Temporary academics in South African higher education institutions: Their lived precarity experiences

Abstract

Temporary academic appointments are increasingly prevalent in higher education institutions across the globe. The lived experiences of temporary academic staff within South African higher education institutions were explored. Twenty-six temporary academic staff (females = 69%, black = 75%, white = 25%, other = none) participated in semi-structured interviews on their lived employment experiences. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) negotiating desire versus despair; (2) living in limbo, (3) stunted career growth, (4) disillusionment and emotions of exploitation, (5) marginalised as an outsider, and (6) dehumanised work experience. The temporary academics stated a desire for fair human resource support, recognition, and being valued for their contribution to the academy similar to their permanent/full-time counterparts. These findings indicate that employment precarity for temporary academics should be addressed with employment practices and policies to improve their quality of work life.