Higher education reforms and unintended consequences

A Research Agenda

Bibliographic Data

ID4098449
AuthorsGeorg Krücken (0000-0002-5342-5024, University of Kassel, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume39
Issue8
Pages1439-1450
Publication date2014-09-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075079.2014.949539
OpenAlexW1967908274
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited22

Higher education in Europe has undergone remarkable transformations over the last two decades. Germany is a very interesting case in point here. While the country was labeled as a laggard in the process, over the last decade the pace of higher education reforms in Germany has grown considerably. This paper will focus on the by now visible effects of these remarkable transformations, which have led to numerous consequences that go beyond the explicit intentions of policy-makers. Unintended consequences resulting from rapid institutional change will be discussed with regard to research, third-mission activities, and structural reforms concerning governance and organization. It can be assumed that, due to a variety of such unintended consequences, also in other European countries the next decade will be shaped by efforts aiming at reforming the reforms, re-regulating the significant changes brought about during the last two decades. The paper closes with a brief discussion of the necessary linkages to three related interdisciplinary research areas, from which both higher education research and policy-making will benefit, and a summary of the main points of the paper

Economic growth · Economics · Higher education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Unintended consequences · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Learning Practices · Public Administration

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