Reshaping academic capitalism to meet development priorities: the case of public universities in Kenya

As colleges and universities have adopted a corporate model in recent decades, debate over the public versus private good associated with higher education has surged. The deliberations have typically been entrenched in Western notions about academia’s contributions to development and scholars have framed academic capitalism dichotomously; a force for good or evil. Far less is known about the market model of higher education in developing nations. We sought to explore this gap by examining how faculty and staff at two public universities in Africa view the intersection of marketization and development.     

The unacknowledged value of female academic labour power for male research careers

Academic work in Sweden's higher education system is changing character. Distinctly different career pathways are emerging, as facilities for developing research careers and capital have become both more restricted and more dependent on external funding. These developments are in focus in the present article. Based on ethnographic research and a series of semi-structured interviews with new academics and senior academic mentors in education faculties, the research suggests that several factors intercede in how careers are developed and experienced. The unacknowledged exploitation of female academic labour is perhaps amongst the more significant of these.     

试论以科学发展为主题的学科建设

科学发展观的提出和实施是我国社会主义现代化建设成熟的标志，科学发展观为高等教育提供了新机遇和空间，也为高等教育提出了如何发展的问题。高校的学科建设是高等学校各项工作的重中之重，应以科学发展为主题，以培养全面发展的人才为中心，注重在发展思路、学科内涵、建设方式上的创新，必须相信和依靠学科带头人和学朱骨干。     

我国高师培养模式的历史沿革及其启示

我国高师培养模式是伴随着近代学制的诞生而建立起来的,大体经历了这样的发展变化:定向型培养模式的确立——非定向型培养模式的尝试——由定向型向混合型培养模式的过渡和发展。高师培养模式的演变对当前高师改革有深刻的启示:树立师范教育的国家意识,正确认识高等师范教育的性质与使命,是高等师范教育健康发展的思想基础;关注基础教育,引领基础教育,全方位地服务基础教育,是高等师范教育的生存基础;提升学术性和师范性,彰显师范特色,是高等师范教育发展的个性基础;有为才有位,坚持与时俱进的品质是高等师范教育的发展基础。     

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.     

Educational opportunities and academic performance: A case study of university student mothers in Venezuela

The transformation of universities from elite to mass models in developing countries has given the opportunity to new social groups to participate in higher education. As a part of this process, diverse groups of students have benefited in different ways from the equal educational opportunities offered to them. In this paper, we approach the problem of institutional efficiency versus social inclusion in a developing country through the case study of the academic performance of a social group of recent participation in a public university in Venezuela, especifically that of student mothers in the Universidad de Los Andes. This work investigates how student mothers make use of the educational opportunities opened to them and how their academic performance is affected by their particular life circumstances. Evidence shows that the academic performance of student mothers is lower than that of other groups of university students. In practice, student mothers participate as part-time students, although this category is not officially recognized by most Venezuelan public universities. Almost all the life circumstances of student mothers negatively affect their academic performance. The only circumstance that contributes positively to the performance of a student mother is the help provided by her extended family in taking care of her children. The fact that student mothers are able to participate in higher education is mainly due to the help they receive from their extended family. This is a distinctive cultural feature associated to this social group in the context of a developing country such as Venezuela.     

Academic developers as brokers of change: insights from a research project on change practice and agency

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the findings of a four-year research project studying change practice and agency in higher education. The main findings of five empirical studies are presented. These findings lay bare how academic staff perceive opportunities to change their practice, identify leaders’ strategies when trying to bring about change, illustrate the different and at times incompatible ways of understanding change initiatives, acknowledge the importance of moral dimensions in change, and demonstrate how leaders mobilise theory when engaging in change practice. The article synthesizes the results of the project and draws conclusions with a view to how academic developers may best engage with critical stakeholders in higher education institutions. The paper concludes by presenting some thoughts on how a new model for academic development may take form. The paper aims to provide insights, inspiration, and critical dialogue to researchers in academic development.     

New patterns in higher education cross-cultural learning: The case of a postgraduate english instruction program in China

This paper explores new patterns of learning across cultures in higher education through a case study of a cohort of international graduate students at a university in Chinese mainland. North University (NU) has hosted international students in its Chinese language and culture programs for decades. However, between 2008 and 2010, a new Master’s degree program for international students was established. This attracted 75 graduate students from different disciplinary backgrounds, from 21 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. English is the common language to both students and faculty, but a foreign language to all. This program marks a significant shift for China’s higher education as it reaches out to the world. The paper describes this cohort’s lived experiences in China, including academic, linguistic and sociocultural learning. It analyzes the challenges such programs pose for the Chinese higher education system, explores how these challenges have become opportunities for growth and how barriers have been overcome. It also discusses the implications of this case for the upgrading of higher education quality in China.     

Universities and the knowledge-based economy: perceptions from a developing country

This paper considers the role of universities in the creation of a knowledge-based economy (KBE) in a developing country, Pakistan. Some developing countries have moved quickly to develop a KBE, but progress in Pakistan is much slower. Higher education plays a crucial role as part of the triple helix model for innovation. Based on the perceptions of university leaders and academic staff, the paper examines how the transformation towards a KBE in Pakistan is viewed within higher education and identifies some of the blockages and contradictions that hinder development. In particular, the paper suggests that a more integrated education system bringing together primary, secondary and tertiary education to work for a common purpose will be essential.     

成人教育平衡发展的对策——兼谈自学考试与成人高等学历教育的失衡

自学考试与成人高等学历教育同样都是成人教育的重要形式,然而近几年自学考试日渐式微,而成人高等学历教育却保持着一个较大的规模,二者之间反差巨大,发展极不平衡。当前,自学考试要改革与创新,完善服务,成人高等学历教育要采取各种措施提高教育质量,实现我国成人教育的协调平衡发展。     

Institutional governance and management systems in Sub-Saharan Africa higher education: developments and challenges in a Ghanaian Research University

This article examines the developments and challenges of higher education in developing countries. Using a thorough qualitative interview of deans, directors and heads of Department of the University of Ghana, this paper draws on their analysis to discover unexplored issues that affect the universities in developing countries. The study identifies weakness in institutional policies and infrastructure deficiency of higher education in Ghana as key challenging factors. Findings also show congestion of students in academic facilities of learning, teaching overloads and lack of research facilities as key factors hampering academic development in higher education. Therefore, the work advocates for the development of policies that take into account the institutional realities in the field of higher education. Governmental policies aimed at enhancing higher education in developing economies must first improve the existing institutional set up for their chance of success.     

Offering prescriptions of leader– member exchanges towards developing academic talent in higher education

This paper examines leader–member exchange behaviour for the development of academic talent in higher education. Drawing from a sample of academic leaders at a large South African university, interviews conducted with the chairs of departments (CoDs) provide new insight on development practices and actions for follower development within a leader– member exchange relationship. The study reveals significant differences in the behaviours of CoDs with low LMX scores and those with high LMX scores in the task of developing academic staff. Suggestions for enhancing academic follower development within this relationship are also offered. This study provides academic leaders with a comprehensive and constructive perspective for developing academic talent in higher education.     

The academic profession in North Macedonia: A never ending transition

The context of Macedonian higher education has changed dramatically in the last fifteen years. A rapid increase in the number of public and private institutions and a greater diversity of higher education degrees have not been associated with improvements in quality. The research output of academic staff is modest; academics contribute little to the society's development. Academia in North Macedonia is under pressure due to chronic underfinancing of higher education and research, and an underdeveloped system of quality assurance, as well as growing expectations for relevance and internationalisation. This article presents an original empirical study on academic staff. It examines how 388 faculty at higher education institutions in North Macedonia perceived changes in the environment of the academic profession, and how changes in their working conditions potentially influence their academic identity and wellbeing. The results are compared to European data. Findings show that about half of research participants believed that the overall conditions for work and the quality of teaching, learning and research have deteriorated in recent years. This contributes to a perception of the academic profession as stressful and unattractive which results in lower levels of overall academic wellbeing which constitutes a threat to academic identity amongst the staff. Consequently, we expect further decreases in motivation, work ethic and productivity in the academic profession, as well as an increase in the desire of academics to leave Macedonia.     

大众化背景下地方高校发展应着力实现的重大转变

高等教育大众化为我国高等教育发展带来了重大机遇,也带来了严峻挑战。有效应对这一挑战,地方高校发展应着力实现三大转变,即由追求大包大揽的全覆盖式服务,转变为重点服务地方经济社会发展的某些行业或方面;由盲目追求综合型、研究型,热衷发展研究生教育,转变为着力发展应用型本科和职业技能型教育,优势学科专业适当发展研究生教育;由笼统强调通才教育、片面否定专才教育,转变为以心智教育为基础的高素质专才教育,培养高素质专业人才。     

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.     

Academic capitalism and the informational fraction of the transnational capitalist class

This article is based on the idea that if we are witnessing an on-going shift towards the transnational phase of capitalism, this objective structural change should also be taken into account in higher education studies. In this sense, this article reflects the increased scholarly attention into the relationship between globalisation and higher education since the 1990s. The main purpose of this article is to contribute to these discussions by developing dialogue between global capitalism theories and the theory of academic capitalism. In order to achieve this, William Robinson's concept of the transnational capitalist class (TCC) will be amended to include also the informational fraction. Furthermore, the causal history of TRIPS (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) will be used as an illustrative example of how transnational corporations have stimulated the emergence of academic capitalism at transnational level. First, I will discuss the theory of academic capitalism. Second, I will introduce and amend the concept of the TCC. Third, I will present my conclusions.     

A review of twenty-first century higher education

This article is predominantly concerned with the global challenges associated with managing an academic workforce in an era characterised by increased demand for higher education. In scrutinising global trends in higher education and academic workforce management, the article will address two research questions. First, what are the global trends that most affect education in the twenty-first century? Second, what are the transformations that have taken place in the academic workforce amid these trends? Last, the article calls for a need for researchers to profoundly explore the management of the academic workforce cross-nationally between developed and developing economies, with a particular focus on Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.     

Sticky and slippery destinations for academic mobility: the case of Singapore

This article seeks to contribute to the existing scholarship on academic mobility in two ways. First, it brings together insights on academic mobility (aspirations, desperations) and higher education internationalisation to show how we may analytically organise these insights to shed light on the shifting global higher education landscape from an experiential perspective. Second, it provides fresh data on the ‘lived experiences’ of mobile faculty members based in an attractive academic destination outside of the traditional knowledge cores—Singapore. As a city state without any natural resources, Singapore has successfully transformed its economy into one that is knowledge-intensive based on combined efforts from grooming locals to recruiting foreign talents to shore up skilled manpower needs. These efforts are reflected in the university sector where Singapore’s comprehensive universities have consistently ranked high across many global university rankings. Using survey and interview data, I show how the mobility and immobility experiences of faculty based in Singapore have contributed to its making as a ‘sticky’ and ‘slippery’ academic destination. My contributions point to the need to integrate individual-level factors underpinning academic mobility decisions with systemic developments to better understand the changing global higher education landscape today.

     

The Restructuring of Academic Work in Australia: Power,management and gender

This paper examines how the restructuring of Australia's university system and the introduction of corporate managerialism has changed the work performed by academic staff. The paper illustrates how the emergence of higher education as both a major export industry and a vehicle for attaining greater international competitiveness has led to more intense regulation of academic work. Within a context of funding cutbacks, substantial inequities have emerged between and within universities, as they compete more aggressively for higher education markets. Hierarchical line management, with clear divisions between different categories of academic staff, has substantially replaced collegial forms of administration. This paper demonstrates how these processes have worked to undermine the effective implementation of Equal Employment Opportunity initiatives, as women remain concentrated in the lowest paid and least secure positions within universities.     

Conceptualizing educational leadership in an academic development program

Promoting the development of educational leadership in higher education is essential for strengthening the quality of teaching and learning. Additional research is needed to conceptualize educational leadership, especially within informal roles. We analysed how faculty members in an academic development program conceptualized educational leadership. Five key characteristics emerged that inform the development of educational leadership capacity in postsecondary contexts: affective qualities, mentoring and empowering, action-orientation, teaching excellence, and research and scholarship. Three characteristics of academic programs aimed at developing educational leadership were also identified: funding and resources to implement a change initiative, building interdisciplinary communities, and embracing identity.