Summary of the book - THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM, BURTON.R.CLARK

Summary of the book - THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM, BURTON.R.CLARK

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  SUMMARY THE HIGHER EDUCATIONSYSTEM - Academic Organisation in Cross-National Perspective BURTON.R.CLARK Research agenda centred an immediate issues and government and other patrons sought answers to problems of the day. scholars with new perspectives; organisation theorists to gaze upon the odd ways of universities and then return to the business firm, for e.g: political scientists to assemble some essays on government and higher education and then go back to traditional political institutions, for e.g.: economists to measure inputs/outputs and speculate benefits and costs. The Purpose of the book is to improve the state of art by detailing systematically how higher education is organised and governed. its a 2 hold approach to set forth the basic elements of higher education system as seen from organisation perspective and to show how these features vary across nations with fateful effects. The problem proposed in this book is when professionalisation converges with bureaucratisation in large organisation and larger sectors, professionals become powerful actors, this is also in the case of higher education. The ways in which teachers and researchers in disciplines and professional fields hookup with their counterpart universities and other national systems. Th arguments raised in the book confronts 5 questions: how is work arranged? how are beliefs maintained? how is authority distributed? how are systems integrated? how does change take place? Chapter 1 of the book explains the concept of knowledge as a material, research and teaching as the main technologies. It is defines knowledge in 3 parts; first as organisational knowledge- particular factual information and skills for manipulating some specific aspect of the environment; second as historical or general knowledge which is theoretical understanding of accumulated scientific and philosophical wisdom of the general culture and process or cultural knowledge as the acquisition of the processes by which knowledge is increased and development of skills that produce critical thinking and evaluation. The main characteristics of knowledge stated are 1.discovery of knowledge which is an open ended task, its an assignment to the unknown, the uncertain and its difficult to systematise through normal organisation structures that have already unknown and defined ends. The second characteristic is increasing autonomy as steady distancing of the specialities from one another and from the general knowledge imparted in elementary and secondary education and the third characteristic is that knowledge has weighty logistics whee subjects come down through time, expanding along the way and acquiring differential prestige which is “cultural heritage” and “the best of mankind.” A lot amount of knowledge inherited is suggested in these expressions. Talking about the natural ambiguity of purpose of knowledge : Almost any educated purpose could deliver a lecture entitled “The Goal of the University”, but goals are so broad and ambiguous that the university system is left no chance to accomplish goals. The effort to clarify the purpose by forceful assertion of a specific vision has had long appeal. The broad statements of purpose and goal, essence and true nature have served poorly as accounts of reality and are inappropriate when used as possible guides to present. It is better to insist that purpose is generated by the forming of academic groups around the bodies of knowledge. In order to perceive the sizes and shapes of the organisation clothing, the need to study the elements of the organisation. First is Work- division of labor and delegation of tasks. the structure of organised effort within which individually and collectively people take different actions. It specialises by subject that is by knowledge domain for e.g.: historians & historians; chemists & chemists. This profession follows a similar principle putting together similar specialists. Its the discipline mode of work that has rendered higher education over time a meta-national and international, much more than elementary and secondary education. The division of academic enterprises is done into horizontal and vertical within and among institutions. Sections and tiers are within institutions whereas sectors and hierarchies are among institutional
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  lateral separations. Sectorsare basic broadest groupings known as faculty/school/college for e.g. law school, business school, sciences, humanities. In French, Italian Universities, these type of professional division doesn't exist yet. Tiers are the principle of sequence, there are 1/2 or more tiers, first tier is undergraduate for 4 years which is limited specialisation and more general education whereas 2nd tier is the specialisation degree after the completion of undergraduate degree. The third class of effects are to be found in the support of functions as “Research”, those who are only restricted to research, are finding their energies to separate it from teaching and do it in the form of a separate institutes structured as Research institutes. Sectors are divided into single public system, multiple public system and private/public systems. Hierarchies are the vertical arrangements of institutions and sectors; based on level of task as low and high. Its ranking is based on prestige and hierarchy of status. Second element of knowledge is Belief, its divided into 2 basic types- discipline and enterprise. The culture of discipline is the primary going concern of academic systems with their own procedures that had taken form through generations of efforts. The comparative strength of disciplinary cultures among national systems is dependent of how advanced is the system’s state of knowledge. The culture of enterprise says it doesn't matter how the culture are produced, enterprise cultures generate loyalty. The structural feature that most determines the nature and strength of enterprise cultures in higher education is tightness of organization. The culture of profession is that all such men and women in the doctrines of profession are part of a single “community of scholars.” The culture of the profession overlaps and fuses with the cultures of individual disciplines to the extent that often we can hardly separate one from another. While rooted in material conditions and interest; the cultures of the profession becomes a force in the right. The culture of the system has four beliefs, variable, reflecting and affecting the character of a system; how accessible it should be; how specialised its trading; to what occupations it should connect; and whether it should center on research. Chapter 4 of the book explains the third element of knowledge- Authority, around chairs and departments, facilities and schools, universities and colleges, there are differing arrangements of deans, rectors, vice-chancellors, presidents, trustees and ministers of education. There are six levels of authority, first level is the major operating unit which is called the department, second level is the operating units which functions as a part of the university or college. Third level is the individual university or college which operated under one name, fourth level is the multi-campus academic administration and fifth and sixth levels are the highest administrative authority levels. At the summary view, the distribution of authority determines how much the individual university or college in an organisation. Other elements of the knowledge like values and preferences; In higher education various groups pressures broad values upon the system, the claims come from all sides- business executives, union leaders, church officials, minority representatives and journalists etc. There are 3 basic set of values; first is Justice i.e. social equality or justice for all, equal treatment of students, teachers, faculty, other staff members and sectors. The interest in justice for students appears as a demand for uniform standards across a system so that all students in a given field will be treated equally and given certificates of equal value. Personnel and faculty be treated equally in the form of official insistence in fair shares for institutions and programs. Second is competence, it signifies capable system of higher education, which is effectively organised to produce, criticise and distribute knowledge and can prepare people for occupational performance and civil life. The preference for competence depends on the work of academic individuals; quality of students at entry and at exit; the effectiveness of institutions and systems; professionalism; research and crirtisicm. Third set is liberty which links together choice, initiative, innovation, criticism and variety. Liberties are sought by groups and institutions in higher education as well as individuals. Fourth set of value is loyalty which is a body of interests bought to bear in higher education centred in the operation of state. For higher education, the tasks are knowledge centred and one general effort
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  i.e. the creationof knowledge remains poorly comprehended until we grasp that  the differed and plurality are part and parcel of the moral world of discovery and invention.