Growing a Research Culture

Abstract

Abstract This paper considers the challenges involved in developing a research culture in a low-research environment. The University of Botswana is relatively new and has operated mainly as a teaching university since its foundation. Although in a developing country, the University enjoys relatively strong financial support from government and is growing rapidly. Although some research and development has been conducted throughout the University since its beginnings, initially the focus of research effort was on full-time researchers in research centres. The University has recently revised this approach and placed an emphasis on the need for both local and expatriate university teachers to produce research outputs. Although all academic staff have at least a master's degree, the University itself does not have a recognisable culture in which research activity is the norm. As a result the capability and appreciation of research management amongst staff are limited, which can result in limited project management, accountability, and time management skills, and hence reduced performance. This paper outlines the situation and describes the approach being undertaken to remedy the problems. Introduction In the majority of universities in America and other countries, the concept of research-led teaching is well understood. While it may not always be practised, the nature of research is appreciated, and leading researchers who contribute significantly to the overall quality of academic performance arc valued, in turn increasing the stature of the entire institution in the mind of society (Geiger, 1993; Pratt, 1997; and Lipset, 1994). In such countries as the United States and the United Kingdom, the cultural environment is one in which the principles underpinning scientific study and advancement through questioning established norms, technological innovation, and scholarly study are sufficiently well established in the academic environment to be appreciated and understood by all. The long cultural history of academic scholarship is sufficiently well established that it is self-propagating-students grow up in an environment of logical enquiry and thus understand the philosophical principles involved, at least at a level sufficient to maintain the culture. Staff transfer between culturally similar universities also ensures a healthy cross-fertllization of ideas, all within institutions focused on research. To a large extent the culture is task oriented with an emphasis on delivery of outputs in the form of reports, papers, and other deliverables. The debate may be about the level and means of funding (Geuna, 1999; New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2002), the meaning of research (Boyer, 1990; Gibbons et al, 1994), or even about proving the research-teaching nexus (Hattie and Marsh, 1996; Robertson, 1999; Zubrick, 2000), but it is still based upon a research-led environment. None of this is automatically true in less countries. Traditional cultural values and worldviews may conflict with the basic concept of scientific enquiry, and so the concept of research practice may be interpreted in different ways. In a culture which emphasises relational values over task achievement, and which may even have an animistic world view rather than a rationalistic approach, inculcating ideas about the value of the scientific method and the timely delivery of research outputs can be difficult. At this point in history, when traditional Third World countries are still emerging from the colonial past, the situation is inevitably confused. Traditional world-views clash with the desire for the prosperity and development perceived to be possessed by the developed countries. Academics have been exposed to Western values and attitudes and have adopted those values to differing degrees. When this mixture of values is applied to the case of the university, the institutional mind-set can be a conflict between the desire to be like other universities and the traditional underlying behaviour and attitudes of the staff. …

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