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Building Castles in the
Air?The Pitfalls of Ignoring
Organizational Constraints in Research Development in
Philippine Higher Education Institutions
CHED : NHERA (1997)
First fully articulation of research as among the three primary functions of all HEIs
Research productivity as criteria for –
University statusCenter of excellenceAutonomous /
Deregulated status Institutional qualityOpening of graduate
programs
Research Development
Accrediting agencies Research part of
criteria for educational quality
Individual universities Research productivity
as part of criteria for promotions and/or permanency, professoriate
Incentives for research
Research Development
Interventions: New policies and programs
Capacity building activities
Research grants Journal accreditation Awards and other
incentives
Have we made progress since
1997?
Evidence: International Refereed PublicationsUsing one
strict indicator: publications in international refereed journals, the answer seems to be YES!
International Refereed Publications produced by HEIs (1994-2008)
699
1173
1737
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
Pre-NHERA(1994-1998)
Early NHERA(1999-2003)
Late NHERA(2004-2008)
% of HEI Publications out of total Philippine publications(1994-2008)
Non-HEI53%
HEI47%
Non-HEI38%
HEI62%
Non-HEI26%
HEI74%
1994-19981999-2003
2004-2008
# of HEIs that produced International Refereed Publications (1994-2008)
5662
88
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Pre-NHERA (1994-1998) Early NHERA (1999-2003) Late NHERA (2004-2008)
# of HEI faculty members with International Publications (1994-2008)
741
15501692
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
Pre-NHERA1994-1998
Early NHERA1999-2003
Late NHERA2004-2008
But if we disaggregate
the data, we see that progress was uneven.
Survey of International Refereed Publications (1994-2008) the increase in the number of
HEIs producing international publications was found only in 6 out of the 16 geographic regions
the total number of HEIs involved in producing all international publications was only 88, which represents 4.27% of the 2060 HEIs in the Philippines
% Share of International Publications of Top 11 HEIs (1994-2008)
Top 11 HEIs84%
All the rest16%
Top 11 HEIs97%
All the rest3%
Top 11 HEIs94%
All the rest6%
Survey of International Refereed Publications (1994-2008)
increase in publications may be due mainly to the increased productivity of a small group of approximately 30 HEIs (not a widespread increase in productivity across the Philippine higher education system);
the increase in number of researchers or authors varied across the geographic regions, with six regions not showing any noticeable increase.
Research Development???
Growth in research productivity is very localized in specific regions and institutions
The overwhelming majority of regions and HEIs have largely been unaffected by research development thrusts and programs
Building castles in the air?Developing research in Philippine HEIs is severely constrained by
the structural/organizational features of most HEIs that do not (cannot) support development of substantial research processes
and outcomes.
Definition: Research processes
Research activities sustained over long periods of time directed at inquiring into questions and validating propositions, with the goal of generating knowledge that expands current boundaries human knowledge
Definition: Research outcomes various forms of
knowledge productions that are assessed by the relevant sector of the global scholarly community in terms of its competence and substance
publication in refereed journals, citation, patents and applications
Definition: Organizational Features
Elements or characteristics of these elements of the organizational structure of HEIs that define the parameters for the various processes that operate within the organization (organizational structure; of work; finance/budget model, etc.)
Definition: Organizational Features Organizational
features are also constrained by other forces in the larger environment of higher education institutions (policy, regulations, markets, quality assurance systems, etc.)
Organizational Features
Thus, we can consider both
Elements of the internal organizational structure of HEIs, and
Elements of the external environment of HEIs that constrain the internal organizational structure and operations of HEIs
What are these organization features
that may constrain research
development?Consider what makes the top HEIs produce?
The Top 11 HEIsUniversity 1994-
19981999-2003
2004-2008
Total
UP Diliman 216 368 555 1139
UP Los Baños 151 314 258 723
UP Manila 97 150 251 498
De La Salle University 44 98 246 388
University of Santo Tomas
28 48 130 206
Ateneo de Manila Univ 8 37 68 113
Central Luzon State Univ
9 21 42 72
Visayas State University
8 14 45 67
UP in the Visayas 8 19 35 62
University of San Carlos
2 26 32 60
MSU-Iligan Inst of Tech
14 7 31 52
Organizational features
Level of research activity existence of some viable
level of research activity and processes
higher ratio of faculty members with PhDs
we cannot start from zero BUT, most Philippines
HEIs are starting from zero
The Top 11 HEIsUniversity 1994-
19981999-2003
2004-2008
Total
UP Diliman 216 368 555 1139
UP Los Baños 151 314 258 723
UP Manila 97 150 251 498
De La Salle University 44 98 246 388
University of Santo Tomas
28 48 130 206
Ateneo de Manila Univ 8 37 68 113
Central Luzon State Univ
9 21 42 72
Visayas State University
8 14 45 67
UP in the Visayas 8 19 35 62
University of San Carlos
2 26 32 60
MSU-Iligan Inst of Tech
14 7 31 52
Organizational features
Work load of faculty members research requires devoting
substantial & sustained amounts of time to research activities
in most HEIs: 24 to 30 hours per week in the classroom, plus class preparation, marking papers, etc.
Faculty members job function is defined primarily in terms of the teaching function.
Organizational features
Work load of faculty members transitioning from pure
teaching to combined teaching and research functions is difficult to manage
incentives for faculty research not commensurate to difficulty in transition
Organizational features
Expectations that faculty members will
produce quality research does not
seem to be founded on a good
appreciation of the work conditions of faculty members.
University budget model
Most Philippine HEIs (private & public) need to maximize efficiency:
have as few faculty items handle as many full time student equivalents
faculty salaries contingent on being able to teach a number of paying students
freeing up faculty members from teaching requires getting money from other sources
University budget model
Private HEIs’ budgets depend on tuition
Supporting faculty time for research, funding actual research expenses, and providing incentives also need to be obtained from sources other than tuition
Public HEIs Faculty members also expected to
participate in income generating activities of the university
Fiscal realities of most HEIs require faculty members to be more active in non-research activities.
The organizational model of HEIs The mission & structure of most
HEIs are conceived in relation to the delivery of teaching services.
Leadership of HEIs address research development as an “add-on” to teaching.
Organizational elements of HEIs are designed to maximize efficiencies for teaching.
Research-related interventions are mostly ad hoc & auxiliary to teaching elements.
External Regulation of HEIs
Legal restrictions on how to increased revenues from tuition are used
CHED requirements that full time faculty members handle majority of mandated courses
CHED requirements related to work load of full time teaching staff
External Regulation: Minimal Standards
Organizational requirements for research : at least 2% of university budget for research
(varies depending on size of operations)existence of a research office and policies
Weak External Support for Research Development in HEIsSystem for research training is weakFaculty of HEIs do not have many
good and viable options for acquiring serviceable research skills
Most developed countries: Graduate education is the most effective approach for research training
Graduate Education in the Philippines
Large graduate education sector (w/annual graduates in the thousands)
High enrollment in non-research oriented disciplines (educational management; public administration)
Curriculum and instruction is not designed to develop high level research skills
Graduate faculty members are NOT researchers
Graduate Education in the Philippines Many student unable to
graduate / unable to complete thesis and dissertations
Most thesis/dissertations completed are “unpublishable”
PhD holders who are incapable of launching viable research programs
Current state of graduate education in the Philippine inadequate to support research training needs of HEIs
Post-Doctoral Research Training
Obtaining a PhD is not sufficient to establish productive research program
5 or more years of post-doctoral research is needed before a PhD holder can set a viable and sustainable research program
Most HEIs have no provisions for suchMost common alternative:Short-term capacity-building activitiesQuestionable efficacy??
External Sources of Research FundsTraditional external sources (in other
countries): Government
Well-defined priorities, limited funds Private (foundations, corporations,
development agencies) Priorities aligned with organizations’
missions and “self-interests” May not contribute to knowledge capital of
larger society May be augmented by strategic
partnerships
Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIs The process of research
development in HEIs is not a simple matter of defining targets on research and publications, funding research, and setting higher research-related standards
The process needs to be grounded on appropriately configured HEIs with capable faculty researchers operating in viable environments
Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIsIn addition to targets and
standards, the research development process should define the organization environment, research processes and mechanisms, and incentives that would support for faculty research
Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIs
HEIs should develop budget models and business models that are more appropriate for HEIs that do both teaching and research
Research faculty members should be given more time, space, and support sustained over long periods of time
Conclusion : Organizational constraints to research development in HEIsInvest in high level research
training of faculty members?? Require higher standards
of existing graduate programs ??
Be selective in where faculty members are sent for graduate studies (consider foreign training)
Support post-doctoral research training
Building Castles in the Air…
If not:Most HEIs would NOT
be able to respond to challenges or research development
Most HEIs would NOT be able to absorb the research development interventions of CHED and other agencies
Building Castles in the Air…
We need to RETHINK the very nature of our universities and our faculty position, and consider major paradigm shifts in the process of research development in HEIs.
Building Castles in the Air?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING!
Allan B I BernardoDe La Salle University Philippines