Elite Universities Research Articles

Trajectories of merit: re-viewing leadership in elite universities

ABSTRACT Vice Chancellors, Presidents, or Rectors occupy elite public positions in universities. A cursory glance of the roll call of names across elite universities (‘top 100’) globally reveals the dominance of white males. Research has given us some insight into the profiles of these senior leaders and their selection, but not with a particular focus on elite universities. Our theoretical disquiet in this conceptual article is linked with an enduring unease that processes of formal and informal merit work to reproduce, not eradicate, deep inequities in the recruitment and appointment of Vice Chancellors, Presidents, or Rectors at elite universities. In this article, we suggest that we need to rethink and reframe how we approach equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education leadership at elite universities We propose a different set of questions need to be asked; questions about performative understandings of merit and meritocracy. We argue that underpinning rhetoric of meritocracy works as a visible and audible performative tool that offers an appearance of a just, fair, and neutral process, yet reinforces the sameness of leadership. In querying discourses of merit and troubling the façade of diversity we take an intersectional approach, moving beyond single and conventional forms of discrimination. This conceptual paper draws upon a range of literatures and illustrative biographical examples to highlight the critical importance of an intersectional analysis that situates merit as form of advantage/disadvantage precisely because of the way in which these discourses are framed and enacted.

Holding out for a hero: Linking hiring duration and managerial fit

AbstractAlthough prolonged executive vacancies are often viewed negatively, decision‐makers often extend the hiring duration in an attempt to identify the right fit. What is the relationship between the hiring duration and the level of fit in the new hire? Using the presidential hires of elite colleges and universities in the United States between 2005 and 2019, this study identifies the effects of executive search and vacancy durations on managerial fit. Findings indicate a nonlinear relationship between search duration and fit; longer searches lead to less fit in the short‐term, but this effect diminishes after roughly 77 weeks. Surprisingly, this effect is also dampened over time by longer vacancy duration, which acts as a moderator between search duration and fit. Thus, to the extent that decision‐makers are concerned about fit and short‐term performance, steps should be taken to reduce search duration as much as possible, unless a long vacancy is likely to be incurred.

Job Preferences and Outcomes for China's College Graduates

AbstractDespite private enterprises dominating China's labour market, college-educated workers are still highly concentrated in the state sector. Using data from the Chinese College Student Survey, we find that 64 per cent of students in the sample expressed a strong preference for state sector employment. We also identify several factors associated with receiving job offers from the state sector, including being male, holding urban hukou status, being a member of the CCP, performing well on standardized tests, attending elite universities and having higher household income or high-status parental backgrounds. These findings suggest that despite China's economic transition, the private sector may still struggle to attract highly educated workers.

Examination of the relationship between volunteering motivation for sports activities and attitudes towards sports of students in an elite university

Aim: The focus of this study was to analyze the motivation for volunteering, attitudes towards sports, and the relationship between these two factors among university students participating in a 3X3 basketball tournament. Method: This study was designed with a correlational survey model by adopting a quantitative approach. The sample of the study consisted of students from a university ranked in the top 5 in Turkey. "Sports event voluntary motivation scale" and "University students' attitudes towards sports scale" were used as measurement tools. Statistical analysis methods such as independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskal Wallis test and Pearson Correlation analysis were applied. Findings: According to the results of the study, the general dimension and psychosocial dimension of university students' sport attitudes differ in favor of female students in terms of "gender" variable. A significant, positive and moderate relationship was determined between students' motivation for voluntary participation and their attitudes towards sports. Conclusion: These results show that there is a significant relationship between university students' motivation to participate in sport activities and their attitudes towards sport and only gender can play a determinant role on sport attitude. (Extended English summary is at the end of this document) Özet Amaç: Bu araştırmanın odak noktası, 3X3 basketbol turnuvasına katılan üniversite öğrencilerinin gönüllülük motivasyonları, spora yönelik tutumları ve bu iki faktör arasındaki ilişkiyi analiz etmektir. Yöntem: Bu araştırma, nicel bir yaklaşımı benimseyerek ilişkisel tarama modeli ile tasarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini Türkiye’de ilk 5’te yer alan bir üniversitedeki öğrenciler oluşturmaktadır. Ölçüm aracı olarak “spor etkinlikleri gönüllü motivasyon ölçeği” ve “üniversite öğrencilerinin spora yönelik tutumları ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada bağımsız örneklem t-testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA), Mann Whitney-U testi, Kruskal Wallis testi ve Pearson Korelasyon analizi gibi istatistiksel analiz yöntemleri uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, üniversite öğrencilerinin spor tutumları genel boyutu ve psikososyal boyutu, "cinsiyet" değişkeni açısından kadın öğrencilerin lehine farklılık göstermektedir. Öğrencilerin gönüllü katılım motivasyonu ile spora yönelik tutumları arasında anlamlı, pozitif ve orta düzeyde bir ilişki belirlenmiştir. Sonuç: Bu sonuçlar, üniversite öğrencilerinin spor etkinliklerine katılım motivasyonu ile spora olan tutumları arasında analamlı bir ilişki olduğu ve sadece cinsiyetin spor tutumu üzerinde belirleyici bir rol oynayabileceğini göstermektedir.

Elite Universities as Populist Scapegoats: Evidence from Hungary and Turkey

This article explores the reasons for the recent populist assault against elite academic institutions in Hungary and Turkey. After exploring the literature on populism, social mobility, and social pluralism, it focuses on the modalities of the attack against two elite academic institutions established upon the U.S. liberal arts college tradition, the Central European University (CEU) and Boğaziçi University, respectively, and its implications for Hungarian and Turkish politics. Two arguments are put forward: First, such attacks have emerged in the context of a populist narrative against institutions facilitating social mobility. Social mobility undermines the “us versus them” populist narrative where the masses are permanently placed on the “losers” side and therefore depend on the charismatic populist leader. With social mobility facilitated through high-quality academic institutions, these “losers” have the chance to improve their material and non-material well-being through education. Second, these institutions promote social pluralism and critical thinking, cultivating a mode of reflection that contradicts the simplistic populist dichotomies and opposes democratic backsliding.

Yükseköğrenim Alanında Yapılan Çalışmaların Küresel Ölçekte İncelenmesi

It is the responsibility of the higher education institution to tell the truth that nations show loyalty to each other, to value it, to ensure that it is expressed loudly and to educate its members in this way. In addition, the university has the responsibility to inform the community about different situations affecting political, economic and cultural developments in the international through teaching and research assistants. In order to achieve the goal of internationalization of higher education, there are steps that the higher education system in general, and the higher education institution in particular, should take and strategies that it conducts. University institutions that aim to be internationally recognized perceive internationalization as being in competition with the elite universities of the world to attract successful and bright promising students, researchers and famous faculty members to their universities. Since higher education institutions with increasing international characteristics will create a climate of social tolerance and dialogue, they will play a key role not only in terms of education policy, but also in terms of promoting universal prosperity and peace with respect to long-term effects and consequences. From these evaluations, it is understood that the internationalization of higher education is not only the academic aspect, but also the social and political aspect. Key Words: Higher Education, Global, Internationalization of Higher Education

The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions

Elite university admissions are administered by a range of organizational actors depending on national and institutional contexts. While the outcomes of high-stakes elite university admissions have been studied extensively, the opaque admissions selection process remains undertheorized and understood. Using theories of professions and systems theory to examine unique qualitative interview data from admissions selectors in both the U.S. and England, this paper sheds light on the opaque decision-making of elite university admissions shaped by professional contexts and organizational dynamics. We find that the self-regulated profession of professors and the less autonomous professional staff selectors influence the decision-making processes of elite university admissions. Understanding elite university admissions based on the macro/meso-context of professions and their organizational system structure offers a theoretically original approach for future research and the potential to create more equitable admissions processes through new change strategies.

Becoming Buddhists: The emergence of a prestigious temple.

How does a novel organizational prototype come about and succeed to the point where it becomes recognized as an icon? To address this question, this article examines the organizational emergence of a prestigious temple. Drawing on interviews and content analysis of 6320 blog entries between 2006 and 2018, we identify how an organized way of practicing Buddhism emerged in China and trace its founding monks to students from two elite universities. We argue that organizational emergence-in this case the rise of a prestigious temple and what it stands for-was manifested by identity claims of "who we are" to audiences. Declaring "who we are not" prior to establishing this temple, the founding monks subsequently claimed their organizational identity in three distinct stages: who we are in this temple, who we are as a temple, and who we are as Buddhism. As these identity claims were recognized by the audiences, a novel Buddhist organization emerged. This article contributes to an organizational perspective of religious study and provides a focused case with sufficient temporary variations to explore how identity claims facilitate organizational emergence. It has important implications for understanding incremental yet fundamental institutional changes, as it provides a template of organized religion that nurtures social skills for self-organizing. More broadly, these insights contribute toward developing a vibrant civil society.

Educating the Elites: An Examination of the Characteristics and Social Impacts of Elite Universities and Students in the United States

Nowadays, going to elite schools becomes a fashion for students worldwide. However, there are also increasing concerns on the functions and social impacts of the elite education. This essay is going to discuss the following three topics: first, the characteristics of the elite universities and the reasons and implications behind; next is on the characteristics of the students who received elite educations form the top universities in the States; and last is on the social impacts and future of the elite education.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS AND MIGRATION PATTERNS OF ELITE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS

ABSTRACT John Rooney’s (1969) seminal geographical work on the origins of U.S. college football players showed how a comprehensive examination of player origins could be analyzed and presented. This study utilizes Rooney’s findings to compare changes in the origin and migration patterns 50 years after his work. The hometowns of 14,937 elite high school football players recruited to play for “Power 5” schools between 2010 and 2020 are analyzed. The findings reveal that substantially more elite players now originate in the southern states and migrate into areas that underproduced elite talent. The methods and results of this study contribute to the merging research fields of sports management and sports geography on geographic patterns and the migration of athletes and how they can change over periods of time.

The profiles of single leg countermovement jump kinetics and sprinting in female soccer athletes

The purposes were to evaluate kinetics in lower limbs using single leg countermovement jump (SLCMJ) and to identify the differences in SLCMJ kinetics between sprinting fast players and sprinting slow players in elite university female soccer players. Seventeen participants at the national tournament level completed the survey. SLCMJ and 30 m sprinting tests were performed. A force-plate was used to collect the data of the SLCMJ test. Significant differences of concentric maximum rate of force development (RFD), concentric RFD, concentric RFD/body weight (BW), peak net takeoff force/BW, peak power, and peak power/BW existed between both legs during the SLCMJ among all the participants. For further analysis, the participants were divided into fast group and slow group based on sprinting performance. Significant differences existed between the two groups in concentric peak velocity (nondominant, p = 0.028) and vertical velocity at takeoff (nondominant, p = 0.021). Concentric maximum RFD (p = 0.036) was significantly different between both legs in the slow group. Among elite university female soccer players, the players who presented more increased asymmetry of kinetic characteristics of jumping, also showed weak sprinting performance. Moreover, the players presented the best performance in velocity of the jumping variables and also had the best sprinting performance. Coaches and players should focus on keeping inter-limb balance and developing jumping velocity to improve sports performance. In future, the cause-and-effect relationship between jumping and sprinting should be identified.

Can family determine competition within the college campus? the effect of family background on college students’ human capital accumulation

Using the Panel Survey of Chinese University Students, this paper systematically analyzes the effect of family background on the human capital accumulation of college students. This study finds that family background has little influence in elite universities, where the selective elimination effect is a determinant. In nonelite universities, however, family background and cultural reproduction mechanisms have significant influence, although individual efforts also factor in the process. In vocational colleges, neither cultural reproduction nor meritocracy is significantly effective. The universalization of higher education has caused divergence in different types of institutions, sorting college students into different competitive fields with different rules. Both the cultural reproduction mechanism and the selective elimination hypothesis can be identified in all kinds of colleges, but their effect varies in relation to institutional types.

A Multicentric study of sleep patterns and electronic media usage in adolescents

Introduction: Adequate healthy sleep is essential for adolescents’ optimal cognitive, and emotional functions and physical health. With media overload and stimuli from electronic gadgets, multitasking and academic stress, students are sleeping for fewer hours, making them one of society's most sleep-deprived age groups. Association of Adolescent and Child Care in India (AACCI) conducts multicentric studies to survey the lifestyles of children and adolescents in India, which include the use of electronic media and sleep patterns. These results are shared with the management, teachers and parents and programs are held for them and the students to make them aware of the importance of improving sleep patterns and proper sleep hygiene and the risks of poor sleep habits. Methods: This paper shows the results of a multicentric college study. This data was collected from participants of AACCI Life Skills Education (LSE) workshops conducted in six different colleges in India during the period 2008 and 2010. A standardized and validated Questionnaire on Life style has been created by AACCI for use in these multicentric surveys The sample comprised 289 college students from six groups – A) and B) 62 First year Junior college from Mumbai (age range 16-18 years; 32 students of high socioeconomic status from an elite college and 30 students from middle socio-economic status), C) 113 First-year medical students from Pune (age range 18-19 years), D) 32 students from Vocational college from Mumbai (age range 19-21 years), E) 40 Final year nursing college From Delhi (age range 19-24) and F) 42 M.Tech Post Graduate (PG) Engineering Hyderabad (age range 20-25 years). Ethical clearance: Ethics approval was obtained from AACCI Institutional ethics committee. Permission and consents: Prior permissions were taken from the college Principals to conduct the workshop, including parental permission for the participants below 18 years of age. Written assent (16-17 years) consent (>18 years) was obtained from the students by including it in the questionnaire form. Statistical analysis: The data has not been analysed statistically, as the sample size at each centre was small and their backgrounds were different. Descriptive comparisons have been made across students’ sleep patterns and electronic usage. Results: Results indicated that students from the younger age group slept longer than those from the older group. Nursing and medical students had less sleep hours due to erratic schedules. PG engineering students had the most regular sleep hours. Regarding electronic devices, PG Engineering students used the computer and internet for >6 hours daily; nurses used the computer internet and mobile the least. Mumbai students watched Television the most while engineering students watched it the least. AACCI conducted workshops for these students to inculcate in them, a healthy lifestyle.

Favouring Middle-and Upper-Class Students? The Structure and Process of Attending China’s Selective Universities

Research suggests the increasing influence of family socioeconomic status, as measured by parents’ income and occupations, in access to Chinese higher education. Yet, the literature remains inconclusive about the extent to which the social background of rural and urban students is associated with academic and social performance at elite universities. We address this limitation by looking at the academic and social success of representative samples of first- and second-year students enrolled at four Chinese elite universities. Our aim is to understand the characteristics that students from both urban and rural environments bring with them and how those characteristics bear on academic and social performance in university. We found an overrepresentation of students from middle- and upper-class backgrounds in both urban and rural student groups. The fact that the process indicator of cultural capital has a direct association with social success suggests students from urban areas exhibit traits valued in the selective university environment.

The Illusion of Merit in Political Leadership Selection in China

AbstractIn China, government at all levels relies on the specially selected graduates (SSG) scheme to recruit elite university students as future political leaders. This article examines the mechanism of the SSG scheme and the relationship between elite university education and political selection in China. We show that elite education is increasingly stratified, such that graduates from top elite universities have significant selection advantages in the SSG competition and are more likely to be offered incentives and preferences. We argue that taking elite university education as a hard eligibility criterion reinforces the homophily effects in selection of future political elites and strengthens the political influence of top elite universities on China's politics. Further, because poor and lower-class students have little chance of entering elite universities, the SSG does not provide an effective route of upward mobility for non-elite classes. Merit-based political recruitment as a channel of upward mobility for non-elite classes is largely an illusion.

INTERNATIONALIZATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

This paper provides a review of the literature on internationalization and quality assurance in higher education, examining the different perspectives and research methods. The authors highlight the tension between balancing quality and quantity in evaluating research performance and outcomes. They also emphasize the link between internationalization and globalization, noting that internationalization is often viewed as a response to global forces. The study used a systematic search to identify relevant articles published in the last decade and conducted semi-structured interviews with administrators responsible for implementing internationalization strategies. The paper highlights the challenges facing internationalization efforts, including limited resources, resistance to change, cultural differences, and institutional barriers. This article presents the findings of a study on internationalization and quality assurance in higher education. The research emphasizes the need for further investigation in this area and identifies the challenges involved. To address these challenges, a comprehensive approach involving collaboration among various stakeholders is advocated, including administrators, faculty members, students, and external partners. Additionally, the review highlights the significance of striking a balance between quality and quantity when evaluating research outcomes, especially within the context of diverse national education systems and the contrasting realities of peripheral and elite universities. The study emphasizes the importance of prioritizing internationalization and quality assurance in higher education for university authorities and encourages researchers to capture the ongoing dynamics of internationalization and globalization. The findings suggest a need for more research on internationalization and quality assurance in higher education and a multi-faceted approach involving collaboration across different stakeholders. The study underscores the importance of prioritizing internationalization and quality assurance in higher education and provides suggestions for future research. Future research is recommended to explore effective strategies for overcoming these challenges and achieving successful internationalization in higher education.
 Key words: internationalization; globalization in education; quality assurance in higher education; stakeholders.

Faulty Power in the Faculty Tower: James Hynes’s The Lecturer’s Tale as a Parody of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

ABSTRACT The current article takes established theoretical postulates about parody as a point of departure for examining how James Hynes’s postmodern novel, The Lecturer’s Tale (2001), contributes fresh fictional angles to the field of campus literature by building on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth to chart its own protagonist’s transition from victim to victor and to sound a cautionary note about ill-advised and addictive pursuit of power. I maintain that Nelson Humboldt, a visiting adjunct lecturer at the elite University of Midwestern at Hamilton Groves, Minnesota, renders the role of Shakespeare’s ambitious eponymous tragic hero, whose usurpation of the crown wreaks havoc on the Kingdom of Scotland. This accounts for Hynes’s satirical portrayal of academia as a battleground where several argumentative and erudite professors, craving praise and prize and armed with words and swords, tend to wage battles of wits and wills and to get entangled in a web of intrigue. Finally, the paper underlines that the novel’s comic vein veils serious concerns about the defects and difficulties afflicting contemporary American academia.

Divergent Pathways: How Pre‐Orientation Programs Can Shape the Transition to College for First‐Generation, Low‐Income Students1

First‐generation, low‐income (FGLI) students attend college at historically high rates in the United States. However, FGLI students continue to struggle in transitioning to college, particularly in elite universities. In this article, we engage with interview and supplemental survey data from 40 FGLI students at an elite university to demonstrate how self‐advocacy skills—conceptualized as a form of cultural capital—can support FGLI students' transition into college. We do this through the case of pre‐orientation programs, which are increasingly offered across universities, where half of the sample participated in pre‐orientation and half did not. We interviewed both subsets at the start of their first academic year, as well as during their COVID‐19‐induced departure from campus residences. In response, we argue that students who participated in pre‐orientation more often demonstrate self‐advocacy skills, both in‐person and online, especially in comparison with those who did not participate. We show that forming relationships with peers, as well as faculty and staff, during pre‐orientation is key to enacting self‐advocacy. Lastly, we also respond to previous studies that typically associate self‐advocacy skills with the cultural competencies of higher‐income and continuing‐generation students, while making clear how these skills can benefit FGLI students in transitioning into school.

Student athlete well-being framework: an empirical examination of elite college student athletes.

The current study proposes a multidimensional student athlete well-being framework (SAWBF). The authors used 12 items to capture SAWBF comprised of four well-being dimensions (i.e., physical, hedonic, psychological, and social well-being). To empirically assess the reliability and validity of the framework, data from elite collegiate student athletes in Japan (N = 546) were procured. The results indicated sufficient convergent and discriminant validities of SAWBF. The authors also assessed predictive validity correlations of the framework by focusing on the oft-supported well-being outcome-organizational citizenship behavior, which were also found to be associated with SAWBF. The findings indicated the usefulness of SAWBF; and coaches and staff members can utilize the framework to multi-dimensionally understand well-being status of their student athletes, potentially boosting adaptive behaviors.

A Convergence of Opportunities: Understanding the High Elite University Progression of Disadvantaged Youth in an East London Locality

There is growing evidence that London’s disadvantaged youth have a better chance at progressing to elite universities than their counterparts outside the capital. Drawing on case study research in a disadvantaged East London locality, this article suggests that a convergence of structural factors that favour elite university progression may help explain this high progression. These factors include local schools’ valorisation of elite universities and their associated prioritisation of resources and strong framing of university choices to privilege Russell Group progression. Students’ apparent advantageous access to the widening participation provision of elite universities and to internship and networking opportunities arising from London’s corporate philanthropy also appear to play important roles. The article advocates for greater strategic planning by the regulator and further partnerships across all sectors of the economy to enable a fairer distribution of widening participation opportunities nationwide. It concludes with a call to reflect on the wisdom of privileging elite university progression at all costs and asks whether we should really be championing such a narrow vision of social mobility in the first place.