Reconfiguring power in Portuguese higher education

Authors

  • António Magalhães University of Porto Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES) http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2979-2358
  • Amelia Veiga University of Porto Centre for Research and Intervention on Education (CIIE) Centre for Research on Higher Education Policies (CIPES) http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5220-4019
  • Pedro Videira Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3600

Keywords:

Governance, decision-making power, boardism

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the shift in the internal power balance between managerial and academic self-governance as reflected in the perceptions of teaching and non-teaching staff on the tendencies, decision-making processes and actor’s roles in these processes. The empirical data used in this paper were gathered on the basis of an on-line survey, distributed throughout 2014 and 2015 in all Portuguese higher education institutions. Responses were interpreted taking into account the influence of governance narratives on the development of boardism, i.e., a decrease of academic self-governance reflecting the decline of the power of teaching staff in HEIs’ governance; an increase of managerial governance as reflected in the reinforcement of hierarchies and organisational top-down decision-making; and the influence of external stakeholders. The analysis contributes to dig into the complexity of the governance arrangements challenging the prevailing influence of the NPM governance narrative while underlining the internal dynamics of HEIs, where Portuguese teaching staff continue to play a key role.

 

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Author Biographies

António Magalhães, University of Porto Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES)

António Magalhães is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the University of Porto, Portugal, where he acts as Head of Department of Education Sciences. He is also senior researcher at the Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES). His academic interests focus on education policy analysis, namely on the relationship between the state and higher education systems and institutions and on European higher education governance. He has been developing national and international projects in the field of research on higher education. He has written and coedited numerous books and published articles in major journals in the field including Higher Education Policy, Higher Education and Studies in Higher Education.

cy, Higher Education and Studies in Higher Education.

Amelia Veiga, University of Porto Centre for Research and Intervention on Education (CIIE) Centre for Research on Higher Education Policies (CIPES)

Amélia Veiga is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the University of Porto, Portugal, and researcher at the Centre for Research and Intervention in Education (CIIE) and at the Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES). Her academic interests focus on education policy analysis, namely on the Bologna process and higher education governance in areas such as internationalisation, globalisation and quality assurance. She has been involved in national and international projects. She has written book chapters, coedited books, and published articles on European integration and higher education governance in key journals such as Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education and Higher Education Quarterly.

Pedro Videira, Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES)

Pedro Videira is a researcher at the Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES). His main research interests lie in higher education and science policies, namely changes to the academic profession, individual and institutional knowledge transfer processes and scientific mobility.

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Published

2018-10-15

How to Cite

Magalhães, A., Veiga, A., & Videira, P. (2018). Reconfiguring power in Portuguese higher education. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26, 135. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3600

Issue

Section

Políticas da Administração e Gestão em Países da Lusofonia