Academic Freedom Research Articles

Academic freedom and repression in the neoliberal authoritarian Turkish University: an academic letter to German philosopher Herbert Marcuse

Academic freedom and repression in the neoliberal authoritarian Turkish University: an academic letter to German philosopher Herbert Marcuse

Neoliberalism constrains academic freedom

Neoliberalism constrains academic freedom

Judiciary independence: Why should conservation ecologists care?

AbstractWe discuss the impact of democratic political governance systems on ecological and conservation research, education, and practice, focusing on radical proposed changes to the judicial system in Israel. This judicial reform has already begun to restrict academic freedom and environmental laws, adversely affecting regulatory actions. We are concerned about the weakening enforcement of environmental laws, increased power to polluting industries, future defunding of ecological research and nature conservation programs, reduced cross‐border collaborations in ecological research, and restrictions on the academic teaching of ecology and evolution. Concerns related to Israel's unique biodiversity are particularly pressing in light of the constant threats from a rapidly growing population, high development pressures, and frequent military actions. International experience suggests that weakening judicial oversight of government actions in other countries is generating similar threats on a global scale. Therefore, ecologists and conservation biologists should actively be involved in the protection of liberal democracies and judicial independence.

The Right to Learn: Resisting the Right Wing Attack on Academic Freedom

The Right to Learn: Resisting the Right Wing Attack on Academic Freedom

Knowledge production at a crossroads: rising antidemocracy and diminishing academic freedom

ABSTRACT This essay links the global shift toward antidemocracy with the global attack on higher education. I argue that rising far-right politics in many countries is also politicizing higher education, in turn diminishing the freedom to research, think and teach. This is apparent across Europe, the Americas, Middle East, Asia, Africa and among supposedly leading liberal democracies such as the United States. A common strategy in far-right attacks on higher education has been to limit scholars’ claim to collective institutional autonomy and reduce scholarly conversation to an individual’s right to free speech. The new UK Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 illustrates this reductionism explicitly. To counter this trend, I argue for reframing academic freedom as social responsibility to wider societies, underscoring its collective dimensions and legibility and applicability to nonacademic audiences. This reframing is particularly important in global north countries given the dominance of the Euro-American academy in knowledge production, and the relative power of western scholars to push back against intellectual censorship. Drawing on the recent wave of political activism across social movements and union mobilization in the United States, I argue this presents an opportunity for connecting the defense of higher education with the defense of wider concerns around issues such as the climate crisis, labor conditions, anti-racism, conflict and abortion rights. I conclude that shifting the narrative about academic freedom is essential for building transnational support across class, race, ethnic, religious, gender and educational differences, and resisting escalating attacks on universities and colleges around the world.

La deriva antiscientifica e autoritaria negli USA e le sue implicazioni per la salute globale

The article addresses the alarming antiscientific and authoritarian drift in the United States and highlights its consequences on public health and scientific research. It notes the government's withdrawal from international agreements, the censorship of critical terms in fed- eral documents and the elimination of essential health data, all factors that threaten the integrity of scientific inquiry. There are also concerns about possible reprisals against those who oppose these practices. The removal of data concerning marginalized groups is described as a ‘digital genocide’, as it erases crucial information needed to address health disparities. The article and the comment warn that the erosion of evidence-based principles and the stop to national and global health programmes will lead a sharp increase in pre- ventable deaths, especially among children and vulnerable populations. There is the need for a strong response from the scientific community to defend the values of scientific freedom, equity and right to health for all.

Australian Media Perceptions of Confucius Institutes

Confucius Institutes (CIs) are an important strategic instrument in promoting China’s soft power and public diplomacy. However, the establishment of the CIs in the West has been controversial because they receive financial and administrative support from China’s Ministry of Education. The primary concerns are that the presence of CIs on university campuses might “interfere” with academic freedom and that China’s chief goal of establishing CIs is to promote its political soft power. This paper adopts qualitative content analysis and longitudinal analysis to examine the Australian mainstream media’s perceptions of CIs. The findings reveal both positive and negative views on CIs. The positive views include recognition of CIs as a valuable source of funding and resources that provide opportunities to engage with China. The negative views focused on the possibility of China “interfering” in academic independence and exerting undue influence. Australian media views on CIs thus mirror their appreciation of China’s economic strength on one hand and their fear of China’s rise on the other.

Should we use NVivo or Excel for qualitative data analysis?

Coding is now a pervasive technique in qualitative data analysis, whether descriptive or theoretical, done manually by highlighting or rearranging text, or digitally using word processors or other software. However, coding relies on the researcher’s reflection and does not think for itself. I compare two types of software here: one built for coding qualitative data and another originally developed for numerical calculations. Which offers more scientific freedom, and what biases come with each? NVivo excels at organising and visualising data within a single file, enabling researchers to view coded sections in context. Its flexibility supports various inferences – inductive, abductive, and deductive – and allows for critical research evaluations. It also makes it easy to create samples. In contrast, Excel is lightweight, easily transferable, compatible with other software, and better at maintaining data anonymity. Its lack of data import reduces hardware demands and errors, while filtering enhances triangulation and quantification. Excel’s cell-based data reformulation aids narrative analysis. Lastly, neither tool proved clearly superior for data immersion (‘Coding Fetishism’) or transitioning to writing.

Cultural narratives and educational goals: a discourse analysis of university presidents’ opening convocation speeches in the U.S. and China

ABSTRACT This study conducts a comparative corpus-assisted discourse analysis (CADS) of opening convocation speeches delivered in 2023 by university presidents in the United States and China. The aim is to explore their pedagogical philosophies, educational goals, and core values, uncovering the socio-cultural narratives that shape higher education discourse in each country. The research begins by examining the top 50 keywords to highlight the primary similarities and differences in the speeches. Following this, a contextual analysis of specific keywords such as ‘community’, ‘学校’ (xue xiao, school), ‘freedom’, and ‘创新’ (chuang xin, innovation) is performed. This analysis reveals how these concepts are framed differently within each cultural context, reflecting broader educational and national values. The study finds that American speeches tend to emphasize community, individuality, freedom of speech, and academic freedom, while Chinese speeches focus on government-led innovation and collective social progress. These distinctions are linked to the respective cultural and political frameworks, offering insights into leadership communication in higher education.

On academic freedom, provisional whiteness and antisemitism

On academic freedom, provisional whiteness and antisemitism

“We’re on Our Own Out Here”: Faculty Member Responses to Legislative Threats to Academic Freedom and Scholarship on Race

ABSTRACT Colleges and universities nationwide are contending with a well-coordinated, well-funded legislative campaign that seeks to reverse decades of racial progress. Using sociolegal frameworks and concepts, this study investigates how 32 faculty members from two public universities understand and respond to proposed legislation designed to restrict open inquiry and expression on campuses, which particularly targets race-related scholarship and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. This multiple case study offers a deep and nuanced understanding of how legal and institutional contexts shape faculty members’ responses. The findings reveal that senior leaders’ and academic administrators’ responses can influence faculty members’ understandings and actions, which often leads them to restrict their teaching and scholarship on race unnecessarily. Insights from this study also highlight the crucial role filtering agents, such as civil rights groups, play in mitigating the pressure to suppress work otherwise protected. The implications of this study underscore the critical need for institutional leaders and external organizations to advance a race-conscious and collectively engaged defense of academic freedom, especially as restrictive legislation continues to emerge across the United States.

Development of Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Integration of Generative AI in University Education Through a Multidisciplinary, Consensus-Based Approach.

The introduction highlights the transformative impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on higher education (HE), emphasising its potential to enhance student learning and instructor efficiency while also addressing significant challenges such as accuracy, privacy, and ethical concerns. By exploring the benefits and risks of AI integration, the introduction underscores the urgent need for evidence-based, inclusive, and adaptable frameworks to guide universities in leveraging GenAI responsibly and effectively in academic environments. This paper presents a comprehensive process for developing cross-disciplinary and consensus-based guidelines, based on the latest evidence for the integration of GenAI at European University Cyprus (EUC). In response to the rapid adoption of AI tools such as LLMs in HE, a task group at EUC created a structured framework to guide the ethical and effective use of GenAI in academia, one that was intended to be flexible enough to incorporate new developments and not infringe on instructors' academic freedoms, while also addressing ethical and practical concerns. The framework development was informed by extensive literature reviews and consultations. Key pillars of the framework include: addressing the risks and opportunities presented by GenAI; promoting transparent communication; ensuring responsible use by students and educators; safeguarding academic integrity. The guidelines emphasise the balance between, on the one hand, leveraging AI to enhance educational experiences, and, on the other maintaining critical thinking and originality. The framework also includes practical recommendations for AI usage, classroom integration, and policy formulation, ensuring that AI augments rather than replaces human judgement in educational settings. The iterative development process, including the use of GenAI tools for refining the guidelines, illustrates a hands-on approach to AI adoption in HE, and the resulting guidelines may serve as a model for other higher education institutions (HEIs) aiming to integrate AI tools while upholding educational quality and ethical standards.

Introduction to Special Issue on Academic Freedom: Reclaiming paths to individual and collective sovereignty

Introduction to Special Issue on Academic Freedom: Reclaiming paths to individual and collective sovereignty

Policy-Driven Shifts in Higher Education: Implications for Academic Freedom, Major Choice, and Curriculum Diversity in the United States

Higher education in the United States is closely linked with socioeconomic factors, cultural advancements, and opportunities for social mobility. This study examines the allocation of higher education resources within U.S. policy and the limits of institutional autonomy. By integrating quantitative analysis of funding distributions with qualitative analyses of specific universities, this thesis assesses the differential impacts of policy changes on the equity of resource distribution and the level of educational independence. The unequal distribution of educational funding aggravates the inequalities between the institutions and limits the diversification of educational content and the development of pedagogical methods. Moreover, academic freedom restrictions hinder the ability of educational institutions to respond to the needs of society and thereby affect students' possibilities for self-study and critical thinking skills. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that policies driven by governmental and market forces constrain the autonomy of educational institutions, forcing universities to align with external priorities, which eventually takes away from their academic freedom. Collectively, these factors corrode the spirit of equal opportunity in higher education and undermine the ability of institutions to pursue an independent and diverse educational agenda.

Philosophy of Islamic Education: Reflections on Conservative Values, Liberalism, and Democracy

This article explores three main perspectives in Islamic educational philosophy: conservative, liberal, and democratic, by revealing how each of these views interprets the values ​​and goals of education. The conservative approach to Islamic education, represented by the essentialist and perennialist schools of thought, emphasizes the preservation and protection of existing traditions and customs. The concept of conservative education is more static and less open to new views or ideas. In contrast, liberal education, influenced by classical and modern liberalism, places more importance on the individual and freedom of thought, and seeks to adapt to global economic and social changes by prioritizing rational approaches and open discussion in the teaching and learning process. This model has undergone significant evolution along with historical and ideological dynamics. Meanwhile, democratic education, in the context of Islam, focuses on providing fair and humanizing educational services to each individual, by paying special attention to the development of each child's potential according to their abilities. This concept also supports academic freedom and prioritizes equal rights in obtaining education without discrimination. This study uses a literature review method to analyze these conceptions based on sources such as books, articles, and the thoughts of Islamic educational figures, both classical and modern.

Academic freedom, education, and ‘the gender wars’: a response to Suissa and Sullivan

Abstract Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan’s 2021 paper ‘The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education’ holds that activism associated with the slogan ‘trans women are women’ harms progress towards the goals of shared learning and knowledge production. They hold that shared learning and knowledge production ground the value of the university. In response, we point out that academic freedom is not absolute, and that its contribution to learning and knowledge production is only part of a host of academic goods. Given the hostile environment faced by trans people in the UK, absolute academic freedom in relation to questions about sex, gender, and gender identity should not be taken for granted. The focus of this article is on the following: (1) academic freedom is not absolute and should be responsibly curtailed when it causes harm, or hinders other educational goods; (2) public perceptions of ‘gender debates’ in the UK cause harm and hinder other educational goods; (3) academic debates about sex, gender, and gender identity could contribute to this harm and hindrance and should be undertaken only with care.

Academic freedom: Challenges to cultivating a revolutionary unconscious in a neoliberal world

Seeking to frame the debate around academic freedom in terms of freedom of thought, this article begins with an exploration of the hazards of fascist ideology and the psychodynamics of persuadability. Attention is paid to the perverse lure of certainty and the apparent willingness of many people to accede to an instrumentalized unconscious. Through the writings of Butler and Athanasiou, an antithesis to the dispossession of an instrumentalized unconscious is explored in terms of radical performativity and critical relationality, modalities which have the potential to undo what Elizabeth Povinelli termed “the cunning of recognition.” The limitations of psychoanalysis due to its historical antecedents in colonialism and racialized capitalism are explored, and an argument for a genealogically and sociohistorically constituted psychoanalysis is entertained. Following Derrida’s imagining of the university as truth-seeker, aspects of the history of U.S. higher education are explored to illustrate the continuous struggle between sovereign power and capitalist logic and the possibility of education as the practice of freedom. The essay concludes with an exploration of the intersection between psychoanalysis and critical pedagogy, posing the question of whether analytic institutes and universities might become vehicles for an encounter with alterity that could potentially sow the seeds for a revolutionary unconscious.

The Impact of New Managerialism on Academic Identity and Governance: A Comparative Study of University Cultures in the UK and Pakistan

This study explores the impact of New Managerialism on academic identity and governance in higher education institutions, focusing on the UK and Pakistan. New Managerialism, which includes corporate management, performance, measurement, and accountability elements, has been widely practiced in the UK but its effects in developing countries like Pakistan are yet to be fully understood. The study aims to inform the current and future developments of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) within the context of global managership trends. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative research techniques, with samples collected from 30 participants from six universities, three from the UK and three from Pakistan. The study aims to examine the extent to which New Managerialism has impacted the identity and governance of academics in UK and Pakistani universities, compare the responses and adaptations of academics and administrators in both settings, and assess the general implications of change processes on institutional autonomy, academic freedom, and governance. The study finds that New Managerialism has led to new changes in academic identity, with performance indicators and managerial accountability superseding traditional academic values and principles. In the UK, faculty members report a feeling of powerlessness and detachment from their academic identity. In Pakistan, management practices are not well developed, but there is increasing pressure on academics to embrace performance management approaches. The practical implications of this research call for moderation in implementing managerial reforms in higher education. Policymakers and university leaders must note the challenges related to the protection of academic ideals and ensuring that pragmatic directions of managerial processes do not erode the liberties of academics and institutional independence. It is crucial that cultural models implemented by these managerial models exist in tune with regional requirements, encouraging and developing academicians without eradicating academic standards.

University Assessment in the Age of Excessive Normativity: Examining Academic Professionalism and the Roles of Teachers and Students

Universities in Spain, as well as globally, are currently witnessing a surge in regulations covering all aspects of operation, including teaching, learning and assessment. The present paper endeavours to explore the repercussions of excessive regulations on the roles of educators and students. It examines how these prescriptions pose a threat to academic freedom, faculty agency and teaching professionalism. The analysis is based on an examination of institutional assessment-related institutional policy documents from eight Catalan universities. The documents reveal a disconnect between the expectations surrounding the professionalism and agency of academics and the prescribed directives, which often leave room for interpretation by those tasked with their implementation. The documents also shed light on the perception of an escalating centralisation of control over strategies that can enhance student learning. This raises questions about the autonomy and professional judgment of educators when selecting the instructional methods that are best suited to and most advantageous for their students.

Managed freedom in precarious times: Maintaining academic freedom in transitional Hong Kong

Abstract This article examines the status of academic freedom in Hong Kong in light of the increasing securitization of higher education since the implementation of the National Security Law (NSL) in 2020. It provides an analytical framework to comprehend the changing landscape of academic freedom in Hong Kong, highlighting the impact of the NSL and the conflict between the necessity of political control on securitized campuses and the demand for international, free, and high-quality universities to make Hong Kong a global hub for higher education. The article concludes by asserting that the NSL has reshaped and will continue to impact academic freedom and university autonomy concerning core security issues, but there is still a possibility to establish a defendable space for genuine academic freedom in classrooms.