Abstract
The study of higher education is a broad field. A recent estimate identified some 19 different disciplines and perspectives. Such range of perspectives raises central questions as to what might constitute ‘the core areas’. Whilst recognising that history does not possess a single dominant paradigm, this article suggests that history opens up several avenues not without interest to policy studies in higher education. By providing issues the outcome of which is known, history may serve as a vehicle for testing the validity of contemporary theories developed in higher education policy studies. The article argues that greater attention ought to be paid - and most particularly in studies involving cross national comparisons - to the cultural and historic specificities that permeate the formal dimensions of law, structure and administrative forms.
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Neave, G. Higher education policy as an exercise in contemporary history. High Educ 32, 403–415 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133255
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133255