Examines quantitative studies, especially small-scale statistical probes, which have become the dominant mode of inquiry in higher education, but criticisms of this approach are mounting. Describes the presuppositions of this prevailing mode, and several strands of criticism, noting how education and social research have changed over four decades.…

Reviews the history of higher education as both a professional field and a disciplinary field in light of the current relationship between researchers and practitioners. Suggests that it is necessary to balance the competing interests of theory and research with the practical requirements of practice and policy. Suggests a focus on integration for…

After reviewing suggestions offered in the other papers in this volume for addressing the research/practice gap in higher education, this final paper discusses how national organizations and professional associations can serve as change agents in building bridges between researchers and practitioners. (DB)

Analyzes interview data from 24 higher education faculty from 19 universities to assess the extent to which the cumulative advantage perspective was consistent with experiences they described as significant to their publishing productivity. Two factors voiced by a majority of participants relatively late commitment to an academic career and the…

Discusses the complexity facing South African researchers in higher education as they try to overcome the heritage of the old, fragmented higher education system. Necessary paradigm shifts are identified, as are focus areas for improving the quality of South African higher education research at both national and institutional levels. (DB)

Proposes that higher education scholars distinguish among professional subjects taught to undergraduates as they do among traditional disciplines. Other distinctions may be more meaningful than the research-based dimensions used in the popular Biglan classification. A framework for differentiating collegiate career fields is proposed, evidence…

Patterns of cognitive, affective, and social growth of elementary school children are described and the school and home variables which influence such growth are identified in this longitudinal study. This final report presents the final instruments and the interpretive data associated with them. The study permits the tracing of developmental…

This study evaluated the appropriateness of the Program in Higher Education offered at Nova University (Florida) for persons employed in full-time staff positions in religious colleges and universities. Current students (N=28) and six graduates were surveyed and a 60% return rate was obtained. Analysis of survey results indicated: (1) very high…

Fall 1985 and Spring/Fall 1986 issues of the History of Higher Education Newsletter are presented. Contents of the two issues include: comments by Lester F. Goodchild on George Keller's article on research about higher education that appeared in 1985 in "Change" magazine; a guest editorial by Lewis B. Mayhew on the field of higher education; a…

American higher education developed under conditions vastly different from those of the Continent and Britain. Nine colleges were established in the colonial period before the Revolutionary War. Although some of them were related to state governments in their early history, they were even then importantly independent in comparison to continental…

Many apologies have been made for the part the German universities played in the Third Reich. The general stigma of having failed the people as intellectual leaders clung to the German academics for a long time. Their contention of helplessness before the forces of National Socialism gave rise to fears of similar weakness in the future. Although…

Definitions are given for over 300 terms commonly used in the field of higher education. Examples of terms are: A and M University, adjunct professor, degree mill, distribution requirement, early decision, elective, honors program, interlibrary loan, prestige, rolling admission, syllabus, and tutorial. Most definitions have two types of comments:…

The focus of the bibliography is the status of academic research on higher education in the developing countries of Latin America. Thirty selections were chosen as a representative survey of the types of scholarly approaches that specifically treat postsecondary education in Colombia. The individual annotations are subsumed in three categories…

Graduate professional education programs in adult education have grown, but adult education has not been accepted as a distinct field of social practice and as a social science discipline. Presuppositions of the field, professional leadership roles, and criteria for research and for the selection and adaptation of knowledge are covered. (SW)

Topics covered include: history and organization; current trends and problems; curriculum and teaching; research and scholarship; the student and student services; and the professor and conditions of work. Most of the entries are dated 1976 or later. (LBH)