Assessing Research and Teaching Performance in Israel’s Higher Education System: The Case Study of Ariel University

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to examine research and teaching assessments in the higher education sector from a gender perspective and specifically the associations between individual attributes (gender, age, country of birth, and tenure), academic attributes (rank and faculty), and achievements in research and teaching (measured by bonuses awarded based on research excellence and student feedback surveys). The data were collected from Ariel University, where a unique system of faculty performance evaluation was in place between 2003 and 2012. The main findings of this study point to statistically significant correlations between gender and excellence in research: Female faculty members achieved slightly higher teaching scores than male faculty members while male faculty members showed superiority in research excellence scores. We also found more male faculty members in higher ranks than female faculty members. The findings of this study suggest that female faculty members may have gender-specific factors that explain their lower research achievements, such as factors related to work-family balance at fertility age.