Partnered research and emergent variation

Developing a set of characteristics for identifying complexity in higher education partnerships

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12576752
AutoresGeoff Woolcott (0000-0003-0094-7256, Southern Cross University), Leonard (0000-0002-7914-356X, University of South Australia, autor de correspondencia), Amanda Scott (0000-0002-1848-2154, Southern Cross University), Robyn Keast (0000-0002-0229-4634, Southern Cross University), Dan Chamberlain (0000-0002-9482-5171, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia)
Año2020
Volumen43
Número1
Páginas91-109
Fecha de publicación2020-03-17
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Higher Education Policy and Management (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1360-080X • E-ISSN: 1469-9508
EditorialRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1360080x.2020.1733734
OpenAlexW3010734456
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas60

This paper responds to a growing literature arguing that change in higher education institutions might be better understood and managed if such institutions are understood as complex systems with emergent properties. Based on complexity theory, the paper articulates a set of characteristics that might be expected if institutions are in fact acting as complex systems. The utility of these characteristics for identifying complexity in the field is tested in the context of a large partnered research project involving the mathematics, science and education colleges from six Australian universities and their local K-12 schools. The study finds evidence of subsystem variations on the initial partnership priorities, including substantial boundary crossing, leading to emergence and co-evolution, indicating that a macroscopic view of emergent variation rather than ‘micromanaging’ may be an essential factor in scaling and sustaining collaborative partnerships

Context (archaeology · Field (mathematics · General partnership · Geography · Higher education · Political science · Public relations · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Variation (astronomy · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Computer Science · Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development · Mathematics · Organizational Learning and Leadership