Low Research Productivity: Transformation, Institutional and Leadership Concern at a South African University

Autor/inn/en	Abe, Isaac; Mugobo, Virimai
Titel	Low Research Productivity: Transformation, Institutional and Leadership Concern at a South African University
Quelle	In: Perspectives in Education, 39 (2021) 2, S.113-127 (15 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Mugobo, Virimai)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0258-2236
DOI	10.18820/2519593X/pie.v39.i2.9
Schlagwörter	Research; Productivity; Universities; Educational Change; Educational Policy; Higher Education; Faculty Workload; Work Environment; Leaves of Absence; College Faculty; Incentives; Class Size; Faculty Mobility; Foreign Countries; Hermeneutics; Phenomenology; Barriers; Educational History; Teacher Characteristics; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Forschung; Produktivität; University; Universität; Bildungsreform; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Arbeitsmilieu; Lehrerbeurlaubung; Fakultät; Anreiz; Klassengröße; Ausland; Hermeneutik; Phenomenological psychology; Phänomenologie; Psychologie; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	A key indicator of the academic worth, value and development of a university is its research capacity and publications. The universities of technologies (UoTs) that merged from former technikons have been poorly ranked due to low research performance. Hands have been pointed at the academics, some school of thought blamed the institutions, others pointed at the government agencies in charge of higher education policies, regulation, and restructuring. The aim of this paper is to examine empirically from the institutional point of view, reasons for low research output in the UoTs. A qualitative research approach was adopted by conducting semi-structured interviews with 15 academic staff and a comprehensive focus group meeting among six academics from three faculties in the same UoT. Heavy workload, career ambiguity, poaching, staffing, sabbatical leave policy, large student numbers, unawareness of incentives, poor retention strategies, institutional history, understanding of research mandate, clarity of policies and procedures and poor time management emerged as the contributing factors to low research output in the UoT. According to the fourth dimension of systems archetype, the study contributes to knowledge by allowing a level of understanding into the problem under investigation. Strategic issues to be considered were suggested for the stakeholders as a way forward. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	University of the Free State Faculty of Education. P.O. Box 339, Bioemfontein 9300, South Africa. Tel: +27-51-401-2368; e-mail: PiE@ufs.ac.za; Web site: http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01