ERIC Number: EJ1410892
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0268-0939
EISSN: EISSN-1464-5106
Available Date: N/A
A Leap of Faith: Overcoming Doubt to Do Good When Policy Is Absurd
Journal of Education Policy, v39 n2 p191-213 2024
University institutional policy is poorly understood. While policy is required by law for universities to accept funding and is revered for articulating values, mitigating risk, and guiding practice, policy is frequently considered absurd and resisted in practice. This is the policy-practice divide. To gain a better understanding of this divide and the nature of the resistance, we asked policy actors to describe their experiences with policy development, implementation, enactment, and review. We asked: "If policy is absurd, what is the nature of the relationship between policy and university management, and how do those who enact policy deal with this absurdity?" We discovered that university management has an infinitely regressive self-fulfilling relationship with policy because they intentionally exclude the workforce from policy-making and see themselves as solely responsible for policy interpretation and implementation. However, when Kierkegaard's concepts of absurdity, faith, hope, and doubt are applied to policy actors' experiences, we see that resistance can be characterised positively as a "leap of faith," where those who enact policy overcome their doubts and reinterpret it to achieve some semblance of good. This is an unintended consequence for managerialism, as deliberately creating a policy-practice divide solicits resistive "good" practices from policy actors.
Descriptors: Educational Policy, Policy Formation, Universities, Educational Practices, Psychological Patterns, Resistance to Change, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Morale, Faculty College Relationship, Foreign Countries, College Administration, Beliefs, Dissent, Credibility
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A