For many decades one of the most important tasks for both higher education researchers and teaching staff has been to understand how to maximize students’ success at university. […]
Higher Education Research Societies
The post contains a continuously updated list of higher education research societies around the world, national and international. The list is occasionally updated.
“Look, a squirrel!” Non-focus in qualitative research
This blog post is an English translation of a peer-reviewed journal article that has originally been published in Finnish in the journal Tiedepolitiikka [Science Policy].
Research on presidential leadership: a bibliography
In the academic leadership research, an empirical focus on university leadership encompasses two remarkable strands: leader’s influence on organizational performance and changes of leader’s individual characteristics over time.
Academia’s Stockholm Syndrome: The Ambivalent Status of Rankings in Higher Education (Research)
Academia has an ambivalent relationship with rankings. On the one hand, academics constantly complain about them; on the other, they always look for ways to “fix” them.
English (higher) education: a system that divides students and disconnects them from social reality
One of the most surprising aspects of the English educational system—speaking as a non-English who does research on higher education (HE)—is how imbalanced it is for almost every student involved. Let me explain what I mean by this.
Why I have a problem with the “top” discourse
It’s usually once a day that I browse through Twitter or other social media sites and see the word “top” connected to academia somehow. Most of the time, this word drives me completely mad. I stopped to think for a moment why that is.
Welcome to Germany—The country where most academic careers expire soon after they start
Germany’s academic system is admired all over the world. It is almost entirely publicly funded, while studying at most of its higher education institutions is free of charge. However, the working conditions […]
The Making of Early Career Higher Education Researchers: An open-ended experiment in community building
A a narrative reflection on the past, present, and future of the Early Career Higher Education Researchers (ECHER) network. Given its independent, informal, loosely structured, and voluntary character, we conceptualise it as an open-ended experiment in community building.
Falling in and out of love with academia: the story of my academic aspirations
What comes to your mind when you think about academia? Is it the excitement of working with knowledge and of contributing to the world? Or is it a job prospect filled with insecurities and competition? You may come up with different answers, depending on the country where you live in, your personal situation, and your academic aspiration. For me, the second scenario is on the top of my head.