Collegiality and managerialism: a false dichotomy? Evidence from the higher education literature

Collegiality and managerialism are often portrayed as opposed ideas or practices, with the latter, in particular, either held up as a necessary response to the massification of higher education or portrayed as a betrayal of long-held academic ideals (as supposedly reflected in collegiality). This article explores how collegiality and managerialism have been conceptualized, presented and researched in the higher education literature. It concludes that the two concepts are not as dichotomous as some have argued, and that both have a role in our thinking about the future of higher education.     

Continuing Education and the Redrawing of Boundaries

Continuing education, broadly defined to include both vocational and non-vocational kinds of provision, is having an increasing impact within higher education. Its further expansion is now part of government strategy. This expansion will not be achieved without difficulties, and it poses considerable and varied challenges to those who work in higher education. In this paper, we focus on the effects that continuing education is having on established boundaries within higher education — boundaries between different sectors and types of provision, between different subjects and ways of teaching, and between higher education staff and their different skills. As the provision of continuing education increases, existing boundaries will change, become more permeable or be broken down altogether while new divisions and distinctions are created and built up.     

John Dewey,William Wirt and the Gary Schools Plan: a centennial reappraisal

A century on from the height of John Dewey’s educational writings and the reputation of the Gary Schools Plan as a model of progressive education, the paper reappraises two key matters: the relationship between John Dewey and William Wirt, the first superintendent of the Gary Schools in Gary Indiana, and the coherence between John Dewey’s progressive pedagogies and the early years of the Gary Schools Plan. Through drawing on a range of primary and secondary sources of information, the paper analyses the connections between John Dewey, William Wirt and the Gary Schools Plan in their shared quest to extend progressive education into new urban and industrial schooling contexts. The paper highlights areas where existing assumptions require review and the extent to which the relationship and connections between Dewey and Wirt’s work were mutually beneficial. The paper ends by calling for further related research based on the archival material available.     

Dewey,democracy, and interdisciplinary learning: a Scottish perspective

Interest in progressive education ideas has often been accompanied by advocacy for greater use of interdisciplinary and holistic learning approaches, as these are considered beneficial in conceptual, curriculum, and pedagogical terms. The paper reviews the possibilities for progress on this basis and contextualises the paper around three concurrent watershed moments in Scottish education: the end of the five-year programme implementation phase of a Curriculum for Excellence; the half-century anniversary of comprehensive schooling (1965–2015); and the centennial anniversary of the publication of Democracy in Education by John Dewey. Following a brief outlining of the Scottish policy context, the paper analyses the influence of Dewey on conceptions of curriculum integration and interdisciplinary learning and their connections with curriculum planning, effective pedagogical practices, and whole school reforms. Analysis describes the areas of conceptual clarity required and reviews how exactly versions of interdisciplinary learning might operate in practice. It is argued that the learner-led ideals championed by Dewey can still provide guidance and traction to help ensure that policy and practice gains are more than modest and variable. However, progress is likely to be greatest if school organisational changes accompany alterations to the curriculum and pedagogical culture in schools.