Resistant academics: reactionary rebels or responsible guardians in a challenging educational environment.

Ruth Searle

What are academic staff reactions to a situation where there are increasing workloads, growing surveillance, diminishing rewards along with demands for unquestioning adherence to rules and regulations? The erosion of professionalism, and a clamp down on individual decision making and responsibility has been rapid in an environment which has become greatly bureaucratised, suspicious, litigenous within an emerging culture of bullying and blame. Academics are having to find a range of different ways to assert themselves, and have a voice. Their professional identity could be under threat. The rise of unionism, more strikes, as well as ongoing contributions in the press, the use of the internet, setting up of discussion groups have all become means to express themselves. Staff engaging in these activities and others are often seen as disruptive, insubordinate and become targets for management. The result is a greater factionalism within institutions, with clear divisions emerging between academic and management, disciplines and other groupings Issues of race and gender, of age (indeed of any difference) have all been exacerbated in this climate. The connections of this to the challenges to academic freedom, to the development of critical thinking and creativity are clear and have much wider implications. This paper sets out to explore ways staff find to respond to these developments within the workplace.