Teaching, research or balanced? An exploration of the experiences of biomedical scientists working in UK medical schools

Driven by demand for high standards in university education, efforts have been made in the UK to address the perceived imbalance between teaching and research. However, teaching is still perceived by many as having less credibility and is attributed less importance. The purpose of our research was to explore how distinct types of academic job profiles (‘research’ or ‘education’ focused, or ‘balanced’) impact on biomedical scientists' perceptions of the lecturer role. Specifically, we investigated the experiences of biomedical scientists in ‘post-1990’ medical schools, which are known for their commitment to excellence in both research and education. We conducted 22 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with biomedical scientists in five schools. Focusing on experiences of work, the interviews covered: ‘motivations’, ‘role expectations’, ‘teaching’, ‘research’ and ‘career’. The recorded qualitative data were transcribed and then analysed thematically. Our results, offering an insight into the working lives of biomedical scientists in medical education, suggest that in settings with a dual emphasis on education and research, individuals on ‘balanced’ contracts can experience a strong pull between research and teaching. In addition to posing significant challenges with respect to workload management, this can impact profoundly on professional identity. In contrast to the balanced role, ‘research’ or ‘education’ focused roles appear to have clearer requirements, leading to higher employee satisfaction. We conclude that to assist the educational mission of Higher Education, attention should be paid to balanced contracts, to (a) ensure employee support, (b) mitigate against negative perceptions of teaching, and ultimately, (c) guard against staff attrition

Reflections from a time log diary: towards an analysis of the labour process within further education

This article explores the use of a time log diary to examine the labour process for lecturers in further education (FE). In this preliminary small-scale study, a time log diary was used as a research tool to investigate the day-to-day teaching of FE lecturers accessed through an INSET course. This examination is placed within the socio-economic and political context within which lecturers are placed. The data collected from the diaries reflected the variability of labour processes within FE. Despite individual differences in the way in which people laboured, there is evidence to support the intensification of labour with lecturers consistently working over hours. This was a feature of the cameos we examined and across the diaries as a whole, where we gained a sense of an over-burdened profession