Informing the revision of the UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of HE Teaching Personnel

About

Working under the management of UNESCO with colleagues from across the University, the UoM team generated evidence-informed briefing materials on key concepts and policy trends shaping the contemporary higher education landscape and academic profession. The work aimed to enhance the knowledge base for UNESCO and support a more robust, forward-looking revision of the 1997 Recommendation, pending guidance from the International Expert Group (IEG-97) and UNESCO Member States.

Through desk research and analysis related to recent developments affecting academic staff and higher education governance, with a focus on changes in legal frameworks, working conditions, institutional governance, employment models, academic freedoms, and technology integration, four analytical briefs were prepared to address critical topics for the revision of the 1997 Recommendation:

  • The institutional autonomy of higher education institutions, including consideration of the rise of private higher education;
  • Academic freedom, including in relation to research funding;
  • Academic employment contracts, including the rise of precarity and developments regarding tenure or its equivalent;
  • Digital transformation and impacts of AI on higher education, specifically as related to the status and work of teaching personnel.

Timeframe

October 2025 - January 2026

Funding

This project was funded by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Project team

Outcomes

A series of analytical briefs on relevant topics that will directly inform the work of UNESCO in support of the IEG-97 and related stakeholder consultations leading to the submission of a revised text to the 44th General Conference in 2027.

The changing landscape of academic freedom
The changing landscape of academic work
The changing landscape of digital transformation in higher education
The changing landscape of institutional autonomy

Enquiries

For more information on this CSHE project, please contact A/Prof Gwilym Croucher.