Hidden in plain sight: contrasting management and student perceptions of the value of casual teachers in online higher education

ABSTRACT

This article draws on findings from a qualitative case study of a first-year online unit (subject) offered by a large public university through Open Universities Australia. It includes the student voice, taken from formal evaluation surveys, and the voice of casual academic tutors, provided through first-hand interviews and questionnaires. What emerges from the findings is the high value placed on tutors by their students and the tutors’ important contribution to student success, contrasted with the low value and lack of recognition given to tutors in the contemporary, marketised academy along with the destructive effect this has on tutors’ professional and personal wellbeing. Suggestions for future research to begin addressing this situation are included. Comments on the relevance of the research to the conditions created in higher education by the COVID-19 pandemic conclude the article.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• casualisation
• widening student participation
• online learning

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship [N/A].

Notes on contributors

Andrea Dodo-Balu

Andrea Dodo-Balu holds a Doctor of Education degree from Murdoch University, Perth, Australia. She has extensive experience working in higher education and specialises in coordinating and teaching first year undergraduate units which have an emphasis on successful transition for students into university. Her research interests fall in the areas of higher education teaching and learning, online education, sociology of education and education policy. Dr Dodo-Balu particularly examines the effect of higher education policies and systems on the experiences of students and academic staff involved in on-line learning, and the implications these have for access and equity in higher education.