The Managerial University and Changing Academic Work in the Netherlands
Project Description
European higher education institutions have undergone significant transformation in the past decades due to the New Public Management inspired governmental policies and reforms. These policies geared towards increasing efficiency and effectiveness of universities in the 1990s, starting with the UK and gradually spreading in the continental Europe, have strengthened managerial control within universities in order to ensure accountability to the increasing variety of stakeholders. An indirect effect of these processes might be the gender differentiation of academic roles at universities.
The purpose of this project is to understand the extent of change in academic work and working conditions across disciplines and universities. In doing so, the main focus will be on the influence of university managerialism on academic work of female and male academics in the Netherlands. The study uses a mixed methods design. First, interviews will be carried out with human resources officers from Dutch universities. Further, a cross-sectional online survey will be conducted among academics from Dutch universities across all disciplines. The results of the study will be presented to the participating universities, in the higher education studies conferences as well as published in scientific journals.
Project Period
2015 – 2016
Project Team
Principal investigator
Prof. Dr. Liudvika Leišytė
Project staff
Dr. Bengü Hosch-Dayican (postdoctoral researcher)
Publications
- Leišytė, L. & Hosch-Dayican, B. (2016). The managerial university and changing academic work in the Netherlands: Gender implications. Project Report for the LNVH. Dortmund: Technische Universität.
- Leišytė, L. (2016). New public management and research productivity – A precarious state of affairs of academic work in the Netherlands. Studies in Higher Education, 41(5), 828-846. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2016.1147721 .
- Leišytė, L. & Hosch-Dayican, B. (2016). Organizational work arrangements and gendered academic careers: The case of the Netherlands. Presentation at the Gender, Work and Organization (GWO) 2016, 9th Biennial International Interdisciplinary Conference, Keele University, UK, 29th June-1st July.