Abstract
Global pressure on universities to compete for research rankings has escalated research expectations and intensified a performativity culture for early career researchers (ECRs). However, there are limited examples in the literature of ECRs advocating for their career and research trajectories. In response to this issue, ECRs in one Australian regional university initiated the Teacher Education ECR Action and Advocacy Group (TEECRAA). This research, reported in this paper, aimed to understand how TEECRAA contributed to the career and research trajectories of these ECRs and their advocacy regarding ECR-specific policy in their higher education context. Framed by tenets of policy network theory and policy communities, this study draws on documents developed by the TEECRAA group using content and thematic analysis to investigate their activities and experiences. Findings highlighted that ECRs were able to set research and career goals, prioritise opportunities for professional learning, create resources to support their research profiles, and develop a network of support. ECRs also increased their contributions to policy and practice by engaging in strategic action that promotes ECR visibility and advocates for their needs. This contribution, however, requires the development of a network-like interaction between ECRs and university leaders with a commitment from the university to work in partnership with ECRs for mutual benefit.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acker, S., & Webber, M. (2017). Made to measure: Early career academics in the Canadian university workplace. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(3), 541–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1288704
Albion, P. (2012). Benchmarking citation measures among the Australian education professoriate. The Australian Educational Researcher, 39(2), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-012-0060-1
Ambler, T., Harvey, M., & Cahir, J. (2016). University academics’ experiences of learning through mentoring. The Australian Educational Researcher, 43(5), 609–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-016-0214-7
Apple, M. W. (1995). Book Review: Rethinking the school: Subjectivity, bureaucracy, criticism. Australian Journal of Education, 39(1), 95–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/000494419503900107
Aprile, K. T., Ellem, P., & Lole, L. (2021). Publish, perish, or pursue? Early career academics’ perspectives on demands for research productivity in regional universities. Higher Education Research & Development, 40(6), 1131–1145. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1804334
Atkinson, P. A., & Coffey, A. (1997). Analysing documentary realities. In D. Silverman (Ed.), Qualitative research: Theory, method and practice (pp. 56–75). Sage.
Australian Research Council. (2009). Physical, Chemical and earth sciences (PCE) and humanities and creative arts (HCA) clusters ERA submission guidelines. Australian Research Council. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20110220210911/http://arc.gov.au/pdf/ERA_Sub_Guide.pdf
Australian Research Council. (2021). ERA EI review final report 2020–2021. Australian Research Council. https://www.arc.gov.au/sites/default/files/era_ei_ac_report.pdf
Bevir, M., & Richards, D. (2009). Decentring policy networks: A theoretical agenda. Public Administration, 87(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2008.01736.x
Bosanquet, A., Mailey, A., Matthews, K. E., & Lodge, J. M. (2017). Redefining ‘early career’ in academia: A collective narrative approach. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(5), 890–902. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1263934
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Brett, J. (1997). Competition and collegiality. Australian Universities’ Review, 40(2), 19–22. https://aur.nteu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/aur_40-02.pdf
Browning, L., Thompson, K., & Dawson, D. (2016). It takes a village to raise an ECR. International Journal for Researcher Development, 7(2), 192–197. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRD-11-2015-0031
Cenamor, J. (2021). To teach or not to teach? Junior academics and the teaching-research relationship. Higher Education Research & Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1933395
Christian, K., Johnstone, C., Larkins, J.-A., Wright, W., & Doran, M. R. (2021). A survey of early-career researchers in Australia. eLife, 10, e60613. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60613
De Lissovoy, N., & McLaren, P. (2003). Educational “accountability” and the violence of capital: A Marxian reading. Journal of Education Policy, 18(2), 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/0268093022000043092
Enright, B., & Facer, K. (2017). Developing reflexive identities through collaborative, interdisciplinary and precarious work: The experience of early career researchers. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 15(5), 621–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2016.1199319
Enroth, H. (2011). Policy network theory. In M. Bevir (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of governance (pp. 19–35). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Evans, M. C., & Cvitanovic, C. (2018). An introduction to achieving policy impact for early career researchers. Palgrave Communications, 4(1), 88. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0144-2
Felt, U., Igelsböck, J., Schikowitz, A., & Völker, T. (2013). Growing into what? The (un-)disciplined socialisation of early stage researchers in transdisciplinary research. Higher Education, 65(4), 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9560-1
Ferguson, H. (2019). University research funding: A quick guide. Parliament of Australia. https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019-04/apo-nid231486.pdf
Grace, L. (2007). From ‘ECR’ to ‘Strategic Academic’: Reconstructing personal narrative as institutional text. AARE Annual conference. https://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2007/gra07144.pdf
Grant, A. (2018). Doing excellent social research with documents: Practical examples and guidance for qualitative researchers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315177274
Horta, H., & Santos, J. M. (2020). Organisational factors and academic research agendas: An analysis of academics in the social sciences. Studies in Higher Education, 45(12), 2382–2397. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1612351
Kenny, J. (2017). Academic work and performativity. Higher Education, 74(5), 897–913. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0084-y
Leathwood, C., & Read, B. (2013). Research policy and academic performativity: Compliance, contestation and complicity. Studies in Higher Education, 38(8), 1162–1174. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.833025
Locke, M. L., Trudgett, M., & Page, S. (2021). Indigenous early career researchers: Creating pearls in the academy. The Australian Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00485-1
Macfarlane, B. (2021). The spirit of research. Oxford Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2021.1884058
Macoun, A., & Miller, D. (2014). Surviving (thriving) in academia: Feminist support networks and women ECRs. Journal of Gender Studies, 23(3), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2014.909718
Maguire, M., Ball, S. J., & Braun, A. (2012). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203153185
Mann, K., Moyle, K., Reupert, A., Wilkinson, J., & Woolley, G. (2007). When two universities meet: Fostering research capacity among early career researchers. AARE Focus Conference. https://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2007/man0713x.pdf
Marginson, S., & Considine, M. (2000). The enterprise university: Power, governance and reinvention in Australia. Cambridge University Press.
Mason, S., Merga, M. K., & Morris, J. E. (2020). Choosing the thesis by publication approach: Motivations and influencers for doctoral candidates. The Australian Educational Researcher, 47(5), 857–871. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00367-7
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
Mostyn, B. (1985). The content analysis of qualitative research data: A dynamic approach. In M. Brenner, J. Brown, & D. Cauter (Eds.), The research interview (pp. 115–145). Academic Press.
Orlando, J., & Gard, M. (2014). Playing and (not?) understanding the game: ECRs and university support. International Journal for Researcher Development, 5(1), 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRD-10-2013-0016
Osbaldiston, N., Cannizzo, F., & Mauri, C. (2016). ‘I love my work but I hate my job’: Early career academic perspective on academic times in Australia. Time & Society, 28(2), 743–762. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X16682516
Peters, M. (2003). Post-structuralism and Marxism: Education as knowledge capitalism. Journal of Education Policy, 18(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/0268093022000043100
Ranchod, R., & Vas, C. (2019). Policy networks revisited: Creating a researcher-policymaker community. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, 15(1), 31–47. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426417X15139342679329
SalihuShinkafi, T. (2020). Challenges experienced by early career researchers in Africa. Future Science OA, 6(5), FSO469. https://doi.org/10.2144/fsoa-2020-0012
Sarabipour, S., Debat, H. J., Emmott, E., Burgess, S. J., Schwessinger, B., & Hensel, Z. (2019). On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. PLOS Biology, 17(2), e3000151. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000151
Schilling, J. (2006). On the pragmatics of qualitative assessment. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22(1), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.22.1.28
Schriever, V., & Grainger, P. (2019). Mentoring an early career researcher: Insider perspectives from the mentee and mentor. Reflective Practice, 20(6), 720–731. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2019.1674272
Seddon, T., Bennett, D., Bennett, S., Bobis, J., Chan, P., Harrison, N., & Shore, S. (2013). Education research Australia: A changing ecology of knowledge and practice. The Australian Educational Researcher, 40(4), 433–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-013-0104-1
Smith, J. (2017). Target-setting, early-career academic identities and the measurement culture of UK higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(3), 597–611. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1288708
Smith, P. E. (2020). Rescuing Democracy. Project Muse. https://doi.org/10.21983/P3.0153.1.00
Snowball, J. D., & Shackleton, C. M. (2018). Factors enabling and constraining research in a small, research-intensive South African university. Research Evaluation, 27(2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvy002
Sutherland, K. A. (2017). Constructions of success in academia: An early career perspective. Studies in Higher Education, 42(4), 743–759. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1072150
Sutherland-Smith, W., Saltmarsh, S., & Randell-Moon, H. (2011). Research mentoring on the edge: Early Career Researchers and academic fringe-dwelling. In K. Krause, M. Buckridge, C. Grimmer, & S. Purbrick-Illek (Eds.), Proceedings of HERDSA 2011: Research and development in higher education: Higher education on the edge. Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia. https://www.herdsa.org.au/publications/conference-proceedings/research-and-development-higher-education-higher-education-62
Tynan, B. R., & Garbett, D. L. (2007). Negotiating the university research culture: Collaborative voices of new academics. Higher Education Research & Development, 26(4), 411–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360701658617
Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing & Health Sciences, 15(3), 398–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12048
Vidovich, L. (2007). Removing policy from its pedestal: Some theoretical framings and practical possibilities. Educational Review, 59(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910701427231
Weber, C. T., Borit, M., Canolle, F., Hnatkova, E., O’Neill, G., Pacitti, D., & Parada, F. (2018). Identifying transferable skills and competences to enhance early-career researchers employability and competitiveness. European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers. http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-2018.pdf
Wilson, M., & Holligan, C. (2013). Performativity, work-related emotions and collective research identities in UK university education departments: An exploratory study. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(2), 223–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2013.774321
Wong, S., Murray, E., Rivalland, C., Monk, H., Piazza-McFarland, L., & Daniel, G. (2014). Relationships matter: Some benefits, challenges and tensions associated with forming a collaborative educatioal researcher group. The Australian Educational Researcher, 41(3), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-013-0127-7
Wright, M. (1988). Policy community, policy network and comparative industrial policies. Political Studies, 36(4), 593–612. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1988.tb00251.x
Funding
No funding was obtained for this project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethics statement
Ethics approval (H21REA149) was obtained for this project.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Larsen, E., Salton, Y., Fanshawe, M. et al. Early career researchers’ collective advocacy work within an Australian university context. Aust. Educ. Res. 51, 275–296 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00604-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00604-6