The characteristics of Portuguese management academics and their fit with teaching accreditation standards
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the quality and accreditation of management education by examining the fit between the characteristics of current management academics in Portugal and recognised accreditation standards. For purposes of comparison, the authors use both general Portuguese teaching accreditation standards and specific international standards for management education.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyse indicators of staff career positioning, tenure status, full time vs part-time, age, degree qualifications, field of training, level of academic inbreeding, internationalisation, research activity, professional activity, and the number of hours taught per week. The authors also examine the relationship between them, in light of accreditation standards, for all academic staff teaching in management degrees submitted for compulsory accreditation by the Portuguese accreditation agency.
Findings
The reality found in this study shows gaps between the actual attributes of management academics and what can be considered appropriate attributes, according to the general consensus found in the literature and which is duly mirrored in common “qualified faculties” accreditation standards by Portuguese and international standards (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS).
Research limitations/implications
The findings relate to the Portuguese situation and the analysis developed should be extended to other contexts. Also, while the data, which were collected through a census, has a wide national scope, it only covers one academic year.
Practical implications
This work has policy setting implications for degree accreditation and for developing capacity during the transitional periods when universities implement the mandatory minimum standards. It can also help universities to benchmark themselves against their peers as a diagnostic tool for elaborating improvement plans.
Social implications
The massification of higher education has led to legitimate concerns about the quality of the services provided, and consequently accreditation procedures were devised to restore trust. However, policy makers must be aware of the impacts of their actions, namely the effects of degree accreditation, as their goals need to be achieved with the minimum negative impact on academic work.
Originality/value
The authors work sheds light on the characteristics of those who teach management and how they align with the current accreditation policies that affect academia globally and, in the process, presents empirical evidence from Portugal, which is at a relatively early stage in the accreditation process.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank A3ES for providing the data. This research has been supported by the FCT (the Portuguese funding agency for research) through the project PEst-OE/CED/UI0757/2011 (which is funded by the Program COMPETE). Finally, the authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions based on an earlier version of this text.
Citation
Sarrico, C.S. and Pinheiro, M.M. (2015), "The characteristics of Portuguese management academics and their fit with teaching accreditation standards", Management Decision, Vol. 53 No. 3, pp. 533-552. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2013-0524
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited