Conceptions and expectations of research collaboration in the European social sciences: Research policies, institutional contexts and the autonomy of the scientific field

This paper investigates the interactions between policy drivers and academic practice in international research collaboration. It draws on the case of the Open Research Area (ORA), a funding scheme in the social sciences across four national research agencies, seeking to boost collaboration by supporting “integrated” projects. The paper discusses the scheme’s governance and its place within the European policy space before turning to awarded researchers’ perceptions of its originality and impact on their project’s emergence and development. Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, we analyse the scheme’s capacity to challenge researchers’ habitual collaborative practice as well as the hierarchical foundations of the social science field. We relate the discourses of researchers, located in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, to such structural dimensions of the academic profession as, disciplinary cultures, institutional environments and national performance management of research careers. The paper argues that the ORA introduces novel mechanisms of power sharing and answerability in social sciences research capable of unsettling the autonomy of the scientific field. This analysis offers a new perspective on the often unquestioned superiority of the model of international collaboration induced by schemes such as ORA

Public Goods and Public Policy: what is Public Good, and who and what Decides?

Higher education is usually seen as serving the public good, especially when funded directly by the state, and because of the ‘social benefit efficiency gains and potential equity effects on opportunity and reduced inequality’ (McMahon, 2009, p. 255). Calhoun (2006, p. 19) argues that public support for higher education is only given and maintained according to its capacity, capability, and willingness, to ‘educate citizens in general, to share knowledge, to distribute it as widely as possible in accord with publically articulated purposes’

Structural reforms in European higher education : concluding reflections

In this chapter, we will first provide a cross-case analysis, followed by the identification of critical elements of higher education reform, presented by policy stage. In doing so, we highlight the importance of the context in which these reforms unfold. We will conclude the chapter by offering a more general reflection on important aspects of (higher education) policy analysis

STUDI DESKRIPTIF LEVEL BERPIKIR GEOMETRI VAN HIELE SISWA DI SMP NEGERI PERCONTOHAN DI LEMBANG

Geometri sekolah mempunyai peluang besar untuk dipahami oleh siswa dibandingkan dengan cabang ilmu matematika yang lainnya. Hal ini dikarenakan pengenalan konsep dasar geometri sudah dikenal oleh siswa sejak usia dini, seperti mengenal bangun-bangun geometri. Namun beberapa penelitian menunjukkan bahwa masih banyak siswa yang mengalami kesulitan dalam belajar geeometri, khususnya pada tingkat SMP. Oleh karena itu diperlukan penelitian terhadap level berpikir geometri siswa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui: (1) level berpikir geometri siswa di SMP Negeri percontohan di Lembang, dan (2) menelaah apakah pembelajaran geometri yang berlangsung di sekolah menerapkan tahapan pembelajaran Van Hiele atau tidak. Metode dalam penelitian ini merupakan studi deskriptif dengan subjek penelitian adalah siswa kelas IX dari dua sekolah menengah pertama di Lembang. Instrumen dalam penelitian ini terdiri dari: (1) instrumen tes, yaitu tes level berpikir geometri Van Hiele pada materi bangun datar. Hasil dari tes ini dianalisis dengan kategori level berpikir sebagai berikut: level 0 adalah tahap pengenalan; level 1 adalah tahap analisis; level 2 adalah tahap pengurutan; level 3 adalah tahap deduksi formal; dan level 4 adalah tahap akurasi. (2) Instrumen non tes, yaitu berupa wawancara terhadap guru dan murid. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diperoleh kesimpulan bahwa: (1) secara keseluruhan siswa SMP telah memasuki tahap berpikir geometri Van Hiele. Sebagian besar siswa berada pada tahap pengenalan (level 0) yaitu 81,16%, sedangkan sisanya telah memasuki tahap analisis (level 1) sebesar 17,39% dan tahap pengurutan (level 2) sebesar 1,45%. (2) Pembelajaran geometri di sekolah kurang memperhatikan tahapan pembelajaran geometri Van Hiele---------- Student has a big opportunity to understand geometry because the basic concept has early familiar, such as know the geometry’s objects. However, some of the research were show that many student difficult to learn geometry, specifically for junior high school. Because of that, it necessary to research about the geometry level thinking. The goal of the research are to know: (1) student geometry level thinking at the model of junior high school in Lembang, and (2) observe the lesson geometry at school by use the phase of Van Hiele geometry learning. The method is descriptive study with the subject are the student from IX class of two junior high school in Lembang. The instrument is: (1) test instrument, is Van Hiele geometry level test. The result will be analysis by categories of Van Hiele: level 0 is visualization; level 1 is analysis; level 2 is informal deduction; level 3 is deduction; and level 4 is rigor. (2) Non-test instrument, is interview to the teacher and student. Base of the research, the conclusion are: (1) by and large the student has include the Van Hiele geometry level. Student at level 0 is 81, 16%, at level 1 is 17,3% and at level 2 is 1,45%. (2) School did’nt use the phase of Van Hiele geometry learning

The dynamics of university units as a multi-level process. Credibility cycles and resource dependencies

This paper presents an analysis of resource acquisition and profile development of institutional units within universities. We conceptualize resource acquisition as a two level nested process, where units compete for external resources based on their credibility, but at the same time are granted faculty positions from the larger units (department) to which they belong. Our model implies that the growth of university units is constrained by the decisions of their parent department on the allocation of professorial positions, which represent the critical resource for most units’ activities. In our field of study this allocation is largely based on educational activities, and therefore, units with high scientific credibility are not necessarily able to grow, despite an increasing reliance on external funds. Our paper therefore sheds light on the implications that the dual funding system of European universities has for the development of units, while taking into account the interaction between institutional funding and third-party funding