An Organization in Transition: The University and the extra-occupational Further Academic Studies in Germany

Author(s):

Michael Göhlich(presenting / submitting)Johannes Ries(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

32. Organizational Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

32 SES 02, Transition of Organizations (Universities and Other Organizations of Higher Education) (Part 1)

Paper Session to be continued in 32 SES 03 A

Time:

2015-09-08

15:15-16:45

Room:

3004. [Main]

Chair:

Petr Novotný

Contribution

Since the 1990s the universities in Germany are urged to offer extra-occupational further academic studies. But despite the increase of such programs, they still play are marginal role (Minks u.a. 2011). Universities evidently have some problems with this new task. Looking from a neoinstitutionalist perspective (Meyer/Rowan 1977, Schemmann/Koch 2009) the university as organization tries to incorporate the societal expectation of life-long learning offers but thereby it produces structural and cultural obstacles. Looking from an organizational culture perspective (Schein 1983) the institutionalization of further academic studies, especially of extra-occupational further academic studies, threatens the traditional understanding of the university as an elitarian world of pure (not applied) scientific research and teaching. Looking from a practice theory perspective (Göhlich 2014) the patterns of organizational practice of the university misfit to the new task of further academic studies.

Beside giving a review of further academic studies at German universities, the presentation focusses the development of a single university regarding the institutionalization of further academic studies. In form of a case study it tries to understand how an university handles its own transition from an elite- and pure-research-oriented organization to a plurally oriented organization.

Method

While the review of further academic studies at German universities is based on statistical data, the case study bases on internal documents of the focused university and on expert interviews with the professors who lead a further academic study program at this university. The transcripts of the interviews will be analyzed by theoretical coding.

Expected Outcomes

Since the research is not finished yet, actually only expected findings may be stated. So inner-universitarian lacks of understanding, administrative barriers, economic uncertainty and distrust of the universitarian establishment regarding the quality of the further academic studies may be assumed.

References

Göhlich, M. (2012). Organisation und kulturelle Differenz: Eine Einführung aus pädagogischer Sicht. In: Göhlich, M. u.a. (Hg): Organisation und kulturelle Differenz. Wiesbaden, S. 1-22. Göhlich, M. (2014). Praxismuster der Differenzbearbeitung: Zu einer pädagogischen Ethnographie der Organisationen. In: Tervooren, A. u.a. (Hg): Ethnographie und Differenz in pädagogischen Feldern. Bielefeld, S. 225-239. Meyer, J. W., Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony. In: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 83, No. 2 (Sep., 1977), pp. 340-363. Minks, K.-H. u.a. (2011). Berufsbegleitende und duale Studiengänge in Deutschland. HIS Hannover. Schein, E. W. (1983). Organizational Culture: A Dynamic Model. Working Paper. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Schemmann, M., Koch, S. (2009). Neo-Institutionalismus in der Erziehungswissenschaft. Wiesbaden.

Author Information

Michael Göhlich (presenting / submitting)

FAU University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Johannes Ries (presenting)

FAU Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg

Office for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, Continuing Education

Erlangen

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