Facilitation and interference between the research and teaching goals of junior scientists

Junior scientists (JS) at German universities have both research and teaching duties, and many JS face psychological strain due to goal conflicts. Although quantitative data shows that JS rank research goals higher than teaching goals, JS also report a significant, self motivation to teach. Drawing on an anlysis of 16 guided interviews, this article offers insight into the following areas: how circumstances that offer autonomy encourage JS to engage in teaching; the ways in which JS teaching and research duties facilitate each other; and individual differences in dealing with the goal conflicts that arise due to limited time resources.

21.06.2013 | Wiebke Esdar, Julia Gorges & Elke Wild (Bielefeld)