Academic casualisation and precarity: a scoping review

Worldwide there are significant and growing concerns about the increasing number of academics working on short-term contracts (referred to as adjunct faculty, contingent faculty, casual academics, sessionals, etc.). These concerns include working conditions and the consequences of casualised labour practices on higher education. However, the number of empirical studies that speak directly to these issues is relatively small. This scoping review, which is the first review of the experiences of contract academic staff, used Arksey and O’Malley’s methodology for a scoping review and used PRISMA guidelines. Twelve databases were searched, and 2507 records screened, leading to 71 empirical articles focusing on the experiences and perceptions of contract academics, including their ways of working, communications and interactions with universities, and the influence of precarity and marginalisation within higher education, generally. The findings show working on short-term contracts not only disrupts how academics conduct their day-to-day work, but also influences their expectations about academic work. Further, the findings indicate that precarity is differentially experienced, leading to greater inequality for some. Lastly, the findings point to disrupted workplace communications. The review highlights both practical issues for contract academic staff and broader concerns for the field of higher education.