHE. In so doing, the paper highlights the way in which expectations of higher education recursively influence, and are influenced by, perceptions and actions played out from within the student role. Research limitations/implications – The empirical research, from which the paper draws its theme, was undertaken in one large institution. The author recognises that a wider, longitudinal study would be beneficial in recognition of the diversity of provision in the CBHE sector. Practical implications – The paper proposes that greater awareness of the way in which students construct and moderate their perceptions and understandings of studenthood would be beneficial to a range of strategic considerations, such as promotional information, partnership activity, peer relations and the nature of pedagogies and learning architectures. Social implications – The paper foregrounds the political remit of CBHE as a progression route for “non-traditional” students, and considers the varied understandings of the meaning of the student role adopted by students attending colleges. Engagement with issues of multiple roles, identity salience and variable role porosity highlights social and pyschosocial issues faced by many such students. Originality/value – The paper considers role identity in the context of Kurt Lewin’s conceptualisation of life space and uses this framework to highlight issues that may face students and colleges in raising awareness of student expectations. It challenges the homogenous conceptualisation of the term “students” through consideration of the psychic state at a given moment in time.

scholarly journals Fraud and pandemics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Levi ◽  
Russell G. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Crime Types ◽  
Public And Private Sector ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to draw out the common characteristics of frauds associated with pandemics and to identify any risks unique to them. Design/methodology/approach It considers the range of frauds and their reporting lags and examines what is known about current frauds against individuals, businesses and government, principally using public and private sector data from Australia and the UK. Findings The study identifies some novel crime types and methodologies arising during the current pandemic that were not seen in previous pandemics. These changes may result from public health measures taken in response to COVID-19, the current state of technologies and the activities of law enforcement and regulatory guardians. It shows that many frauds would occur anyway, but some specific – mainly online – frauds occur during pandemics, and because of large scale government assistance programmes to businesses and individuals, far more opportunities were created from COVID-19 than in previous eras. Social implications The study concludes with a discussion of the policy implications for prevention, resilience and for private and public policing and criminal justice. It stresses that plans for future pandemics must include provisions for better early monitoring and control of fraud and associated procurement corruption and notes that these require greater political will and organisation. It recommends a more serious analysis of the impact of prevention communications outreach to citizens, businesses and government. Originality/value The study uses fresh data on frauds from the private and public sectors and assesses some measures of control in a holistic way.

Implications of Higher Education on Earnings

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belle Selene Xia ◽  
Elia Liitiäinen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
High Response Rate ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
New Research ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

One of the central topics in the research of higher education is the degree of match between education and work as measured by earnings. Traditional literature has shown the correlation between the duration of studies and earnings in the work life. The authors' present study aims to enlarge this scope by evaluating the impact of competence and skills learned in the university with that of the skills demanded in the work life in an empirical study. In this paper, the authors have collected elementary data from the Finnish university graduates with a respectively high response rate. Consequently, using the data of these university graduates they aim to demonstrate the mismatch between the demand for academic knowledge and the professional demand in the work life and draw policy implications on the findings. The authors will also show how these phenomena affect higher education and earnings through the analysis of skills and competence. New research opportunities are opened in the survey evidence on skills learned at the university.

scholarly journals Exploring educational advantage in the UK via graduate employment of joint honours degrees by examining pre-university tariff and degree classification

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-419
Author(s):  
Louise Pigden ◽  
Andrew Garford Moore
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Graduate Employment ◽  
Educational Disadvantage ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Education Statistics ◽  
Degree Classification ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In the UK, the majority of university students specialise and study just one subject at bachelor degree level, commonly known in the UK as a single honours degree. However, nearly all British universities will permit students if they wish to study two or even three subjects, so-called joint or combined honours degrees, internationally known as a double major. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between graduate employment, pre-university educational attainment and degree classification achieved. The study also explored student choice with respect to university prestige. Design/methodology/approach The authors analysed the complete data set provided from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Destination of Leavers from the Higher Education survey, and combined this with data from the POLAR4 quintiles, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) tariff points and degree classification. The data were analysed to establish whether there was a difference in the choices and highly skilled graduate employment of the joint honours students, focussing particularly on Russell Group and Post-92 Universities, in order to build on previous published work. Findings For any UCAS tariff band, the higher the POLAR4 quintile the higher the rate of highly skilled destination. Russell Group outperform the Post-92 graduates in their rates of highly skilled destinations, for any tariff band and for both joint and single honours degrees. Higher POLAR4 quintile graduates are more likely to study at the Russell Group, with this effect increasing the higher the UCAS tariff. With the exception of first class honours graduates from Post-92 universities, joint and single honours from the Russell Group have a higher rate of highly skilled destination than Post-92 in the next higher degree classification. Social implications Low POLAR4 quintile students with high UCAS tariffs are “under-matching” and there is an impact on their graduate employment as a result. Originality/value This study adds new insights into joint honours degrees and also reinforces the literature around educational advantage and achievement prior to university, and the impact on graduate employment. Educational disadvantage persists over the course of a university degree education, from the perspective of gaining graduate employment. Higher quintile graduates are proportionately more likely to achieve the highest degree classifications, and proportionately less likely to achieve the lowest classifications, than graduates from the lower quintiles. Joint honours graduates are less likely to achieve a first class honours degree than single honours, and this will affect their rate of highly skilled destination.

scholarly journals Crisis Management in Higher Education in the Time of Covid-19: The Case of Actor Training

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Anna McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Actor Training ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Frequency Words

The impact of Covid-19 placed Higher Education leadership in a state of crisis management, where decision making had to be swift and impactful. This research draws on ethea of mindfulness, actor training techniques, referencing high-reliability organisations (HRO). Interviews conducted by the author with three leaders of actor training conservatoires in Higher Education institutions in Australia, the UK and the USA reflect on crisis management actions taken in response to the impact of Covid-19 on their sector, from which high-frequency words are identified and grouped thematically. Reflecting on these high-frequency words and the thematic grouping, a model of mindful leadership is proposed as a positive tool that may enable those in leadership to recognise and respond efficiently to wider structural frailties within Higher Education, with reference to the capacity of leaders to operate with increased mindfulness, enabling a more resilient organisation that unlocks the locus of control.

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