The future of the research and teaching nexus in a post-pandemic world

• Published in: Educational review (Birmingham) Vol. 74; no. 3; pp. 378 - 401
• Main Authors: Hordósy, Rita, McLean, Monica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Birmingham Routledge 16-04-2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: academic workforce; Climate change; Collaboration; College Role; Colleges & universities; Correlation; COVID-19; Covid-19 pandemic and universities; Data analysis; Discrepancies; Disorders; Drug Therapy; Educational Finance; Electronic Learning; Environmental degradation; Equal Education; Evidence Based Practice; Financial institutions; Foreign Countries; Futures (of Society); Geographic Location; Higher education; higher education learning and teaching; Immunization Programs; Inclusion; Inequality; Institutional Cooperation; Institutional Mission; Internet; Learning; Learning Processes; Pandemics; Partnerships; Politics of Education; Recruitment; research and teaching nexus; Research funding; research funding systems; School Business Relationship; Social Differences; Social Responsibility; Socioeconomic change; Socioeconomic factors; Student Experience; student experiences; Student Recruitment; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Trend Analysis; Universities; Vaccines; Workforce; United Kingdom (England)
• ISSN: 0013-1911; 1465-3397
• DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2021.2014786

Vaccines and treatments produced during the global coronavirus crisis demonstrated the importance of university research and teaching. There was widespread celebration of university-industry partnerships and collaborations across disciplines and geographical locations. However, simultaneously, higher education institutions in England faced serious financial and organisational challenges throughout the pandemic, which has implications for the relationship between teaching and research, for who undertakes each, and for the students' experience of teaching and learning (some of whom become the next generation of researchers). The rapid movement to online learning created further tensions within an already demoralised, precarious and divided workforce. This paper considers the potential social good of universities' two core missions, research and teaching in a post-pandemic world, exploring the inherently political nature of the link, as well as its encoded inequalities and dysfunctions. Drawing on documentary and secondary data analysis, this paper explores, first, the long-standing sectoral and institutional discrepancies through analysing trends in student recruitment rates and research funding. Second, it investigates how student and staff experiences of the link between research and teaching were changing in the pandemic, pointing to substantive equity issues in how the pandemic response affected access to research opportunities and to research-led teaching. The paper argues that a more equitable and inclusive university that appreciates the research-teaching nexus and is flexible and collaborative in nature is key to contribute to tackling global and local challenges, such as environmental destruction, climate change, conflict and socio-economic inequities.