Abstract
This paper reports on the perceptions that senior academic administrators hold on the relationship between the research and teaching components of academic work. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with senior academic administrators from the humanities, sciences, social sciences and professional areas. The findings indicate a strong belief in a symbiotic nexus between teaching and research. Indeed, the data reveal many important, but often subtle, interconnections between these two components of academic work. A three-level nexus between teaching and research is suggested: the tangible nexus, the intangible nexus and, the global nexus. These findings form part of a wider investigation into the nature of academic work in Australian universities and are proposed as a suitable framework for further research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becher, Tony (1987). ‘Disciplinary discourse’, Studies in Higher Education 12 (3), 261–274.
Ben-David, Joseph (1977). Centers of Learning: Britain, France, Germany, United States. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Bowen, Howard R. and Schuster, Jack H. (1986). American Professors: A National Resource Imperiled. Oxford University Press.
Clark, Burton R. (1983). The Higher Education System: Academic Organization in Cross-National Perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Clark, Burton R. (1987). The Academic Life: Small Worlds, Different Worlds. Princeton: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Dill, David D. (1982). ‘The management of academic culture: notes on the management of meaning and social integration’, Higher Education 11, 303–320.
Elton, Lewis (1986). ‘Research and teaching: symbiosis or conflict’, Higher Education 15, 299–304.
Feldman, Kenneth A. (1987). ‘Research productivity and scholarly accomplishment of college teachers as related to their instructional effectiveness’, Research in Higher Education 26 (3), 227–298.
Finkelstein, Martin J. (1984). The American Academic Profession A Synthesis of Social Scientific Inquiry Since World War II. Columbus: Ohio State University.
Friedrich, Robert J. and Michalak, Stanley J. (1983). ‘Why doesn't research improve teaching?’, Journal of Higher Education 54 (2), 145–163.
Jensen, Jens-Jorgen (1988). ‘Research and teaching in the universities of Denmark: does such an interplay really exist?’, Higher Education 17, 17–26.
Kerr, Clark (1972), originally published 1963). The Uses of the University: With a ‘Postcript - 1972’. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Miles, Matthew B. and Huberman, A. Michael (1984). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Muir, William R. (1987). ‘The structure of the academic dogma: ancient history is not just academic’, Paper presented at the ASHE Annual Meeting, February 1987.
Neumann, R. (1989). ‘The role and priority of research in higher education: a past perspective on the future’, in Edwards, Helen and Barraclough, Simon (eds.), Research and Development in Higher Education 11. Sydney: Herdsa.
Neumann, Ruth (1990a). ‘Interview-based research into academic work’, in Macpherson, R. J. S. and Weeks, J. (eds.), Pathways to Knowledge in Educational Administration: Methodologies and Research in Progress in Australia. Armidale: ACEA, pp. 95–104.
Neumann, Ruth (1990b). A Study of the Research Role Within Academic Work. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Neumann, Ruth and Lindsay, Alan (1988). ‘Research policy and the changing nature of Australia's universities’, Higher Education 17 (3), 307–321.
Redner, Harry (1987). ‘The institutionalization of science: a critical synthesis’, Social Epistemology 1 (1), 37–59.
Ruscio, Kenneth P. (1987). ‘The distinctive scholarship of the selective liberal arts college’, Journal of Higher Education 58 (2), 203–222.
Schwartzman, Simon (1984). ‘The focus on scientific activity’, in Clark, Burton R. (ed.), Perspectives on Higher Education: Eight Disciplinary and Comparative Views, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 199–232.
Tierney, William G. (1988), ‘Organizational culture in higher education’, Journal of Higher Education 59 (1), 1–21.
Wolcott, Harry F. (1988). ‘Ethnographic research in education’, in Jaeger, Richard M. (ed.), Complementary Methods for Research in Education. Washington: American Educational Research Association, pp. 187–206.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Neumann, R. Perceptions of the teaching-research nexus: a framework for analysis. High Educ 23, 159–171 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00143643
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00143643