Like everything else today, there is a changing pattern in education. Some obvious elements are education's social function, demographics, and technology. A fourth dimension is being added to function, audience, and technique, and that is research. Research is also being reorganized, and now it is becoming an issue in the colleges. When, for…

Scholars of educational change agree that leaders need to develop a vision, build capacity and ensure ownership of change by staff. We argue that understanding the actual work that leaders must do in order to convert these categories into action, requires a social practice approach. Taking the notion of sense-making as a social practice, drawn…

This essay represents an attempt to contribute to the growing body of literature on education in conflict and emergency situations by analyzing shifts in sources of authority and their influence on conceptions of leadership in the context of a decades-long armed conflict in the predominately Muslim regions of the southern Philippines. Interviews…

Willard Waller fused social theory and field observation techniques. In work still relevant 55 years after its appearance, he viewed school in its societal context. This study develops a theory of schooling based on his work and that of his successors. (LHW)

Examines the issue of community involvement in reformulating educational systems. Historical perspectives on community involvement in schools are reviewed; the roles of community members in educational settings and in educational systems design settings are discussed; and experiences from fieldwork observing community participation are related.…

The author defines her terms of goodness and empowerment in a context of studying school environments. "Good" schools are then described, the settings in which the field work was conducted are given and the methods of student and teacher empowerment at six good high schools are discussed. (JL)

This paper addresses the role of engineering PhD education and its relationship to innovation and technology, and the need to reconsider how we educate PhD engineers. Much of the effort on engineering education in the last two decades focused on undergraduate education with a few exceptions that relate to master degree programs. Doctoral education…

Grounded theory, generated from data systematically obtained through the constant comparative method, is suggested as a research strategy for higher education. Greater emphasis is placed on qualitative data while using quantitative data when obtainable and pertinent. Higher education research can thereby be redirected to development of theory.…

Strategies for researching policy change in higher education from a political point of view are discussed, based on three assumptions: politics is not only power but also research for solutions to collective problems; explanation of policy change calls for configurative models to enlighten relationships between structural and individual factors;…

Feminist theory is reexamined in the context of recent theory concerning pragmatic liberal education, and many similar principles are found. Topics discussed include feminist theory and the structure of college administration; the future of reform; and collaborative leadership for change. It is argued that both hierarchy and homogeneity must be…

Argues that comparative studies in higher education are helpful in conceptual restructuring and in understanding how higher education is shaped by common international trends, reforms based on comparisons, increasing trans-national cooperation, and some supra-national integration of systems. Recommends a semi-structured research design allowing…

The president of the University of Vermont discusses the relationship between higher education research and practice from an administrative viewpoint. She suggests that good campus decision making begins with a base of scholarly knowledge that is generated by higher education researchers and is ideally modeled by higher education leaders who…

Notes that over the quarter-century of the Council for Economic Co-operation and Development's Program on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE), study of higher education has developed considerably. New disciplines have emerged, new ideologies have altered perspectives, and higher education's priorities continue to change.…

The organization and role of higher education research and development units (HERDUs) are described, and international perspectives on educational development theory and practices are examined. Factors constraining educational development operations in HERDUs are discussed, and recommendations for addressing current concerns are offered. (MSE)

The development and contributions of Professor Ruth Eckert are presented in this autobiographical essay. Focus is on higher education as a field of graduate study and changes in higher education throughout this century. The author's experiences are set in the context of wider happenings in higher education. (Author/JMD)