Academic Identities and Policy Change in Higher Education (Higher Education Policy)

by Mary Henkel (Author)

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  2000

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  This work looks at the classical notion of academic identity, the paradoxical idea of strong individuals within a community of equals, and examines the extent to which this is reflected in reality. The author argues that the higher education reforms and consequent changes in the academic community have created an impetus towards a more structured environment, encouraging new, professional academic identities. She also asks whether the reforms have made the institution more important than the disciplines. Part One outlines briefly the extent of policy change, then focuses on two specific policy initiatives as case studies: the 1987 Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative and the 1992 quality assurance policies. The book considers the responses of academic leaders, higher education institutions and academics in the basic units to these changes, and examines the degree to which they have affected the institutional environment and the framework of assumptions within which academics work. Part Two discusses the themes of academic identity development and continuity and change, focusing on the process of becoming an academic and then on three key roles: teacher, researcher and administrator or manager. Each chapter demonstrates the impacts of policy upon disciplinary committees, institutions and academic roles and considers what they mean for academic identities. Finally, the author examines how far there are patterns of difference in these respects between different disciplines and different types of institution.