Scholarship and Supercomplexity

Abstract

In this chapter, links between the constructs of scholarship and supercomplexity in higher education are examined, along with policy implications. Boyer's holistic, joined-up conceptualization of scholarship is recognised as seminal, yet in many cases, application of his work has led to fragmentation of academic work in an already-fractured, supercomplex higher education environment. The scene is set by considering a range of dimensions of the scholarship construct within higher education. Particular emphasis is placed on scholarship as it relates to academic roles and identities. In this section, account is also taken of the challenges encountered by faculty, managers, and policy-makers alike in drawing connections and distinctions between scholarship and research in academic work. Consideration then shifts to implications for higher education policy and policy-makers at the macro – national and international, meso-institutional, and micro-departmental and individual levels.