The authors are both professional practitioners (law and social work, respectively) who entered the university as discipline-based scholars. Their respective interests in teaching and learning have led them both down a path where they have transitioned from a discipline-based orientation to organizational roles grounded primarily in teaching and…

General education is basic education and, in theory, is the general education that every citizen must undergo as well as the basic education that every type of specialization must have. It is undoubtedly fundamental and important to the entire educational system. However, specialized education is more directly related to, and plays a more…

Discusses psychologists' contributions to higher education research, particularly in the areas of teaching and learning. Explores epistemological characteristics of psychological knowledge, the nature of research psychology, and how these characteristics relate to the intellectual and methodological traditions of psychology as a discipline.…

Ways to further the development of higher education and research as a field of study are addressed, with a focus on the role and importance of various disciplinary perspectives. It is argued that, in simplified terms, the field of higher education and research is dominated by two major traditions: "science studies" and "higher…

The controversy over Ph.D. vs. Ed.D. programs in higher education is examined, including discussion of differential research requirements and the ways in which traditional disciplines dominate thinking about the study of higher education. It is concluded that each field must define its own standards for each degree. (MSE)

A study of Dutch universities from 1974-93 examined factors in the emergence of new academic programs and specializations, particularly the effects of government funding mechanisms (external factor) and level of paradigmatic development (internal factor), drawing on social exchange and resource dependency theory. Results indicate these two factors…

Discusses the role of authority in institutions that provide teacher education and educational studies. Currently, there is no agreement about the types of authority these institutions and the individuals within them should possess in relation to the work they do, which may limit their intellectual respectability and pragmatic credibility. (SM)

While most comparative higher education research focuses on the transition from elite to mass education, two other aspects deserve study: substantive academic growth, with roots in the research imperative and the dynamics of disciplines; and innovative university organization, a concern among practitioners as universities seek greater capacity for…

The contributions of various disciplines to the field of higher education and research studies are discussed in 10 seminar papers, which also review Burton R. Clark's work, "The Higher Education System: Academic Organization in Cross-National Perspective." Titles and authors are as follows: "Internal and External Regulatives in…