Back to Results
Cover image of On Higher Education
Cover image of On Higher Education
Share this Title:

On Higher Education

Selected Writings, 1956–2006

Burton R. Clark
foreword by Patricia J. Gumport

Publication Date
Binding Type

Widely acknowledged as one of the great sociologists of higher education, Burton R. Clark has made substantial contributions to virtually every area in the field, thereby defining its study for generations. This collection of essays makes available a lifetime of research, scholarship, and insight from a giant in higher education and reveals how his perspectives, concepts, and research methods evolved over half a century. The result is a compelling look at the career of one of the world’s leaders in higher education research.

The volume presents Clark's early research studies underpinning his...

Widely acknowledged as one of the great sociologists of higher education, Burton R. Clark has made substantial contributions to virtually every area in the field, thereby defining its study for generations. This collection of essays makes available a lifetime of research, scholarship, and insight from a giant in higher education and reveals how his perspectives, concepts, and research methods evolved over half a century. The result is a compelling look at the career of one of the world’s leaders in higher education research.

The volume presents Clark's early research studies underpinning his theories of the "cooling-out" function and organizational saga. It includes his landmark 1973 essay "Development of the Sociology of Higher Education" and other work that reflects his line of inquiry into the American national system. Essays also follow Clark’s shift from organizational studies of American higher education to international comparative analysis of national systems of higher education. These selections reflect the interdisciplinary approach characterizing subsequent work. The book concludes with his most recent research on the important question of how modern universities evolve by developing the infrastructure and tools to bring about meaningful change.

At once a monumental achievement and testament to an extraordinary career, On Higher Education is an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners of higher education.

Reviews

Reviews

It provides a solid foundation in higher education both here in the United States and internationally. The breadth and depth of the essays are highly compelling, and in fact, this book could easily be used in a course on institutional governance, organizational change, or higher education in general... Clark's essays, hard work, and intellectual curiosity [are] a lesson for all of us.

The perfect read for those interested in higher education, and especially for those interested in the evolution of the field.

Clark provides not only a grounded understanding of the inner life of higher education organizations but also a grounded understanding of his personal academic journey and of the 'absorbing errand' that has comprised his highly successful and distinguished professional career.

The collection is simply astonishing and thrilling... To have this large selection of essays in one place is a gift to those of us working in the field... The collection will soon be referred to as 'classic.'

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
600
ISBN
9780801890215
Illustration Description
1 line drawing
Table of Contents

Foreword, by Patricia J. Gumport
Introduction
Part One: Fashioning an Analytical Mode
Introduction to Chapter 1
1. Organizational Adaptation and Precarious Values
Introduction to Chapters 2 and 3
2. The

Foreword, by Patricia J. Gumport
Introduction
Part One: Fashioning an Analytical Mode
Introduction to Chapter 1
1. Organizational Adaptation and Precarious Values
Introduction to Chapters 2 and 3
2. The "Cooling-Out" Function in Higher Education
3. The "Cooling-Out" Function Revisited
Introduction to Chapters 4 and 5
4. The Organizational Saga in Higher Education
5. Belief and Loyalty in College Organization
Part Two: Probing the American National System
Introduction to Chapter 6
6. College Image and Student Selection
Introduction to Chapter 7
7. The Clark-Trow Typology of Student Cultures
Introduction to Chapter 8
8. Organizational Adaptation to Professionals
Introduction to Chapter 9
9. Interorganizational Patterns in Education
Introduction to Chapter 10
10. The Wesleyan Story: The Importance of Moral Capital
Introduction to Chapter 11
11. Development of the Sociology of Higher Education
Part Three: Cultivating Cross-National Insight
Introduction to Chapter 12
12. Italy: A Case Study of System Failure
Introduction to Chapter 13
13. Order and Disorder in Higher Education
Introduction to Chapter 14
14. Coping with Conflicting Values: An International View
Introduction to Chapter 15
15. The Case for Bottom-Heavy Federalism
Introduction to Chapter 16
16. Useful Disciplinary Perspectives in Probing Higher Education
Introduction to Chapter 17
17. The High School and the University: What Went Wrong in America, Part 2
Introduction to Chapter 18
18. Differentiation and Integration of the Academic Profession
Introduction to Chapter 19
19. The Logic of the Profession
Introduction to Chapter 20
20. The Absorbing Errand
Introduction to Chapter 21
21. The Academic Life: Small Worlds, Different Worlds
Introduction to Chapter 22
22. Schools of Education: The Academic-Professional Seesaw
Introduction to Chapter 23
23. Is California the Model for OECD Futures?
Introduction to Chapter 24
24. The Problem of Complexity in Modern Higher Education
Introduction to Chapter 25
25. The Modern Integration of Research Activities with Teaching and Learning
Introduction to Chapter 26
26. Substantive Growth and Innovative Organization: New Categories for Higher Education Research
Introduction to Chapter 27
27. Small Worlds, Different Worlds: The Uniquenesses and Troubles ofAmerican Academic Professions
Introduction to Chapter 28
28. University Transformation for the Twenty-First Century
Introduction to Chapter 29
29. The Insulated Americans: Five Lessons from Abroad
Part Four: Revealing the Armature of University Change
Introduction to Chapter 30
30. Delineating the Character of the Entrepreneurial University
Introduction to Chapter 31
31. Genetic Entrepreneurialism among American Universities
Introduction to Chapter 32
32. Overcoming the Disconnect between Researchers andPractitioners
Introduction to Chapter 33
33. The Advantages of Case Study Narratives in UnderstandingContinuity and Change in Universities
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Index

Author Bio
Burton R. Clark
Featured Contributor

Burton R. Clark

Burton R. Clark is professor emeritus of higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author, coauthor, editor, or coeditor of numerous books and journal articles, including Sustaining Change in Universities: Continuities in Case Studies and Concepts, Creating Entrepreneurial Universities: Organizational Pathways of Transformation, and Places of Inquiry: Research and...
Resources

Additional Resources