ERIC Number: EJ1001563
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0826-4805
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Faculty Governance in Neoliberal Educational Contexts: Challenges for Democratic Decision Making
Schoorman, Dilys; Acker-Hocevar, Michele
Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v43 n3 p265-285 May 2013
Few faculty members are immune from the deleterious impact of neoliberal values, policies and practices that have resulted in the "corporatization" of universities, with the reduction of teaching and research to "products" and faculty to "producers," and students to "clients." The role of faculty governance in this process has been debated yielding diverse perspectives on its effectiveness in challenging this influence, particularly, in regard to the role of democratic decision making at the college-level of governance where administrators may push for furthering market-driven agendas. This critical action research project highlights how two faculty assembly leaders facilitated participatory decision making as they re-conceptualized their leadership roles as team-based representatives, and developed multiple communicative networks that supported faculty voice and leadership listening at the grassroots level--two processes that may thwart corporatization and marketization at the college-level. This article highlights how characteristics of desired communication practices for more democratic decision making at the college-level lay the groundwork for building the collective faculty capacity to respond in a timely manner to neoliberal agendas.
Descriptors: College Faculty, Governance, Neoliberalism, Commercialization, Participative Decision Making, Action Research, Leaders, Leadership Role, Communication (Thought Transfer), Universities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
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Language: English
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