Title: Whistleblowing in Indian higher education sector: a qualitative study

Authors: Narendra Singh Chaudhary; Shivinder Phoolka; Ruby Sengar; Smriti Pande

Addresses: Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Noida – Constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune ' Punjabi University Regional Centre for Information Technology and Management, Mohali, India ' Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Noida – Constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune ' Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Noida – Constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune

Abstract: The study is aimed to develop a better understanding of how teachers in higher education perceive whistleblowing and identify various factors acting as motivators and demotivators and impacting their whistleblowing intentions. In-depth interviews were conducted employing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) with 25 teachers across the four higher education institutions (HEIs). The findings suggest that teachers perceive whistleblowing as an instrument or mechanism which could help to curb wrongdoings and corrupt practices at their workplace and holds a view that it should be encouraged throughout the organisation to keep a check on the malpractices that appear in academic institutions. The five categories identified are the inner voice and personal morality, ethical responsibility towards own work and society, the gravity of the wrongdoing, protection of self and organisation image, and optimism about organisational change which act as great motivators for the teachers in HEIs to blow the whistle against any wrongdoing.

Keywords: whistleblowing intentions; interpretative phenomenological analysis; IPA; qualitative research; higher education; teachers; motivators; demotivators’ wrongdoing; higher education institutions; HEIs; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLC.2019.101662

International Journal of Learning and Change, 2019 Vol.11 No.2, pp.145 - 168

Received: 09 May 2018
Accepted: 07 Jul 2018
Published online: 20 Aug 2019 *

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