Temporary academics in South African higher education institutions: Their lived precarity experiences

IF 0.8 4区心理学 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of Psychology in Africa Pub Date : 2023-09-03 DOI:10.1080/14330237.2023.2258001

Shihaam Solomon, Marieta du Plessis

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Abstract

AbstractTemporary academic appointments are increasingly prevalent in higher education institutions across the globe. The lived experiences of temporary academic staff within South African higher education institutions were explored. Twenty-six temporary academic staff (females = 69%, black = 75%, white = 25%, other = none) participated in semi-structured interviews on their lived employment experiences. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) negotiating desire versus despair; (2) living in limbo, (3) stunted career growth, (4) disillusionment and emotions of exploitation, (5) marginalised as an outsider, and (6) dehumanised work experience. The temporary academics stated a desire for fair human resource support, recognition, and being valued for their contribution to the academy similar to their permanent/full-time counterparts. These findings indicate that employment precarity for temporary academics should be addressed with employment practices and policies to improve their quality of work life.Keywords: precarious employmenttemporary contract academic staffSouth African higher educationlived experiencedecent workSustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG8) Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this article are available upon request from the corresponding author.

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南非高等教育机构的临时学者:他们不稳定的生活经历

摘要在全球高等教育机构中，临时学术任命越来越普遍。探讨了南非高等教育机构内临时学术人员的生活经验。26名临时学术人员(女性= 69%，黑人= 75%，白人= 25%，其他=无)参加了关于他们的生活就业经历的半结构化访谈。从主题分析中得出六个主题:(1)谈判欲望与绝望;(2)生活在困境中;(3)事业发展受阻;(4)幻想破灭和被剥削的情绪;(5)作为局外人被边缘化;(6)失去人性的工作经历。临时学者表示，他们希望得到公平的人力资源支持、认可，并希望他们对学院的贡献得到重视，就像他们的长期/全职同行一样。这些发现表明，应该通过就业实践和政策来解决临时学者的就业不稳定性问题，以提高他们的工作生活质量。关键词:不稳定就业临时合同学术人员南非高等教育生活经历体面工作可持续发展目标8 (SDG8)数据可用性声明支持本文研究结果的数据可应通讯作者的要求提供。

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来源期刊

Journal of Psychology in Africa PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

1.70

自引率

16.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： Findings from psychological research in Africa and related regions needs a forum for better dissemination and utilisation in the context of development. Special emphasis is placed on the consideration of African, African-American, Asian, Caribbean, and Hispanic-Latino realities and problems. Contributions should attempt a synthesis of emic and etic methodologies and applications. The Journal of Psychology in Africa includes original articles, review articles, book reviews, commentaries, special issues, case analyses, reports and announcements.