ERIC Number: EJ1435545
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2415-0991
EISSN: EISSN-2519-5638
Decoding South African Lecturers' Frustrations with Neoliberal Governance Approaches
Transformation in Higher Education, v9 Article 404 2024
Corporate norms and values, characterised by an enterprise ethos, became the new parameters that defined the academic environment. Academics are increasingly becoming concerned about the commodification of higher education and its impact on academic quality and the standards of quality graduates. The voices of South African academics and their experiences within the neoliberal university governance remain underexplored in the current literature. This study aimed to enhance understanding and contribute to knowledge by exploring lecturers' experiences within a corporatised academic work environment. This study took place across public and private higher education institutions in South Africa. A cross-sectional, qualitative, interpretative phenomenological research design was employed. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of 20 lecturers. The data analysis followed the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings of the study identified three key areas that triggered feelings of frustration with management: (1) participants experienced a lack of management's understanding of governing academic work environments, (2) an erosion of their collegial culture, and (3) a lack of transparent communication. Contribution: A key contribution of this study, which set it apart from other studies, was lecturers' perceptions that their professional identity, collegiality, autonomy, and academic freedom were in crisis.
Descriptors: Neoliberalism, Higher Education, Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, Public Colleges, Private Colleges, Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Work Environment, Teacher Administrator Relationship, School Culture, Communication Skills
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A