CAPtive academics: An examination of the binary divide in Finland

Timo Aarrevaara, Ian Richard Dobson, Elias Pekkola

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Finland’s march towards universal higher education can be linked initially to Finnish regional policy and later to the development of non-university higher education. The establishment of the polytechnic sector from 1991, with its greater focus on teaching and interaction with ‘working life’ led to a new higher education workforce. This chapter therefore examines the differences and similarities in work and attitudes between academics from each sector. University staff tend to spend more time on research and less time on teaching than their polytechnic counterparts, and had different opinions on matters relating to their personal influence and their perceptions of working conditions. Seniority has an impact on the opinions of junior and senior staff in both sectors, but gender-based differences are small. Some of the opinions expressed by academics are influenced by the long history of universities in society. Finnish polytechnics, however, have much less ‘history’, and have much more centralised governance arrangements.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationChanging Governance and Management in Higher Education
EditorsWilliam Locke, William K. Cummings, Donald Fisher
Place of PublicationUnited States
PublisherSpringer Spektrum
Pages243-262
Number of pages20
ISBN (Print)978-94-007-1139-6
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes
MoEC publication typeA3 Part of a book or another research book

Publication series

SeriesThe Changing Academy – The Changing Academic Profession in International Comparative Perspective

Keywords

  • 517 Political science, Academic profession, academic work, influence, drivers, working conditions

Field of science

  • Administrative science

Citation for this output