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The Emergence of the Professional Field of Higher Education in Sweden

Agevall, Ola and Olofsson, Gunnar LU (2013) In Professions and Professionalism 3(2). p.1-22
Abstract
The changing structure of the Swedish university system has shaped its corps of university teachers. The analytical device used to demonstrate this connection is the changing social functions of Swedish universities which serve as the lens through which we understand this change. We argue for five successive and historically added layers of functions: the training of church officials, state functionaries, experts of the industrial society, the welfare professions, and, finally, the mass of employees of the “knowledge society.” Each new function is superimposed on the existing ones, adding to the complexity of tasks, areas of knowledge, and teacher categories in the universities. The position of the university as the arbiter of the highest... (More)
The changing structure of the Swedish university system has shaped its corps of university teachers. The analytical device used to demonstrate this connection is the changing social functions of Swedish universities which serve as the lens through which we understand this change. We argue for five successive and historically added layers of functions: the training of church officials, state functionaries, experts of the industrial society, the welfare professions, and, finally, the mass of employees of the “knowledge society.” Each new function is superimposed on the existing ones, adding to the complexity of tasks, areas of knowledge, and teacher categories in the universities. The position of the university as the arbiter of the highest form of knowledge, the internal differentiation of the field of higher education, and the growth and stratification of its teaching corps are three main building blocks for this history of the Swedish system of higher education. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
universities, field of higher education, layers of function, institutional form, institutional expansion/contraction, corps of university teachers, Sociology, Sociologi
in
Professions and Professionalism
volume
3
issue
2
pages
22 pages
publisher
Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus
ISSN
1893-1049
DOI
10.7577/pp.547
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
3b3e3c4a-391c-4103-99ce-5e2066ef748e
alternative location
https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/pp/article/view/547/679
date added to LUP
2018-03-17 16:37:20
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:38:42
@article{3b3e3c4a-391c-4103-99ce-5e2066ef748e,
  abstract     = {{The changing structure of the Swedish university system has shaped its corps of university teachers. The analytical device used to demonstrate this connection is the changing social functions of Swedish universities which serve as the lens through which we understand this change. We argue for five successive and historically added layers of functions: the training of church officials, state functionaries, experts of the industrial society, the welfare professions, and, finally, the mass of employees of the “knowledge society.” Each new function is superimposed on the existing ones, adding to the complexity of tasks, areas of knowledge, and teacher categories in the universities. The position of the university as the arbiter of the highest form of knowledge, the internal differentiation of the field of higher education, and the growth and stratification of its teaching corps are three main building blocks for this history of the Swedish system of higher education.}},
  author       = {{Agevall, Ola and Olofsson, Gunnar}},
  issn         = {{1893-1049}},
  keywords     = {{universities; field of higher education; layers of function; institutional form; institutional expansion/contraction; corps of university teachers; Sociology; Sociologi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{1--22}},
  publisher    = {{Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus}},
  series       = {{Professions and Professionalism}},
  title        = {{The Emergence of the Professional Field of Higher Education in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.7577/pp.547}},
  doi          = {{10.7577/pp.547}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}