Letter from the editors

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the fifth issue of 2018, our last ‘open’ issue for the year before the Special Issue on ‘International learning communities in uncertain times’. Our call for abstracts is also now open for our 2019 Special Issue on ‘Employability and employment outcomes as drivers of higher education practice: Implications for development of a future-capable workforce’. While we do not predetermine the content of our open issues, we often find some common themes across the independent research. This issue we have four articles examining autonomy within universities from the perspective of individual academics, middle management, senior strategic planners and, more theoretically, from a postcolonial global perspective.

Are academics ‘…little children behind the desk who have to be policed to make sure that they behave themselves’? According to Nomanesi Madikizela-Madiya’s research, ‘management by eyeball’ remains a popular approach in the South African multi-campus distance learning context. This article makes an important contribution to understanding how space and mistrust interact in multi-campus environments.

‘Middle management’ includes a wide range of positions, from Deputy Vice Chancellors down to the unit or departmental managers. Louise Chilvers and colleagues examine experiences of those at academic management entry level: the Associate Heads of School at Massey University in New Zealand. After tasting higher education management, most are eager to avoid ‘the death of an academic career’ and return to their substantive roles.

Strategic planners perhaps have the luxury of directing change, without facing the challenges of implementation. Strategic planning was introduced to Australian universities in the late 1980s and, unsurprisingly, led to a lot of strategic plans. It also led to conflicts. After 30 years Tess Howes asks the rhetorical question: ‘how good are we and how do we know?’ The question was rhetorical but the evidence from participants and observers suggests ‘not good enough’.

The Irish higher education sector has long been a key driver for the national economy, but until recently there was limited strategy or direct alignment with national economic needs. This changed dramatically after the Global Financial Crisis with a new utilitarian focused government agenda. Christina Burke’s article succinctly discusses the circumstances leading to this and explores how Postcolonial theory can help us understand the colonising effects of globalisation and neo-liberalism in small countries.

Academics are increasingly expected to engage with industry and create knowledge of practical use, but universities are also recruiting experts with practice-based knowledge into the academy. Little is known about how these newcomers are integrated into the academy. Virginia King, Jannie Roed and Louise Wilson investigate induction and retention of industry professionals in UK universities. It is an important topic: after all, these academics can easily leave.

The dual missions of teaching and research have long been defining characteristics of universities. The debate about the teaching-research nexus is probably just as old. Paul Lapoule and Richard Lynch offer an interesting insight into how positive relationships between the two activities may be strengthened through pedagogical case studies. They also examine the different motivations scholars employ when linking research with teaching.

When we hear about staff ‘contact hours’ with students we often think about academic teaching staff, but professional staff members are equally responsible for developing a positive, student-oriented experience. Michelle Gillespie’s article examines the attitudes of professional staff towards customer service at Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) and strategies for achieving a stronger student focused workforce.

As always, it has been a pleasure to bring this research to you and we hope you find it interesting and constructive.