SUBJECTIVE TRANSFORMATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP OF AN ACADEMIC TEACHER

A subjective change of the employment relationship by the employer is subject to the regulation of Art. 231 of the labour code. The norm has got a universal character and its application to the employment in an institution of higher education requires taking into account the specificity of two aspects. Firstly, it is the matter of a workplace possessed by an institution of higher education as the employer. Secondly, the higher education act introduces mechanisms which can be defined as characteristic to this form of transfer of a workplace. In case of the former it is important whether an institution of higher education is public or non-public. Subjective transformation of the employment relationship in institutions of higher education should also require consideration of the protection of stability of employment relationship of academic teachers.

CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONAL WORKING PLACES FOR ACADEMIC TEACHERS

Employment of an academic teacher at a basic and additional working place in one of the essential normative constructions regulated under the higher education act. Control of additional employment of academic teachers is one of exceptions from the constitutional principle of the freedom of work. This mechanism in the employment relationship of academic teachers is justified first of all by the role and tasks of the higher education system in the activities of the state. Additionally there should also be mentioned the protection of interests of an employer and the specific character of hiring academic teachers. Such criteria should also be used by a vice-chancellor when giving his/her consent to their employment at an additional working place.

The position of teacher training in UK higher education - unification of higher education and "quality assurance"

Government officials and policymakers in Japan are interested in England's teacher training model but how did England arrive at its current teacher training programmes? Professor Kazuko Takano, Meiji University, Japan, is working to improve understanding in this area, which will assist officials from different countries when implementing similar policies. To do this she is shedding light on the history of teacher training in England, with a specific focus on the effects of reforms introduced by the Thatcher and Major governments. A key element of this work involves an exploration of teacher training in higher education during the Thatcher-Major educational reforms when the quality assurance system was being developed. Importantly, Takano is looking at both professional and academic aspects of teacher training. The Education Reform Act 1988 was introduced under the Thatcher government and the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 was brought in by the Major government. Teacher training courses were largely provided by polytechnics and higher education colleges, which were public sector institutions and after higher education was unified by the 1992 Act, polytechnics and higher education colleges meeting the standards of scale and quality were promoted to university status. With the introduction of further acts, it started to become clear that the administration of teacher training was positioned not in the higher education series but the primary and secondary education series. This was one of the milestones in the history of teacher training in the post-war period.

THE POLICE ACADEMY IN SZCZYTNO IN DIFFICULT TIMES

In 2003–2005, the Police Academy was in the process of losing its academic status as a centre designed to prepare police executives. According to the adopted assumptions, the Academy was to become an institution preparing police personnel at the basic and specialist levels. In May 2004, the new Commandant-Rector, on the basis of opinions of the police community, research conducted in the Academy, and his own experience in service in various police units, prepared a plan to maintain the status of a university, and develop the university as a training and scientifi c centre. Thanks to the enormous work done by the school personnel and police offi cers from all over the country supporting the Academy, and thanks to the support obtained from many scientifi c centres, the programme was implemented very quickly. Comprehensive assistance was also obtained from the regional authorities and Members of Parliament from all political backgrounds. The Police Academy in Szczytno as a public service university was included in the new Higher Education Act. After a few months, the effects of these undertakings prompted the management of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, and the National Police Headquarters to make a decision on granting the school a new statute appropriate for a higher education institution, restoring university structures and enrolling new students for previously suspended undergraduate studies for police offi cers. All of the undertakings encountered unprecedented interest.

Gender equality officers: which activities can we do to improve gender equality in STEM? Examples from MARUM women’s representatives

<p>Many institutes have equal opportunity or gender equality officers. They are usually responsible to ensure that equal opportunity and gender equality laws are applied at their institute but also offer local support. The actions from these officers might greatly help to improve equal opportunities and gender equality.</p><p>At MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Germany, a collective of three women was elected in January 2019 as decentralised women’s representatives. Our overarching goal is to advice and support all scientists and students at MARUM, as well as the director and committees, in the implementation of the legally-fixed gender equality duty (<em>Bremisches Hochschulgesetz</em> / Higher Education Act of the State of Bremen). As such, we have implemented several actions to promote gender equality at MARUM.</p><p>With the present contribution, we would like to present the activities with which we have been engaged and discuss how successful they were, in order to help other gender equality officers in their role. We also hope to hear about other successful actions that have been implemented in order to broaden our actions. Generally, we would like to discuss ideas of useful future actions and exchange with colleagues in this field. A long-term goal is to create a repository of actions which can be taken by equal opportunity and gender equality officers.</p><p>Our actions were implemented at a range of levels: directly with the women from MARUM (e.g. network meetings, support in case of conflict, pregnancy checklist), sensibilisation (e.g. invited talk on gendered wording in job advertisement, workshop on writing letters of recommendation, screening of “Picture a Scientist”), institutional (e.g. bi-annual meeting with director, meetings with the other gender equality actors at the university), monitoring (e.g. analysis of the gender of job applicants and selected candidates).</p><p>Most actions are very beneficial and well received. We feel it is profitable to act at these different levels, to provide support directly to the women, but also to inform a wide range of actors on gender inequalities. The resources we have at MARUM allows a funding of some activities, which is particularly useful. Because we are scientists ourselves, we have a good and productive exchange with the other women on a peer level. We are greatly encouraged and supported by the fact that people in leadership positions take us seriously and carefully listen to our opinion and feedback. A difficulty which we encounter is that, although the position of women’s representative is officially recognised by the law, we are not given specific time for it. Therefore, the work that we do as gender equality officer is done in addition to our scientific work.</p>

Autonomiczny charakter zadaniowego czasu pracy nauczyciela akademickiego

Autonomous character of task-based working time of a academic teacher Employment relationship of a academic teacher, determined by pragmatic regulations of the higher education act, demonstrates specific characteristics in various aspects, with particular focus on the aggregate of rights and obligations. This kind of reflection makes also regulation of working time to be perceived through the prism of the characteristics of the employment relationship of a academic teacher since its particular content elements determine differences in defining the task-based working time. The mechanism of implementing the system of working time, tasks of a academic teacher, and in particular regulations connected with providing the teaching obligations are essential factors in defining the autonomous character of the task-based working time system of a academic teacher.

The New Jim Crow in Higher Education: A Critical Race Analysis of Postsecondary Policy Related to Drug Felonies

In this paper, critical race theory and critical race praxis for educational research are used to frame an analysis of the 1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA98) that limits access to financial aid for students who have been convicted of a drug felony. The authors explain how the HEA98 disenfranchises Black and Latinx college student populations. This policy is a form of institutional racism against the disproportionately large number of Black and Latinx individuals that have been convicted of drug-related crimes, which creates a caste system of college access and support. This policy analysis highlights data on incarcerated populations that link the policing of drug offenses to racial profiling and discrimination (e.g., “the War on Drugs” and the 1994 Crime Bill), questions the motivations for reducing access to education in drug offenders, reviews causes and inhibitors of recidivism in drug offenders to make the case for the promotion of education in recently-released offenders, and highlights empirical data that supports expanding access to these people. The authors conclude the paper with recommendations to progress toward racial educational equity. This paper is directed toward higher education scholars, practitioners, and policy makers who possess a strategic critical orientation towards racial equity in education.

Can we measure the impact? An evaluation of one-to-one support for students with specific learning difficulties

In recent years, there have been changes to the way in which the UK Government funds support for disabled students in England. Higher education providers (HEPs) are increasingly encouraged to embed support for their disabled students and adopt responsibility for funding their own models of support. This has led to questions at institutional level about the impact of the support that is offered and the role of that support in student retention and success. Against a context in which the Office for Students (OfS, 2018) has identified reducing the attainment gap between disabled and non-disabled students as a strategic priority, it seems timely to consider the role of specialist one-to-one support and the potential impact of this for students. Drawing on an analysis of attainment data, as well as questionnaire responses from service users, this research project sought to evaluate the impact of one-to-one study skills support for students with specific learning difficulties (SpLDs) in one, pre-92 university (established prior to the introduction of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992). When comparing the attainment data of students with SpLDs who had accessed one-to-one support, compared to students with SpLDs who had not, 10% of the students who had not accessed support had withdrawn from their studies. None of the students who had accessed support withdrew, and there was a positive correlation between the number of support sessions attended and attainment.