The nature of academic development in contemporary universities has been a recent focus in the literature. Highlighting the diversity of practices that exist under its name, "academic development" has been described by some as an ambiguous project and a fragmented field, while others suggest a more coherent project, pointing out a near…

In the English-speaking world educational research is often conceived as the interdisciplinary study of educational processes and practices. Hence research in education strongly relies on theoretical input from a range of different academic disciplines. What is virtually absent in this construction of the field is the idea of education as an…

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…