Teaching and research are important facets of learning process. Either it is physics, chemistry, biology or any subject of social sciences, research keeps a pivotal position in advancement of knowledge. Primarily research provides sound purpose of education to the tune of its applicability in the society.
On linking of research with teaching, Professor John Hattie [Faculty of Education, University of Auckland] and Professor Herb Marsh [Professor, Educational Studies, Oxford University] carried out a study and noted that :
“The strongest policy claim that derives from meta analysis is that universities need to set as a mission goal the improvement of nexus between research and teaching. The goal should not be publish or perish, or teach or impeach, but we beseech you to publish and teach effectively. The aim is to increase the circumstances in which teaching and research have occasion to meet, and to provide rewards not only for better teaching or for better research but for demonstrations of the integration between teaching and research.”
Dr Moonis Ahmar [amoonis@hotmail.com] a faculty member in international relations at University of Karachi worked on linking research with the teaching on Pakistani perspective. His article were published in the national dailies and some of their contents have been copied hereunder.
A good teacher can also be a good researcher and vice versa. Although the relationship between research and teaching is complex, both are complimentary in nature. The debate on seeking a logical link between teaching and research is not new but there exists some confusion in academia about using scientific methods of investigation in the process of teaching. The basis of that confusion may be questionable but if an investigation is carried out on the reasons why some teachers are not doing research it becomes clear that there exists some reluctance on the part of such teachers to strengthen their lectures by embarking on in-depth research. If they were to do proper research, it would aid their teaching.
But in real life, we do not often see teachers who can do research or researchers who are interested in teaching. This happens because of a lack of interest or skills on the part of either. There are some societies where from the grassroots level the focus is on motivating students to participate in class discussion and in facilitating the development of their analytical skills. In such a situation it is easier to find people who want to carry out research.
Those students who decide to conduct research do not merely concentrate on carrying out their various investigations they also keep themselves busy disseminating their ideas and thoughts to students and fellow researchers/faculty through lectures or presentations. The education system in the developed world places a premium on research. Promotions and other incentives are denied to university teachers if they do not produce quality research or do not bring funds through their research projects. Courses on research and methodology are compulsory in good universities so that students get training in how to write a research article for submission to an indexed journal. This can serve them well in the future, especially for those who decide to become teachers themselves.
This also ensures that future faculty already has prior exposure to basic research and writing techniques. The end result of this kind of system — found in all good universities — is that one gets an individual who is a solid researcher as well as a good teacher. Such a combination is achieved because clear and effective communication skills, both in speaking and writing, are developed in that student through a process of interactive discussions, class assignments, term papers, books reviews, writing of monographs, research papers and dissertations.
There can be no short in seeking excellence and teaching & research is no exception. This is because expertise is achieved only when the person concerned has an aptitude for both teaching and research and has the ability to disseminate his or her views and thoughts to a wide audience through class lectures, academic presentations, magazine and newspaper articles and research publications.
In Pakistan the situation is quite depressing as far as the combination of research and teaching is concerned. The reasons for this are a poor educational system, lack of motivation and opportunity and the failure to ensure freedom of speech and writing. Without a fully functioning democratic political process, it becomes difficult to produce teachers and researchers who can combine both verbal and written communication skills for creating awareness among people to bring about social, economic and political change.The quality of education, in schools, colleges and universities is poor in our country, whereas students who either go abroad for higher studies or join fields may get some exposure of research. As long as educational institutions fail to provide teachers with good communication and research skills things will not be changed.
The environment in higher education is often hostile to research. To add to this, most institutions of higher education, especially the colleges, do not require their faculty members to engage in research. At the university level, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) announced incentives for university teachers to carry out research but such policy came under criticism by a section of Pakistani academia. Later the Commission introduced Research Linkage programmes for propagation of research in institutions.
The success of developed societies has much to do with the merger of teaching and research because the issues and problems that they face are addressed not in isolation but through the efforts of teachers who also happen to be researchers. Pakistan needs to create a research-friendly environment. This can be done not only by — as is being done by the HEC — giving incentives for research and institutionalizing linkages between teaching and research but also a healthy environment is need of the time.
On linking of research with teaching, Professor John Hattie [Faculty of Education, University of Auckland] and Professor Herb Marsh [Professor, Educational Studies, Oxford University] carried out a study and noted that :
“The strongest policy claim that derives from meta analysis is that universities need to set as a mission goal the improvement of nexus between research and teaching. The goal should not be publish or perish, or teach or impeach, but we beseech you to publish and teach effectively. The aim is to increase the circumstances in which teaching and research have occasion to meet, and to provide rewards not only for better teaching or for better research but for demonstrations of the integration between teaching and research.”
Dr Moonis Ahmar [amoonis@hotmail.com] a faculty member in international relations at University of Karachi worked on linking research with the teaching on Pakistani perspective. His article were published in the national dailies and some of their contents have been copied hereunder.
A good teacher can also be a good researcher and vice versa. Although the relationship between research and teaching is complex, both are complimentary in nature. The debate on seeking a logical link between teaching and research is not new but there exists some confusion in academia about using scientific methods of investigation in the process of teaching. The basis of that confusion may be questionable but if an investigation is carried out on the reasons why some teachers are not doing research it becomes clear that there exists some reluctance on the part of such teachers to strengthen their lectures by embarking on in-depth research. If they were to do proper research, it would aid their teaching.
But in real life, we do not often see teachers who can do research or researchers who are interested in teaching. This happens because of a lack of interest or skills on the part of either. There are some societies where from the grassroots level the focus is on motivating students to participate in class discussion and in facilitating the development of their analytical skills. In such a situation it is easier to find people who want to carry out research.
Those students who decide to conduct research do not merely concentrate on carrying out their various investigations they also keep themselves busy disseminating their ideas and thoughts to students and fellow researchers/faculty through lectures or presentations. The education system in the developed world places a premium on research. Promotions and other incentives are denied to university teachers if they do not produce quality research or do not bring funds through their research projects. Courses on research and methodology are compulsory in good universities so that students get training in how to write a research article for submission to an indexed journal. This can serve them well in the future, especially for those who decide to become teachers themselves.
This also ensures that future faculty already has prior exposure to basic research and writing techniques. The end result of this kind of system — found in all good universities — is that one gets an individual who is a solid researcher as well as a good teacher. Such a combination is achieved because clear and effective communication skills, both in speaking and writing, are developed in that student through a process of interactive discussions, class assignments, term papers, books reviews, writing of monographs, research papers and dissertations.
There can be no short in seeking excellence and teaching & research is no exception. This is because expertise is achieved only when the person concerned has an aptitude for both teaching and research and has the ability to disseminate his or her views and thoughts to a wide audience through class lectures, academic presentations, magazine and newspaper articles and research publications.
In Pakistan the situation is quite depressing as far as the combination of research and teaching is concerned. The reasons for this are a poor educational system, lack of motivation and opportunity and the failure to ensure freedom of speech and writing. Without a fully functioning democratic political process, it becomes difficult to produce teachers and researchers who can combine both verbal and written communication skills for creating awareness among people to bring about social, economic and political change.The quality of education, in schools, colleges and universities is poor in our country, whereas students who either go abroad for higher studies or join fields may get some exposure of research. As long as educational institutions fail to provide teachers with good communication and research skills things will not be changed.
The environment in higher education is often hostile to research. To add to this, most institutions of higher education, especially the colleges, do not require their faculty members to engage in research. At the university level, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) announced incentives for university teachers to carry out research but such policy came under criticism by a section of Pakistani academia. Later the Commission introduced Research Linkage programmes for propagation of research in institutions.
The success of developed societies has much to do with the merger of teaching and research because the issues and problems that they face are addressed not in isolation but through the efforts of teachers who also happen to be researchers. Pakistan needs to create a research-friendly environment. This can be done not only by — as is being done by the HEC — giving incentives for research and institutionalizing linkages between teaching and research but also a healthy environment is need of the time.
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