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The Move Towards Managerialism: Perceptions of staff in “traditional” and “new” UK universities

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Abstract

The raison d’être of higher education institutions is to educate individuals, undertake research, and disseminate knowledge into the public domain. Changing values and norms in HEIs, partly as a product of “managerialism”, as well as increased competition for funding and other environmental factors, have moved autonomous institutions towards more business-like and private-sector ideals. These factors have different effects on the different “traditional” and “new” universities that operate within the higher education sector in the UK. This paper utilises the results of a UK survey of universities to determine the impact of these changes in universities. Results of a quantitative survey indicate that staff members in “traditional” universities feel strongly pressured to be research-recognised but that academic decisions are made by academics, whilst “new” universities viewed higher education as a business. Interestingly, both groups felt pressured to improve student numbers.

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Correspondence to Seng-Kiat Kok.

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Kok, SK., Douglas, A., McClelland, B. et al. The Move Towards Managerialism: Perceptions of staff in “traditional” and “new” UK universities. Tert Educ Manag 16, 99–113 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1080/13583881003756740

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