Micro-politics of student participation in university leadership across the historically black universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
Felix Omal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Historically Black ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
Black Universities ◽  
Institutional Values ◽  
Historically Black Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
South African Higher Education

In the post 1994 South African higher education system, there have been significant moves and achievements at the transformation of higher education institutions. The chief instrument of institutional transformation has been the university governing councils. The key assumption was that transformation of the university council was key to the transformation of the universities. However, over the same period several former historically black universities have experienced periods of unrest and protest. As a result, several of these universities have remained in a state of a risk of protest. This state of tension and uncertainty that characterizes these institutions has made the different stakeholder begin to question their faith and confidence in the institutional values that govern these institutions. This paper argues that participation in leadership is key to effective governance. The paper makes use of the concept of culture within a micro-political framework to generate modes of good governance within such stakeholder institutional environments. To have been able to collect and analyze this kind, the study relied on data collected through documents, interviews and surveys. The paper ends with implications for effective governance in stakeholder governed university environments.

scholarly journals Being Accountable and Resultant Stakeholder Confidence in the Era of the Decolonisation of the University

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Felix Omal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
Institutional Values ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
The University

Today's higher education landscape can best be described as unpredictability. This places university governing councils in critical places to begin to think deeply in terms of forms positionality to provide effective governance. For instance, in the South African higher education scenario currently, there are urgent calls for university decolonisation as such university governing bodies have to show that they are on top of the game through demonstrating to their stakeholders that have in place a responsive habitus that supports stakeholder accountability and confidence in these times. This paper examines the relationship between stakeholder accountability and confidence in institutional values that underpin effective governance. Consequently, this paper was developed from a research project that looked at the role of the university councils in bringing about good governance in the former historically black South African universities grappling with such institutional realities. Utilizing the notion of micro-politics developed from the concept of cultures derived from a multi-theoretical approach, the paper examines the framing of good university governance by governing bodies. Data for this study was collected from institutional documentary sources in the public domain, interviews and surveys. This paper ends with suggestions of governance practices that would assist the university councils grappling with such institutional contexts to provide good governance and possibilities for further research.

University on the Border: Crisis of authority and precarity

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
The South ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
The University ◽  
South African Higher Education

The volume explores and thinks through the process of decolonising the South African higher education system by examining #MustFall. The text offers theoretical insights from a historical, contemporary and multidisciplinary lens, while examining the embedded meanings of the university as an institution, idea and set of practices to show the shifts and changes that were inaugurated by #MustFall along with the historicities that define the university both locally and globally. The retro- and prospective insights presented in the book surface the crisis of authority that places the university in a state of precarity, which is framed in the book as the ‘border’. The volume proposes the concept of the ‘border’ (recognising its conceptual and analytical dynamism) as a generative space that can facilitate new imaginaries and articulations of this social institution: the university.

scholarly journals The functions of academic staff in the effective governance of university

2018 ◽  
pp. 37-47
Author(s):  
O. Palamarchuk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
European Higher Education Area ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
European Higher Education ◽  
The University

This article examines the main functions of academic staff in the effective governance of the university. The topicality of the study is confirmed by many European documents, which trace the key role of academic staff in making important decisions at national, institutional and academic levels. The basic concepts of academic staff in the countries of the European Higher Education Area are considered and the definition of scientific and pedagogical staff in accordance with the law of Ukraine is analyzed. It is noted that academic staff are involved and represented in the governing bodies of the institution of higher education of Ukraine and take an active role there. A system analysis of governance bodies in the countries of the European Higher Education Area has been conducted and describes the UK’s national, institutional and academic governance. The structure of governance is analyzed, in particular, the composition and main functions of the Senate, the University Council. It is noted that there should be one representative of the academic staff in the governing bodies. It is also determined that academic staff should be part of the work of the Council sub-committees. The basic criteria and values of good governance are determined. The principles of shared governance and Nolan’s principles (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, responsibility, openness, honesty, and leadership) are singled out. One of the main functions of academic staff in government is to adhere to the core values enshrined in Nolan’s principles. When elected to the governing bodies, the academic staff should have knowledge of the main elements of the work of the governing bodies. The basic functions and qualities of academic staff are determined. In addition to the basic knowledge of the system, governance structure, governance principles, core values and qualities of the necessary academic staff to perform their functions and responsibilities in the governing bodies, academic staff also carries out their immediate and top-priority functions at the university - this is the function of learning , teaching and research.

scholarly journals Effects of Socio-Academic Intervention on Student Performance in Vulnerable Groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7673
Author(s):  
Tarquino Sánchez-Almeida ◽  
David Naranjo ◽  
Raquel Gilar-Corbi ◽  
Jessica Reina
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Academic Intervention ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
University System ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Support Mechanisms ◽  
The University

In Ecuador, affirmative action policies enable students from vulnerable groups to preferentially enter universities. However, these policies are limited to admission and do not include academic or socio-economic support mechanisms that, according to the literature, promote student insertion in the higher education system. In this study, the effects of socio-academic intervention on the academic performance of vulnerable students are presented. For this, 41 students were selected among 164 vulnerable students entering the Escuela Politécnica Nacional in the second term of 2019. The 41 students attended a socio-academic intervention course for one term, while the remaining 123 attended the Escuela Politécnica Nacional levelling course directly. Once both groups of students finished the levelling course, their performance in each of the course subjects was compared. The results showed that the academic performance of the students in the intervention was significantly higher in mathematics and geometry compared to the students who had no intervention. These results show that the socio-academic intervention promotes the real insertion of vulnerable students in the university system.

scholarly journals Threats and vulnerabilities of the academic profession vs university personnel potential development

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 440-450
Author(s):  
Svetlana V. Lobova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Profession ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
University Personnel ◽  
Scientific Periodical ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
The University

The formation and development of the university's personnel potential is one of the conditions for joining the project to support higher education organizations announced by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in June 2020. The project is called the Strategic Academic Leadership Program. The fulfillment of this condition cannot be carried out without overcoming the limitations and effective responses to the challenges that are associated with the academic profession. The article is a review. Its purpose is to study threats and barriers to the development of the university’s personnel potential. It is shown that as internal threats one should consider the high stressfulness of faculty activities, violation of their personal safety and low loyalty; the barrier is the vulnerability of the academic profession. The research focuses on the current staff of Russian universities. The main research methods are analysis and synthesis of relevant scientific periodical literature. The main result of the study is the position that the presence of threats and vulnerabilities in the academic profession entails consequences that have a devastating effect not only on the personality of the teacher, the university, the academic community, but also on the higher education system as a whole, catalyze the departure of teachers from the academic profession, and prevent the preservation of and the development of the university personnel potential, ensuring the competitiveness and attractiveness of the university.

scholarly journals Unwaged Posts in UK Universities: Controversies and Campaigns

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Forkert ◽  
Ana Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

This article examines unwaged posts at UK universities, using recent examples of advertised job posts. While unpaid work is common in the UK higher education system, unwaged posts are not. The posts under scrutiny in this article differ from traditional honorary titles as they target early career academics, who are unlikely to have a paid position elsewhere, rather than established scholars. The article contextualizes the appearance of these posts in a climate of increasing marketization of higher education, entrenching managerialism in higher education institutions, and the casualization of academic work. We also discuss resistance to the posts, arguing that the controversy surrounding unpaid internships in the creative industries created a receptive environment for resisting unwaged posts in academia. We analyze the campaigns that were fought against the advertisement of the posts, mostly through social media and the University and College Union. We explore the tactics used and discuss the advantages and limitations of the use of social media, as well as the role of trade unions in the campaigns against these posts, and we reflect on what future campaigns can learn from these experiences.

scholarly journals The Technology Ownership and Information Acquisition Habits of HBCU Freshmen

10.28945/3113 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Buzzetto-More ◽  
Retta Sweat-Guy
Keyword(s):  
Historically Black ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
American Library Association ◽  
The Internet ◽  
American Library ◽  
Black Universities ◽  
Historically Black Universities ◽  
Available Resources ◽  
Information And Technology

In a world of expanding information and technological resources, there is increasingly a need for a citizenry that is able to access and use information and technology effectively (American Library Association, 2000). An information and technologically literate person should have access to, and be able to use, a host of available resources that include libraries, databases, and the internet in order to retrieve, evaluate, and use information effectively (Weil, 2006). This paper reports the findings of a study conducted at two Historically Black Universities that examined technology ownership and usage, as well as, the information acquisition habits of freshmen.

scholarly journals Thoughts on the higher education system in Poland. Changes – issues – evaluation. Part 1

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Grzywacz ◽  
Grażyna Miłkowska ◽  
Magdalena Piorunek ◽  
Lech Sałaciński
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Higher Education Systems ◽  
University Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University ◽  
Education Science

This report is a part of the results of the international project entitled “Studium in Osteuropa: Ausgewählte Aspekte (Analysen, Befunde)” conducted in the years 2013-2015 under supervision of Prof. Wilfried Schubarth and Dr Andreas Seidl from the Potsdam University, Department of Education Science, and Prof. Karsten Speck from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. The project was conducted jointly by representatives of academic centres from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. Its general aim was a comparative analysis of the effects of implementation of Bologna Process directives into the higher education systems of the individual countries. The changes introduced into the higher education systems in the countries involved in the project were described and evaluated, discussed was in particular the problems of education of teachers at the university level. The following text is the result of the contribution of the Polish group participating in the project. The report will be presented in two parts. The first part is focused on the macro-societal context of transformations in the higher education system in Poland. The implementation of selected aspects of Bologna Process directives is described and supplemented by empirical comments. The second part deals with selected aspects of university level education of teachers, followed by a polemic against the assumptions and execution of the target transformations of higher education system.

scholarly journals TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN MOROCCAN UNIVERSITIES : READING IN THE REALITY OF PRACTICE IN THE LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL EXPÉRIENCES

2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (03) ◽  
pp. 247-257
Author(s):  
Saadia LADBES
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
The State ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
International Experiences ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The University

In Morocco, there is a crisis that has not yet found its way to serious and decisive treatment, which is the output crisis of the higher education system. Though the successive public policies seek to contain correctional projects and initiatives, they have not made the difference, and have not set out effective and efficient tracks in developing mechanisms for evaluation, development and reconstruction, to produce educational and learning outputs that contribute to the real takeover of the State's development aspirations. The weak capacity of Moroccan universities to respond rapidly to the global, economic, cultural and technological variables imposed by globalization and securing the conditions for social, economic, political and security stability of the state, requires bypassing through advanced science-based treatment of quality and value of achievement. The issue of total quality management in higher education institutions may be raised by including international experiences that have succeeded to curb the regulatory and administrative failure of its educational institutions, to enhance the chances of Moroccan universities to transfer higher education in Morocco from traditional measure to modern measure by applying quality control standards in management, planning and implementation, in accordance with a strategy that is supported by the State and the University.

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