A significant result of these combined changes was a dislocation of those who had previously held leadership roles in the academic community, while the administrative system was also completely re-organised and re-branded. In order to implement the new modular structure, new groups of academics took on or were given the responsibility of working with their colleagues to design and deliver a new modularised and semesterised curriculum. This paper examines the perceptions of such a group in relation to the work they achieved, the institutional value placed on that work and on the reactions of their academic peers to their role.

This paper reveals that, in this three-year period of change, teaching remained crucial for the continuation of the main business of the university. However, some of those who took on key roles in implementing the new teaching structures in their schools increasingly perceived themselves as being marginalised and undervalued within the academic community. They also perceived that they were left responsible for the teaching administration of academic colleagues who were then free to pursue more valued roles in research and publishing .

This paper examines the nature of these perceptions and compares them to the perceptions of inequity experienced by those undertaking unpaid domestic work, particularly towards those who engage in ‘more valued’ work outside of the home³. Working within this model, the paper explores the social construction of the role inequalities within academic communities between the teaching ‘domestics’ and the research ‘workers’. It highlights the long-term problems inherent in allowing such perceptions to become institutionalised in terms of supporting talented academic teachers and of fostering high-quality teaching and learning.

¹ Srikanthan, G. & Dalrymple, J. (2004) A Synthesis of a Quality Management Model for Education in Universities, International Journal of Educational Management 18 - 266-279

² Hattie, J. & Marsh, H.W. (1996) The Relationships Between Research and Teaching: A Meta-Analysis, Review of Educational Research 66 - 507-542

³Greenstein, T. (1996) Gender Ideology and Perceptions of the Fairness of the Division of Household Labor: Effects on Marital Quality Social Forces,74 (3) 1029-1042