In Between New Public Management and Network Governance in Austria, Finland and Scotland: Potential Conflicts in Autonomy Understandings of Governments and Universities [Scholarly Article - Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2022]

Title:

In Between New Public Management and Network Governance in Austria, Finland and Scotland: Potential Conflicts in Autonomy Understandings of Governments and Universities

 

Author:

Kajetan-Stransky-Can

University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

 

Published:

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 9 March 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13132-021-00881-z

 

Abstract:

The political science doctoral thesis project is focussing on comparing university policies with the background of different welfare state types: Austria as a conservative-corporatist, Finland as a social democratic and Scotland as a liberal welfare state. As universities are pre-constitutional entities, it seems to be legitimate to search for fit from welfare state policy-making with the practices of university steering. Here, I will present paradigm evidence of top-down-oriented New Public Management (NPM) and bottom-up-formed Network Governance (NG) at a macro-level, i.e. governance by the state. The paradigms connect with the theme of institutional autonomy, which differentiates into an academic, a financial, an organisational and a staffing aspect. As a result, I propose the following hypothesis for the cases of Austria, Finland and Scotland: NPM is present, but not dominant in higher education (HE) policies. More likely, NPM and NG appear simultaneously within the university policies of Austria, Finland and Scotland. How do these paradigms transfer within the institutions? In this article, a concept for this transfer of action in horizontal autonomy to actors in vertical autonomy through communication and through management committees’ interplay elaborates and, additionally, hypotheses formulate. The extent of the space for alternative paradigms to join the paradigm transfer game, for example, for Epistemic Governance (EG), might be larger, the higher the regulative density of university policies is. The borders of every paradigm in university policy, however, constitute with (a) strong welfare state traditions for governance and (b) strong university traditions for steering. Conservative-corporatist welfare state tradition as in Austria shows an inclination for university policy governance to be control-oriented, whereas social democratic welfare state tradition as in Finland relies on trust in university policy formulation (and implementation). It has to remain open how the liberal welfare state of Scotland would classify.

AUSTRIA - Do you know about the Teddy Bear Hospital?

Title:

Teddy Bear Hospital

 

Published:

Medical University of Graz, 2022

https://www.medunigraz.at/en/teddy-bear-hospital

 

From the webpage:

Teddy Bear Hospital was started in order to ease children's fears of doctors, hospital visits and clinical examinations in a playful manner. As they accompany their own stuffed animals, the children look over the shoulders of the Teddy Docs and assist in the treatment of their plush patients. Thanks to the Austrian Medical Students' Association, the Teddy Docs—motivated Med Uni Graz medical students—are on duty every year. Teddy Bear Hospital is free to all visitors. The target group is children between the ages of three and six.

 

Informational capital and the transition to university: First‐in‐family students' experiences in Austrian higher education [Scholarly Article - European Journal of Education, 2021]

Title:

Informational capital and the transition to university: First‐in‐family students' experiences in Austrian higher education 

 

Authors:

Franziska Lessky, Erna Nairz‐Wirth & Klaus Feldmann

 

Published:

European Journal of Education, 24 January 2021

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejed.12437

 

Abstract:

The agenda for widening participation in higher education has led to increasing numbers of students with a broader range of education and family backgrounds. However, transitioning to the university landscape remains a highly complex negotiation process, especially for first‐in‐family students, who cannot draw on previous experience from higher education in their families. Gaining access to informational capital—a combination of cultural and social capital—plays a crucial role in managing education transitions. We draw on rich empirical data obtained from 26 autobiographical narrative interviews with first‐in‐family university students in Austria to investigate how transitions to university are affected by informational capital. We also explore how access to informational capital was influenced by (1) institutional practices, such as initiatives to support students, especially first‐year students; and (2) cultural fit—the extent to which a student's cultural capital corresponded with the dominant cultural capital in the field of their chosen discipline or higher education establishment. Our findings show that gaining access to informational capital was strongly affected by the institutional practices at universities within the different disciplines, thus highlighting the importance of higher education institutions in supporting their students during transition processes. We conclude with policy implications for how higher education institutions can assist first‐in‐family students to succeed at university.

Academics' effectiveness and professional development in Croatia: Challenges for human resource management in higher education institutions

Title:

Academics' effectiveness and professional development in Croatia: Challenges for human resource management in higher education institutions

 

Authors:

Zoran Sušanj, Ana Jakopec & Ana Đorić

Published:

European Journal of Education, 10 October 2020

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejed.12422

Abstract:

The relationship between higher education and profound global economic, social, technological and political transformations underway in recent decades is attracting growing public and professional interest. In this context, governmental bodies, higher education institutions and academics are under pressure to improve the effectiveness and professional development of academic staff. This article explores the need to adapt current human resource management practices in higher education in Croatia as a response. The article presents recent empirical data from higher education institutions in Austria, Croatia and Finland collected in the international project “Modernisation of Higher Education Institutions through Enhancement of Human Resources Management Function”. Descriptive indicators of current human resource management practices in higher education institutions reveal substantially different levels of development and use of certain practices to manage the effectiveness and professional development of academics. This article discusses the role of the human resource function at higher education institutions, the possibilities of using specific human resource development activities designed for different job roles held by academics, the importance of a performance management system that suits the academic environment, and the need for a strategic approach to human resource management at higher education institutions.