Dr Barbara Crossouard Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research CHEER b'crossouardsussex'ac'uk

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Dr Barbara Crossouard Centre for Higher
Education and Equity Research(CHEER)
(b.crossouard_at_sussex.ac.uk)

• Contract Researchers
• Emerging texts, subtexts and (academic)
  subjects?

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The brief

• The nature of the problem
• Key messages from new texts
• Possible ways forward, particularly in relation
  to professional subjects

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Concerns and Issues

• Importance of knowledge economy within EU and UK
  policy
• Concern for research quality
• Desire that research be seen as attractive,
  sustainable career option
• Doctoral education recently recognised as key
  site for producing knowledge workers
• Employment structures after doctoral education
  fraught with uncertainties academic career
  structures very uncertain
• (In-)compatibility with changes in employment
  legislation
• Equity issues

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Brief excerpts from SRHE project questionnaire
data (1)

• Social sciences respondent
• It's been an incredibly lonely and stressful
  experience moving from the PhD into the
  workplace. Family and friends have been very
  supportive, but I've had no real institutional
  support (either from either of the universities
  Ive worked in) for professional development.

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Brief excerpts from SRHE project questionnaire
data (2)

• Physical sciences respondent
• Working conditions (e.g. unpaid work,
  never-ending application marathon) in academia is
  ridiculous, along with the politics in research
  funding etc. The career path is crap for anyone
  wanting to attempt a stable life, with family
  (i.e. 2-3 year contracts, moving around the world
  ever so often for perhaps 5-10 years). This will
  tend to enable only a certain type/s of person to
  progress on the academic career ladder, and is in
  my opinion not good for science as a whole. I am
  extremely unhappy with this situation.

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Key texts

• The Concordat to Support the Career Development
  of Researchers (2008)
• The 2008 British Educational Research Association
  (BERA) Charter for Research Staff promoting
  quality conditions for conducting quality
  research
• The EU Charter for Researchers. The Code of
  Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (2005)
  (http//ec.europa.eu/eracareers/pdf/am509774CEE_EN
  _E4.pdf)

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EU Charter (1)

• Member States should endeavour to offer
  researchers sustainable career development
  systems at all career stages, regardless of their
  contractual situation and of the chosen RD
  career path, and they should endeavour to ensure
  that researchers are treated as professionals and
  as an integral part of the institutions in which
  they work.
• (2005, pp. 4-5)

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EU Charter (2)

• Recognition of the Profession
• All researchers engaged in a research career
  should be recognised as professionals and be
  treated accordingly. This should commence at the
  beginning of their careers, namely at
  postgraduate level, and should include all
  levels, regardless of their classification at
  national level (e.g. employee, postgraduate
  student, doctoral candidate, postdoctoral fellow,
  civil servants).
• (2005, p.18)

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The early stage v. experienced researcher (EU
Charter)

• The term Early-Stage Researcher refers to
  researchers in the first four years (full-time
  equivalent) of their research activity, including
  the period of research training. (2005, p.28)
• Experienced Researchers are defined as
  researchers having at least four years of
  research experience (full-time equivalent) since
  gaining a university diploma giving them access
  to doctoral studies, in the country in which the
  degree/diploma was obtained or researchers
  already in possession of a doctoral degree,
  regardless of the time taken to acquire it.
  (2005, p.29)

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Main messages of recent UK texts

• Researchers at every stage of their career are
  professionals and included in institutional
  systems
• Researchers own professional development
  important not just in relation to project
  worked on
• Fixed term contracts should only be used where
  recorded and justifiable reason 2006
  legislation to limit use of successive FT
  contracts now in force
• Fixed term employees should not be treated less
  favourably than similar full time employees

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More messages

• Teaching/supervision part of academic career
  opportunities for this / remunerated
  appropriately
• Diversity and equality issues working
  conditions should allow both male and female
  employees to combine family and work, children
  and career p.14
• Organizational systems should be capable of
  supporting continuity of employment for
  researchers
• Regular and collective review of progress towards
  implementation (e.g. CROS survey being updated to
  take account of EU Charter/Concordat).

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Issues in relation to Education researchers

• Engagement with key actors at multiple levels
• Assumptions of the early career researcher and
  recognition of previous professional experience?
• Questions about nature of training cultural,
  not just technical issues
• Rethinking of employment structures
• Interrogation of existing communication systems
• In forthcoming developments
• relationship of new posts to research centres?
• geographies of new location?