Sheet of COUTURE Anaëlle

Thesis Advisor: Sophie Morlaix
Co-Advisor: Amélie Duguet

Thesis Title: The Influence of Peers on the Careers of Faculty Members

Abstract :
In France, since the decree of June 6, 1984, the professional group of university faculty has been divided into two categories: lecturers on the one hand, and university professors on the other (Musselin, 2008). Also known as faculty members, this term refers directly to their primary activities—teaching and research—to which are added so-called academic duties (Musselin, 2008), administrative duties (Duguet, 2014), or service duties (Dreyfus, 1996, cited by Duguet, 2014). However, these administrative tasks have taken on an increasingly prominent role in the work of faculty members over the past few decades, particularly with the rise of New Public Management and the digitization of higher education (Glaymann, 2025). While Braskamp and Ory had already identified 72 such tasks in the 1990s (Duguet, 2014), the number of these responsibilities has only increased since the 2009 decree, which notably includes participation in examination and competitive examination panels, in the collective life of institutions, and in the councils and bodies provided for by the Education Code and the Research Code or by the institutions’ bylaws (Duguet, 2014). Although the Education Code and the Research Code stipulate that the time devoted to research and teaching must be equal (Glaymann, 2025), their career advancement depends primarily on their research activities, starting from the moment they are hired (Duguet, 2014). One of the distinctive features

Thesis begun in October 2026