Resumo

JIAO, Lei  e  WU, Rui. Workhorse or Precarity? Understanding the Contested Roles of Postdocs in Chinese Higher Education. Educ. as change [online]. 2025, vol.29, n.1, pp.1-25. ISSN 1947-9417.  https://doi.org/10.25159/1947-9417/19407.

With the increasing penetration of neoliberalism into higher education, the level of competition has intensified. Postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) have assumed increasingly significant roles within global higher education systems, contributing to scientific research, teaching, and societal service. However, instead of becoming the core force in research as intended, postdocs often face substantial challenges during their transition to tenured positions, including heavy research workloads, high stress, instability, and frequent mobility. These issues have contributed to the marginalisation of postdocs and led to severe distortions in their perception of their professional roles. In China, a focus on postdocs remains relatively scarce, with most studies concentrated at the macro level, particularly on postdoctoral policy. Drawing on role theory, this study conducts a comparative analysis of postdocs' self-perceived roles and policymakers' role expectations through semi-structured interviews and policy document analysis. The findings reveal a clear role conflict within the Chinese higher education system, characterised by the tension between being a "workhorse" and experiencing "precarity". Policymakers regard the postdoctoral system as a pipeline for developing early career researchers into mature scholars and consider postdocs a critical force in driving scientific advancement. However, postdocs themselves perceive their position as unstable and marginalised, and their academic labour within higher education as insecure, unsteady, and exploitative. Furthermore, such competitive role conflicts differ by gender and academic discipline, potentially contributing to educational inequality. This article concludes with a critical reflection on the current postdoctoral system in China and calls for increased attention and responsive measures to address the marginalisation of scholars.

Palavras-chave : postdocs; role cognition; educational policy; workhorse; precarity.

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