The structure of higher education in China is characterized by a high degree of hierarchy as well as strong homogeneity, differing from not only American higher education, which features a high degree of both hierarchy and heterogeneity, but also higher education in continental Europe, which exhibits a low degree of hierarchy. Previous studies…

The article explores academic identities in Ukrainian research universities whilst means-ends decoupling takes place at the state level. The latter term implies that the practices of state policies are disconnected from the state's core goal of creating public welfare. Such means-ends decoupling occurs in oligarchic economies, Ukraine being one.…

The status of teaching and learning is an issue those providing and supporting higher education grapple with. The UK Higher Education Academy offers accreditation aligned to the professional standards framework (PSF). The PSF contextualises the role of teaching and supporting learning, and offers a mechanism for individuals' commitment to be…

This article utilizes critical social theory to illuminate structures of inequality that undergird certain practices of internationalization in higher education institutions, particularly in U.S. institutions. We demonstrate how such theory can be productively employed to analyze three key dimensions of contemporary internationalization: 1) a…

Student affairs, as an integral part of universities, has taken on a key position in contributing to social justice as one of the central imperatives of higher education in South Africa. This article sketches the development of this role and outlines some important tasks for contemporary student affairs. Three conceptual models within the social…

In revealing the transformatory moment of learning technology, a holistic and ongoing critique that is related to a range of socio-cultural factors is required. This critique further uncovers the social relations that frame the place of learning technology in bourgeois capitalist work and the development of the knowledge economy. This article…

The article is based on activist research working in an anti-deportation social movement, and on sixteen interviews with both experienced and less experienced activists between 2009 and 2011. The anti deportation social movement made up of a range of organisations, is identified as a left social movement situated in an historic producer…

This paper locates the work of Leo Strauss within the broader conservative assault on modernity and especially its roots in liberalism. Four themes from Strauss's work are identified, then hermeneutically engaged for their relevance to educational practice in global times. The four themes are: (1) the liberal/modern concept of an open society is…

Outlines a new direction for graduate study in curriculum. Sees curriculum theory as a form of social theory, thus relating curriculum discourse to knowledge and social practices that produce and legitimize particular forms of social life. Suggests ways a new program might be constructed and discusses the obstacles it would face. (Author/RDN)

Questions how academia can continue to engage in knowledge production without producing and legitimating dominant discourses. Maintains that academia must accept that individuals live in a time of multiple perspectives, an absence of embracing consensus, and the deconstruction of any absolute or foundational principles of truth. (MJP)

Illuminates one example of a critical ethnography in practice, exploring the life of Dr. Huey P. Newton, a leader in the African-American community, and arguing that critical ethnography cannot teach African Americans how to overcome oppression. The suggested postcritical ethnography would be part of African Americans looking to their own…

Purpose: This paper demonstrates how the positioning of self and others affects change in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: The discourse of various educators was collected during various interviews and discussion groups. A positioning theory framework was used to analyse the data and derive conclusions. Findings: It is shown that if…

The Hegelian model of society as an organism is used to analyze what makes multicultural societies healthy or unhealthy, how to make the transition from one to the other, and potential roles for educational and political systems in that process. Discussion focuses on the American southwest. (Author/MSE)

In this article, Lewin's (1951) social field theory is used as a framework for analyzing the potential for implementing scalable and sustainable e-learning initiatives in the academy. Powerful external economic and social forces coming to bear on academic leadership decisions are considered. The impacts of the emergence of the global learning…

Models explaining timing and focus of educational reform incorporate theories of either social equilibrium or conflict at national or world-system level. The resulting four general approaches differ in basic assumptions about how education functions in political, economic, and cultural contexts but are not mutually exclusive. Contains 77…