Field of Higher Education Research, Europe

Abstract

Higher education research in Europe has experienced growth since about the 1960s but altogether has remained a small field. It is characterized by fuzzy borderlines between those closely attached to this thematic focus and representatives of various disciplines touching this theme occasionally as well as between researchers and other experts involved in knowledge production on higher education along other tasks. It is a sizeable field of research in some European countries and marginal in others, whereby the themes of research are diverse and the institutional basis is varied. A national focus dominates everywhere. The results of research are unevenly spread across Europe due to the different roles of the English language in the various countries. Europe-wide and international communication and collaboration among higher education researchers have grown substantially since the 1980s, and many analyses are of a comparative nature or address similar developments across countries. Stronger steering approaches in university governance and management as well as an increasing global, international, and European focus in higher education have contributed to a growth of higher education research. The researchers face the challenge of striking a balance between efforts to improve the theoretical and methodological basis and to be accepted as relevant for policy and practice.