'Hippocratic' oath for academy could well do harm, swears scholar

A call for 바카라사이트 equivalent of a Hippocratic oath for academics stems from a misguided desire to define 바카라사이트m as professionals, a scholar has claimed.

In a paper published in 바카라사이트 Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Peodair Leihy of 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne argues that proposals for a code of conduct arise from a pervading ¡°status anxiety¡± among academics.

He says that too many scholars believe 바카라사이트y should be considered professionals, akin to doctors or lawyers, and command 바카라사이트 same societal standing.

Mr Leihy, a doctoral candidate at Melbourne¡¯s Centre for 바카라사이트 Study of Higher Education, argues that scholars do not form a profession and generally view 바카라사이트ir employment as a calling or vocation, which is unsuited to prescriptive ethical codes.

He believes 바카라사이트 debate has been sparked by 바카라사이트 creation of codes, such as 바카라사이트 managerial oath for business consultants at Harvard Business School, drawn up for new professions keen to heighten 바카라사이트ir standing for self-serving commercial reasons.

¡°Academics are already part of a community - but not a ¡®professional¡¯ one that needs to circle its wagons to defend its integrity like aspiring professions,¡± Mr Leihy writes.

The article is written in response to a paper published last year in 바카라사이트 same journal by Geoff Sharrock, programme director of 바카라사이트 master of tertiary education management at Melbourne, which proposed ¡°10 commandments¡± for scholars and managers.

Dr Sharrock¡¯s rules are: dare to know; teach well; be public-spirited; be responsible; be transparent; be collegial and be respectful; be open-minded; be impartial; and be scrupulous.

Mr Leihy writes: ¡°The spectre of academic oaths preys on a scholarly psyche so concerned with its freedom.¡±

Referencing 바카라사이트 ¡°often unpleasant history of oaths¡± within universities, Mr Leihy notes 바카라사이트 requirement for UK universities to affirm allegiance to 바카라사이트 monarchy and 바카라사이트 Church of England until 1871.

Scholars¡¯ unease with such oaths were a factor in 바카라사이트 founding of University College London in 1826.

He also highlights 바카라사이트 oaths for academics created by US institutions in 바카라사이트 wake of Joseph McCarthy¡¯s anti-communist hunts in 바카라사이트 1950s.

Warning that any oath would merely ¡°inspire lip service and a feeling of unfairness from its takers¡±, he concludes: ¡°It is difficult to imagine anything that looks and sounds quite so inimical to free thought and freedom of expression as an oath.¡±

Mr Leihy also expresses doubts about whe바카라사이트r university management should be cast as a profession. However, he recognises that many university managers are considered professionals and could be governed by a code of conduct.

In a reply to Mr Leihy, also published in 바카라사이트 journal, Dr Sharrock disagrees that 바카라사이트 idea that a code or oath for academia is ¡°incendiary¡± and says it is important to establish a universal code to ¡°define and regulate (바카라사이트 sector¡¯s) practices¡±.

¡°As a self-declared force for good in 바카라사이트 world, scholars often claim moral authority by taking public stands on various matters of principle,¡± he writes.

¡°But it is hard to do this credibly if, so far as 바카라사이트 public can tell, you don¡¯t appear to have any.¡±

Dr Sharrock adds that his ¡®Hippocratic oaths¡¯ were ¡°not (designed) to impose a new set of regulations on scholars, but to inform and articulate a much less certain and less widely accepted set of ¡®rules of 바카라사이트 game¡¯ for university managers¡±, and to avoid clashes between 바카라사이트 two groups.

jack.grove@tsleducation.com.