Well-Being of Academic Staff in Rapidly Changing Higher Education

Table Of Contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Epigraph
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• 1. Challenges and Well-Being of Academics on the Eastern Border of the European Union. The Background and Rationale for the Book (Gabriella Pusztai & Klára Kovács)
• 1. The World of Academics: Research Foundations and Insights
• 2. Why Are Academics in the Post-Socialist Region Special?
• 3. New Challenge: The Well-Being of Academics
• 4. The Research Design of the Studies
• References
• PART I Higher Education Systems as the Working Environment of Academic Staff in Central and Eastern Europe: Country Studies
• 2. Changes in Higher Education and Academic Staff in Hungary (István Polónyi)
• Introduction: Topics, Data, and Methods
• 1. Some Characteristics of the Development of Hungarian Higher Education After the Change of Regime
• 2. The Characteristics of Academics in Hungarian Higher Education
• 3. Employment Rules for Academics Working in Higher Education
• 4. Some Characteristics of the Structure of the Academic Staff in Higher Education
• 5. The Living Wage of Academic Staff With Scientific Qualifications
• 6. The Shortage of Scientific Researchers— Doctoral Students
• Summary
• References
• 3. Higher Education Academics in Slovakia (Dana Hanesová, Lenka Rovňanová & Patrícia Zólyomiová)
• Introduction
• 1. The Historical Context of Higher Education in Slovakia After 1989
• 2. Current Societal Context of HE in Slovakia
• 2.1. Current Status and Structure of HEIs
• 2.2. Current Trends in Numbers of HE Students and Graduates
• 3. Academic Staff in Slovakia
• 3.1. The Characteristics of Academics According to Slovak Legislation
• 3.2. Statistics on Academics in HE
• 3.2.1. HE student-to-academic staff ratio
• 3.2.2. Age structure of academics in HE
• 3.2.3. Distribution of academics in HE by gender
• 3.2.4. Primary function of academic staff
• 3.2.5. Distribution of academics in HE by seniority level
• 3.3. Current Challenges for Academics in HE
• 3.3.1. Requirements for a broader range of transversal competencies of academics
• 3.3.2. Coordinating students with special educational needs and ensuring an inclusive approach
• 3.3.3. Developing the dimension of internationalization in HEIs
• 4. Public Expenditure on Academics’ Salaries
• Conclusions
• References
• Internet Websites (Assessed on September 10, 2024)
• 4. Academics in the Romanian Higher Education Context (Imre Tódor)
• Introduction
• 1. A Brief Overview of the (Hungarian Language) Higher Education in Romania After the Regime Change (1990–2023)
• 2. The Network of Higher Education Institutions in Romania
• 2.1. Development of Higher Education Institutions in Romania Between 1990 and 2023
• 2.2. The Development of Faculties in Romanian Higher Education Institutions Between 1990 and 2023
• 2.3. Government Expenditure on Higher Education in Romania
• 2.4. Changes in the Number of Students Enrolled to Higher Education Institutions in Romania Between 1990 and 2023
• 3. Academic Staff in Romanian Higher Education Institutions
• 3.1. Student-Academic Staff Ratio
• 3.2. Changes in the Number of Academic Staff in Higher Education Between 1990 and 2023
• 3.3. Distribution of Academic Staff in Romania by Gender
• 3.4. Distribution of Academic Staff in Romania by Age Groups
• 3.5. Distribution of Academic Staff in Romania by Academic Rank
• Summary
• References
• Websites
• Appendices
• 5. Characteristics of the Higher Education System and Academic Staff in Serbia (Elvira Kovács & Zoltán Papp)
• Introduction
• 1. Impacts of the Bologna Process on the Serbian Higher Education System
• 2. Challenges in Implementing the Accreditation Process Within the Serbian Higher Education System
• 2.1. Structure and Characteristics of Serbia’s Higher Education System
• 2.2. Review of the Academic Qualification Requirements for Academics in Higher Education
• 2.3. Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Universities in Serbia
• 2.4. Trends in Student Enrollment and Graduation Rates Within Serbian Higher Education
• 2.5. Structure and Characteristics of Serbia’s Higher Applied Education System
• 2.6. Wage Ratios of Higher Education Staff and Wage Ratios Relative to Labor Market Wages
• 3. The Prestige of the Academic Career in Serbia, Prospects for the Future, and Talent Development
• Summary
• References
• Documents
• 6. Challenges in Higher Education and for Academics in Ukraine (Katalin Pallay)
• Introduction
• 1. Higher Education in Post-Regime Ukraine: Trends and Changes
• 2. The Bologna System in Ukraine
• 3. Development of Higher Education in Ukraine After Maidan
• 4. The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on Higher Education
• 5. Employment Regulations for Academic Staff in Higher Education of Ukraine
• 6. The Structure of Academic Staff of the Ukrainian Higher Education
• 7. Number of University Academic Staff in Ukraine
• 8. Salaries of Academic Staff in Ukraine
• Summary
• References
• Websites
• PART II Well-Being of Academics in Central and Eastern Europe
• 7. Performance Assessment: A New Dimension of Institutional Culture (Gabriella Pusztai, Zsuzsanna Demeter-Karászi & Katalin Pallay)
• Introduction
• 1. Theoretical Background
• 1.1. Higher Education at Scale
• 1.2. Valuing and Evaluating the Performance of Higher Education Institutions
• 1.3. Institutional Culture
• 2. Methodology
• 3. Results
• 3.1. The Types of Institutional Culture
• 3.2. Types of Effectiveness of Academics
• 3.3. Institutional Culture and Interpretations of Effectiveness
• 4. Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• 8. (Inclusive) Teaching Practice and Well-Being Among Higher Education Academics in Central and Eastern Europe (Anett Hrabéczy & Zsófia Kocsis)
• Introduction
• 1. Theoretical Background
• 1.1. Changing Higher Education
• 1.2. Defining the Characteristics of Teacher Activities
• 1.3. The Inclusive Teaching Approach in the Light of Academic Work
• 1.4. The Ties Between the Work and Well-Being of Academics
• 2. Materials and Methods
• 2.1. Sampling
• 2.2. Participants
• 2.3. Measures
• 2.3.1. Clusters of academics
• 2.3.2. Well-being
• 2.3.3. Teaching practice
• 3. Results
• 4. Discussion
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgment
• References
• 9. International Mobility and Its Impediments for Academics (Ilona Dóra Dabney-Fekete, Ágnes Réka Dusa & Katalin Pallay)
• Introduction
• 1. The International Activity of Academics As One of Internationalization’s Highlighted Fields
• 1.1. Academics Caught in the Crossfire of Their Roles
• 1.2. Academics Taking on Roles in Internationalization
• 1.3. The Possible Reasons for the Backlog of International Mobility
• 1.4. Hypotheses
• 2. Methodology
• 3. Results
• 4. Discussion
• Conclusions
• References
• 10. Research Productivity and Workplace Stress Among Academics (Klára Kovács, Marianna Moravecz & Gabriella Hideg)
• Introduction
• 1. The Changing Higher Education Context and Its Influence on the Productivity of Academics in CEE
• 2. Methodology
• 2.1. Data and Sample
• 2.2. Variables and Analysis
• 3. Results
• 3.1. Relationships Between Demographic, Work Characteristics and Research Productivity
• 3.2. Predictor Factors of Research Productivity
• 4. Discussion
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgment
• References
• 11. Work-Life Conflicts: A Dual Functionality Approach on Career of Academics (Emese Beáta Berei, Ágnes Engler & Klára Kovács)
• Introduction
• 1. The Concept of Social Functionality and Work-Life Conflicts
• 2. Methods, Samples and Instrument
• 3. Results
• 3.1. The Work-Life Balance of Academic Human Resources. Their Work-Life Conflict Score
• 3.2. Predictors of the Work-Life Conflicts Between the Two, Personal and Professional Environments
• 4. Discussion
• 5. A Social Evaluation Model of Factors Contributing to the WLC Phenomenon
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• References
• 12. The Cultural Involvement Patterns of Academics (Edina Márkus, Judit Herczegh & Márta Miklósi)
• Introduction
• 1. The Background of Cultural Consumption in Central and Eastern Europe
• 2. Methodological Background
• 3. Results
• Summary
• References
• 13. What Have We Learned About the Well-Being and Performance of Academics in EU Border Region Countries? (Klára Kovács & Ilona Dabney-Fekete)
• 1. Higher Education in the Studied Countries: Challenges and Trends
• 1.1. Academic Well-Being and Health Behaviors
• 1.2. Workplace Stress and Institutional Support
• 1.3. International Mobility and Academic Productivity
• 1.4. Senior vs. Junior Academics
• 2. Characteristics of Academic Clusters in Central and Eastern Europe
• 3. How Can the Well-Being and Performance of Academics in Central and Eastern Europe Be Improved? Recommendations for Higher Education Leaders and Policymakers
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Notes on Contributors
• Index

Gabriella Pusztai / Klára Kovács (eds.)

Well-Being of
Academic Staff
in Rapidly Changing
Higher Education

A Focus on Central and Eastern Europe

Berlin · Bruxelles · Chennai · Lausanne · New York · Oxford

Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available online at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Pusztai, Gabriella editor | Kovács, Klára editor

Title: Well-being of academic staff in rapidly changing higher education : a focus on Central and Eastern Europe / Editors: Gabriella Pusztai & Klára Kovács.

Description: New York : Peter Lang, 2026. | Series: Higher education research and policy, 2193-7613 | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2025019772 (print) | LCCN 2025019773 (ebook) | ISBN 9783631939680 hardback | ISBN 9783631939710 pdf | ISBN 9783631940273 epub

Subjects: LCSH: College teachers--Job satisfaction--Europe, Central | College teachers--Job satisfaction--Europe, Eastern | Well-being--Europe, Central | Well-being--Europe, Eastern | Educational change--Europe, Central | Educational change--Europe, Eastern | Higher education and state--Europe, Central | Higher education and state--Europe, Eastern | Universities and colleges--Europe, Central--Sociological aspects | Universities and colleges--Europe, Eastern--Sociological aspects

Classification: LCC LB2331.74.E8515 W45 2025 (print) | LCC LB2331.74.E8515 (ebook) | DDC 378.1/20943--dc23/eng/20250605

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025019772

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025019773

This publication was financially supported by the University of Debrecen. This research was supported by the project ‘Investigating the role of sport and physical activity for a healthy and safe society in the individual and social sustainability of work ability and quality of work and life (multidisciplinary research umbrella program)’ and by the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Project no. TKP2021-EGA-20 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-EGA funding scheme.

ISSN 2193-7613

ISBN 978-3-631-93968-0 (Print)

ISBN 978-3-631-93971-0 (ePDF)

ISBN 978-3-631-94027-3 (ePUB)

DOI 10.3726/b23030

© 2026 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne (Switzerland)

Published by Peter Lang GmbH, Berlin (Germany)

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Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

1. Challenges and Well-Being of Academics on the Eastern Border of the European Union. The Background and Rationale for the Book

Gabriella Pusztai & Klára Kovács

PART I Higher Education Systems as the Working Environment of Academic Staff in Central and Eastern Europe: Country Studies

2. Changes in Higher Education and Academic Staff in Hungary

István Polónyi

3. Higher Education Academics in Slovakia

Dana Hanesová, Lenka Rovňanová & Patrícia Zólyomiová

4. Academics in the Romanian Higher Education Context

Imre Tódor

5. Characteristics of the Higher Education System and Academic Staff in Serbia

Elvira Kovács & Zoltán Papp

6. Challenges in Higher Education and for Academics in Ukraine

Katalin Pallay

PART II Well-Being of Academics in Central and Eastern Europe

7. Performance Assessment: A New Dimension of Institutional Culture

Gabriella Pusztai, Zsuzsanna Demeter-Karászi & Katalin Pallay

8. (Inclusive) Teaching Practice and Well-Being Among Higher Education Academics in Central and Eastern Europe

Anett Hrabéczy & Zsófia Kocsis

9. International Mobility and Its Impediments for Academics

Ilona Dóra Dabney-Fekete, Ágnes Réka Dusa & Katalin Pallay

10. Research Productivity and Workplace Stress Among Academics

Klára Kovács, Marianna Moravecz & Gabriella Hideg

11. Work-Life Conflicts: A Dual Functionality Approach on Career of Academics

Emese Beáta Berei, Ágnes Engler & Klára Kovács

12. The Cultural Involvement Patterns of Academics

Edina Márkus, Judit Herczegh & Márta Miklósi

13. What Have We Learned About the Well-Being and Performance of Academics in EU Border Region Countries?

Klára Kovács & Ilona Dabney-Fekete

Notes on Contributors

Index

List of Figures

Figure 2.1 The population aged 18–22 and the number of students and academic staff in Hungarian higher education from the regime change until today

Figure 2.2 Gross enrollment rate of higher education in Hungary and the EU and OECD average

Figure 2.3 Graduates as a percentage of the population 25–34 years of age

Figure 2.4 Development of academic staff and student-academic staff ratio in Hungarian higher education, 1990–2022

Figure 2.5 Percentage of women among academic staff in Hungary

Figure 2.6 Changes in the number of academic posts in higher education 2000–2020

Figure 2.7 Average total monthly earnings of university graduates and academic staff by age (HUF/month) in 2016

Figure 2.8 Cumulative lifetime earnings based on 2016 data with a discount rate of 2 percent (million HUF)

Figure 3.1 Numbers of HEIs and their faculties in Slovakia

Figure 3.2 HE students as % of 20–24 years old in the Visegrád Four countries

Figure 3.3 Gross enrollment rate of HE students in Slovakia

Figure 3.4 The proportion of HE graduates aged 25–34 (%)— international comparison

Figure 3.5 HE students-academic staff ratio 2000–2017 (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland)

Figure 3.6 Comparison of the % ratio of enrolled HE students (within 18–34-years-old) in 2000 and in 2017 as well as the % change in the number of academics between 2000 and 2017 (Visegrád Four countries)

Figure 3.7 Proportion of females among Academics in HE in the EU/OECD and in Slovakia

Figure 3.8 Net flow ratio of internationally mobile students (inbound–outbound), both sexes (%)

Figure 3.9 Government expenditure on HE as a percentage of GDP (%)—Visegrád Four and Finland

Figure 3.10 International comparison of public expenditure on HE (% of government expenditure on education) 2004–2021

Figure 3.11 Academics’ compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public HEIs (%)

Figure 4.1 The evolution of the total number and types of Romanian higher education institutions (1990–2023)

Figure 4.2 The evolution of the faculties of Romanian higher education institutions (1990–2023)

Figure 4.3 Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)—Romania, Hungary, Slovakia

Figure 4.4 The evolution of the number of students enrolled in Romanian higher education institutions (1990–2023)

Figure 4.5 Ratio of students-to-academic staff, by type of institution (1990–2023)

Figure 4.6 Academic staff in higher education institutions, by academic year (1990–2023)

Figure 4.7 Academic staff in higher education institutions by macro-regions, development regions, and counties (2022–2023 academic year)

Figure 4.8 Female and male academic staff in the Romanian higher education (1990–2023; in percentages)

Figure 4.9 Distribution of academic staff in Romania by age groups (2022/2023 academic year)

Figure 4.10 Distribution of academic staff in Romania by age groups (2012–2023; in percentage)

Figure 4.11 Academic staff in Romanian higher education institutions, by academic rank (2000–2022; in numbers)

Figure 4.12 Academic staff in Romanian higher education institutions, by academic rank (2021–2022 academic year; in percentage)

Figure 5.1 Serbian higher education system

Figure 5.2 Number of academics and associates

Figure 5.3 Distribution of academics and associates

Figure 5.4 Distribution of male and female academic staff

Figure 5.5 Distribution of academic staff by gender and title

Figure 5.6 Number of enrolled students vs. the number of academic staff

Figure 5.7 Number of students per academic staff/lecturer

Figure 5.8 Number of enrolled and graduated students

Figure 5.9 Distribution of newly enrolled male and female students

Figure 5.10 Distribution of newly enrolled students across Serbia’s statistical regions

Figure 5.11 The trend of net salary bases in higher education

Figure 5.12 Salary comparison of public professionals in Serbia

Figure 6.1 Share of population aged 15 and over with tertiary education, by country

Figure 6.2 Number of students by field for the academic year 2022/23

Figure 6.3 Growth in the number of male students by age group over the past four years

Figure 6.4 Number of Ph.D. students in Ukraine from the regime change to the present

Figure 6.5 Ph.D. students in Ukraine by age group

Figure 6.6 Change in the number of Ukrainian academic staff over the last five years (N)

Figure 6.7 Distribution of academic degrees and titles among Ukrainian academics (%)

Figure 6.8 Share of women of academic staff in Ukraine and the Visegrád countries