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The pressures and pleasures of academic freedom: How agency bridges the gap  0

 June 19, 2025  

The pressures and pleasures of academic freedom: How agency bridges the gap

In recent years, the conversation around academic freedom has often centered on political pressure, censorship, or institutional overreach (Darian-Smith, 2025). These are important concerns, yet they tell only part of the story. Academic freedom is not just a matter of external defense; it is also an academic’s internal experience and responsibility. It shapes how academics live their professional lives, relate to their work, and sustain their mental health. Academic freedom is protected by law (Altbach, 2001; Karran, 2009), but this does not mean that academics find themselves in a land of milk and honey. As Karran and Mallinson (2019) emphasize, academic freedom rests on a reciprocal understanding: academics are free to explore and teach controversial and politically sensitive topics, as long as they uphold academic norms and institutional obligations. Academic freedom, thus, is both a privilege and a mission, one that brings pressures as well as pleasures. To make well-informed choices within this freedom, academics need agency, i.e., the capacity to make deliberate decisions in challenging situations. In this blog, I will argue how agency is the crucial link that bridges the gap between pressures and pleasures that come with academic freedom. While academic freedom offers the delight of intellectual exploration with students and self-directed research, it also comes with the weight of expectation, precarity, and sometimes, isolation. By cultivating agency, academics can fulfill their duty to enhance knowledge and educate students to critical free thinkers (cf. Van der Rijst, 2024) while sustaining positive emotions in their work.

Academic freedom is not the same as free speech; it is a professionally bound right
Academic freedom is a cherished principle within modern universities; a cornerstone of a well-functioning society (Darian-Smith, 2025; Whittington, 2022). At its core, academic freedom encompasses the independence to inquire, teach, and speak without undue interference. This freedom enables us to engage in critical debate and challenge the status quo, a vital function of academia. However, despite its foundational role, academic freedom is frequently misunderstood and contested. A common source of confusion lies in its conflation with the concept of free speech (Darian-Smith, 2025). While the two are closely related, they are not identical. Academic freedom is rooted in disciplinary expertise and accountability to academic peers, rather than simply the right to express personal opinions (EUA, 2025). This distinction is fundamental because academic freedom entails both rights and responsibilities. Without this distinction, academic freedom risks being mistaken for unchecked personal expression or activism, thereby weakening public trust. The tension between autonomy and accountability becomes especially pronounced when scholarship confronts societal values, ideologies, or political power. In such contexts, academics may encounter both external pressures and internal forms of censorship. Yet, the discomfort provoked by challenging prevailing norms is not a flaw of academic freedom; it is a feature. It is precisely this disruptive potential that enables academic work to serve the public good, drive progress, and hold institutions to account (EUA, 2025). It empowers academics to pursue and disseminate truth through research, teaching, and public discourse, and demands that such efforts be guided by ethical standards (Giroux, 2024; Netherlands Commission for UNESCO, 2025). As Robert M. Hutchins, former president of the University of Chicago, stated in 1935:

“Anybody who has real familiarity with higher education will not hesitate to assert that professors are not engaged in subversive teaching. They will also remind the public that professors are citizens. They are not disfranchised when they take academic posts. They therefore enjoy all the rights of free speech, free thought, and free opinion that other citizens have. No university would permit them to indoctrinate their students with their own views. No university would permit them to turn the classroom into a center of propaganda. But off the campus, outside the classroom, they may hold or express any political or economic views that it is legal for an American to express or hold. Any university would be glad to have Mr. Einstein among its professors. Would anybody suggest that he should be discharged because he is a ‘radical’?”

The pressures and pleasures of academic freedom
To understand academic freedom only as a right is to miss its deeper significance (Darian-Smith, 2025). In truth, academic freedom should be understood as a mission, a collective responsibility that carries both pressures and pleasures (cf. Altbach, 2001). It is not merely a shield against interference, but a charge to seek, generate, and share knowledge in service of the public good.

The pressures: Academic freedom as a mission
The genuine meaning of academic freedom brings with it real and enduring pressures (cf. Fuchs, 1963). When seen as a mission, academic freedom demands more than self-direction; it calls for integrity, intellectual courage, and a deep commitment to the pursuit of truth. This can be daunting.

To work under the protection of academic freedom is to be constantly invited, if not required, to interrogate conventional knowledge, confront complex problems, and produce work that may not be easily understood or universally welcomed. Academics engaged in socially relevant or politically sensitive research often find themselves under scrutiny from within the academy and outside it as well (cf. Darian-Smith, 2025; Giroux, 2024). The sense of mission can become a source of tension when external stakeholders – governments, industries, and interest groups – attempt to influence or suppress inquiry that threatens their positions. Moreover, academic freedom, rightly understood, is not a license for personal opinion but a responsibility to engage in evidence-based discourse. The duty that academic freedom insists is not light. It brings with it a unique kind of pressure: to remain intellectually honest in the face of complexity, to resist ideological influence, and to serve the public good even when doing so is inconvenient, unpopular, or even risky. Academic freedom, therefore, puts pressure on academics by the idea that academic work should be connected to societal impact and intellectual responsibility (Altbach, 2001).

The pleasures: Academic freedom calls for academics’ agency
Yet alongside the pressures academic freedom brings, it also brings pleasures. At its core, the privilege of enjoying academic freedom enables academics to show agency. Showing agency means being in charge of deliberate, meaningful choices, a process that is empowering and pleasurable, as it affirms one’s role as an active contributor to work (Vähäsantanen et al., 2020). Academic freedom opens the door to genuine intellectual exploration, allowing us to follow curiosity wherever it leads, to teach courses that challenge assumptions, and to contribute to urgent societal conversations with substance and integrity (Netherlands Commission for UNESCO, 2025).

There is immense privilege in shaping a research agenda driven by authentic questions, in designing courses that provoke real and in-depth dialogue, and in engaging students in learning that can be personally and politically transformative. Academics, in this sense, do not simply observe or comment on the world; they use their agency to help shape it by bringing evidence, nuance, and critique to society.

In my opinion, this may be one of the highest callings and most privileged roles: contributing to a better world by pursuing one’s own intellectual curiosity, while supporting and inspiring others to do the same in their own ways. Fully in line with what Darian-Smith (2025) argues, it is therefore especially alarming that entire academic disciplines are being defunded or eliminated, often on grounds of vague or economically motivated justifications. Such actions frequently result in the marginalization or silencing of research areas and critical perspectives that are essential for interrogating established power structures. The growing pattern of restricting academic inquiry (through budget cuts, policy interference, or blacklists of research topics) forms part of a broader authoritarian trend that threatens the institutional autonomy of universities. As a result, academia is increasingly being stripped of its capacity to challenge orthodoxy and fulfill its democratic responsibility.

To conclude, in defending academic freedom, we are defending much more than the rights of academics; we are safeguarding one of the essential conditions for social progress. And in cherishing the pleasures of academic freedom, we must also recognize the responsibility they entail: to use our agency not only to pursue what fascinates us, but to stand up for the values that make that pursuit possible. I leave it up to the reader to decide whether that is a pressure or a pleasure.

References

Altbach, P. G. (2001). Academic freedom: International realities and challenges. Higher Education, 41(1–2), 205–219. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026781906936

Darian-Smith, E. (2025). Knowledge production at a crossroads: Rising antidemocracy and diminishing academic freedom. Studies in Higher Education, 50(3), 600–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2347562

European University Association. (2025, February). How universities can protect and promote academic freedom: EUA principles and guidelines. https://www.eua.eu

Fuchs, R. F. (1963). Academic freedom: Its basic philosophy, function, and history. Indiana University Press.

Giroux, H. A. (2024). Educators as public intellectuals and the challenge of fascism. Policy Futures in Education, 22(8), 1533-1539. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103241226844

Hutchins, R. M. (1935, April 18). What is a university? In Banout, T. & Ginsburg, T. (Eds.), The Chicago canon on free inquiry and expression. The University of Chicago Press. https://www.press.uchicago.edu (ISBN 978-0-226-83781-9)

Karran, T. (2009). Academic freedom in Europe: time for a Magna Charta? Higher Education Policy, 22, 163-189. https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2009.2

Karran, T., & Mallinson, L. (2019). Academic freedom and world-class universities: A virtuous circle? Higher Education Policy, 32, 397-417. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-018-0087-7

Netherlands Commission for UNESCO. (2025, May 26). Een vrije en veilige wetenschap: Vijf adviezen aan de minister voor Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. [A free and safe science: Five recommendations to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science] (Jon Verriet, Ed.). https://www.unesco.nl/nl/publicatie/een-vrije-en-veilige-wetenschap-vijf-adviezen-aan-de-minister-voor-onderwijs-cultuur-en-wetenschap/in-het-kort

Van der Rijst, R. (2024, 13 september). On the relevance and necessity of research into higher education. Scholarly Publications. https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/4054961

Vähäsantanen, K., Paloniemi, S., Räikkönen, E., & Hökkä, P. (2020). Professional agency in a university context: Academic freedom and fetters. Teaching and Teacher Education, 89, 103000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.103000

Whittington, K. E. (2022). Academic freedom and the mission of the university. Houston Law Review, 59(4), 821–842. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3998593

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Rethinking Teacher Quality in University: Embracing Teacher Agency  2

 May 26, 2023  

Max Kusters & Arjen de Vetten

Introduction

How often have you referred to a teacher as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in your school career? When assessing teacher quality, we often struggle with subjective judgments and varying criteria. Is a teacher considered good because they explain well? Or because the teacher’s students obtain high scores? Perhaps it depends on positive evaluations from students. In this research blog, we aim to redefine the way we assess the quality of university educators and propose a shift toward embracing teacher agency. We argue that educators should be seen as experts in their field, who can not only meet the needs of students but also foster innovation. Educators’ willingness to take responsibility and contribute to institutional progress can significantly foster a transformative educational environment. In this regard, educators transcend their traditional role as mere providers of education and instead become facilitators of educational innovation and development.

Shortcoming of current methods

The current methods of assessing the quality of university educators have been widely criticized. For instance, several studies raise concerns about the interpretation and usefulness of Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) ratings. These studies revealed that SET ratings were significantly influenced by students’ perceptions of their educators, thereby calling into question the validity of this specific assessment tool (see Shevlin et al., 2000 and Spooren et al., 2013 for examples).

There are also educational concerns, for example, that current assessment methods do not contribute to educators’ professional development. Among other things, assessment methods are often criticized for providing little or no constructive feedback. Without this, educators may find it difficult to improve their teaching methods or address weaknesses. Moreover, critics argue that current assessments often fail to take into account the teaching context, such as subject matter, class size, level (bachelor’s or master’s), and student diversity and background. Each of these factors can significantly affect teaching methods and outcomes and should be considered when assessing educators. Moreover, current assessment methods neglect broader purposes of teaching, such as the value of mentorship and creating an inclusive learning environment.

In some institutions, however, there is already a focus on a more holistic approach that integrates different sources of feedback, such as peer evaluations and self-reflection, to gain a more accurate understanding of teacher effectiveness, for example during the University Teaching Qualification track. The ability to reflect on what works and what does not work, and to understand why, is invaluable to teacher quality. Therefore, universities play a crucial role in promoting these skills, as these skills must be recognized and valued by policy makers by reflecting them in assessments. A change to holistic assessment of educators emphasizes effective teaching and the long-term effect educators can have on student growth. Educators need to actively pursue their own development and make informed choices in any given situation, highlighting the significance of teacher agency in discussions about teacher quality.

Embracing Teacher Agency

Embracing teacher agency in the evaluation of teacher quality is crucial for fostering a culture of innovation, growth, and student-centered education. Teacher agency refers to the ability of educators to make intentional choices and take purposeful actions in their teaching practice. It involves educators’ capacity to initiate and control the learning environment, make informed pedagogical decisions in any given situation, and collaborate with colleagues and students. Teacher agency is often seen as a key factor in promoting effective teaching and learning in higher education. By recognizing and valuing teacher agency, universities can tap into the expertise and unique perspectives of their educators.

Moreover, teacher agency encourages continuous professional development. When educators have the autonomy to explore and experiment with different instructional strategies, they are more inclined to seek out new research, attend workshops, collaborate with colleagues, and reflect on their own teaching practices. This proactive approach to professional growth ultimately benefits both educators and students, as it promotes a culture of lifelong learning and innovation within the educational institution.

Embracing teacher agency also cultivates a sense of trust and collaboration between faculty members and administration. Rather than imposing rigid evaluation criteria, universities can create opportunities for open dialogue, feedback, and collaboration, allowing educators to take an active role in shaping their own professional growth and the overall direction of the institution.

Conclusion

In conclusion, embracing teacher agency is a powerful facilitator for elevating teacher quality in universities. By empowering educators to exercise their expertise, make informed decisions, and engage in continuous professional development, universities can foster a dynamic and student-centered educational environment that nurtures innovation, growth, and excellence in teaching and learning. It is essential to engage in an active debate about the assessment of educational quality and challenge the predominant reliance on quantitative evaluations such as SET. Recognizing the complexity of assessing teacher quality, we propose a paradigm shift towards valuing teacher agency in universities. By fostering a culture that empowers educators, promotes collaboration, and encourages continuous learning, we can unlock the potential for lasting educational reforms. Embracing teacher agency is crucial for assessing educators’ quality effectively. By involving educators in the assessment process and valuing their expertise, autonomy, and professional judgment, we can create a more meaningful evaluation system. Practically, this can be achieved through collaborative goal setting, self-reflection and self-assessment, peer observations and feedback, diverse assessment methods, and continuous professional development. By recognizing educators as professionals and empowering them to take an active role in their own assessment, we create a comprehensive and empowering process that benefits both educators and students. Embracing teacher agency thus not only benefits individual educators, but also fosters an educational environment characterized by its dynamic and student-centered nature. It promotes innovation, encourages growth and strives for excellence in both teaching and learning. And that’s what we call: good teaching!

References

Biesta, G., Priestley, M., & Robinson, S. (2017). Talking about education: Exploring the significance of teachers’ talk for teacher agency. Journal of curriculum studies, 49(1), 38-54.

Cherng, H. Y. S., & Davis, L. A. (2019). Multicultural matters: An investigation of key assumptions of multicultural education reform in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(3), 219-236.

Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2019). Teacher leadership and educational change. School Leadership & Management, 39(2), 123-126.

Imants, J., & Van der Wal, M. M. (2020). A model of teacher agency in professional development and school reform. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 52(1), 1-14.

Kusters, M., van der Rijst, R., de Vetten, A., & Admiraal, W. (2023). University lecturers as change agents: How do they perceive their professional agency?. Teaching and Teacher Education, 127, 104097.

Shevlin, M., Banyard, P., Davies, M., & Griffiths, M. (2000). The validity of student evaluation of teaching in higher education: love me, love my lectures?. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(4), 397-405.

Spooren, P., Brockx, B., & Mortelmans, D. (2013). On the validity of student evaluation of teaching: The state of the art. Review of Educational Research, 83(4), 598-642.

Tao, J., & Gao, X. (2017). Teacher agency and identity commitment in curricular reform. Teaching and teacher education, 63, 346-355.

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