Abstract
At the intersection of science studies and higher education research, this contribution looks at the way in which the requirements of universities as organizations release development dynamics in academic disciplines and it analyses the interaction between discipline and organization. We will analyse German educational science, bearing in mind it is an example of disciplines that are fractured and consequently have little consensus in terms of fundamental theories and basic concepts. Firstly, we take on a quantitative approach and analyse the changes in degree courses at the structural level and the symbolic boundaries or conceptual distinctions following the transition to the Bachelor and Master system. Secondly, we take a close look at the negotiating processes and practices, as well as at the disciplinary orientations that determine these boundary shifts, using a qualitative approach that focuses on the actors. In group discussions with representatives of the German educational science at different universities it stood out that actors involved in course design are compelled to find an equilibrium between the demands of the discipline and those of the organization, and do so in very different ways. Finally, we discuss the extent to which close interaction between higher education reforms and academic disciplines can be figured out, particularly for disciplines seen as fractured and which do not have consensual common disciplinary standards.
Highlights
More than 20 years ago, fundamental change to the structure of European Higher Education was given green light, as the Bologna declaration was ratified (Bologna Declaration 1999)
The strong differentiation and diversity of educational science degree courses identified in the quantitative sub-study initially appears to be the product of different disciplinary orientations and the boundaries drawn by the actors of a fractured discipline
The qualitative findings, clearly reveal that these symbolic boundary-drawing practices (Lamont and Molnár 2002; Beer and Koenig 2009) are not produced by collective disciplinary orientations and beliefs alone. They are far more the expression of dynamic negotiation processes, where the power relations between the disciplinary actors play an important role. These are conducted with various attitudes to the disciplinary field of educational science (Hofstetter and Schneuwly 2010: 687f.) but are suffused with pressures that stem from the organizational rule expectations from the university
Summary
More than 20 years ago, fundamental change to the structure of European Higher Education was given green light, as the Bologna declaration was ratified (Bologna Declaration 1999). Our reflections on this have been limited mainly to the inner-disciplinary and German-speaking area With this contribution, we bring together the strands of our previous quantitative and qualitative findings and open them up for international discussion by focusing on the interlinkages between discipline and organization. We bring together the strands of our previous quantitative and qualitative findings and open them up for international discussion by focusing on the interlinkages between discipline and organization For this purpose, we briefly examine the findings of the quantitative sub-study in this article in order to raise sensitivity for the heterogeneous course landscape in German educational science (cf Grunert and Ludwig 2016; Grunert, Ludwig, and Hüfner 2020). We thereby abstract the findings from the German specifics (cf. for this Ludwig and Grunert 2018; Ludwig 2019) and bring them up for discussion as potentially cross-disciplinary and internationally relevant problems in the negotiation of curricula in university contexts
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