Gender and the Marketisation of Higher Education: A Nordic Tale

This chapter investigates the gender differences in managerial practices across three Nordic countries: Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It analyses two aspects: (1) perceptions regarding competition, and (2) motivations for undertaking academic work. The chapter is based on an empirical dataset which was compiled from national surveys (conducted in 2015 and 2016) of senior academic staff (professors, associate professors, and academic leaders), which aimed to assess the perceived effects of recent government-led reforms which focused on performance management and managerial practices.

To Be or Not to Be Responsible? Academic Research and Social Responsibility

Publicly funded universities have been under increasing pressure to provide evidence regarding the economic value of their core activities, not least when it comes to the social benefits accrued from the research mission. This study offers a glimpse of Nordic perspectives on the social impact of research from the positions of policymakers, university leadership, and academics. From a macro perspective, the paper investigates to what extent Norwegian policy actors rely on the excellence/relevance discourse in their plans for the future development of higher education. At the meso level, the study explores how academic leaders make sense of internal and external pressures (drivers and strateg…

Is there a Scandinavian model for MOOCs?