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Original Research
Academic career management intervention at a South African university: A modified Delphi study
Submitted: 09 July 2023 | Published: 31 October 2023
About the author(s)
Nina Barnes, Department of Industrial Psychology, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South AfricaMarieta du Plessis, Department of Industrial Psychology, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa
José Frantz, Office of the DVC: Research and Innovation, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa; and Department of Physiotherapy, Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa
Abstract
Orientation: Understanding the components for an academic career management intervention programme, to enable the development of the required academic pipeline to achieve the strategic objectives of higher education institutions.
Research purpose: A consensus view across subject experts for a career management intervention programme to enable the progression of academic careers.
Motivation for the study: While academic career literature captures an array of normative designs of career management programmes to cultivate the required academic talent consortium, literature indicates a lack of a comprehensive and systematic approach for career management to provide a framework for successfully managing academic careers.
Research design, approach and method: A modified Delphi technique was employed, by presenting an expert panel with the findings of a broader research project to initiate the consensus-seeking methodology - a systematic approach to obtain concordance on the experts’ opinions through two rounds of structured questionnaires.
Main findings: The identified components are structured and presented in five main themes (categories), including: (1) institutional, (2) individual, (3) overlapping, (4) cultural and (5) external. The results show a strong agreement among the experts on the first four categories. The fifth (external) offers the lowest level of agreement, reminding that the higher education system is part of a broader contextual system; it should be understood within its operational context and time.
Practical/managerial implications: Offering talent management practitioners and higher education leaders expert observations of the factors to consider while planning and implementing career management intervention programmes to enable academic career progression.
Contribution/value-add: A comprehensive and systematic approach for career management, providing a framework for successfully managing academic careers across the various career stages.
Keywords
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Sustainable Development Goal
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