Europeanizing Universities: Expanding and Consolidating Networks of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Programme (2004–2017)

in Higher Education Policy (2022), 35

The Europeanization of higher education has gained considerable scope and momentum over the past quarter century. Whereas the coordinative Bologna process, with soft governance mechanisms, have ... [more ▼]

The Europeanization of higher education has gained considerable scope and momentum over the past quarter century. Whereas the coordinative Bologna process, with soft governance mechanisms, have facilitated standardization across countries, European Commission funding programs targeted universities more directly. The Erasmus Mundus Joint Degree Programme, as an incentive-based program, epitomizes the dynamics of such European funding management. Notably, it has established expanding university networks across Europe and unique new tertiary degrees that facilitate student mobility. Applying social network analysis to 561 participating universities through several program cycles, we longitudinally examine three key patterns in the program’s development: the expansion of the programme, the consolidation of networks, and the participation of and coordination by central universities in these processes. Program participation increased considerably across cycles, even as established networks were consolidated, largely through re- accreditation of established programs. Moreover, we identify those universities that assume a central position in the inter-organizational structure of this international program. These universities actively facilitate the evolving Europeanization of higher education by strengthening inter-university networks via a signature EU program. [less ▲]

International Organisations and the Proliferation of Scientised Global Reporting, 1947–2019

in Global Society: Journal of Interdisciplinary International Relations (2021)

As novel instruments in global governance, international organisations’ (IOs) global reports have emerged in all policy sectors in the more recent period. Drawing on an original dataset of N = 363 ... [more ▼]

As novel instruments in global governance, international organisations’ (IOs) global reports have emerged in all policy sectors in the more recent period. Drawing on an original dataset of N = 363 editions from N = 95 explicitly global reports from the period 1947–2019, this study documents the rise of reporting and uses citation and content analyses to examine the changing role of science. Reporting based on scientific research and quantitative indicators increases over time and across all sectors, yet particularly striking since the late 1980s and most in sectors dealing with human development and the environment. Drawing on arguments from world society theory, the sociology of quantification and post-truth approaches, this work argues that while reports provide IOs with new legitimacy in science-based governance, their scientised and quantified nature is likely to make IO activities the target of antiscientific populist rhetoric and critical arguments about a reductionist interpretation of science. [less ▲]

The authority of science and the legitimacy of international organisations: OECD, UNESCO andWorld Bank in global education governance

in Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education (2020)

International organisations’ (IOs) legitimacy in global educational governance is commonly seen as a function of their regulative or normative power. By contrast, this paper stresses the increasing ... [more ▼]

International organisations’ (IOs) legitimacy in global educational governance is commonly seen as a function of their regulative or normative power. By contrast, this paper stresses the increasing importance of scientific research and policy-relevant knowledge and its strategic production, dissemination and transfer by IOs. The article examines knowledge work at OECD, UNESCO and World Bank based on novel data from publication analyses, archival work and a number of interviews. Drawing on sociological institutionalism and constructivist international relations scholarship, this study is interested in the rationales, resources and capacities for knowledge production, the strategies of dissemination and transfer as well as the implications of science production for IOs’ position and relevance in global governance. Findings emphasise the authority of science as the primary source of legitimacy – and even survival – in an increasingly crowded and competitive field of global education governance. [less ▲]

Institutional Logics in the Global Higher Education Landscape: Differences in Organizational Characteristics by Sector and Founding Era

in Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning and Policy (2020)

This article examines patterns in the global higher education landscape associated with sector (i.e., public or private) and founding era. Using data on the formal and academic structure of 15,133 higher ... [more ▼]

This article examines patterns in the global higher education landscape associated with sector (i.e., public or private) and founding era. Using data on the formal and academic structure of 15,133 higher education institutions (ISCED 6+) from 183 countries and territories, we examine factors associated with the student body size, number of degree-granting programs, doctorate degrees, and curricular offerings. We find that only sector and age are associated with an institution’s student body size, while sector, age, and founding era are all associated with degree and curricular offerings. Private universities tend to be smaller and are more likely to offer business degrees, while public universities offer more degree programs on average, and are more likely to offer programs in science and technology and doctoral degrees. Meanwhile, in both sectors, universities founded after 1990 are less likely to offer doctoral degrees and more likely to offer degrees in business, science, and technology. Despite some regional variation, these trends are found worldwide. To interpret these findings, we argue that both sector- and era-specific institutional logics link higher education to knowledge production and the labor market in distinct and path-dependent ways. Notably, the expansion of higher education post- 1990 has been accomplished by establishing new teaching-focused institutions and orienting academic programs to the labor market in both sectors. [less ▲]

Imagining the World – Conceptions and Determinants of Internationalization in Higher Education Curricula Worldwide

in Sociology of Education (2020)

Cross-national analyses of university curricula are rare, particularly with a focus on internationalization, commonly studied as impacting higher education through the mobility of people, programs, and ... [more ▼]

Cross-national analyses of university curricula are rare, particularly with a focus on internationalization, commonly studied as impacting higher education through the mobility of people, programs, and campuses. By contrast, we argue that university knowledge shapes globalization by producing various sociopolitical conceptions beyond the nation-state. We examine variants of such a globalized society in 442,283 study programs from 17,129 universities in 183 countries. Three variants stand out, which vary across disciplines: an interstate model (prevalent in business and political science), a regional model (in political science and law), and a global model (in development studies and natural sciences). Regression models carried out on a subset of these data indicate that internationalized curricula are more likely in business schools, in universities with international offices, in those with a large number of social science offerings, and in those with membership in international university associations. We discuss these findings and their links to changes in universities’ environment, stressing the recursive relationship between globalization and higher education. [less ▲]

Beyond internationalisation and isomorphism – the construction of a global higher education regime

in Comparative Education (2019)

National higher education systems are undergoing profound changes, discussed in many but unrelated studies as outcomes of internationalisation dynamics and institutional isomorphism pressures. We propose ... [more ▼]

National higher education systems are undergoing profound changes, discussed in many but unrelated studies as outcomes of internationalisation dynamics and institutional isomorphism pressures. We propose to link these studies by emphasising the influence of both internationalisation and isomorphism on the formation of a global educational regime. Through a broad range of indicators, we describe the growth of the discursive, normative, and regulatory dimensions of such a global higher education regime. We find evidence of the following developments: (1) a rapidly growing network of international organisations focused on conferences, initiatives, and programmes supporting a global higher education agenda; (2) a striking increase in the number of international and national accreditation agencies, their mutual cross-national recognition as well as the number of universities that are nationally and internationally accredited; and lastly, (3) parallel increases in regional qualification frameworks and in the implementation of national qualification frameworks. These developments create integration pressures manifest in the mutual recognition of higher education degrees, for which a new generation of regional conventions has emerged worldwide in the past two decades. We discuss these processes and their implications for understanding ‘national’ higher education as well as the threats and limits to the burgeoning higher education regime. [less ▲]

The RAE/REF have engendered evaluation selectivity and strategic behaviour, reinforced scientific norms, and further stratified UK higher education

Article for general public (2018)

The UK’s periodic research assessment exercise has grown larger and more formalised since its first iteration in 1986. Marcelo Marques, Justin J.W. Powell, Mike Zapp and Gert Biesta have examined what ... [more ▼]

The UK’s periodic research assessment exercise has grown larger and more formalised since its first iteration in 1986. Marcelo Marques, Justin J.W. Powell, Mike Zapp and Gert Biesta have examined what effects it has had on the submitting behaviour of institutions, considering the intended and unintended consequences in the field of education research. Findings reveal growing strategic behaviour, including high selectivity of submitted staff, the reinforcement of scientific norms with respect to the format and methodological orientation of submitted research outputs, and an explicit concentration of funding. [less ▲]

(Re)shaping Educational Research through ‘Programmification’: Institutional Expansion, Change, and Translation in Norway

in European Journal of Education (2018), 52

Educational research in Norway has experienced unprecedented structural expansion as well as cognitive shifts over the past two decades, especially due to increased state investments and the strategic use ... [more ▼]

Educational research in Norway has experienced unprecedented structural expansion as well as cognitive shifts over the past two decades, especially due to increased state investments and the strategic use of extensive and multi-year thematic programs to fund research projects. Applying a neo-institutionalist framework, we examine institutionalization dynamics in cultural-cognitive, normative, and regulative dimensions over the past two decades using interviews, research program calls, policy documents, and funding data. In the cultural-cognitive dimension, we find references to the knowledge society, the importance of evidence in policy-making, and ideas of quality, excellence, and relevance. In the normative dimension, we find the introduction of new professional and methodological standards, reflecting broader global patterns of academic and epistemic drift. In the regulative dimension, the strengthened role of both government and the Research Council of Norway is manifest in substantial growth in both funding and large-scale, long-term planning, including thematic choices—evidence of ‘programification’. The importance of external models has grown in an era of internationalization, yet translation occurs at every level of governance of educational research. This results in a specific Norwegian research model, guided by a mode of governance of programs, that maintains social values traditionally strong in Nordic societies. [less ▲]

The World Bank and Education: Governing (through) Knowledge

in International Journal of Educational Development (2017), 1

Two worlds of educational research? Comparing the levels, objects, disciplines, methodologies and themes in educational research in the United Kingdom and Germany, 2005–2015

in Research in Comparative and International Education (2017), 12(4), 375-397

Embedded in social worlds, education systems and research reflect distinct national trajectories. We compare two contrasting traditions of educational research (ER). Whereas British ER exhibits a ... [more ▼]

Embedded in social worlds, education systems and research reflect distinct national trajectories. We compare two contrasting traditions of educational research (ER). Whereas British ER exhibits a multidisciplinary and pragmatic character, German ER reflects pedagogy and mainly humanities-based traditions. Yet, in both countries, policymakers’ growing demand for evidence in ER resulted in increased funding, specific research programs, and mandatory large-scale assessments. These have reshaped the field, suggesting more similar ER agendas. Based on a comprehensive original dataset of basic ER projects funded by the main grant- making agencies in both countries (2005–2015), we analyze five dimensions: levels, objects, disciplines, methodologies, and themes. We find epistemic drift, with partial convergence characterized by a multi-level focus, multidisciplinary approach, strongly empirical and quantitative methodology, and a premium on teaching and learning themes. The cases remain distinct in exploring systemic questions in a wider contextual frame (UK) or concentrating more narrowly on the individual learner (Germany). [less ▲]