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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of academic staff who are committed to embedding sustainability within tertiary curricula and pedagogy.Design/methodology/approach The focus of this paper is on a New Zealand university. A survey of staff was undertaken and in-depth interviews conducted with 11 sustainability “champions”. A narrative variant of thematic analysis was used to examine the ways these sustainability “champions” made sense of the work they do. Through an analysis of their metaphors and metaphorical language, a sense of the identities that they held as educators of sustainability was gained.Findings Three types of identities emerged – the sustainability “saviour”, “nurturer” and “struggler”. These identities reflected the champion’s experiences, disciplinary affiliations and pedagogical approaches. Interdisciplinarity emerged as a key tenet and challenge for such sustainability champions.Originality/value This paper provides rare insights into the experiences, identities and teaching approaches of sustainability champions within higher education. It highlights the need for university-wide conversations and cross-discipline support for such academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Leadership in educational settings has been established as a key factor that impacts student learning outcomes, consequently it is important to understand how academic leadership is conceptualised and enacted. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study investigated the nature and demands of academic leadership in the New Zealand polytechnic sector by analysing documentary evidence and investigating the perceptions held of the role by 15 academic leaders in four institutions who were interviewed. Findings – Findings of the study highlight the four roles of organisational leadership, curriculum leadership, academic management and academic currency. Participants confirmed that they struggle with ambiguity and tensions. The importance of teams, collaboration and communication are established and the study concludes that an understanding of role complexity to reduce ambiguity and provision of support to perform the role should be key institutional concerns. Originality/value – This is one of very few research studies into conceptualising and researching the enactment of academic leadership in a polytechnic setting. The findings could impact the design of future leadership development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In recent times, universities have been faced with the challenge of implementing neoliberal ideas as a survival tactic. For instance, there is increasing pressure on academics globally to publish because of performance funding and other metrics like global rankings, which consider where and how much academics publish. This study explores how neoliberalism in higher education has influenced the academic profession. Design/methodology/approach: The study used two New Zealand universities as case studies to understand how the universities' academics respond to government formula for allocating public funding to universities and also how the universities respond to the changing higher education system in New Zealand. In total, 21 academics were interviewed and documents such as the strategic plans of the universities; policies, guidelines and procedures; Tertiary Education Union reports and media reports were analysed. Findings: The study finds that neoliberal practices could lead to occupational stress that comes with the pressure to publish, increased teaching workload and casualisation of the academic job, especially amongst emerging academics. Originality/value: Whilst the topic is not entirely original, this study is pertinent and offers the following advice to stakeholders. A university's success is a function of its academics, and academics perform at an exceptional level because academics want to, not because academics are being made to. Unless governments and universities address the intense competition that results from funding allocation procedures, the less well-off academics will fail and some will be forced to compromise the duties that academics have. A collaborative and collegial higher education system that focuses on serving the public good can be an alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]