TY - JOUR

T1 - Are Academic Workloads increasing? The post-war survey evidence in the UK

AU - Tight, Malcolm

PY - 2010/4

Y1 - 2010/4

N2 - It is widely believed by current academics, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, that their workloads have increased significantly. This article examines this belief by analysing the findings of a series of surveys that have reported on this and related issues since 1945. These suggest that: while there has been an increase in academic workloads, much of this had occurred by the end of the 1960s; the position of research appears to have been maintained, though at a lower level in the newer universities/former polytechnics than in the older universities; much of the increased workload has come in the form of administrative demands. Possible explanations for the apparent contradictions between perceptions and the survey evidence are suggested.

AB - It is widely believed by current academics, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, that their workloads have increased significantly. This article examines this belief by analysing the findings of a series of surveys that have reported on this and related issues since 1945. These suggest that: while there has been an increase in academic workloads, much of this had occurred by the end of the 1960s; the position of research appears to have been maintained, though at a lower level in the newer universities/former polytechnics than in the older universities; much of the increased workload has come in the form of administrative demands. Possible explanations for the apparent contradictions between perceptions and the survey evidence are suggested.

U2 - 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2009.00433.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2009.00433.x

M3 - Journal article

VL - 64

SP - 200

EP - 215

JO - Higher Education Quarterly

JF - Higher Education Quarterly

SN - 0951-5224

IS - 2

ER -