Communications of the ACM
COVID-19 Hinders Academic Productivity of Faculty with Young Children
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The academic productivity of higher education faculty in the United States in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) fields with very young children suffered as a result of stay-at-home orders during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the University of Florida College of Medicine, and the University of Michigan School of Medicine.
"Academic Productivity Differences by Gender and Child Age in STEMM Faculty During the COVID-19 Pandemic," published in the Journal of Women's Health, quantifies academic productivity during the pandemic.
Surveying 284 male and female faculty members with a median age of 42 at various institutions in the United States, the study compared the two months prior to the pandemic to the first two months of the pandemic, said Rebecca Krukowski, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in the Department of Preventive Medicine and first author. Faculty members were asked to self-report productivity for the two time periods across a number of categories which are markers of academic productivity and metrics for promotion and tenure.
There were no significant differences in numbers of hours worked per week by gender. However, during the first two months of the pandemic, faculty with children age 5 and younger reported working significantly fewer hours weekly, 33.7. Whereas, faculty with children age 6 and older or with no children living at home reported increased work hours during the pandemic, the study says.
"The pandemic is having an impact on faculty productivity and the largest impact appears to be on faculty with small children; this potentially has implications for tenure and promotion," Krukowski said.
From The University of Tennessee
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