Managerialism and its impact on female academics in Taiwan

Abstract

Higher education in Taiwan is undergoing dramatic changes. While the numbers of higher education institutions have doubled during the last decade, the low birth rates, Taiwan's entry into WTO, and limited resources mean universities in Taiwan are facing greater challenges than ever. Higher education institutions are given more autonomy, but they are also under more pressure to keep up with the international competition and standards. As a result, junior academics are particularly affected by these changes. The paper examines the impact of managerialism on female assistant professors in Taiwan. Twelve junior female academics have been interviewed to understand their experience at work, how they cope with the demand for performance, and their aspirations for the future.

Keywords:

• managerialism
• academics
• higher education

Notes

1. The specific details about each individual interviewed are put into a coding format in the in-text citations and are summarized in Appendix 1. The details include the type of their affiliation (i.e. public [PU] or private [PR]), their discipline (i.e. social sciences [SS] / humanities (H) / business [B] / science [S]), years at work, administrative duties (i.e. yes [Y] or nil [N]), the place where they gained their PhD (i.e. overseas [O] or local [L]), and marital status (i.e. single [S] or married [M]).

2. As there are different academic track systems in Taiwan and Australia, I equate the position of lecturer (Level B) in Australia with the position of assistant professor in Taiwan. A PhD is required for both positions nowadays.

3. The evaluation process consists of the evaluation of many criteria such as, Basic Journal Publishing Standards (including Timeliness of publication), adherence to International Editorial Conventions, English Language Bibliographic Information (including English article titles, keywords, author abstracts, and cited references). ISI also examines the journal's Editorial Content, the International Diversity of it authors and editors (Thomson Web 2007).

4. A longitudinal, biennial, nationally representative survey of PhDs' postdegree employment status.