TO BE OR TO APPEAR? ROLES OF RESEARCHER AND TEACHER IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Being a researcher-teacher in higher education intertwines with formal requirements and internal desires, aspirations and intentions, which open up not only the experience of burnout or overwork, but at the same time show the deep aspiration and need for personal recognition, support and cooperation. The unresolved need quenches the enthusiasm of the researcher-teacher and pushes him / her into formal frames. In order to be a researcher-teacher in the higher education space, it is important not only to meet formal requirements, but also to become a reflective and authentic person who acts, collaborates and intellectually leads in higher education by internalizing high moral values.

Being a teacher and researcher in higher education is not only a commitment, but at the same time manifests itself through specific personal activities. The scientist as researcher and teacher working at a university is confronted not only with the external factors that define his / her roles in higher education, but also with the subtleties of his / her personality. The question is therefore: "What are the internal and external challenges for the roles of scientists as researchers and teachers in higher education?" The aim of the study was to review the roles of the scientist through teaching and researching paradigms in higher education distinguished in the scientific literature and to single out the essential challenges that arise in relation to these roles.

The dominance of the university teacher as a central figure in the educational process has also formed certain attitudes about what and how a university teacher should look and feel. These attitudes influenced the roles of university teachers in higher education. Traditionally, a university teacher has been seen as a course designer, a subject lecturer, a supervisor, a consultant, an evaluator of student work and the course, and a subject expert. It could be argued that these roles of university teacher create a certain attitude towards scientists-teachers, which leads to education becoming only a one-way process of knowledge transfer. Another important point is that the university teacher-oriented paradigm poses many challenges that are linked to hierarchical pedagogy (top-down) and at the same time reinforce learner passivity that hinders the development of higher cognitive skills. Such a paradigm creates principles of power that centrally control students. Although the university teacher him/herself may not have the intention to consider his / her students as obedient and passive listeners.

The constructivist philosophy of education highlights a learner-centered paradigm that changes the roles of not only the student but also the university teacher in educational processes. A university teacher from an information and knowledge transferor becomes a learner and collaborates with students and colleagues, thus learning and deepening existing knowledge and concepts.

Being a role model in higher education is always a challenge, as not only students or colleagues, but also the public can focus on a specific researcher-lecturer. Being a role model is directly related to intellectual and moral leadership in both higher education and society. It is observed that intellectual leadership in the university manifests itself through demonstrated exceptional expertise in its discipline internationally and nationally, based on scientific achievements and methodological, pedagogical and knowledge of the discipline represented, as well as knowledge of these subjects, relationships with colleagues to help and develop both their, and the horizons and perceptions of others.

The higher education researchers and teachers in one role are faced with various roles and emerging conflicts and they need to perform this complex role, and to solve emerging issues. Scientists realize that to do everything ideally at once is impossible. The daily experience of ethical dilemmas due to presence and appearance, which is influenced by the abundance of requirements for roles in higher education, raises dilemmas, moral, ethical, expert and human issues.