Biographies and Careers throughout Academic Life

Although not always obvious in the short term, academic work and its conditions attract, incorporate and promote different types of individuals which, in turn, become an influence on academic work, their institutions and, potentially, society.  As faculty are central to the teaching, research, and service enterprise of higher education, it is only natural to consider academics´ personal characteristics, career trajectories, sense of identity/commitment and job satisfaction as strategic for understanding the academic profession in general and, in particular, their involvement and productivity in their work. The factors considered are seen as a complex result of contextual (e.g., status of the higher education systems, its regulations, and institutional atmosphere) and personal factors (e.g., gender, educational attainment, family background, and work attitudes and values).  

With changes taking place both at the local and global context of higher education, as well as in working conditions, as exemplify by an increasing managerealism and performance-based funding, it is most relevant to consider the impact of such factors on the profile of academics currently working in higher education across different countries.  On the other hand, it is also important to elaborate on the ways by which faculty’s changing profile will potentially have an effect on the university organization and management. The book discusses both individual country situations and comparative studies in which various countries and groups are analysed in relation to the factors that the book deals with.