Abstract
The integration of higher education systems in the Western world has led both to development of overall strategies for the organization of higher education institutions by public authorities, as well as to strategies by higher education institutions aiming to position themselves within emerging higher education systems. This article first asks whether these developments represent converging or path dependent trends before it sketches a conceptual point of departure for the analysis of the relationship between institutions in higher education systems based on the effects of integration on academic hierarchies and functional specialization. Then I discuss how recent attempts at integrating higher education systems in Europe and the US may affect the relationship between institutions in the light of conceptions of education as a process by which students learn to learn or by which they learn specific occupational skills. Thirdly, the development is situated in a wider context where the relationship between different types of institutions are considered in relation to the spread of an extended and more utility oriented concept of knowledge. Finally, I consider briefly some possible future developments based on how modern capitalist and public managerialist knowledge regimes constitute conditions for higher education integration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J.C. Alexander (1982) Positivism, Presuppositions and Current Controversies. University of California Press Theoretical Logic in Sociology. Vol. 1. Berkley, Los Angeles
P.G. Altbach (2001) ‘The American academic model in comparative perspective’, in Altbach, P.G., Gumport, P.J. Johns Hopkins University Press and Johnstone, D.B. (eds.), In Defense of American Higher Education. Baltimore
T. Becher (1989) Academic Tribes and Territories Open University Press Milton Keynes
D. Bell (1973) The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting Basic Books New York
Berg, L. (1992). ‘Vocationalism in Norwegian higher education: Rhetoric or reality?’, European Journal of Education 27 (1/2).
I. Bleiklie (2001) ArticleTitleTowards European convergence of higher education policy? Higher Education Management 13 IssueID3 9–29
I. Bleiklie H. Byrkjeflot (2002) ArticleTitle‘Changing knowledge regimes–universities in a new research environment’ Higher Education 44(2-3) 1–14
I. Bleiklie R. Høstaker A. Vabø (2000) Policy and Practice in Higher Education: Reforming Norwegian Universities Jessica Kingsley London and Philadelphia
B.R. Clark (1983) The Higher Education System. University of California Press Berkley, Los Angeles London
B.R. Clark (1998) Creating Entrepreneurial Universities: Organizational Pathways to Transformation. IAU Press/Pergamon Oxford, New York/ Tokyo
D.D. Dill B. Sporn (Eds) (1995) Emerging Patterns of Social Demand and University Reform: Through a Glass Darkly. IAU Press / Pergamon Oxford
H. Etzkowitz L. Leydesdorff (Eds) (1997) Universities and the Global Knowledge Economy: A Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations. Cassell London
C. Gellert E. Rau (1992) ‘Diversification and integration: The vocationalisation of the German higher education system’ 89–99 European Journal of Education, 27(1/2)
M. Gibbons C. Limoges H. Nowotny S. Schwartzman P. Scott M. Trow (1994) The New Production of Knowledge. Sage The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Society. London, Thousand Oaks/New Delhi
T. Halvorsen S. Michelsen (Eds) (2002) Faglige forbindelser. Fagbokforlaget Oslo
R.O. Keohane J.S. Nye (2000) ‘Introduction’ in Nye, J.S. Brookings Institution Press and Donahue, J.D. (eds.), Governance in a Globalizing World. Washington, DC
C. Kerr (1995) The Uses of the University Harvard University Press Cambridge
M. Kogan M. Bauer I. Bleiklie M. Henkel (Eds) (2000) Transforming Higher Education. Jessica Kingsley Publishers A Comparative Study. London and Philadelphia
K. Knorr Cetina (1999) Epistemic Cultures. Harvard University Press How Sciences Make Knowledge. Cambridge, Mass and London
J. Lamoure J. Lamoure Rontopoulou (1992) ‘The vocationalisation of higher education in France: Continutity and change’ 45–55 European Journal of Education 27(1/2)
A. Levine (2001) ‘Higher education as a mature industry’, in Altbach, P.G., Gumport, P.J. Johns Hopkins University Press and Johnstone, D.B. (eds.), In Defense of American Higher Education. Baltimore
P. Lægreid O.K. Pedersen (Eds) (1999) Fra opbygning til ombygning i staten. Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag Organisationsforandringer i tre nordiske lande. København
B.R. Martin H. Etzkowitz (2000) ‘The origin and evolution of university species’, Western Journal for Science and Technology Studies 9–34 13(3/4)
C. Musselin (1999) ‘State/University relations and how to change them: The case of france and germany’, in Henkel, M. Jessica Kingsley Publishers and Little, B. (eds.), Changing Relationships Between Higher Education and the State. London and Philadelphia
G. Neave (1988) ‘On the cultivation of quality An overview of recent trends in higher education in Western Europe, 1986–1988, European Journal of Education 23(1/2): 7–23 efficiency and enterprise
G. Neave (1992) ‘On instantly consumable knowledge and snake oil’ 5–27 European Journal of Education 27(1/2)
H. Nowotny P. Scott M. Gibbons (2001) Re-Thinking Science Polity Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty. Cambridge
C. Pollitt (1990) Managerialism and the Public Services Basil Blackwell The Anglo-American Experience. Oxford
W.W. Powell J. Owen-Smith (1998) ‘Universities and the market for intellectual property in the life sciences’ 253–277 Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 17(2)
J. Pratt (1992) ‘Unification of higher education in the United Kingdom’ 29–44 European Journal of Education 27(1/2)
B. Readings (1996) The University in Ruins. Harvard University Press Cambridge, Mass and London
S. Rothblatt (Eds) (1992) The OECD, The Master Plan and The California Dream. Center for Studies in Higher Education University of California, Berkeley
S. Slaughter L. Leslie (1997) Academic Capitalism: Politics, Policies and The Entrepreneurial University Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore
U. Teichler (1988) Changing Patterns of the Higher Education System Jessica Kingsley The Experience of Three Decades. London
L. Turk-Bicacki S. Brint (2005) ‘University–Industry collaboration. 61–88, this issue Patterns of growth for low and middle-level performers’, Higher Education, 49
M. Weber (1978) Economy and Society. University of California Press Berkeley, Los Angeles, London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bleiklie, I. Organizing higher education in a knowledge society. High Educ 49, 31–59 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-2913-7
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-2913-7