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Article
Publication date: 10 July 2017

Liudvika Leisyte, Mantas Vilkas, Egle Staniskiene and Daiva Zostautiene

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the countervailing processes for enhancing academic excellence based on professional norms are balanced out with the market-oriented…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the countervailing processes for enhancing academic excellence based on professional norms are balanced out with the market-oriented processes of standardisation and performance management in a university. Further, the authors aim to explore how and if organisational learning occurs in balancing these processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The longitudinal, inductive three-year study of a higher education institution in Lithuania was used to understand how a higher education institution based on the norms of academic excellence was balanced out with the market-oriented processes and what mechanisms of leaning took place during the process. The authors drew upon three data sources – archival materials, observation and interviews with academic staff and administrators – to capture the processes of rebalancing and learning.

Findings

A complex balance is observed between the strive for academic excellence and market relevance. Market relevance has been the dominant reform tone for the central administration of a Lithuanian university (LTU), while maintenance of academic excellence prevailed among academic staff. The LTU manages the countervailing processes by standardising, financialising, surveying and disciplining. The rebalancing resulted in dissent from the academic community. Organisational learning could be observed in the example of the introduction of a new examination procedure, while it could not occur during the process of new performance management system introduction. The process led to mutual distrust between the academic staff and the management of the LTU.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on organisational learning in higher education, showing how an eager entrepreneurial university engages in the reform process and how it engages in the complex balancing of countervailing processes of academic excellence and market relevance. The authors contribute with empirical evidence on how rebalancing processes in a professional organisation works and what limitations it faces. The study shows the vital multi-stakeholder involvement and understanding of the process of change. The authors further contribute to the discussion on the adoption factors of performance-based systems and the process of institutionalisation using a longitudinal perspective as called for in previous research.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 March 2022

Lise Janssens, Tom Kuppens, Ingrid Mulà, Egle Staniskiene and Anne B. Zimmermann

A transition toward sustainable development requires engagement of university students in transformative learning. Therefore, quality frameworks and processes should support deep…

3662

Abstract

Purpose

A transition toward sustainable development requires engagement of university students in transformative learning. Therefore, quality frameworks and processes should support deep approaches to sustainable development in higher education. Research and initiatives that connect sustainable development, higher education and quality assurance (QA) are lacking. This study aims to explore to what extent quality assurance agencies in Europe support transformative learning for sustainable development in their frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a qualitative analysis of national QA frameworks in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) to assess whether they support transformative learning for sustainable development. First, frequency analysis was undertaken; second, a blended coding approach was used to investigate whether and how transformative learning for sustainable development is addressed.

Findings

Overall, the authors found little support for transformative learning for sustainable development in most QA frameworks. One exception is the framework of the United Kingdom, which includes a specific guide on education for sustainable development wherein transformative learning is prominently mentioned. To a lesser extent, some support exists in the frameworks of Estonia, Holy See, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. Although the transformative learning for sustainable development approach is not explicitly mentioned in most QA frameworks, many of them contain opportunities to highlight it. France and The Netherlands offer guidelines and criteria for acquiring a sustainable development label, while Andorra suggests including the sustainable development goals in institutional quality assessment.

Originality/value

The research provides the first map of how countries within the EHEA support transformative learning for sustainable development in national QA systems.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 23 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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