The nature and structure of academic power in American higher education is described and compared with the British and Continental modes of academic organization. Structured power is described as providing influence to certain groups, systematically backing certain values and viewpoints at the same time subordinating others, and determining…

Systematic change in academic systems requires internal analysis of work, belief, and authority structures. Four situations are explored in which order and disorder are in tension: between disciplinary bottom and administrative top, among administrative units, within operating levels, and over time in a reversal of orderly and disorderly…

The knowledge work of higher education is carried out in every country in a differentiated structure that divides and allocates tasks within and among institutions; Certain features of differentiation are likely to be common among national systems: the basic sectioning of the natural sciences in such fields as physics, chemistry, and biology, and…

A strong trend toward a federated structure in colleges and universities is affectin g faculty authority by weakening faculty as a whole and strengthening the faculty in its many parts. The collection of professional experts on one campus represents a system of groups with similar status and power that coexist or battle with each other within the…

The condition of the academic profession today is examined with a focus on the teaching and research functions in the academy. The diverse settings in which academics work are considered in three parts: (1) the foundations of the academic profession (the evolution of institutions; the elaboration of disciplines; and the open system); (2) the…

With fragmentation the dominant trend in academic settings around the world, the larger wholes of profession, enterprise, and system are less held together by integrative ideology. Strong ideological bonding is characteristic of the parts, primarily the disciplines. The larger aggregations are made whole mainly by formal superstructure, many…

Addressed are the issues of government/school relationship and the increasing centralization of postsecondary education. Drawing from the experiences of foreign countries, the value of institutional differentiation, and the need for planning and autonomous action for differentiation, coordination, and change are discussed. (JMD)

The importance of a comparison of national systems of higher education is argued. Examples of how cross-national comparison can be instructive are presented. The importance of studying academic power or authority comparatively is discussed and several guides for future research are offered. (Author/MLW)

This paper is a draft of a chapter to appear in "Academic Power: Patterns of Authority in Seven National Systems of Higher Education," edited by John H. Van de Graaff. It traces the historical development of universities in Italy with emphasis on the relationships among students, professors, and towns. Consideration is also given to…

Inherent, interrelated, and structural biases against excellence in education that operate at the university and school levels in the American educational system are discussed in this paper. Structural constraints of the American secondary system include universal secondary education, comprehensive school organization, downward coupling, local…

Approaches to the organization and administration of higher education drawn from other countries are presented. In some countries, higher education is coordinated by a central bureaucracy in which there is much nationalization of the curriculum, a nationalized degree structure, and a nationalized system of admissions. This approach is contrasted…

Basic values in higher education and the way that values are made operational are discussed in an article and three responses to the article. Conflicts among values in American higher education and the structures of accommodation are also addressed. In addition to valuing liberal arts studies, professional education, and research, competence in…

Basic elements of the higher education system are considered, along with variations across nations (the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, Italy, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Yugoslavia, Mexico, and Thailand). Three basic elements of the organization of higher education system are identified:…