The Status of Teaching Track Positions in Economics: International Comparisons
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (CST)
- Chair: Irene Foster, George Washington University
Teaching Focused Faculty in the U.S.
Abstract
Teaching-track faculty make up a growing share of faculty in US economics departments, yet much remains unknown about teaching-track faculty and how they compare to teaching-track faculty in other countries. This paper (along with the other papers in this session), reports the findings from a mixed methods methodology study of teaching-track faculty in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Our approach combines a qualitative analysis of one-on-one interviews with quantitative analysis of survey responses. A key finding is that US teaching-track faculty are much less likely to have the possibility of job security through tenure relative to their counterparts in Canada and the UK. In fact, tenure was available to only about 12 percent of the US sample, but 86 percent of US respondents said that they had been promoted or were eligible for promotion in their current positions, indicative of some degree of upward mobility for the majority of US teaching-track faculty. And while US teaching-track faculty have multifaceted jobs that might include administration, research, and teaching, US faculty positions are more heavily teaching focused than the UK and Canada where administrative responsibilities are more substantial.Teaching-Track Economists – A Canadian Perspective
Abstract
We find that over two-thirds of economics departments in large Canadian universities currently have full-time teaching-track faculty positions that parallel traditional research-track positions, but with a heavier teaching focus. Teaching-track economists now approach one-sixth of the faculty complement – a substantial shift in resource allocations since 2000. This paper – a companion to Arico et al. (2024) – uses a mixed methods approach with interview and survey data to draw on the first-hand experience of teaching-track economists. There are no previous studies of teaching-track economists in Canada. The Canadian evidence points to a model that allows departments to attract passionate teachers and create a viable career path for teaching-track economists. Early pioneers have shaped the role, and it will likely continue evolving as nearly half of teaching-track economists in Canada are pre-tenure. We hope that our findings, based on perceptions of the current Canadian landscape, raise questions of why this model has emerged and whether there are ideas for economics departments around the world.Teaching-Track Economists in the UK
Abstract
In this companion paper to Arico et al (2024), we use a mixed-methods approach to characterise some specificities of teaching-track faculty positions in the UK. We find that these roles are notably more oriented towards scholarship and administration duties than comparable roles in the US or Canada and such duties play a significant role in promotions. A high value is placed by teaching-focused faculty on the existence of formal networks that connect such economists across universities. We also find a higher reported prevalence of teaching-track positions in UK economics departments compared to the US or Canada. We contextualise these characteristics of UK teaching-track faculty within the policy framework in the UK, specifically the Teaching Excellence Framework and the Research Excellence Framework. Our findings shed light on the opportunities and challenges of the teaching-track relevant for academics considering these roles as well as for department and university leadership.Discussant(s)
Simon Halliday
,
University of Bristol
Melanie Fox
,
Purdue University
Denise Hawkes
,
Anglia Ruskin University
Jonathan Graves
,
The University of British Columbia
JEL Classifications
- A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics