Academic staff in Europe. Changing contexts and conditions

Book abstract:

This book identifies that there are a number of challenges facing the higher education sector such as rising enrolments, difficult financial circumstances, new technologies and movements towards accountability and assessment and examines the impact that meeting these challenges has had on the academic profession. Several case studies of EU countries highlight the developments of the last two decades and also illustrate the effects of this changing academic environment on the academic labour market and the conditions of working life.

Separate chapters analyse individual trends in the following countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain Sweden, and the United Kingdom as well as providing an overview of the structure of each country's higher education system and the characteristics of the academic profession. Aspects such as pay, working hours and the role of professional organisations are also covered and a number of the likely implications of recent trends and developments are also outlined.

The editor, Jürgen Enders, is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Higher Education and Work, University of Kassel, Germany while the other contributors are academics from a range of European universities.

http://www.eurospan.co.uk http://www.eurospan.co.uk

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