The Rise of the Professional Staff in Chilean Public Universities. An Analysis through the Lens of University Models

Masterarbeit , 2019 , 114 Seiten , Note: A

Soziologie - Wissen und Information

The nature of work in higher education institutions is changing, in parallel to the deep transformations that the university as a whole is undergoing. Not only the academic profession is changing, but also a new group of professionals is rising. This professional staff works in functional areas where the boundaries between the academic and management sphere have become fuzzy. In developed countries, much of these transformations have been explained using as point of departure the university´s entrepreneurial transformation. Yet, how can these transformations be explained in the Latin American context?

This dissertation aims at shedding light on the drivers that explain the rise of the professional staff in Chile´s leading public universities. Analytically, this phenomenon is explored through the lens of university models. It will be argued that the rise of the professional staff has to be positioned within the tensions originated by the co-existence of two models, that is to say, the entrepreneurial model, on the one hand, and the legacies of the Latin American model, on the other hand.

Methodologically, this investigation adopts a qualitative case study research design. Based on interviews and official documentation, this study explores different functional areas of the university – from innovation to equity and inclusion – focusing on the interplay between the university and external actors and forces as well as on intra-organisational dynamics and the perspectives of the professional staff.

The findings corroborate ideas advanced by other scholars regarding the limits of the entrepreneurial transformation and the importance of taking into account the legacies of the Latin American university model. Equally, the relevance of the university as a central actor in shaping change and supporting the expansion or emergence of established and new functional areas, which allows the rise of the professional staff, should be acknowledged.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• INTRODUCTION.
• Purpose, rationale and scope of the study.
• Research questions.......
• Structure...……….
• LITERATURE REVIEW: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK TO COMPREHEND THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF THROUGH THE LENS OF UNIVERSITY MODELS.………………………………..\n
• Explaining change through the lens of university models.
• Why focus on the organisation?..\n
• The entrepreneurial university and the legacies of the Latin American university model...\n
• The shifting meaning of the public university...\n
• Theoretical implications: the co-existence of models and the relevance of intra-organisational dynamics and actors\n
• The challenge of conceptualising co-existing university models\n
• Intra-organisational dynamics and actors\n
• The changing nature of work in universities..\n
• Managerialism and collegiality in light of the entrepreneurial transformation. ....
• The rise of the professional and the changes in the academic profession. ..........
• Who are they and what does the professional staff do?.
• RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA AND METHODS..\n
• Selection of study cases\n
• Primary data..\n
• Selected functional areas and the recruitment of participants.\n
• The participants: main features..\n
• Interview structure and steps of analysis............\n
• Limits and ethical concerns\n
• Limits: an exploratory study..\n
• FRAMING THE CHILEAN CASE: PARTICULARITIES AND REFORMS.........
• General features..\n
• Coordination, autonomy and the funding structure of the Chilean HES ..............
• Segmentation and the relevance of public universities.\n
• Particularities in the Latin American context.\n
• Governmental policies.\n
• The MECESUP programme and the World Bank..\n
• The 2014-2018 higher education reforms\n
• FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF..
• The university governance and the rise of the professional staff .......
• The government as a driver of change.\n
• The quality assurance framework and MECESUP\n
• CORFO and the "New Engineering 2030" Programme.......\n
• The university as a driver of change\n
• Teaching and learning ......\n
• Internationalisation..\n
• Equity and inclusion.\n
• The professional staff as a driver of change\n

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This dissertation examines the rise of professional staff in Chile's leading public universities, aiming to understand the drivers behind this phenomenon. The study investigates the role of university models in explaining these transformations, particularly the co-existence of entrepreneurial and Latin American university models.

• The rise of the professional staff in Chilean public universities.
• The role of university models in explaining change.
• The co-existence of entrepreneurial and Latin American university models.
• Intra-organisational dynamics and the perspectives of professional staff.
• The interplay between the university and external actors and forces.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The dissertation begins by establishing the purpose, rationale, and research questions of the study, outlining its scope and structure. Chapter 2 delves into the literature review, providing an analytical framework for understanding the rise of the professional staff through the lens of university models. The chapter explores the entrepreneurial university model and the legacies of the Latin American university model, considering the shifting meaning of the public university and the challenges of conceptualising co-existing models. It also investigates intra-organisational dynamics and actors, analyzing the changing nature of work in universities, the impact of managerialism and collegiality, and the rise of the professional staff alongside changes in the academic profession. Chapter 3 outlines the research design, data, and methods employed in the study, detailing the selection of study cases, primary data collection through interviews and official documentation, and the recruitment of participants from different functional areas. The chapter also discusses the interview structure, steps of analysis, and limitations of the study. Chapter 4 frames the Chilean case by highlighting the specific features and reforms in the Chilean higher education system, including coordination, autonomy, funding structure, and governmental policies such as the MECESUP programme and higher education reforms.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The study focuses on key concepts such as university models, entrepreneurial transformation, Latin American university model, professional staff, intra-organisational dynamics, higher education reform, and the Chilean case. The research examines the co-existence of these models, the changing nature of work in universities, and the interplay between internal and external factors influencing the rise of the professional staff.

• Hochschule: University College London (Institute of Education)
• Note: A
• Autor: Lautaro Vilches (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2019
• Seiten: 114
• Katalognummer: V1045300
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346471529
• ISBN (Buch): 9783346471536
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: Hochschulforschung, University Models, Professional staff, higher education studies, Chile, third space professionals