This study examined job satisfaction and job stress across 19 higher education systems. We classified the 19 countries according to their job satisfaction and job stress and applied regression analysis to test whether new public management has impacts on either or both job satisfaction and job stress. According to this study, strong market driven…

It is widely acknowledged that the curriculum and knowledge in higher education (HE) are especially visible through (and often constructed by) assessment practices. If this is the case, it matters greatly what perspectives and theoretical tools are brought to bear on the task of understanding these practices. Having briefly set out three…

This paper considers how online, distance students enact the space of "the university", in the context of the rise of distance education within a traditional, "elite" institution. Aiming to provide insight into how students translate into distance the space of a university which has traditionally had its basis in conventional…

Students' learning goals demonstrate much stronger variety than traditional goal orientation models for classroom learning assume, especially when the educational context allows so. In this empirical study we will investigate the richness of students' goal orientation in a collaborative learning context. We do so with the help of a goal…

This study analyzes longitudinal data from 17 four-year institutions in the United States to determine how the distinctive instructional and learning environment of American liberal arts colleges accounts for the positive impact of liberal arts college attendance on four-year growth in critical thinking skills and need for cognition. We find that,…

This article will particularly focus on Norway and the consequences for academic work. Frequently in studies of academic work, focus has been on academics' individual autonomy and to what extent the latter is challenged (Altbach in "Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci" 448:1-14, 1980; Shattock in "High Educ" 41:27-47, 2001). One of…

This exploratory study presents a different approach to studying transition by involving students as researchers. The aim was to investigate how students talked about their experiences of transition in university. Nineteen first and second year undergraduate psychology students participated in focus groups and semi-structured interviews, conducted…

Sociological institutional theory views universities as model driven organizations. The world's stratification system promotes conformity, imitation and isomorphism towards the "best" university models. Accordingly, academic roles may be locally shaped in minor ways, but are defined and measured explicitly in global terms. We test this proposition…

This article analyses academic work and the academic workforce in the context of current dynamics and likely futures. It discusses the significance of academic work, reviews workforce characteristics, and analyses tensions and pressures. Prevailing conceptualisations, it is argued, do not reflect the current situation in which the profession finds…

In anticipation of a globalising post-Fordist political economy, countries and universities are increasingly pursuing strategic transnational education and research alliances. This article analyses the Global Schoolhouse, a key education policy platform that aims to transform Singapore into a knowledge and innovation hub by establishing networks…

To date, much of the research on internationalization and globalization of higher education has focused on the institution or higher education system as the unit of analysis. Institution based studies have focused on the analysis of institutional practices and policies designed to further internationalization. System-level studies focus on state…

This paper presents a perspective on the capacity of colleges and universities during past and present economic shocks. The main argument is that the environment of the global recession--an Asia far more economically integrated than during past economic shocks, with more unified aspirations to be globally competitive and socially responsible--no…

The present study aims to analyse the complex relationships between the relevant constructs of students' demographic background, perceptions, learning patterns and (proxy measures of) learning outcomes in order to delineate the possible direct, indirect, or spurious effects among them. The analytical methodology is substantively framed against the…

How to design learning environments leading to learning-, thinking, collaboration- and regulation skills which can be applied to transferable, knowledge oriented learning outcomes is still controversial. We studied the designs of learning environments in innovative higher professional education more closely. To characterize learning environments…

This paper explores the role of the Canadian federal government in two foreign policy areas: overseas development assistance and international cultural relations by providing a brief history of the federal government's engagement in both policy areas and highlighting the contributions and challenges of Canadian foreign policy to the…