Defining Academic Cultures

Author(s):

Antje Barabasch

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

22. Research in Higher Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

22 SES 09 A, Academic Identities and Cultures

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-30

10:30-12:00

Room:

HG, HS 33

Chair:

Mari Karm

Contribution

European universities are in the process of restructuring and re-innovating themselves in order to harmonize education and provide participants with greater mobility, but also to become more competitive at the international education and research market. Along with structural changes the academic culture itself is changing. This involves, among many other aspects, academic freedom, promotion and tenure, internationalization, accountability, or the interaction between administration and academics. But a culture is deeply embedded in historic developments. Originally, the German academic tradition was highly influential around the world and shaped many university cultures. But other models had an impact as well, such as the model of Paris which was highly influential on the organization of academic self-government and the Bologna model which shaped the way the participation of students was viewed. Today, North American universities and their culture are influencing developments in higher education around the world. The paper first proposes a theoretical analysis of the construct ‘Academic Culture’. It then goes on to describe the historical developments of higher education in Germany and the United States and their impact around the world. Research Questions: How can the construct ‘Academic Culture’ be defined? How have academic cultures been influenced by each other in the past (including the more recent past where the US American model has been highly influential)?

Method

In order to gain an understanding of the various factors that are intertwined when we try to determine academic cultures, we are planning to interview 24 professors in four different departments at three universities in four countries (USA, Canada, Germany and China). These interviews will focus on individual experiences with and perceptions about the academic culture in which one operates. We will try to find professors who have worked in at least two different academic environments, preferably in two different countries. In this way we expect that the participants are more reflective about authentic features of an academic culture and can by comparison determine the typicality of an academic culture at each institution by common rules, perceptions, and actions. After a comprehensive literature review various explanations, including the results of the interviews, will be theoretically tested and triangulated. +++ continues in References

Expected Outcomes

Following Becher's (1989) approach we will adopt an internalist rather than an externalist standpoint, which results in a focus on individual perceptions about the academic environment. The inquiry will not include case studies of academic environments. Based on an extensive literature review, the information provided in the interviews and the policy analysis is intended to develop a heuristic model that can explain the interconnectedness of the various factors that shape an academic culture. In this way a theoretical explanation for the construct "Academic Culture" can be developed. The inclusion of China, where the higher education sector is going through a process of restructuration and diversification, will contribute to a definition and a model that could be globally adaptive. In the presentation the plan for this research project will be introduced. The paper presentation intends to initiate a discussion about the topic in order to further develop the proposal.

References

+++ Additionally, we will examine departmental policies pertaining the listed criteria, which have been identified by faculty members as key impactors on the academic culture. References: Adorno, Theodor W. 1959. „Theorie der Halbbildung.“ In: Ders.: Gesammelte Schriften. Darmstadt: 1998 (Bd. 8), 93-121. Adorno,Horkheimer:1947) Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno. Dialektik der Aufklärung. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main, 12 edition, 2000. Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 39, 1154-1184. Becher, T. (1989). Academic tribes and territories. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. Clark, B. R. (1983). The Higher Education System: Academic Organization in Cross-National Perspective. Hofstadter, R., & Metzger, W. P. (1955). The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States. Columbia University Press. Kloss, G. (1985). The Academic Restructuring of British and German Universities and Greater Efficiency: a comparative perspective. Oxford Review of Education, 11(3), 271-282. Kühler, L. L. (2005a). Die Orientierung der Reformen im deutschen Hochschulsystem-seit 1998-am Vorbild des amerikanischen Hochschulwesens. München. Kühler, L. L. (2005b). Hochschulreform in Deutschland nach amerikanischem Vorbild Chancen, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen. VDM, Müller. Scholl, W., Hoffmann, L., & Gierschner, H. C. (2004). Innovation und Information. Hogrefe. Stichweh, R. (1987). Der frühmoderne Staat und die europäische Universität. Rechtshistorisches Journal, (06), 135. Teichler, U. (2003). Das amerikanische Hochschulwesen: ein Modell für die Zukunft des deutschen Hochschulwesens. Schwarz, S.(2003): Universities of the Future-Transatlantischer Dialog, Reader/DAAD Dok & Mat, Dokumentationen und Materialien, 45, 52-63. Veysey, L. R. (1965). The Emergence of the American University. University Of Chicago Press. Weiler, H. (1995). Wieviel sind amerikanische Erfahrungen bei einer Universitätsneugründung wert? In D. Müller-Böling (Ed.), Qualitätssicherung in Hochschulen. Gütersloh: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung 1995, 242-257. Weiler, H. N. (2002). Amerika, Du hast es besser–Was man vom Hochschulwesen der USA lernen könnte. In Buhr, H.J., Universitätsklinikum Benjamin Franklin, pp. 7–20, and Germer, C.-T. (eds.), Benjamin Franklin Lecture 2001. Berlin

Author Information

Antje Barabasch

Universität Magdeburg

Berufs- und Betriebspädagogik

Magdeburg

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