Neoliberalism and its impact on academics: a qualitative review

Abstract

ABSTRACT The changes produced in higher education as a consequence of neoliberal influences have had a considerable impact on the university world. As a consequence, there has been a growing research interest in how such changes have affected academics. However, recent review studies related to this issue are scarce in the literature. Therefore, this systematic review aims to provide a general overview of the way in which these new changes in higher education have had an impact on teachers. To this end, a bibliographic search was conducted on the Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Education Resources Information Centre, which yielded a total of 38 articles published in international journals. Thematic analysis was applied using the NVivo 12 software package, from which three emerging themes were identified: action strategies in view of new neoliberal demands; construction of the professional identities; and work, health and social consequences. Further, this review highlighted the need for more research on the influence of the closest social context (research team/department) on academic staff; as well as the development of systematic reviews of the literature that go deeper into the processes of construction and development of new professional identities.