Abstract
There is something paradoxical going on with regard to the academic profession in the knowledge society. The expression ‘knowledge society’ suggests that the production and dissemination of knowledge plays an increasingly important role in modern societies. Belief has intensified that human progress can only be achieved on the basis of an increase in the development and application of knowledge. The notion of the ‘knowledge society’ thus appears to be very attractive to those affiliated with higher education and research including its principal workers. Where else than in the ‘knowledge society’ would the academic profession stand out as the ‘key profession’? At the same time, conceptions of the ‘knowledge society’ and the implications of ‘competitive knowledge’ are almost invariably viewed from an economic perspective. The belief has also intensified that human progress depends on ‘constructed innovation’, that is the production, management and consumption of ‘knowledge’ as a commodity. In this context, ‘knowledge society’ appears to be an uneasy notion for those claiming exceptional status for higher education and research including its principal workers. Will the ‘knowledge society’ downgrade the academic profession to a mere part of the growing ‘knowledge workforce’?KeywordsHigh EducationAcademic StaffHigh Education SystemAcademic WorkKnowledge SocietyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Published Version
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