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.
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose, rationale and scope of the study
1.2. Research questions
1.3. Structure
2. LITERATURE REVIEW: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK TO COMPREHEND THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF THROUGH THE LENS OF UNIVERSITY MODELS
2.2. Explaining change through the lens of university models
Why focus on the organisation?
The entrepreneurial university and the legacies of the Latin American university model
The shifting meaning of the public university
2.3. Theoretical implications: the co-existence of models and the relevance of intra-organisational dynamics and actors
The challenge of conceptualising co-existing university models
Intra-organisational dynamics and actors
2.4. The changing nature of work in universities
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?
3. RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA AND METHODS
Selection of study cases
3.2. Primary data
Selected functional areas and the recruitment of participants
The participants: main features
Interview structure and steps of analysis
3.3. Limits and ethical concerns
Limits: an exploratory study
4. FRAMING THE CHILEAN CASE: PARTICULARITIES AND REFORMS
4.1. General features
Coordination, autonomy and the funding structure of the Chilean HES
Segmentation and the relevance of public universities
Particularities in the Latin American context
4.2. Governmental policies
The MECESUP programme and the World Bank
The 2014-2018 higher education reforms
5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF
5.1. The university governance and the rise of the professional staff
5.1. The government as a driver of change
The quality assurance framework and MECESUP
CORFO and the “New Engineering 2030” Programme
5.2. The university as a driver of change
Teaching and learning
Internationalisation
Equity and inclusion
5.3. The professional staff as a driver of change
6. DISCUSSION
6.1. The central role of the university in triggering and articulating change
6.2. Towards a balanced approximation of the co-existence of university models
6.3. The perspectives of the professional staff: the missing drivers
6.4. Concluding remarks
Research Objectives and Themes
This dissertation investigates the drivers behind the emergence of a new professional staff within leading Chilean public universities. It examines this phenomenon through the lens of university models, specifically analyzing the tensions between the entrepreneurial model and the legacies of the Latin American university model. The research seeks to understand how external drivers, such as governmental policies and market forces, interact with intra-organizational dynamics to shape the roles and professionalization of this staff.
- The role of the entrepreneurial versus the Latin American university model in shaping organizational change.
- The impact of governmental policy instruments (e.g., MECESUP, CORFO) on university professionalization.
- The interplay between professional staff, academic leadership, and traditional collegial values.
- The emergence of "third space" hybrid roles that blur boundaries between academic and administrative work.
Excerpt from the Book
Who are they and what does the professional staff do?
In the first place, it is necessary to justify the terminology chosen to describe the new group of professionals that distance themselves from the traditional administrative work, on the one hand, and that are not part of the academic body, on the other hand. In this study, they will be simply called “professional staff” or “professionals”. These professionals are a central part of the process of professionalisation of consolidated and emerging university functions, which has two faces. Firstly, It Involves upgrading and upskilling the administrative work and, secondly, it is related to a new division of labour within the university, in particular as the institutional management professionalises through the hiring of professional staff (Kehm, 2015a, p. 197), a phenomenon that may lead to managerialism, as described before.
Thus, it is possible to identify: “the growth in numbers of new groups of mostly highly qualified professionals to support organisational change and decision-making. These persons are not primarily active in research and teaching themselves but entrusted to prepare and support decisions of the management, establish new services or professionalise traditional ones, and actively shape the core activities of the organisation” (Kehm, 2015b, p. 101).
Summary of Chapters
1. INTRODUCTION: Introduces the study's purpose, research questions, and the context of organizational change in higher education, focusing on the rise of a new professional staff.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW: AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK TO COMPREHEND THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF THROUGH THE LENS OF UNIVERSITY MODELS: Establishes the theoretical framework by discussing university models, the tension between entrepreneurial and traditional Latin American legacies, and the changing nature of work in universities.
3. RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA AND METHODS: Details the qualitative case study approach, the selection of two leading Chilean universities, and the methods used for data collection and thematic analysis.
4. FRAMING THE CHILEAN CASE: PARTICULARITIES AND REFORMS: Contextualizes the Chilean higher education system, including its market-oriented structure, governmental policies, and specific reforms.
5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF: Presents empirical findings regarding how governmental and institutional drivers influence the professional staff, covering areas like quality assurance, innovation, teaching, and equity.
6. DISCUSSION: Synthesizes the findings, reflecting on the university's agency, the co-existence of divergent models, and the perspectives of the professional staff themselves.
Keywords
Higher Education, Professional Staff, Chilean Public Universities, Entrepreneurial University, Latin American University Model, University Governance, Managerialism, Collegiality, Third Space, Organizational Change, Equity and Inclusion, Innovation, Academic Profession, Quality Assurance, MECESUP.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this dissertation?
The research explores the drivers behind the emergence and rising prominence of a new professional staff group within Chile's leading public universities, analyzing how these professionals fit into existing institutional structures.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
Key themes include the coexistence of entrepreneurial and traditional university models, the influence of governmental funding mechanisms, the professionalization of functional areas, and the role of professionals as organizational actors.
What is the study's main research question?
The central question asks which drivers explain the rise of the professional staff in Chile’s leading public universities, considering both external environmental forces and internal organizational dynamics.
What methodology does the author employ?
The research utilizes a qualitative case study design, conducting semi-structured interviews with ten participants and analyzing official documentation to capture the perspectives and experiences of the professional staff.
What aspect of university life does the main section cover?
The main sections analyze the interplay between external forces like government-funded initiatives (e.g., MECESUP, CORFO) and internal university transformations in functional areas such as quality assurance, innovation, internationalization, and equity.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The study is characterized by concepts such as higher education professionalization, the entrepreneurial university, Latin American university models, and organizational change within a neoliberal policy environment.
How does the author view the "third space" in universities?
The author highlights the "third space" as a hybrid sphere where professional and academic domains intersect, where professional staff work to mediate between competing needs and institutional developments.
Does the professionalization of staff lead to conflict with academics?
The findings suggest that while the transition creates new dynamics, the professional staff often adopts collaborative approaches, using evidence-based discourse to align with collegial values rather than imposing managerial hierarchies.
What specific roles do professional staff play in the Chilean context?
They are involved in supporting decision-making, establishing new services, and professionalizing traditional areas like innovation and equity, often serving as key policy actors within their specific functional units.
- Citation du texte
- Lautaro Vilches (Auteur), 2019, The Rise of the Professional Staff in Chilean Public Universities. An Analysis through the Lens of University Models, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1045300
