Elias Pekkola

Finland: CAPtive Academics – An Examination of the Binary Divide

Finland’s March toward universal higher education can be linked initially to Finnish regional policy and later to the development of non-university higher education. The establishment of the polytechnic sector from 1991, with its greater focus on teaching and interaction with “working life” led to a new higher education workforce. This chapter therefore examines the differences and similarities in work and attitudes between academics from each sector. University staff tend to spend more time on research and less time on teaching than their polytechnic counterparts, and had different opinions on matters relating to their personal influence and their perceptions of working conditions. Seniority has an impact on the opinions of junior and senior staff in both sectors, but gender-based differences are small. Some of the opinions expressed by academics are influenced by the long history of universities in society. Finnish polytechnics, however, have much less “history,” and have much more centralized governance arrangements.

Management and academic profession: comparing the Finnish professors with and without management positions

ABSTRACT Management is one of the most studied phenomena in higher education. Most of these studies are conducted in the framework of higher education policy, academic work and quality of education and research. The management is often seen as an independent variable explaining the changes in higher education in the context of New Public Management and managerialism. In many studies, it is often forgotten that, the managers of academic organisations are academicians, not actors working for the government and funding bodies for implementing their agendas. Typically, management positions are employed by the professors. In our paper, we are interested in (1) who the managing professors are and (2) how their perceptions on performance-related issues differ from their colleagues who are not holding management positions. Our study is based on a survey conducted in 2015 in Finland and representing the entire population of Finnish professors.

Recruitments in Finnish universities : practicing strategic or pathetic HRM?

Recruitment is a core instrument in the academic labour market. This article takes the perspective of the organisation − here, the university − on recruitment. Universities’ personnel policies and practises are shifting from legally oriented personnel administration to more strategic human resource management (HRM). In Nordic countries, this shift is partly driven by the changing status of higher education institutions from state-governed bureaus to more autonomous institutions. This article provides insight into this transition, using Finland as a case example of higher education systems that have undergone drastic reform, moving from a civil servant model to autonomous personnel policy. Data were collected in 2015 for the Evaluation of the Four-Stage Career Model in Finnish Universities project. Based on the analysis of the evaluation data, it can be concluded that, despite the legal reform, old practices continue to matter in the personnel policies and management of universities. Permanent positions (formerly public posts) and the funding sources for academic work still define the nature of the HRM practices aimed towards individuals in the new universities. Some groups might call these HRM practices strategic, while for others, the better word would be pathetic.

The influence of performance-based management on teaching and research performance of Finnish senior academics

Despite the widespread use of performance-based management in higher education, empirical research on its actual impact has remained scarce, particularly in Europe. With agency theory as a framework, our study utilised survey data collected from Finnish universities in order to explore the influence of performance management on perceived teaching and research performance of senior academics. Our findings suggest that, although academics hold a quite positive view of performance measurement as such, this attitude does not correlate with perceived high performance in either teaching or research. Moreover, our results suggest that perceived high performance among academics still relates primarily to acknowledgement from the academic community and academic achievement rather than to measurement and financial incentives.

Scenarios of quality assurance of stakeholder relationships in Finnish higher education institutions

Abstract Although the role and significance of the external stakeholders of higher education institutions has grown in recent years, quality assurance of stakeholder relationships remains a new phenomenon in the management practices of higher education institutions and in higher education research. Based on interviews and expert panel data, this article analyses the internal and external stakeholders’ perceptions of scenarios of the quality assurance of stakeholder relationships in Finnish higher education institutions. It especially focuses on exploring how institutions can balance internal and external stakeholders’ perspectives with regard to quality assurance. The results show that an essential challenge for Finnish higher education institutions is to develop flexible quality assurance practices capable of balancing the academic goals of the institutions and the needs of the external stakeholders. This also requires seeking balance between the centralised coordination and the differentiated practices of disciplines and academic units inside institutions.

Reciprocal commitment in academic careers? Finnish implications and international trends

ABSTRACT This study explores the nature of reciprocal commitment in academic careers. The article is based on a survey conducted in autumn 2013 among fixed-term employees at eight major universities in Finland (N = 810). The analysis is focusing on researchers who have a doctoral degree and who are working on a fixed-term contract at their university (n = 308). According to our study, researchers experience their working conditions are insecure and many of them have considered leaving their universities. Despite the fact that they find their work meaningful their uncertain and poor working conditions are related to their thoughts of leaving the university. In addition in many of the cases leaving the university is not a choice of the researcher – they wish they would not have to leave. Based on our findings, higher education institutions should carefully consider if both the benefits of fixed-term contracts and their transaction costs are related to academics’ well-being and motivational issues. Our study highlights the importance of reciprocity and dialogue between employers and employees in the making of academic careers.

Latest Reforms in Finnish Doctoral Education in Light of Recent European Developments.

ABSTRACT Doctoral education as a policy field is an important link between educational, research and innovation policies. It is gaining importance in European and national policy discussions. Doctoral education policies are increasingly formulated at the supranational level, even though the European Commission does not possess formal competence in terms of authority over the educational policies. Consequently, policy steering is mostly performed at the national level. In this article, we examine Finnish doctoral education from the steering perspective in a European context. We describe the development and steering of Finnish doctoral education, as well as the current doctoral education policies and instruments used to implement it. We analyse the main steering documents of Finnish doctoral education policy and provide insights into the implementation of the European doctoral education agenda through a case study from the University of Jyväskylä. We argue that directing policy in terms of information is the most important instrument for developing doctoral studies. Furthermore, we conclude that the supranational steering directly affects Finnish higher education institutions.