Reflecting on higher education through a psychological lens
In the UK, new professors are usually expected to give what is known as an 'inaugural professorial lecture', a public lecture that offers some insight into how the person became a professor, drawing to different extents on the personal and professional stories that intertwine to bring them to the current day. When I was appointed… Continue reading Giving psychology away: Making a difference in higher education
For education-focused academics, getting promoted can be hard. Even being appreciated just for doing what you do can sometimes be hard. How can we build the kind of profile that contributes to reward and recognition? When your schedule is packed full of teaching, student support, marking, quality assurance, course committees, marking, outreach, not to mention… Continue reading The ‘buy one, get one free’ (BOGOF) model of scholarship in higher education
Recently, I’ve celebrated the promotion success of a small number of well-deserving colleagues, who have been promoted to Senior Lecturer from Lecturer, or to Reader from Senior Lecturer. It is always heart-warming to hear of their successes, and the sense of reward and acknowledgement that they feel on hearing the news. As a Reader myself,… Continue reading Sharing failure: success as the tip of the iceberg
There has been a lot of recent attention given to the “toxic” culture in the academic world, not least this article from the Times Higher Education (21/11/2019), suggesting ways that academics might get promoted and achieve success by propagating the toxicity. The recommendations include “do nothing for anyone unimportant”, “crush the confidence of students”, and… Continue reading “Toxic” academia: A behaviourist solution?
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