Agnete Vabø

Gender in Higher Education: A Critical Review

This chapter is concerned with describing and critically evaluating the literature on the existence of and explanations for gender imbalances in higher education (HE) focusing particularly on girls’ increasing access to HE and women’s limited access to senior positions there. These topics reflect a fundamental paradox in HE across Western society, namely that despite increases in women’s participation at undergraduate and post-graduate levels (UNESCO, 2012) their access to senior positions remains limited (EU, 2013). It cannot simply be assumed that the latter will automatically increase, since the growth of girls’ access to HE is not a recent phenomenon. Women, especially in Western Europe and North America, started to catch up with men in terms of enrolments in the 1970s and had surpassed them by the early 1980s, with the rate of women’s enrolments growing almost twice as fast as men’s rate (UNESCO, 2012). This raises fundamental problems for Western societies since educational achievements have been seen as a meritocratic basis for accessing senior positions in HE.

Change Dynamics and Higher Education Reforms

Higher education institutions have become in practically every society the main institutionalized domains for handling advanced knowledge. They have survived since their origin in more or less the same organizational form (Kerr, 2001), which is all the more remarkable given the fundamental changes that have taken place in their environments. Their main organizational building blocks have always been the knowledge areas around which chairs, departments, faculties, schools and centres are positioned (Clark, 1983), and universities and colleges are populated by academic staff, students, and administrators, whose interactions determine the institutional day-to-day life. These relatively stable elements can still be found as basic organisational characteristics in any higher education institution in the world and are still used as reference points for legitimisation or quality assurance purposes.

Personal Characteristics, Career Trajectories and Sense of Identity Among Male and Female Academics in Norway and Portugal

Women’s participation in science and higher education (HE) has been increasing almost all over the world in recent decades (Rees, 2001; OCES, 2004; Leathwood & Read, 2009). However this increase has not translated into equal patterns of participation and the persistent gender differences found across countries are not consistent with the widespread, popular idea of a ‘feminised future’ (Leathwood & Read, 2009).

Gender and Faculty Internationalization

This chapter addresses the issue of gender imbalances in the internationalization of higher education and research. In all countries, male academics tend to be generally more involved in international research collaboration and also tend to have more international publications. To some extent such gender disparities can be explained by academic rank and gender disparities among fields of science. While men more often teach abroad, women seem to be more involved in internationalization at home. We find, however, a correspondence between the gendered modes of internationalization and family-related variables as women academics with full-time working partners and children are less likely to take part in international research collaboration than male academics in similar circumstances.

The establishment of formal research groups in higher education institutions

This article explores the significance for academic staff members of research groups established and formalised as part of research strategies at university faculties. It also explores the levels of participation and stresses the importance of such group-related activities with regard to the level of participation, perceived impact on research quality and researcher training. The study is based on data from a survey and in-depth interviews with academic staff at Norwegian universities as well as document reviews. It provides evidence that formalised research groups can have a positive effect on the quality of individual research as well as researcher training. The study reveals significant differences between fields of science with regard to the importance of such groups for research activities and quality. Nevertheless, it finds that they contribute to more institution-based research, and also in subjects and qualifications where the research has primarily been conducted on an individual basis, such as in the humanities. These groups cannot simply be understood as a legitimating device for scientific communities due to changing funding and steering criteria; rather they manifest themselves as modes of academic work serving as a supplement to, rather than substitute for, other forms of cooperation.

Access and stratification in Nordic higher education. A review of cross-cutting research themes and issues*

ABSTRACT The purpose of this review is to investigate cross-cutting research themes and issues related to access and stratification in Nordic higher education (H.E.) (Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden). We synthesise how recent changes in H.E. policy, practise, and appropriations have influenced educational opportunities along social class, gender and age. In this review we highlight results and conclusions shared by various recent Nordic studies. The emphasis is on the common trends and patterns related to social stratification in access.

Global: Gender and International Research Cooperation

The internationalization of higher education and research is becoming increasingly essential, as higher education becomes an industry in which institutions and countries compete for the best brains, exchange students, and collaborate on research. International activity is also increasingly important for the enhancement of individuals’ academic careers.

Europe: Different Approaches to Fees for International Students

All Nordic countries offer free higher education to their citizens. Traditionally, international students have also been able to study for free in this region but in 2006 Denmark introduced tuition fees for international students coming from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area.