Beyond the neoliberalized academy: caring and careful practices of women full professors

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article reveals how some women full professors have developed caring and careful practices with their students despite the neoliberalization of public higher education, thus, avoiding individualization and establishing trust and solidarity. It presents interviews with 24 women full professors from a Colombian public university, an ethnographic study with three of them and nineteen interviews with their students and colleagues. The content analysis of the fieldwork shows that the professors have caring practices, which include rebuscarse to ensure the well-being of the students and providing financial support, as well as careful practices such as intervening to prevent harm and being open to listening. Caring and careful practices of the professors serve to improve the lives of the people that are close to them and to build a much friendlier and more supportive university. However, care activities are complex, undervalued and represent a double burden, which is why modifying university policies is an urgent task.