Academic Freedom: Constitutional Myths and Practical Realities

Academic Freedom is a sacrosanct value on American university campuses. Virtually all research institutions, public and private, have explicitly adopted some form of the American Association of University Professors’ 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure or the organization’s the 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom & Tenure. Because of the near universal acceptance of the principle of academic freedom, there is a common belief that the United States Constitution recognizes academic freedom and, more importantly, confers “special rights” on the persons and institutions of academia. Yet, despite its almost universal acceptance by faculty and administrators and despite its constant use as a constitutional theory whenever faculty and/or administrators dislike a government program, academic freedom is a constitutional myth. The rights of individual academics or of academic institutions are no greater than the rights of individual non-academics or of non-academic agencies or institutions. Put another way, from a constitutional standpoint, there is nothing special about the academic setting. Academic Freedom is no greater, and no lesser, than the constitutional rights of non-academics or ordinary state agencies. Nevertheless, academic freedom must be respected as a practical reality. There are important public policy reasons why university professors should have wide latitude in their research, writing, and teaching efforts. At the same time, institutions should be given a large amount of discretion in determining the scope of their missions. In other words, while academic freedom is not a federal constitutional value, it should be an important public policy consideration and, perhaps, even a state constitutional value. The purpose of this Article is twofold. First, it seeks to demonstrate that academic freedom is a constitutional myth. Institutional academic freedom, the idea that institutions of higher education have a federal constitutional right to be free from outside control, is simply incompatible with constitutional realities. Moreover, professors do not have an individual constitutional right to academic freedom. In short, the rights of professors and the institutions that employ them are no greater than the rights of non-academic employees and non-academic organizations. Second, it attempts to explain why respect for academic freedom is a practical reality.     

美国高等教育评估的演变及其新发展

美国高等教育评估是在实践和学术研究两个相互独立的环境中各自萌芽的,随着学术研究和实践需要之间日益频繁的深度互动而逐步流行.美国高等教育学术界和实践界主要在大学生学习研究、大学生入学考试和高等教育专业评价三个领域里运用评估概念,形成了不同理解和应用传统.以学校资源和声誉为评价准绳的机构认证和民间大学排行曾是美国高等教育评估的两种重要传统.但近年来美国高等教育领域更加重视观察和研究导致学生取得学习产出的学习经验,也就是学生在大学里的学习行为,从而以此为依据评估学生学习和发展.     

Entrepreneurship in Universities: Definitions, Practices, and Implications

Higher education today is faced with a perplexing array of often conflicting demands and pressures. There is continuing debate over a range of important concepts including educational quality, academic freedom, accountability, equity, affirmative action, and accessibility. These concepts reflect fundamental principles which form the basis for policy directions by governments and postsecondary education institutions. Yet, are we clear on what these principles mean and on how they interact? This discussion examines the various facets of the concept of entrepreneurship and the implications of entrepreneurial activities for higher education institutions. It is argued that basic differences exist in culture and values between higher education and the private sector, and that more attention to a clear understanding of the concepts and activities involved in entrepreneurship will reap benefits for higher education in future policy development and strategic planning.     

卓越本科生科研训练体系构成要素及运行机制——基于美国高校实践的分析

本科生科研训练是培养创新人才的重要举措.美国高校在20世纪60年代开始实施本科生科研训练,迄今已经形成了较为完善的训练体系,积累了丰富的经验.美国专业机构—本科生科研理事会根据会员高校多年来的实践经验,总结出了美国本科生科研训练体系的12个构成要素,即目标定位、组织管理、校园文化、研究项目、配套课程、暑期研究计划、成果管理、激励措施、评价机制、资金支持、研究平台和师资力量.本研究结合美国高校实施本科生科研训练的具体案例,对这12个要素及其运行机制展开分析.     

美国高校教师研究产出影响因素的实证分析——基于2004年美国高校教师调查

本文基于美国高校教师调查(NSOPF,2004)的数据,使用描述统计和多元线性回归分析的方法对美国高校教师研究产出的影响因素进行了归纳。研究表明:美国高校教师研究产出受到职称身份、所在高校类型、学科领域、最高学位、获最高学位年限、教学或研究时间投入、性别以及出生地等因素的影响。其中,最高学位获得年限、教授职称和所在院校类型对美国高校教师研究产出的影响尤为显著。     

“政治正确”与美国的高等教育政治化

美国自由民主文化的发展深刻荡涤着传统的价值观念,对传统弱势群体的尊重而形成了新文化中的一种“政治正确”,这在很大程度上又强化了高等教育的政治化发展,在一定程度上反而又威胁到了高等教育的学术自由。把握大学的学术真谛,引导创新而不是作茧自缚,走出泛政治化的阴霾,正是高等教育政治化发展的重要课题。     

美国大学学术自由的含义——基于终身教职保障制度的思考

美国大学的学术自由理念来自于德国柏林大学,但是美国大学在其发展中学术自由不再是一种形而上的学术理想与理念,而是一种具体的经济与职位保障制度。本文基于一种保障制度即终身教职的视角探讨了美国学术自由的产生、含义及其限制。美国的学术自由建立过程与美国大学职能的演变是直接联系起来的;终身教职中所保障的自由更多的指的是教师教学的自由,因而对教师在教学中的自由作了明确的限制。     

University Students as Creators of Personal Knowledge: an alternative epistemological view

Abstract

This paper takes the form of a position statement followed by three responses from colleagues located in different institutions of higher education. The resulting colloquium is concerned, among other things, with the role of the academic within higher education and with the notion of freedom as it relates to the definition and development of that role. It sets itself against the traditional notion of ‘academic freedom’ and explores alternative constructions of academic professionalism. Freedom remains central to these constructions; but an outward‐looking emancipatory notion of freedom, not an inward‐looking and self‐interested notion. The practices that are documented in the paper and the issues that these raise are a direct consequence of this preoccupation with reconstructing the moral bases of academic professionalism. The paper reaches no firm conclusions, but highlights a number of key differences within a shared emancipatory project: differences shaped by the institutional and cultural contexts of higher education and, in particular, by the gendering of the academic workplace; differences inscribed in the conditions and divisions of labour within higher education and, more specifically, in the organisational structures of support for professional growth and development; differences of value and purpose that help determine what, for each of the authors, it means to be an academic. The form of the paper, with its emphasis on the examined life as deliberative and public, reflects this preoccupation with achieving principled agreement through the recognition and exploration of difference.     

论美国高等教育的独立性

独立性是高等教育本质特征之一。本文从美国高等教育独立性存在和发展的历史条件;独立性的基石：大学自治、学术自由;独立性的制度保障：教育立法三个方面入手,对美国高等教育的独立性进行有益的探讨,指出美国高等教育的独立性形成有着其独特的历史背景和文化传统,进而指出独立性从严格意义上讲就是大学自治加学术自由,它们是一个不断演变的概念,并越来越受到广泛的认可,受到教育立法的保护,从而形成了今天独具魅力的美国高等教育系统。最后本文对美国高等教育独立性的新发展作出了一些分析。指出美国高等教育越来越多的受到来自外部的干预．独立性有被逐步占据主导地位的政治论的高等教育哲学掩盖的可能。     

美国大学终身教职制度的发展演变历程——新制度主义的视角

终身教职制度在美国高等教育领域经历了一个漫长的发展演变过程。从新制度主义的视角对其进行研究发现,美国大学终身教职制度产生的源头是出现学术自由危机．其发展的动力来自于社会发展和高等教育自身发展的需求,以及大学内部一些精英力量的意识和努力。     

保护学术自由还是学术特权——美国终身聘任制的挑战及对我国的启示

学识自由是大学的核心理念。以终身聘任制为核心的教师聘任制度,有效地保障了大学教师的学术自由权利。但是终身聘任制也日益受到广泛的批评和反对。终身聘任后评审制度正是在一片反对呼声中出台的一项措施。通过对美国高校教师任用制度的分析与讨论,希望对我国高校教师任用制度的改革提供有益借鉴。     

从美国教育法制看公立大学教师学术自由的原则与界限

美国宪法及法律并无学术自由的明确规定,但法院根据宪法法案对一系列案件的解释和判决,赋予学术自由以宪法地位,使学术自由概念本身成为融合了宪法原则和学术观念的司法概念.但法院同时又为学术自由设定边界,通过教师权利与学校利益、社会利益的平衡,保证高等教育公共性的实现.     

论美国高等教育制度与国家价值观的互动关系

美国大学蕴育的学术自由、独立自治、崇尚民主等精神,培育了美国的核心价值即民主、自由、平等、法制等理念。该理念又深刻影响着美国高等教育的发展方向和历史进程。美国以国家价值观为依据,以建立多元化高等教育体系为平台,以立法为手段,不断推进教育机会均等,保护学术自由和大学自治传统。高等教育的不断发展与完善又强化了人们对国家价值观的认同。正是这种国家价值理念和高等教育制度发展的一致性和良性互动,才铸就了美国高等教育今天的成就。     

The Logic of Mass Higher Education

The distinguishing characteristic of postsecondary education in the past half century has been expansion -- the emergence of mass higher education worldwide. Now, many industrialised countries educate forty percent or more of youth in postsecondary education, and developing countries are rapidly expanding as well. Mass higher education brings with it certain inevitable changes in higher education. Among these are a diversification of academic institutions, less homogenous student populations, alterations in patterns of academic work and of the academic profession itself, an increase in managerial control of academic institutions, and, recently, a reliance on distance methods of delivering instruction. These changes are part of the logic of mass higher education, and will be increasingly apparent in the 21st century.     

学习自由:历史发展与涵义、必然与限制

学习自由是学术自由的一个重要组成部分,从强调单一的学术自治发展到重视学生的学习自由,学术自由经历了漫长的过程。作为一种自由,学习自由既有哲学层面的涵义,又有可操作层面的涵义。学习自由是高校学生应有的一种权利,其必要性是由高校和学生本身的特点,以及培养创新性人才的时代要求决定的。学习自由不是绝对的自由,需要有一定的限制。这种限制在认识和具体执行中分为两种,积极的限制实际上是一种必需的引导,消极的限制是认识上的误导,需要纠正。     

Centralization trends in higher education: Israel's Planning and Grants Committee

Israel's Planning and Grants Committee (PGC) was formed in 1974 to function as an intermediary body between the higher education system and the government in financing of higher education institutions. The PGC is largely composed of academics from universities. It was meant to guarantee both academic freedom of the higher educational system while providing for greater accountability. However, the PGC has increased its involvement in higher education and assumed also the role of planning the system as a whole and regulating the development of individual universities.This article analyzes the effects of PGC policies on Israel's universities in general and specific acts which have restricted institutional autonomy and might further limit their academic freedom.     

OLD AND NEW TYPES OF CONFLICT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE LABOUR UNION VIEWPOINT

This article, written from the point of view of a French academic, who is a labour union leader, examines and discusses the problem of conflictual situations in higher education. To the traditional problems of conflicts between employees and employers and of students with regard to study and living conditions, the crisis situation in French higher education (and in other European higher education systems as well) has created new areas of conflict. In terms of large categories, these conflicts are related to such questions as the evaluation of qualifications for the recruitment and the promotion of staff, the relative weight given to research versus teaching, the ways in which new institutions and teaching/learning disciplines and groups of disciplines are created, and the general financial crisis besetting the higher education system as a whole. The solutions proposed emphasize the importance of transparency and democracy and the need for international instruments to deal with the conditions of university personnel and with academic freedom.     

The logic of mass higher education

Abstract

The distinguishing characteristic of postsecondary education in the past half century has been expansion ‐ the emergence of mass higher education worldwide. Now, many industrialised countries educate forty percent or more of youth in postsecondary education, and developing countries are rapidly expanding as well. Mass higher education brings with it certain inevitable changes in higher education. Among these are a diversification of academic institutions, less homogenous student populations, alterations in patterns of academic work and of the academic profession itself, an increase in managerial control of academic institutions, and, recently, a reliance on distance methods of delivering instruction. These changes are part of the logic of mass higher education, and will be increasingly apparent in the 21st century.     

论高等教育的本质

教育作为人的一种活动,其本质从属于人的本质,是围绕教育活动而形成的社会关系的总和。高等教育的本质是围绕知识、技能的传递与创新而展开的教学、科研、管理、服务等社会关系的总和。处理好高校师生与自然及社会的关系、教育资料的占有关系,行政权力与学术权力的关系、师生关系以及教师与教师、学生与学生的关系对高等教育的发展至关重要。     

聘任制度下我国公立高校与教师的法律关系

教师聘任改革是目前我国公立高校人事制度改革的重点。教师与公立高校之间的法律关系问题,不仅关系到教师职业的发展,而且关系到整个高等教育事业的发展,是聘任制改革亟须解决的问题。在我国目前的制度环境下,公立高校公法人地位的培育还需要一个过程,教师专业自由权利的取得也不可能一蹴而就。要实现公立高校与教师之间从行政法律关系到劳动法律关系的转换,必须建立并完善维护教师权益的制度环境,在利用并完善现有的行政救济途径的基础上,积极开拓新的渠道来维护并保障教师的合法权益。