More and more professors of higher vocational education for practice-oriented research
There are more and more lecturers for practice-oriented research in higher professional education, the Rathenau Institute reported yesterday. But it doesn't go very fast anymore. "Is it enough to make HBO research grow and flourish?"
Image: NHL Stenden Hogeschool
Seventeen years ago, the lecturers entered higher professional education. They are a kind of HBO professors: they conduct practice-oriented research, establish connections with the professional field and improve education with their insights.
At least, that's the idea. “It is actually still too early to say whether they are indeed that spider in the web of the local knowledge network,” says researcher Jos de Jonge of the Rathenau Institute. "And we also don't know yet whether they actually help with the reassessment of education at universities of applied sciences."
To strive
In the first years, growth was rapid and research groups sprang up like mushrooms. The then chairman of the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (which was still called the HBO council) came up with a target figure: there had to be one full-time lecturer per 720 students.
It's not that far yet. It differs per discipline, but according to the 2016 figures (there are no more recent ones) there were about 650 lecturers. Another 450 lecturers would have to be added to come close to the target number. The idea is that there will then be enough lecturers to keep the flywheel of practice-oriented research going and to bring about a cultural change.
However, the lecturers nowadays have more money to spend: the budget has grown from 210 euros in 2009 to 336 euros in 2016. In those years, the lecturers also had more employees: their number increased from an average of eight to ten part-timers. To be precise: from 2,74 to 3,58 FTE.
Good news
“That's good news, but the professorships could use a considerable boost,” says De Jonge. “They have apparently been given more scope: they can do more and gather more people around them. But we know from the universities that the ideal research group, depending on the field, is between five and twenty FTEs. Then you are able to deliver quality and bring each other further. Lecturers are still small. Even the lecturer often only has an appointment of 0,4 or 0,6 FTE. ”
Researcher Jos de Jonge: 'Lectureships could use a big boost'
Yet there is also sometimes criticism of the lecturers. Some would be invisible or have little research experience. They would also do little in terms of educational innovation, if only because they hardly have time for it.
De Jonge is aware of the criticism, but is more lenient himself. “Lecturers are often sent in a mess. They already have a small appointment themselves. If they are lucky, there are still one or two employees who have some time available for the research group and then they have to expand it on their own and raise money. ”
Clout power
Compare that with professors at universities. According to data from the VSNU university association, there are about 3.150 professors who have many more employees. "The strength of a research group is really much smaller."
Although of course it differs per university of applied sciences. Some lecturers have to serve more students than others. Van Hall Larenstein is the only university of applied sciences with less than two hundred students per lecturer. At the other end of the spectrum is Avans University of Applied Sciences with 1.200 students per lecturer. That is calculated in persons. On average, lecturers are appointed for three days a week.
