Education focused academic roles – a critical review of the literature

The emergence of education focused (EF) academic roles marks a significant reconfiguration of academic work, shifting expectations away from research towards teaching, educational leadership, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. This development challenges the longstanding model of the academic role as a balance between teaching and research, reflecting broader international trends towards academic role specialisation in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore. Despite their widespread emergence, what the literature reveals – and obscures – about EF roles remains unclear. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, this paper critically reviews the EF literature across macro (sectoral), meso (organisational), and micro (individual) levels. We highlight unresolved questions about the origins, institutionalisation, and individual experiences of these roles, as well as the largely atheoretical nature of the literature. This review provides the first comprehensive mapping of EF scholarship, critically appraising its contributions and identifying priorities for future research.