Virtual gown and town: The Athabasca University crisis and the conflict of institutional logics

IF 2.8 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Glen A. Jones
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of ‘crisis’ in higher education through the analysis of a unique series of events involving a decisive change in the relationship between a university and the state. A descriptive case study approach is used to investigate the crisis in governance at Athabasca University, an open university located in Alberta, Canada. Factors leading to the crisis included the university leadership's decision to move forward with plans to become a near-virtual organization, concerns by local town that a loss of university employees in the region would be an economic catastrophe, and political opportunism on the part of the elected provincial leaders who decided to address the problems raised by the town and shift the mandate of the university. Drawing on institutional theory and the concept of institutional logics, the paper analyses the episodic nature of the crisis and explores both the nature of the conflict and its resolution.

虚拟礼服与城市:阿萨巴斯卡大学危机与制度逻辑冲突
本文旨在通过分析涉及大学与国家之间关系发生决定性变化的一系列独特事件,加深我们对高等教育 "危机 "的理解。本文采用描述性案例研究的方法,对位于加拿大阿尔伯塔省的开放大学阿萨巴斯卡大学的治理危机进行了调查。导致危机的因素包括:大学领导层决定推进成为一个近乎虚拟组织的计划;当地城镇担心大学员工的流失会给该地区带来经济灾难;当选的省级领导人在政治上投机取巧,决定解决城镇提出的问题并改变大学的授权。本文借鉴制度理论和制度逻辑概念,分析了危机的偶发性质,并探讨了冲突的性质及其解决方法。
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来源期刊
HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY
HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-
CiteScore
4.50
自引率
9.10%
发文量
42
期刊介绍: Higher Education Quarterly publishes articles concerned with policy, strategic management and ideas in higher education. A substantial part of its contents is concerned with reporting research findings in ways that bring out their relevance to senior managers and policy makers at institutional and national levels, and to academics who are not necessarily specialists in the academic study of higher education. Higher Education Quarterly also publishes papers that are not based on empirical research but give thoughtful academic analyses of significant policy, management or academic issues.
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