University management in the western sociology of higher education

Abstract

Introduction. In recent decades, the issues of management of higher education have been actively developed in sociology. The relevance of this topic is reflected in the increasing importance of university activities in the life of society and the conflict situation within scientific and educational organisations, which has developed due to the ambiguous attitude of the academic community towards the university management and the entrepreneurial model of university management. The aim of the present publication is to analyse and generalise Western sociological studies on university management issues. Methodology and research methods. The present research is based on comparative analysis methodology. In the course of analytical review, international experience in university management was investigated. Results and scientific novelty. Social prerequisites, contradictions and implications of transformation of managerial practices in universities are identified and described. The authors of the present article characterise theoretical models of these practices, types and forms of interaction of the university management structure with the academic community. The professionalisation process among managers employed in higher school is outlined. The authors demonstrate the ideas, discussions and new trends of university research projects in the United States, Canada, France, England, Spain, Germany, Holland, Nordic and other Western countries from a critical perspective. The choice is based on the development of sociology as science and the real achievements in higher education systems in these countries. Thee authors promote the idea that leading Western sociologists not only recorded objective evolutionary changes, their results and quantitative indicators for a long period of time, but also revealed the essence of antinomic explicit and latent processes, which accompany university reforms and their administrative structures. It is emphasised that through a sociological perspective these scientists managed to show the quintessence of social relations, behavioural strategies and value systems, which emerge in the university community and serve as the main resource of development of modern universities. Practical significance. It is obvious that the Russian higher school is moving along the same trajectory as Western universities, and it is unlikely to leave this track, so when looking at the advantages and disadvantages of foreign experience, the authors of the present article tried to find out the prospects for the Russian system of higher education and possible vectors of its management development. In this regard, the materials of the current publication can be useful both for sociologists of higher education and for practitioners working in the field of university management. © 2020 Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University. All rights reserved.