Preferences of Professors about Research and Teaching

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze preferences of academic teaching staff of Russian universities about research and teaching, as well as structure of their working hours, academic research performance, and related differences between universities with or without special status, based on the results of two international studies that embraced Russia: International Academic P rofession (1991–1993) and Changing Academic Profession (2007–2012). In Russia, most professors prefer teaching over academic research, unlike in many other countries, distribution of preferences being the same for teachers at “national research universities” and higher education institutions with no special status. Professors who prefer academic research over teaching acquire research skills as they study and then apply efforts to get inancing for their research, working more hours weekly than their teaching colleagues (average 42 vs. 38 hours per week respectively). Although faculty staff who prefer research over teaching have a higher workload and solve less routine problems in their work, they suffer much less stress and are much more satisfied with what they are doing. The conclusion thus is that distribution of professor preferences reflects peculiarities of the higher education system in the USSR and the Russian Federation, such as: focus on teaching, dissociation between science and universities, poor financing of universities as such and particularly of their academic research.