Research Ethics Committees and the Quest for Academic Freedom: An Example of Faculty Voices, Issues of Ownership of Personal Beliefs and Pedagogical Practices within Higher Education

Abstract

This chapter centers on practices of Review Ethics Board (REBs) as they may impact academic freedom for faculty members acting as participants in research. A case example is provided, which highlights the authors’ experience applying for ethics clearance to conduct a qualitative research study. While the study was classified as minimal risk and received ethics clearance from the researchers’ host institution, additional research ethics applications were required from the higher education settings identified, before being able to recruit participants. In addition to pressing timelines, extra workload and the coordination of different requirements for each institution, not all REBs permitted faculty members the option to reveal their identity and their beliefs on pedagogical practices. This particular experience with the ethics review process elicited questions centering on research ethics committees’ practices in terms of (a) providing opportunities for faculty members, as participants in research, to freely share information about their beliefs and teaching practices as well as (b) infringing on faculty members’ autonomy and rights to intellectually express, share and take ownership of their personal beliefs and pedagogical approaches to teaching in higher education.

Citation

Blom, M. and D’Amico, M. (2020), "Research Ethics Committees and the Quest for Academic Freedom: An Example of Faculty Voices, Issues of Ownership of Personal Beliefs and Pedagogical Practices within Higher Education", Sengupta, E. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) Teaching and Learning Practices for Academic Freedom (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 34), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 163-178. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000034014