A pleased colleague tells me heâs been awarded the fifth âsexenioâ, which means that his last personal research assessment exercise was positive and that he has validated by now, before the corresponding Ministryâs agency, 30 years of research. He tells me that this fifth exercise is valid for the rest of his professional life and so he need not worry about the sixth âsexenioâ (which is also the maximum allowed).
He is particularly happy that under the current Ministryâs regulations heâll only have to teach 16 ECTS until he retires. I understand his happiness. The little detail missing here is that heâs already 60. He still has 10 years ahead before retirement at 70 and, so, the chance to obtain that last âsexenioâ. But, well, excuse me, 60 seems respectable enough anyway for active researchers like him to be awarded some kind of leeway after 30 years of serviceâŠ
I think of myself trudging on, with at least 9 years ahead in the best case scenario, before capturing the golden snitch of that fifth âsexenioâ, or else. Else meaning that instead of my current 16 ECTS Iâll be âpunishedâ if I fail to validate my research with 24, or at worst 32 ECTS. My colleague and I discuss after his happy news how little enticing the system is now. The perspective of my reaching the nice age of 60 burdened by 32 ECTS despite all my research sinks me. Just donât think, as we all know, that doing research is the same as having research officially validated.
Deep sighâŠ
Searching for information about that fabled fifth âsexenioâ, however, I come across a piece of news that both puzzles and irritates me. Angers me. The headline, from ABC (https://www.abc.es/sociedad/20140505/abci-educacion-universidades-rectores-201405041703.html 06/05/2014), claims that âMĂĄs de la mitad de los profesores de universidad apenas investigaâ which is a peculiar way of saying that âLess than half of the Spanish university teachers do researchâ. Empty bottle, full bottle. The sub-headline is a bit trickier, for it clarifies that âEl 57% del personal docente tiene uno o ningĂșn sexenio reconocido.â I wonder whether this is misinformation… How many of those with one âsexenioâ are still active researchers? If not, why they did abandon research? Can you really compare someone who does have a âsexenioâ with someone whoâs never cared or bothered to publish?
Let me gather some figures from the article. According to a 2010 report by the Conferencia de Rectores de las Universidades Españolas (CRUE), Spain occupies position 22 worlwide by scientific documents by million inhabitants, 16 by number of citations. Not that horrific. But now consider more figures, connected with that 57â6%: 37â6% of Spanish university teachers have no âsexenioâ, 20% has one. Now for the remaining 42â4%: 18â4% has two. If my calculator is right 24% have three or more âsexeniosâ. My five-sexenio colleague must be in the top 5%… Yet… Only 70% of all full professors, 40% of all lecturers do research (how the rest got their tenure mystifies me; maybe itâs a matter of âwhenâ).
If you follow me, this means that the minority, the 42â4% who has more than two âsexeniosâ, is producing the documents that result in that 22nd position. I know that my argumentation is quite murky but so is the reality of the Spanish university. Between 42â4% and 60â4% care or have care at some point for validating their research (thatâs not compulsory, by the way, itâs voluntary). Let me wonder about the remaining 37â6%.
I know quite a few cases in which research is being done but the Ministry has not validated it for its own reasons (lack of money being one, surely). So, letâs suppose that the actual figure of university teachers who do no research at all is 20%. One in five. These are teachers who, letâs recall this, are employed the same number of hours I am and earn the same salary (minus the research complements, a grand total of 120 euros a month each). If all teachers are supposed to teach, do research and contribute to admin tasks, what do those who only teach do in their daily routine? I wonder.
By contract weâre supposed to work 37,5 hours a week, with a teaching workload of 6 to 8 hours for teachers employed to teach 24 ECTS. Teaching involves 15 weeks per semester. If I manage to do my teaching, my admin tasks and my research by working, say, a 45-hour-week (evening and weekend reading aside), what do the colleagues who only teach do? If, for me, say, teaching involves half my workload, 22 hours a week, what do they do with the spare 15â5 hours? Suppose they read though, of course, reading is not the same as doing research, not even in the Humanities, as weâre supposed to write and publish. But, hereâs the creepy thought, suppose they do nothing professionally relevant in that time.
Now complete the sentences:
*if that 20% put their 15â5 hours a week to the service of research…
*if validating regularly your own research was compulsory and not voluntary, teachers who do no research…
*if the Ministryâs validation system was more supportive of researchers…
And:
*if âsexeniosâ are used to punish rather than reward, the effect…
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