Teaching as a Part of Academics' Professionalization: The Case of Czech Educational Sciences

Purpose: The article explores the current as well as the future concepts of university teaching by the academics/the "leaders of educational sciences" in the context of the changes of the academia that have affected the academic professionalization. Design/methodology/approach: The Delphi method was implemented to answer a research question dealing with the possible change in academics' concept of teaching as part of their current and future work. In this study, the experienced academics in the area of educational science are seen as the "leaders" since through their intensive teaching activities on all three levels (bachelor, master and doctoral) as well as through the high-quality research, they "lead" the concept of a particular science as well as the educational policy. Four rounds were used for consensus building among "leaders" based on a multiple interaction in an anonymous setting. Findings: The research points out that academic professionalization in research is at its maximum. The currently perceived concept of teaching is content-oriented. However, the results also indicate the need for a gradual change in training Czech academics, should they accept their role also as university teachers in the future and be able to highlight the predicted change of teaching to support learning. Whether the strategy of a particular university will or will not accept all the academics' diverse roles seems to become the crucial factor. Research limitations/implications: Several rounds with the same group of experts, which is the principle of Delphi method, is at the same time a limitation of the study, as in most of the research based on this method. The participation in the expert panel dropped throughout the rounds; however, geographic (in terms of university) dispersion of participating experts remained. The final fourth round confirmed the collective judgments of academics. Practical implications: The article broadens the understanding of changes in the content of academics' professionalization with respect to changes in the academia. It emphasizes the role of an academic as an educator and concludes with the need of institutional reform in the context of a single university in a decentralized system. Social implication: The article questions the trends of (national) educational policy in the sense that academics at universities are not only scientists but also teachers. However, the study also shows that the acceptance of their teaching abilities remains mainly on the organizational level. Originality/value: A less common method of data collection among rather rarely involved group of experts in educational sciences brings a different view of the profession of academics, who (not only in the Czech context) are seen mainly as researchers and not as teachers. Humboldt's ideal regarding the unity of diverse roles is, thus, threatened due to narrower focus on academics' professionalization.