Academic Staff in the UAE: Unsettled

Journey David Chapman, University of Minnesota

Ann Austin, Michigan State UniversitySamar Farah, Dubai School of Government

Elisabeth Wilson, University of MinnesotaNatasha Ridge, Dubai School of Government

March 2011

Growth and transformation of higher education across much of the Middle East

A remarkable success story

Government seeks a knowledge-based economy

 High level of government support for higher education in the UAE

 Postsecondary options Expanded

New universities Created

Enrollments Grown

Number of instructional staff

Increased

Rapid growth also poses serious challenges

Main challenge: Improving the quality of instruction and research in UAE universities

At present, no UAE university ranks among the top 300 in the world.

Challenges

Faculty are dedicated teachers…but they will need to stay current in their fields and expand their teaching strategies to meet student needs

Research is important to international standing…but it is a new expectation, and usually only at research universities

In moving forward…choices to make

How to mobilize, deploy and manage human resources

Institutional excellence depends on the quality of the faculty

Example: Student learning depends on instructional quality

UAE faces a somewhat unique challenge

 Heavy reliance on expatriate instructors

All of whom are on short term (usually 3-year) contracts

Conceptual framework:

These essential elements do much to define the professional satisfaction, motivation, commitment of faculty members.  

In turn, these essential elements are central to establishing the conditions for educational quality.

 

Equity -- fair employment policies and access to resources

Autonomy -- freedom of expression in research and teaching without institutional censorship.

 Flexibility -- suitable work arrangements, benefits, and

opportunities for a career change.

Professional growth -- opportunities for faculty to pursue projects, programs and knowledge-exchanges that lead to their development and satisfaction.

 Collegiality -- opportunity to feel part of a community,

which values their contribution and engages them in decision making.

 

The Study

Random sample of instructors at 3 public and 3 private institutions in UAE (undergraduate courses: arts & sciences, engineering, chemistry, biology)

Interviews with random sample of 32 instructors; 4 senior level administrators

Results

Characteristics of UAE instructional staff:

Male outnumbered female instructors by 2:1 (21 males; 11 females)

Heavily expatriate; broad range of nationalities

Terminal degree: About ½ of instructors had Ph.D.s; 20% had BA

Motivation to teach in the UAE

Motivations clustered into 5 categories

Adventure seekersRoot seekersRedemption seekersComfort seekersMeaning seekers

Adventure seekers

 Academic nomads - young, mobile, seeking novelty

Recent retirees - end of career but not ready to stop working

Good at their workCommitted to well-being of studentsLittle long-term commitment to the institutionThinking about their next adventure

Root seekers

Proximity to extended family members in nearby countries

But…better salary and quality of life than if they relocated to those countries.

Professional advancement was not a primary consideration

Redemption seekers

Difficulties in previous position or personal lives (divorce, denied tenure, fired, experienced conflict) 

Seek another chance; a new beginning

Comfort seekers

Mixed-race or cross-ethnic marriages

Find multi-ethnic character of UAE to be attractive, more comfortable

Meaning seekers

Mostly Emirati instructors

Committed to building UAE

 

Mostly teaching in public universities, hence, teaching Emirati students

 

If Emirati, received better salary and job security than others

Instructors saw themselves as being ‘away from home’

 Many instructors coming to teach at UAE universities do not expect to stay

 

Current government policies do not typically grant citizenship to expatriates.

 

Neither universities nor many instructors seek or want long-term organizational commitment.

Everyone wins

Transience has consequences for higher education institutions

 

Hard to build institutional loyalty or commitment on the part of faculty

 

Equity (in compensation)Emeratis and Ex-Pats are in different

compensation categories. However, within each group, considerable comparability in compensation and benefits within institutional types

 

Salaries are competitive, but not necessarily a windfall

For most, compensation levels are an attractive feature but not a major magnet in attracting them to a faculty position in the UAE

Flexibility

policies and procedures that enable instructors to adjust their work arrangements as needed to do well in both their jobs and their personal responsibilities

Faculty said:

Flexibility is problematic and limited

Not safe to challenge leadership, express dissatisfaction, or raise criticisms

Take safest course –”hunker down”

 Net result: Limited ability to push for changes in their teaching load or other working conditions

Administrators said:

Some administrators discounted these concerns

 

They think faculty stories of capricious firings were overblown and overstated

 

But fact or fiction, these concerns were salient in the minds of instructional staff

 

Collegiality Many expressed positive regard for their

colleagues, quality of their working relationships, & atmosphere of workplace

Yet decision making processes caused concern and dampened collegiality (top-down, lack of transparency)

Faculty feel expendable, “hired hands”

Little identification with institution

While most instructors reported having little interest in institutional governance, most administrators showed little interest in having them involved

Given short-term nature of faculty contracts, why involve faculty in long-term decisions

 

Professional development

Administrators varied in the value they attached to professional development activities Most thought their institution offered relevant

opportunities

 

Faculty members tended to see this differentlyFaculty thought professional development

opportunities tended to be highly structured, limited in scope, and not particularly helpful

Autonomy

Similarities to other well-developed higher education systems:

Considerable autonomy in their classroom teaching methods

Appropriate but less autonomy with respect to curricular decisions

Autonomy (continued)

Differences from other well-developed higher education systems:

Autonomy tended to end at the classroom door

Little autonomy in terms of larger issues of academic freedom

Perception that criticism of institutional policies was not welcome and poorly tolerated

Conclusion

As the UAE seeks to build a world class higher education system….a central question:

 

How will universities engage, support, and respect instructional staff in ways that encourage them to view themselves as professionals committed to the overall quality and welfare of the institution?