The pedagogic impact of law school sabbaticals

UKCLE PDF project

Project team: Maureen Spencer (e-mail: m.spencer@mdx.ac.uk) and Penelope Kent, Middlesex University
Project summary: researching the potential of the sabbatical to enhance research and teaching links
Start date: January 2009
Completion date: June 2010
UKCLE funding: £5,200

Project latest:
The project has now been completed. The executive summary is below and the final report and companion online guidance are available in the resources section.

Introduction

University sabbaticals are widely acknowledged as necessary to advance research and scholarship. There has, however, been little empirical study of how they operate and how far they may privilege research over teaching. This study aims to address that question, providing empirical evidence of one aspect of how academics do – or do not – connect their teaching and research.

The project builds on earlier work by the researchers (‘Perpetuating difference? Law school sabbaticals in the era of performativity’ Legal Studies 2007:27(4)) which revealed the extent to which sabbaticals play a key part in the constant pressure to publish, while any impact sabbaticals could have on teaching was not clearly articulated. Criteria for awarding sabbaticals did not appear to include a specific enhancement of pedagogy as an objective. Instead, the preoccupation with published research arguably entrenched divisions between these different aspects of academic practice.

Project aims

A number of studies such as those by Bradney, Collier, Cownie and Wells have examined the relationship between various elements of academic work, namely research, teaching, administration and service .The research contributes to this body of theory on how the working practices of academics impact on their teaching.

The project aimed to provide empirical evidence on how academics’ work patterns enable them to fulfil their institutional and professional obligations, in particular by balancing teaching and research, and has produced guidance notes aimed at maximising the pedagogical benefits from sabbaticals.

The objective was not necessarily to propose the extension of the awarding of sabbaticals for teaching purposes, but rather to consider rethinking the approach to staff working practices to enable a connection between areas of academic practice to be built in from the outset.

Methodology

The project explored the potential pedagogical impact of sabbaticals. Specifically, it examined the proposal that the award of a sabbatical should include a requirement to specify the potential impact on teaching and pedagogy. The hypothesis tested was that research sabbaticals give minimal attention to pedagogic impact. Arguably, therefore, they present a missed opportunity to strengthen the association of teaching and research in a practical way.

The research was conducted in four stages. Firstly, the researchers examined the sabbatical policies of universities offering qualifying law degrees in England, Wales and Scotland to gauge the extent to which, if at all, sabbatical leave is expected to contribute to teaching.

Secondly, an online questionnaire (see SurveyMonkey pdf at bottom of page) was issued to ten law schools, randomly selected from geographical spread and type of institution (pre- and post-1992). All staff in the selected institutions, whether previously granted a sabbatical or not, were invited to complete the questionnaire. This allowed the views of those who may not be considered ‘research active’ in the conventional sense to be heard.

The third stage of the research was to conduct interviews with those respondents willing to meet the researchers face-to-face.

Finally, the researchers contacted by e-mail legal academics whose teaching had been recognised by the award of a National Teaching Fellowship or the title Law Teacher of the Year (England and Wales) or Law Lecturer of the Year (Scotland).

Interim findings

Maureen and Penny presented interim findings from the project at the Learning in Law Annual Conference 2010 – their slides are embedded below, and a recording of the session is available at the bottom of the page.

Findings

• All sabbaticals awarded to respondents to the questionnaire were for research. No sabbatical was awarded to prepare teaching materials or for other purposes related to pedagogy.
• Despite the pressure to produce research outputs, half of the respondents who were awarded a sabbatical observed that the sabbatical had a positive effect on teaching.
• Over half of those surveyed thought that there should be no formal obligation to demonstrate pedagogic impact in relation to sabbaticals for research purposes.
• Over half of respondents agreed that sabbaticals should be awarded for teaching purposes.
• The research identified a number of practical suggestions as to how research sabbaticals could spread their benefits for teaching more imaginatively.

The survey response was too small in number to make statistically significant observations about distinctions between universities based on region or whether the institution was pre- or post-1992. The project did, however, illuminate ways in which the law school sabbatical crystallises many of the aspirations and tensions of the legal academic in the twenty first century. Respondents expressed a desire to achieve an integrated academic identity by maintaining a more vibrant connection between their teaching and research. We recommend concrete ways in which the experience of sabbaticals may be utilised to help cement that connection in the Sabbatical Guidance Notes.

For full details of the project findings and conclusions, see the final report, The pedagogic impact of law school sabbaticals and accompanying guidance.