Original Research - Special Collection: Neoliberal Turn in Higher Education

Decoding South African lecturers’ frustrations with neoliberal governance approaches

Nicolene van Vuuren
Transformation in Higher Education | Vol 9 | a404 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/the.v9i0.404 | © 2024 Nicolene van Vuuren | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 29 April 2024 | Published: 24 July 2024

About the author(s)

Nicolene van Vuuren, Academic Department, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Independent Institute of Education, Varsity College, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Corporate norms and values, characterised by an enterprise ethos, became the new parameters that defined the academic environment. Academics are increasingly becoming concerned about the commodification of higher education and its impact on academic quality and the standards of quality graduates. The voices of South African academics and their experiences within the neoliberal university governance remain underexplored in the current literature. This study aimed to enhance understanding and contribute to knowledge by exploring lecturers’ experiences within a corporatised academic work environment. This study took place across public and private higher education institutions in South Africa. A cross-sectional, qualitative, interpretative phenomenological research design was employed. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of 20 lecturers. The data analysis followed the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings of the study identified three key areas that triggered feelings of frustration with management: (1) participants experienced a lack of management’s understanding of governing academic work environments, (2) an erosion of their collegial culture, and (3) a lack of transparent communication.

Contribution: A key contribution of this study, which set it apart from other studies, was lecturers’ perceptions that their professional identity, collegiality, autonomy, and academic freedom were in crisis.


Keywords

higher education institutions; neoliberal framework; academic freedom; academic autonomy; academic; lecturer

Sustainable Development Goal

Goal 4: Quality education

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