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The Contemporary Professoriate: Towards a Diversified or Segmented Profession?
Author(s) -
Stromquist Nelly P.,
GilAntón Manuel,
Colatrella Carol,
Mabokela Reitumtse Obakeng,
Smolentseva Anna,
Balbachevsky Elizabeth
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
higher education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.976
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1468-2273
pISSN - 0951-5224
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2007.00342.x
Subject(s) - phenomenon , higher education , corporate governance , public sector , diversity (politics) , dream , private sector , political science , sociology , economic growth , public administration , economics , management , law , psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
On the empirical basis of six national studies (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Denmark, Russia and South Africa), this paper examines the phenomenon of segmentation, defined as the solidification of deep hierarchies with little crossover between categories of institutions or individuals. The massification of higher education has brought about a great diversity of institutions and, concomitantly, stark differences among the professoriate. While the public sector has to some extent been able to protect its academic personnel, the for‐profit sector is moving towards an unstable professoriate, poorly paid, hired mostly on a per‐hour basis, and for whom sharing in academic governance is a distant dream. Some of this differentiation is emerging also within institutions and a new kind of academic who could be termed ‘just‐in‐time knowledge worker’ is on the rise.