Although universities are often characterised as 'elite', institutions can attain status in multiple dimensions--reputation, research, money and selectivity. We studied 21st century public universities in the United States, using latent profile analysis to identify which universities followed each path to status. Most universities pursued none,…

Since the public intellectuals of the 1960s, there has been a shift towards the celebrity academic, as subjects such as history and science have transferred into popular television entertainment, often with female academics as the presenters. Using a case study of the British media, a post-feminist lens has been applied to examine how 17 celebrity…

Based on a qualitative study of the motivating factors behind the consumption of international schooling by elite Nigerian parents, this article explores what a group of elite parents perceived as the indicators of high-quality education. The findings suggest that these parents did not consider 'good grades' as an indicator of high-quality…

Pop culture has served as a catalyst for leadership development, both creating and manufacturing culture while also creating the parameters for us to understand culture in a public context. While pop culture has influenced how people engage with leadership development across contexts, celebrities have been the manifestation of pop culture…

"Elite" and "flagship" are two influential groupings used to conceptualize differences among higher education institutions, but rarely defined. We derive common features attributed to these groupings from a content analysis of 40 years of higher education literature. Next, we explore the relationship of these features to other…

Purpose: Innovation enables growth and helps address social challenges. This research aims to identify evidence that can characterize an innovative university based on its university management. Thus, the authors define the following research problem: How to measure innovation in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) that intends to be innovative…

This research examines teachers' perceptions of gossip in schools. The research employed an explanatory approach of mixed methods. Quantitative data were obtained through the "Organizational Gossip Scale" and qualitative data were obtained through the semi-structured interview form. Quantitative data were collected from 302 teachers…

The rise of social media has opened countless opportunities to explore social science questions with new data and methods. However, research on socioeconomic inequality remains constrained by limited individual-level socioeconomic status (SES) measures in digital trace data. Following Bourdieu, we argue that the commercial and entertainment…

Loneliness represents a serious health risk. However, studies investigating social inequalities in loneliness are rare. Thus, the current study investigates which socioeconomic groups are the most affected by loneliness. Data from the population-based German Aging Survey were used (N = 3,784), with participants being 40+ years old. Education,…

Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with high school students in elite schools in Israel, this article examines two key research questions: How do students in elite high schools define and experience their identity? Do these identities contribute to the production and maintenance of privilege, and if so, how? To examine these questions, we…

The aim of this paper is to explore the role of open-door events as key institutional devices to position schools in local education markets. The paper draws on data from a qualitative study based on observations in 25 open-door events in secondary schools in the city of Barcelona. The findings show, on the one hand, how promotional actions are…

For two centuries, academics and their universities have competed for prominence and vied to demonstrate that their institutions are at the center of the scholarly world. Scientific advances in particular fields, reciprocal academic visits and conferences, impressive physical architecture, and publishing in shared venues and a "lingua…

University rankings envision a level playing field between competing universities, particularly in higher education (HE) systems regulated along market lines. Drawing on social stratification theory, we argue that rankings exacerbate, rather than alleviate, resource inequalities between universities with historically consolidated reputations…

This sociological study examines the declining status of teachers through theoretical frameworks and empirical analysis of seventeen graduate-level educators. Employing a multidimensional approach, it assesses the comparative professional standing, career motivations, systemic challenges, and policy impacts. Findings identify interconnected…

Previous research suggests that girls have higher occupational aspirations than boys before entering the labor market. We investigate whether this gender gap in occupational aspirations generalizes to secondary school students in Germany and illuminate the possible mechanisms behind these purported gender differences. For this purpose, we used a…