Target-setting, early-career academic identities and the measurement culture of UK Higher Education

Smith, J.

Abstract

Early-career academics are subject to a barrage of formal measurements when they secure a first academic post in a UK university. To support this process, guidance is provided by universities on what is measured, though this can lack disciplinary nuance. This article analyses the perceptions of a sample of social scientists of the process of target-setting during their academic probationary periods, showing that the perceived surveillance regime legitimates particular academic identities. I show how, for those who took part in this study, the currently instantiated competitive UK measurement culture can produce conformative subjects who frustrate institutional rhetoric.

Citation

Smith, J. (2017). Target-setting, early-career academic identities and the measurement culture of UK Higher Education. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(3), 597-611. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1288708

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 25, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Mar 8, 2017
• Publication Date: Apr 16, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jan 27, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 8, 2018
• Journal: Higher Education Research and Development
• Print ISSN: 0729-4360
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-8366
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 597-611
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1288708
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1365519