Understanding academic agency in curriculum change in higher education
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: This study explores the agency of academics and the structures that enable or impede agency in curriculum change. The study was conducted at a research university that experienced curriculum change in two waves: the first on a departmental level, and the second as a university-wide curriculum change. Interviews were conducted with the same academics after both waves. Thematic analysis generated six forms of agency. Progressive, oppositional, territorial, bridge-building, and accommodating agency appeared in both contexts. Powerless agency was identified in only the university-wide curriculum change. Individual, community, and institutional structures enabled or impeded agency. Instead of focusing on the micro or macro levels exclusively, this study highlights the interwovenness of structural-agentic processes, including the critical role of social cultures and relationships, and reveal how academic freedom is used in many ways as room for manoeuvring in curriculum changes.
Source: Teaching in Higher Education
Authors: J. Annala, J. Lindén, M. Mäkinen, J. Henriksson
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W3126764684