Faculty's Perceptions on Academic Work in the Employment Reform: A Comparative Study of Two Universities in the Chinese Mainland

Some major reforms of Mainland China's higher education management have affected university teachers' work significantly, such as competitive contract-centered employment of staff, integration of industrial sectors, universities, and research institutes, and the evaluation of teaching quality at the undergraduate level. These reforms highlight some features of new public management, including quasi-market competition, quantitative index-based performance evaluation, and diversified fund-investment. Meanwhile, the reforms have shaped the meaning, action, and perception of current university teachers' work. By using a qualitative research method, this study selected two universities as the cases, which are on different levels within China's higher education system. 32 in-depth interviews with the academic staffs based at different disciplines and academic rankings have been done in order to gain insights into their interpretations and understandings on the meaning, action and perception in terms of academic work.;The research findings show that the administrative-force-driven management requirements are more powerful than individuals' agency in regard of academic work. First, within the interviewees' understandings of academic work, scholarship of discovery is on the top following by scholarship of application and scholarship of teaching. However, scholarship of integration is seldom mentioned. Second, most of the participants value the coping strategies of "conforming to" and "manipulating with" the management, while only a few hold a view of resistance or ecstasy over the system. Third, university teachers' participation decline in sequence of teaching, staffing, and research.As seldom could gain the opportunity to participate in academic management, most of the participants have rescheduled the priorities of academic work by putting service on the top priority followed by research and teaching. Staff members who make the priorities well-rescheduled would achieve more returns and opportunities of promotion. Though team work, overseas visiting, and further study are critical for teachers' career development, they are limited by the new employment reform and the university's resources.;Basing on the literature review, this study has framed the conceptual framework in terms of the meaning, action, and perception of academic work. The empirical data has enriched the framework by providing local understandings and perceptions of academic work and their coping strategies. The management and practice of academic work value the scholarship of discovery.;Different from the strategies of "double-booking" and adopting "bilingualism" used by western scholars, most of the participants in this study conform or ingenously manipulate with the management requirements though some actions are harmful for the development of academic work.Within the academic work, services occupy the top priority while academics prefer research to teaching. Academic's salary is relatively low and income disparity have widened. The opportunities of promotion highly dependon the university, discipline and academic ranking. For the young university teachers, theirpromotions are largely blocked bythe inherited old system and traditional cultures. The new employment reform requires teachers compete with each other though collaboration is the most needed for faculty development. More support is needed in lower-level universities to improve faculty development. The government has transformed its management style from direct control to remote monitor by using performance evaluation and competitive funding distribution. While, the influence of market has increased by providing universities research funds. The university teachers are willing to participate in the academic management, which is crucial to the effectively communication between the academic ideal and its everyday practice.;KEYWORDS: academic work; new public management; coping strategy; view of academic work; academic responsibility; faculty development.