Annual Congress, University and College Union, Brighton, 27 th May 2017. Academic Freedom: UCU Report Terence Karran 1
Academic Freedom: a‘ Cindarella liberty? ’ Academic freedom is important for academics, but has little resonance with the public at large, when compared with other more critical liberties like freedom from unlawful imprisonment, or freedom of speech, etc. However, academic freedom, as well as protecting the freedom to teach and research, enables universities to act as ‘the critic and conscience of society. ’ Moreover, in a knowledge economy, academic freedom is vital in enabling the discovery of new 2 knowledge.
Protection for Academic Freedom Academic freedom, like other basic rights, usually has legal (de jure) protection by means of constitutions and legislation. Additionally, the manner in which the law is interpreted, and acted on, gives rise to normative practices and de facto protection. The UCU study examined both the de jure protection, via examination of legal instruments, and the de factor protection, by means of a survey which was completed by +2500 UCU members. 3
De Jure Protection - The Constitution Is freedom of speech/expression protected in the Constitution? Are any elements of academic freedom protected in the Constitution? Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Yes Yes Yes – research and teaching Yes – autonomy and research Yes – freedom of research and university autonomy Czech Republic Yes No Protection Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Protection Yes - freedom of research and artistic creation No Protection Yes – freedom of research and teaching, university autonomy No Protection Yes – freedom of research and teaching. Yes – freedom of teaching and research, tenure Yes – freedom of research and teaching. No Protection Yes - freedom of research and teaching. No Protection Yes – freedom of research and teaching, university autonomy Yes - academic freedom mentioned specifically No Protection Yes - freedom of research and teaching Yes - freedom of teaching. Yes – university autonomy Yes - freedom of research and teaching Yes – freedom of research and university autonomy Yes - academic freedom mentioned specifically Yes – freedom for research 4 No Protection Nation Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden U. K.
National Legislation Nation Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Is freedom to teach protected in legislation? Is freedom to research protected in legislation? Yes – “freedom of sciences and their teaching and freedom of scientific and artistic activity, the dissemination of the arts and their teaching; … freedom of study” Yes – “members of a higher education institution shall enjoy academic freedom” Yes –“researchers must, … enjoy a very wide freedom to carry out research” Yes – “academic staff … have the right to: develop and teach the study Yes – “academic staff … have the right: freely to conduct, … scientific content of their discipline freely” research and to publish the results ” Yes – “Academic freedom is enjoyed by all members of the academic community “ No No Yes – “freedom of teaching, … openness to different scientific and scholarly Yes – “freedom of scholarly, scientific, research activities as well as views” publication of the results” Yes – “The university must protect … the individual's research freedom ” Yes - The university must defend … the freedom of research ” No No Yes – “At the universities there is freedom of research, art and teaching ” Yes – “lecturers, teachers and researchers enjoy full independence. . . in the exercise of their functions of teaching and their research activities “ Yes – “Freedom of art and science and of research, teaching and study ” Yes – “In Universities, academic freedom in research and teaching … shall be safeguarded. ” Yes – “lecturers … shall be entitled to the right to perform educational activities in accordance with their world view, ideology and values ” Yes – “academic staff of a university shall have the freedom, within the law, in his or her teaching, research and any other activities either in or outside the university Yes – “the freedom of teaching for teachers ” Yes - “the freedom of research of professors ” Yes – “Institutions of higher education shall guarantee the academic freedom Yes - “The freedom of studies, research work and artistic creation shall be of academic staff” ensured” Yes – “higher education shall be based on … academic freedom and Yes – “Research shall be based on … freedom of creation and research ” autonomy Yes - “In the exercise of their teaching and research duties, members of the University shall enjoy academic freedom ” No No Yes – “academic freedom: the institutions ’ academic freedom is respected. ” Yes – “Higher education institutions shall be governed by the principles of academic freedom in teaching, scientific research ” Yes - “autonomy … affording both teachers and students intellectual freedom Yes - In higher education institutions the freedom of research is ensured in teaching and learning processes ”. Yes – “The academic freedom of the members of the university community is guaranteed. … they have the freedom of teaching, research and creation ” Yes – “academic freedoms and academic rights shall be guaranteed (b) Yes – “academic freedoms and academic rights shall be guaranteed (a) freedom of teaching” freedom of scientific investigation, research, Slovenia Yes – “higher education teachers … independently develop those areas of science, art … and care for the transfer of this knowledge. ” Yes - “A university shall … ensure the following: freedom of research, artistic production and knowledge mediation ”, Spain Yes – “Teaching is duty of teachers … which they exercise with academic freedom” Yes – “Freedom of research in universities is recognised and guaranteed. ” No Yes – “research issues may be freely selected; … and research results may be freely published” Sweden U. K. Yes - “to ensure that academic staff have freedom within the law to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions” 5
International Treaties - UNESCO 6
Academic Freedom“Scorecard ” An academic freedom “scorecard” was developed, comprising 37 statements, to assess legal protection in five critical areas: • freedom to teach and research (20%) • institutional autonomy (20%) • university governance (20%) • university autonomy (20%) • in international agreements and the constitution (20%) The % level of protection for each EU nation was assessed for each of these dimensions. 7
Academic Freedom in Europe in 2016 De Jure Protection: Detailed Scorecard 8
De Jure Protection: Summary Scorecard Croatia 69. 0 Romania 53. 5 Spain 66. 5 Cyprus 53. 0 Bulgaria 65. 5 Ireland 52. 5 Germany Slovenia 52. 5 Austria 64. 5 63. 5 Czech Republic 51. 5 France 63. 0 Belgium 49. 25 Portugal 61. 0 Luxemburg Slovakia 60. 5 Netherlands 47. 5 44. 0 Latvia 60. 0 Sweden 39. 5 Lithuania 59. 5 Denmark 38. 5 Italy 57. 5 Hungary 36. 0 Norway 56. 5 Malta 36. 0 Greece 55. 5 U. K. 35. 0 Finland 55. 0 Estonia 34. 0 Poland 54. 5 Mean (Std Dev) 52. 8 (10. 5) 9
De Jure Protection: Summary Constitution: UK has no protection for freedom of speech UK has no protection for academic freedom National Legislation: ERA 1988 allows for redress for dismissal without due cause – but since 1996 no commissioners exist to investigate cases International Instruments : UK is signatory of 1997 UNESCO Recommendation but is not compliant with 10 the major elements (e. g. governance, tenure)
Academic Freedom: an Empirical Approach Although academic freedom is considered important, very few (if any) empirical analyses have been undertaken of academics’ experiences of how this liberty operates in their workplace and whether existing departmental norms and institutional policies provide sufficient protection for academic freedom, more particularly in the UK, where tenure no longer exists. 11
Academic Freedom: The European survey In 2013, the lead author was awarded an EU funding for a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship, to enable a study of academic freedom in the European Union. The major aspect of this work was the creation of an online survey on academic freedom, which was completed by university staff in all the universities of the European states. This work is on-going, but currently there are more than 5300 responses from EU nations 12
Academic Freedom: The UCU Survey Following consultation at UCU, some questions in the EU survey were removed, while others, more directly relating to the UCU, were added. The survey was made available on-line, and all UCU members were emailed an invitation from the General Secretary, and a reminder. 2340 UCU members completed the survey, making it large enough to be able to undertake comparative analyses with the EU data. All results reported here are statistically significant at the 5% level (χ 2 and ANOVA). (
I have an adequate working knowledge of the concept of academic freedom Response / (%) Strongly Agree 11. 2 7. 8 Agree 38. 0 33. 9 Neither Agree nor Disagree 23. 9 25. 0 Disagree 21. 3 24. 8 Strongly Disagree 5. 6 8. 5 14
Do you know about the protection for academic freedom available under the 1988 Education Reform Act? Response / % No 79. 4 Yes 20. 6 15
Do you know about the UNESCO 1997 Recommendation on academic freedom? Response / % No Yes 84. 4 15. 6 90. 1 9. 9 16
I would welcome additional information on the concept of academic freedom Response / (%) Strongly Agree 24. 3 33. 4 Agree 49. 7 48. 2 Neither Agree nor Disagree 18. 4 13. 8 Disagree 6. 0 3. 5 Strongly Disagree 1. 6 1. 1 17
To what extent is academic freedom protected in your institution? Response / (%) Low level of protection Average level of protection High level of protection 12. 9 27. 7 37. 9 50. 5 49. 2 21. 8 18
Has the protection of academic freedom in your university altered in recent years? Response / (%) Greatly Diminished 8. 4 20. 5 Diminished Unchanged Increased 25. 5 30. 6 5. 3 31. 6 11. 7 0. 9 Greatly Increased 0. 7 0. 2 I Don’t Know 29. 6 35. 2 19
Individual academic freedom for teaching has declined in my institution in recent years Response / (%) Strongly Agree 5. 6 14. 0 Agree 19. 5 29. 0 Neither Agree nor Disagree 33. 3 43. 0 Disagree 31. 8 11. 1 Strongly Disagree 9. 8 2. 9 20
My individual academic freedom for research has declined in recent years Response / (%) Strongly Agree 6. 0 16. 6 Agree 23. 3 29. 0 Neither Agree nor Disagree 31. 7 41. 6 Disagree 29. 4 10. 1 Strongly Disagree 9. 6 2. 7 21
My institution’s autonomy has declined in recent years Response / (%) Strongly Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Strongly Disagree 11. 3 31. 2 23. 8 34. 0 31. 6 35. 9 20. 4 5. 2 1. 0 22
My institution’s self governance has declined in recent years Response / (%) Strongly Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Strongly Disagree 14. 4 26. 5 33. 5 28. 5 33. 3 30. 9 20. 1 5. 8 1. 3 23
Employment protection for academic staff in my university has declined in recent years Response / (%) Strongly Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Strongly Disagree 23. 5 30. 1 36. 5 30. 1 23. 6 25. 0 17. 9 4. 9 6. 8 1. 6 24
Because of your academic views have you been subjected to bullying by academic colleagues? Response / (%) Yes No 14. 1 85. 9 23. 1 76. 9 25
Because of your academic views have you been subjected to psychological pressure by academic colleagues? Response / (%) Yes No 15. 7 84. 3 26. 6 73. 4 26
Have you ever undertaken self-censorship (refrained from publishing, teaching, talking or doing research on a particular topic), for fear of negative repercussions Response / (%) Yes No 19. 1 80. 9 35. 5 64. 5 27
I am concerned that the TEF will reduce my individual academic freedom Response / (%) Strongly Agree 40. 2 Agree 29. 5 Neither Agree nor Disagree 24. 5 Disagree 4. 7 Strongly Disagree 1. 1 28
Knowledge of Academic freedom Adequate working knowledge: Lower level of knowledge in UK than EU UNESCO 1997 Recommendation: Lower level of knowledge in UK than EU Desire for additional information: Higher desire for additional information in UK than EU 29
De Facto Protection: Summary Academic Freedom -Teaching: Decline in protection is greater in UK than EU Academic Freedom - Research: Decline in protection is greater in UK than EU Academic Freedom -Autonomy: Decline in protection is greater in UK than EU Academic Freedom - Governance: Decline in protection is greater in UK than EU Academic Freedom Tenure: – Decline in protection is greater in UK than 30 EU
Impact of lowde jure and de facto protection for academic freedom on staf in U. K. higher education: Experience of bullying: Greater in UK (23. 1%) than EU (14. 1%) Experience of Psychological Pressure: Greater in UK (26. 6%) than EU (15. 7%) Experience of Self Censorship Greater in UK (35. 5%) than EU (19. 1%) Opinion on likely impact of TEF 70% think TEF will reduce academic freedom 31
The Next Steps? Education and Awareness Raising: UK University staff have relatively low levels of knowledge about academic freedom, and hence are less likely to complain when their academic freedom is abused. National and International Action: National action to improve protection for academic freedom is unlikely to be effective. An appeal to UNESCO that the 1997 Recommendation is not observed in the UK, although it is a signatory state, stands a 32 better chance of success.
Thank you for listening! If you would like a copy of this presentation, or a copy of UCU Report, then please email me: tkarran@lincoln. ac. uk 33
Скачать презентацию Annual Congress University and College Union Brighton 27
abd402c4c351acebcc23c4f9f4c29260.ppt