The Changing Academic Profession in Canada: Personal Characteristics, Career Trajectories, Sense of Identity/Commitment and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

The reported study focused on tenured and tenure-track academics with ranks of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor of 18 Canadian universities. Based on the Canadian CAP (Changing Academic Profession) survey the general profile of the academic profession in Canada is described in terms of sociodemographic variables (gender, marital status, ethnicity, parents’ educational attainment, etc.), academic experience and perspectives on their work (academic attitudes, institutional and disciplinary affiliation). Canadian faculty present a strong international character and look at teaching and research as compatible.

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1 Background: Canadian Higher Education

This section adapted from Metcalfe et al. (2011).

Canada is a federation, and the Canadian Constitution delegates responsibility for education to the Canadian provinces. While the federal government plays a major role in a number of policy areas that have a significant impact on universities, such as research and student financial assistance (Fisher et al. 2007), the ten provinces have legislative and regulatory authority over higher education, and there are substantial differences in system arrangements, funding mechanisms, and governance structures by province (Fisher et al. 2009; Shanahan and Jones 2007). In Canada, there are three main types of higher education institutions: institutes, colleges, and universities. Most universities in Canada are public and the few private institutions are primarily not-for-profit. The university sector has been categorized into three types: Medical/Doctoral, Comprehensive, and Primarily Undergraduate. While there have been a variety of instructional and research positions in the history of Canadian higher education, the focal positions for this study are the tenure-track and tenured ranks of assistant professor, associate professor and professor (also known as full professor). Faculty in these positions are responsible for both teaching and research, and are characteristically full-time appointments.

2 The Changing Academic Profession Survey in Canada

The CAP project aimed to revisit some of the themes explored by the First International Survey of the Academic Profession, conducted in 1992 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which involved 14 countries (see Altbach 1996). Canada was not represented in the 1992 Carnegie study, making the 2007 CAP study the first time that many of the questions used in the international project had been asked of Canadian faculty. Thus, although the Canadian CAP project has not resulted in a dataset that can be compared with the 1992 Carnegie survey, it has provided an opportunity to assess the academic profession in Canada.

A two-stage cluster sample was created (see Tables 7.1a and 7.1b) at the level of institutions and the level of individuals. At the institutional level, the target population of universities was sorted by type of institution. From this list, a random sample of institutions was created. The institutional sample consisted of 18 institutions: 4 Medical/Doctoral, 6 Comprehensive, and 8 Primarily Undergraduate. Each of Canada’s 10 provinces was represented by at least one institution.

Table 7.1a Canadian CAP Survey sampling framework

Table 7.1b Demographics of full-time university faculty in Canada

For each of the 18 universities in the sample, full-time faculty with the titles of professor, associate professor and assistant professor were included in the individual-level cluster sample. Other academic staff with titles such as instructor, lecturer, research associate, as well as clinical faculty, were not included in the Canadian CAP Gross sample. Administrative faculty such as deans and vice-presidents were not included. Only full-time faculty university faculty were surveyed.

The survey was closed in mid-December, 2007. Another phase of the survey was initiated in April 2008 to capture more responses, and the survey was finally closed in May 2008, having obtained 1152 valid returns for a response rate of 17.21 %. This returned sample closely mirrors the demographic characteristics of full-time university faculty in Canada (CAUT 2008). These characteristics are described in detail in the next section, using data from the survey.

3 Personal Characteristics

As in many countries, there are more male faculty than female faculty in Canada, with the mean age of 47 and the top-heaviness of the ranks serving as partial explanations for the higher numbers of men, given the later entry of many women into the academy (Table 7.2).

Table 7.2 Demographics of full-time university faculty in Canada

While the faculty in the Canadian CAP survey are largely Canadian citizens (89.5 %), the country’s professoriate has an international character with just 68 % having been Canadian citizens at birth (Table 7.2). The leading nationalitiesat birth other than Canadian were American (8.3 %) and British (6.1 %), with representation from other countries accounting for the remaining 17.5 % (Table 7.3). The majority of Canadian faculty in the survey self-identified as White, with 15 % indicating that they are Visible minorities/non-white.¹

Table 7.3 Demographic context of full-time faculty in Canada

In terms of family characteristics (Table 7.4), a high percentage of respondents indicated that their fathers had entered or completed tertiary education (49 %) and that their mothers more often had only secondary education, but a good number of them had completed a higher degree (38 %).

Table 7.4 Family variables of full-time faculty in Canada

Most faculty in the Canadian sample are in a committed romantic relationship (81.2 %), and their partners² are mostly working full-time (61.4 %). The partners of the survey respondents have overwhelmingly entered or completed higher education (89.9 %). Interestingly, 38.2 % indicated that their partner was also an academic, indicating that the dual career issues that have been discussed in the primarily American literature on academic work-life balance (Wolf-Wendel et al. 2004) may also be present in the Canadian academic context. Just under half of the academics in the sample are not currently living with children at home (48.9 %), but more than half (51.1 %) have at least one child living at home (a quarter of them have two children living with them and 8.8 % have three or more at home). The impact of being in domestic partnerships and having children at home has been explored in the North American CAP data by Metcalfe and Padilla González (2013), who found that female faculty in the Canadian, American, and Mexican CAP surveys are less likely to be married, less likely to have children, and are slightly younger on average than their male colleagues in their respective countries. In addition, the CAP data show that more North American female faculty than male faculty have interrupted their academic career in order to take care of children or the elderly (Metcalfe and Padilla-González 2013).

From the perspective of language (Table 7.5), the first language of the respondents is English (44.5 %), French (28.7 %), or Other (26.7 %). These percentages are indicative of both Canadian bilingualism as English and French are both official languages, and Canadian multiculturalism. In the context of teaching, most of the faculty in the sample teach in their first language, and if not, then in English. In their research, most are conducting research in their first language, and again if not, usually in English.

Table 7.5 Language variables of full-time faculty in Canada

4 Career Trajectories

On average, the faculty in the Canadian sample first entered the academic profession 17 years ago with the mean year of entry being 1992 (Table 7.6), and began working at their current institutions 14 years ago (with the mean start in 1995). The average of time in present rank was 6 years at the time of the survey (i.e., mean year of appointment or promotion in 2001). The respondents indicated that they had, on average, worked at just two higher education institutions and only a little over a year spent in outside employment since the time of earning their highest degree. The number of years working outside of academe varied little by institutional type.

Table 7.6 Work experience in academic profession of full-time faculty in Canada

5 Sense of Identity/Commitment

5.1 Identity

In general, faculty in the Canadian sample responded that their interests lie primarily in both teaching and research, with more than half indicating that they lean toward research (Table 7.7). Overall, very few respondents indicated that their interests lie primarily in teaching (just 6 %). The preferences were not that different between men and women, or by academic rank. As might be expected, a higher percentage of those employed in the Primarily Undergraduate (PU) universities showed preference for teaching than faculty at other universities, with 42.1 % at the PU institutions indicating that their interests lie primarily in teaching or in both but leaning towards teaching, 27.8 % at the Medical/Doctoral institutions and 32.4 % at the Comprehensive. Faculty at all institutional types indicated preference primarily in research or in both but leaning toward research: 72.2 % at the Medical Doctoral, 67.6 % at the Comprehensive, and 57.9 % at the Primarily Undergraduate institutions.

Table 7.7 Academic preferences of full-time faculty in Canada

Yet, when asked about the relationship between teaching and research (Table 7.8), 61.9 % of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that ‘Teaching and Research are hardly compatible with each other.’ Similarly, a massive 83.1 % of our respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement ‘Your research activities reinforce your teaching.’ The responses to both statements did not vary much by gender but did vary systematically by academic rank and university type on the first statement and by academic rank on the second statement. On the question of compatibility the percentage of respondents who disagreed or strongly disagreed rose from 55 % for assistant professors, to 58.3 % for associate professors to 70.1 % for professors. Similarly, the percentage rose from 56.9 % at Primarily Undergraduate, to 59.6 % at Comprehensive and to 67 % at Medical/Doctoral universities. On the question of research reinforcing teaching we found little variation by university type but a systematic trend by academic rank. The percentage of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed rose from 76.6 % for assistant professors, to 82.8 % for associate Professors, to 88.6 % for professors. The variation by rank is probably the result of the accumulated experience of being a teacher and a researcher in the academy, as well as the likelihood that junior faculty are teaching introductory courses and not upper division material. The variation by university type on the question of compatibility is likely a function of the higher amount of research conducted at Medical/Doctoral universities compared with other institutional types.

Table 7.8 Views on teaching and research of full-time faculty in Canada

When asked about their conception of scholarship (Table 7.9), 76.1 % of the respondents indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement ‘Scholarship is best defined as the preparation and presentation of findings on original research.’ This response did not vary much by gender, but there was slightly more agreement from full professors than assistant or associate professors.

Table 7.9 Academic’s conception of academic work of full-time faculty in Canada

When asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement ‘Scholarship includes the application of academic knowledge in real-life settings’ most faculty indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed (67.8 %). More women than men strongly agreed with this statement, which may reflect the stratified placement of women throughout the academy (Kulis et al. 2002). The responses were fairly even across the faculty ranks, with just a few percentage points higher among the full professors. Similarly, most faculty agreed or strongly agreed (58.8 %) with the statement that ‘Faculty in my discipline have a professional obligation to apply their knowledge to problems in society.’

The responses were fairly even between men and women but did vary by academic rank and university type. Assistant professors were more likely to agree or strongly agree with this statement as were professors in Medical/Doctoral and Comprehensive universities.

In response to the statement ‘Scholarship includes the preparation of reports that synthesize the major trends and findings of my field,’ most faculty in the sample agreed or strongly agreed (62 %), but a quarter were neutral on this point. Women faculty were more likely to strongly agree with this statement, and again the full professors were more often to choose ‘strongly agree.’

When asked about their affiliations (Table 7.10), most faculty in the Canadian sample indicated that their academic discipline/field is very important to them (68.8 %). This response did not vary much by gender. There were very minor differences in response by rank, with 71.3 % of full professors stating that this was very important to them. In terms of institutional type, 72.3 % of the faculty from Medical/Doctoral institutions indicated that their affiliation toward their academic discipline/field was very important, as compared with 65.8 % at the Comprehensive institutions and 68.7 % at the Primarily Undergraduate.

Table 7.10 Affiliation of full-time faculty in Canada

In terms of importance of departments, 68.1 % indicated that this affiliation was important or very important. This did not vary much by gender or institutional type, but assistant professors slightly more often noted that their department was important or very important (73.8 %), indicating perhaps that the location of this first appointment—where an individual must make strong connections in order to receive support for tenure—is a critical affiliation for early career faculty.

When considering their affiliation with their institution, a quarter of the respondents were neutral and almost 60 % indicated this was important or very important. Again, there was not much gender variation in the responses, and not much difference by rank or institutional type.

5.2 Commitment

When asked if within the last 5 years ‘have you considered a major change in your job?’ survey respondents indicated a strong interest in mobility, with only 43.6 % saying they had not considered moving positions (Table 7.11). Female faculty showed a slightly stronger disinterest in moving at 46.3 % compared to 42.6 % of the male faculty, as did full professors (48.9 %). The associate professors (38.1 %) and those at Primarily Undergraduate institutions (36.4 %) had the lowest percentages of responses indicating that they had not considered a major job change in this period.

Table 7.11 Major job change consideration/actions of full-time faculty in Canada

For those who had considered a major job change, the percentage who said that they had considered moving to another academic institution within Canada (25.7 %) was higher than other choices. The percentage of assistant professors who had considered such a move (31.2 %) was higher than the other ranks, and those in Primarily Undergraduate institutions were more disposed to moving to another Canadian institution than were those employed in the other institutional types. The second choice for those who had considered a major job change was to move outside of academe. This choice was slightly more popular with women than men, with associate professors, and by those currently working at Primarily Undergraduate institutions. Moving to an academic position in another country was also a possibility for about 17 % of those who indicated that they had considered a major job change. Male professors were slightly more inclined toward this option, as were assistant professors; institutional type was not a significant factor in this selection. Finally, a few respondents (13 %) indicated that they had considered a move to a management position at their current institution. Men were more likely to have selected this option, as were full professors and those at Primarily Undergraduate institutions.

When asked if they had taken a strong action to make such a change, most had moved to another academic institution within Canada, and the fewest had moved to a job outside of academe. These choices are both consistent with the composition of the survey sample, as those who had moved to an academic appointment in another country or outside of academe but had not returned to a Canadian university would have been outside of the sampling framework for this study.

While we can observe no clear trend among respondents when asked for their view on the statement ‘This is a poor time for any young person to begin an academic career in my field,’ a large majority (76.8 %) disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that ‘If I had to do it over again, I would not become an academic’ (Table 7.12).

Table 7.12 Views on career choice of full-time faculty in Canada

Responses to this item were similar for men and women and showed little variation across university types. On the other hand, professors were far more likely to disagree or strongly disagree with this statement (85.3 %) than with assistant or associate professors. This is somewhat predictable as this group was the beneficiaries of the major expansion of higher education in the late 1960s and early 1970s and through the decades they have been part of a fairly stable system when compared to other nations.

5.3 Job Satisfaction

When we compare the views the Canadian professoriate hold with regard to their working conditions and their job satisfaction, we are confronted with some major contradictions (see Weinrib et al. 2013). When asked about overall working conditions in higher education since they started their career, a surprising 39.5 % indicated that conditions has deteriorated or very much deteriorated. A further 37.9 % were neutral on this question. Women were more likely than men to hold these views with 44.4 % on the side of deterioration and 40.3 % in the neutral category. The only variation by either university type or academic rank occurred for assistant professors but this is clearly due to their lack of time in the system.

On the other hand, when asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the current job, 73.8 % rated the level as high or very high. Less that 10 % rated the level of overall satisfaction in the low range. Consistent with the working conditions response pattern, we find that men are more likely than women to rate their overall satisfaction as high or very high. A higher percentage of professors (80.6 %) and those teaching at PU universities (78.1 %) fall into this category than those at a lower rank or those working in Medical/Doctoral or Comprehensive universities. However it is important to note that there were only modest differences in perceived job satisfaction by rank, and other analyses have concluded that there is surprisingly little difference in perceptions of academic work between junior faculty and their more senior peers (Jones et al. 2012) (Table 7.13).

Table 7.13 Job satisfaction of full-time faculty in Canada

6 Conclusions

In general, we find that the Canadian faculty who participated in our survery are international, from an educated family background, in long-term relationships, and often living with children at home. They have not worked in many institutions other than their current place of employment, and they have not worked many years outside of academe. Faculty in the Canadian study agree or strongly agree that scholarship ‘is best defined as the preparation and presentation of findings on original research’ and most indicate that their interests lie in both teaching and research, but with a leaning towards research. A majority see teaching and research as being compatible activities and a large majority regarded research as a form of reinforcement for their teaching. This latter response grew stronger as one moved up in academic rank and was consistently high across the three university types. A majority of faculty agreed that ‘scholarship’ includes the application of knowledge to real-life settings and that professors have a professional obligation to apply their knowledge to problems in society. The survey respondents indicated a strong affiliation with their discipline or field, departments, and institutions. However, we also found that more than half of the faculty in the Canadian sample had considered major job changes within the 5 years leading up to the survey, most of those with a preference to leave, indicating that they had considered moving to another academic institution within Canada over other employment choices. A large majority of our respondents indicated that an academic career was worthwhile and would make the same choice if they were to start work again. This response grew stronger with increasing rank. Finally, while a minority of respondents (20–25 %) reported any improvement in their working conditions and a corresponding 40 % reported deterioration in working conditions, a large majority reported overall satisfaction with their job. Women were more likely to report deterioration in working conditions and men more likely to report overall satisfaction. Full professors and those teaching in Primarily Undergraduate universities were more likely to rate the overall satisfaction with the job at a high level.