Scholarly or socially relevant? An examination of European academic associations

1. Scholarly or socially relevant? An examination of European academic associations Tatiana Fumasoli CHES – Centre for Higher Education Studies Department Education, Practice, Society t.fumasoli@ucl.ac.uk

2. Background of this research • organizational dimension: governance, identity, capacity and position • sociological perspective on strategy in higher education (agency affecting structure) • field: emergence, institutionalization, (dis-) integration • role of the academic profession in field dynamics

3. This paper • Part of a SI on transnational actors in European higher education governance • Mapping exercise • Large dataset allowing for further analysis and hypothesis testing

4. Why focusing on academic associations RQ: how do academics organize themselves as a professional group? • advocating common objectives • transcending national higher education systems, institutions and disciplines Case: European academic associations

5. Definitions Academic association: anassociationarticulating its mission around higher education and/or research European academic association • has headquarters in a European country or in a country member/associate member of EHEA and/or ERA • Two thirds of countries of membership are European Field: a constructed mesolevel social order, actors interact based on shared (but not necessarily uncontested) understandings about the purposes of the field, relationships to others in the field, and the rules governing legitimate action in the field (Fligstein and McAdam 2012, 9)

6. Theoretical framework (1): World Polity TheoryBoli and Thomas 1999, Drori et al 2003, Schofer 1999, 2004 • Science gets increasingly institutionalised • Founding of academic organizations increase when founding of European/international institutions increase. • Transition from purely scholarly to more socially oriented missions Indicators • Foundations (N) • socially relevant aims

7. Theoretical framework (2): Professions and ProfessionalismAbbott 1988, Freidson 2001, Larson 1977/2013 • normative control of profession’s jurisdiction: - specialized work and knowledge - division of labour and career structures - entry credentials and certified training • privileged relationship with state Indicators Training, professional networking, quality and accreditation aims

8. Theoretical framework (3): Interest groupsGreenwood and Ronit 1994, Granados and Knoke 2005, Beyers et al 2008 • Rational defence of professional interests - identification and aggregation of interests - pooling of financial and political resources - coordination of collective action in policy making Indicators Type of aims, relationships with EU institutions, European and international organizations

9. Methodology: Data, Analysis 324 European academic associations, 1922-2014 Membership, languages, funding sources, links to IGOs and INGOs, activities, publications Theory-driven types of aims (Schofer 1999)

10. Illustration: Carpathian Balkan Geological Association Founded: 1922 Headquarters: Bratislava, Slovakia Mission: promoting close international collaboration to solve fundamental problems of the geological structure of the region Languages: English, French, German, Russian No budget Publishes: scientific journal, conference proceedings, background books Link: International Union of Geological Sciences (1)

11. Number of associations funded 1922-2014

12. Frequency of aims

13. Five clusters 1. Discipline-oriented (1989): 48%; focused aims; weak links to IGOs and INGOs; membership average 15 countries; headquarters in BE, NL, DE, UK; scientific publications. Ex. European Orthopaedic Research Society 2. Multi-aim social (1992): 19%; strongest links to IGOS/ INGOs; average 14 countries; BE, NL; various types of publications. Ex. European Federation for Research and Information on Sectarianism 3. Multi-aim scholarly (1987): 14%; highest N aims; average 19 countries; BE, UK, F, DE. Ex. European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies

14. Five clusters 4. Profession-oriented (1981): 11%; most focused aims (median 1); weakest links to IGOs; low N countries (9) but highest N languages (av. 2,3); BE, NL, UK. Ex. European Association for Comparative Economic Studies 5. Standards (1994): 9%; weakest links with INGOs; lowest N countries (8); BE, NL. Ex. European Society for Quality in Healthcare

15. 5 clusters of academic associations

16. Country of headquarters

17. Discussion (1) WPT H1 international and European organizations have no linear relationship with founding rate of academic associations. Ex. FPs from 1984. Size of the academic field - resources Organizational capacity Macro conditions: economic crisis WPT H2 not all academic associations have become more socially relevant. Disciplines and their overall ecology Knowledge dynamics

18. Discussion (2) PP H1 profession-oriented associations appear to form a niche, isolated from other actors. Thriving or stagnating National arenas IG H1 our data does not indicate particular lobbying activities. Official data Division of labour: national, European, international and global arenas

19. European governance of higher education and research A diversified landscape Diversity in aims Variety of languages: E (69%), F (25%), D (16%), Nordic languages, ES, It, Dutch, RU (2-6%) Geographical centre-periphery Reflects national system research capacity. Core: Belgium - Brussels, and the Netherlands; France, Germany, UK.

20. Next steps Control for disciplines Membership analysis: individual/organizational Links to other associations and actors in the field Longitudinal 2002-2016 (previously if available) Qualitative research on how academics multiple affiliations affect their academic careers.