The Impact of the University on Upper Secondary Education through Academic Subjects According to School Leaders’ Perceptions

Abstract

When considering the organizational analysis of education, in particular of schools, some scholars have argued that the lack of an institutional perspective notably diminishes the understanding of the dynamics of educational change. Thus, the theoretical notions of institutions are also important when examining change in schools. This paper explores the impact of the university level on upper secondary education in Iceland using data from interviews with upper secondary school leaders. The study indicates that the university level controls high-status academic subjects in upper secondary schools through both the normative and regulative pillars of institutions (Scott, Institutions and organizations. Ideas, interests and identities (4th ed). Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2014). The study also provides compelling evidence of how the university level is seen to reinforce existing institutions in the guise of high-status academic subjects. However, we also see signs of higher education gradually losing some of its institutional hold, particularly when considering tasks such as the use of new teaching methods and modes of assessment. The study provides valuable information on the controlling and direct, but non-formal, influence the university level has on upper secondary education. This, paradoxically, emerges very clearly, even though it is normally not very visible; a fundamental issue that is often neglected, even forgotten.