ERIC Number: EJ1185085
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1812-9129
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"I Don't Have Time to Do Any of the Things I Am Responsible For"--University Teachers' Sense of Responsibility for Teaching
Helker, Kerstin; Wosnitza, Marold; Mansfield, Caroline; Eugster, Balthasar
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, v30 n2 p207-222 2018
University teachers work in a highly complex environment, meeting the multiple and sometimes competing demands of striving for high quality teaching and research. While a growing body of research focuses on the relevance of schoolteachers' sense of responsibility and its outcomes for teaching and student learning, teacher responsibility has been neglected in research with university teachers. This research, consisting of two consecutive qualitative and quantitative studies, sets out to explore university teachers' sense of responsibility for teaching at different stages of their career and in different academic contexts. Participants were 199 German and 80 Australian university teachers. Results of quantitative data analysis show that all university teachers most strongly feel responsible for their teaching and relationships with students. The focus of university teachers' sense of responsibility on teaching was also shown in the qualitative data. Differences between the samples of the two studies, however, appeared with regard to further objects of responsibility. Cluster analyses, including the frequencies of statements, revealed three types of university teachers in each study: teaching- and student-oriented university teachers in both studies, achievement-oriented teachers in the German/Swiss, and administrative-oriented university teachers in the Australian sample. Implications for university teachers' work contexts and training are discussed.
Descriptors: Teacher Responsibility, College Faculty, Teacher Effectiveness, Measures (Individuals), Student Motivation, Academic Achievement, Teacher Student Relationship, Foreign Countries, Qualitative Research, Teacher Role, Multivariate Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Questionnaires
International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning. Web site: http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany; Switzerland; Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A