Transition to a Mode 2 university: Possibilities and Impossibilities

Zakersalehi, Gholamreza

doi:10.22035/jous.2024.5077.1048

Transition to a Mode 2 university: Possibilities and Impossibilities

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Author

Gholamreza Zakersalehi

Professor, Institute for Research & Planning in Higher Education, Tehran, Iran

10.22035/jous.2024.5077.1048

Abstract

The formation of a mode 2 university is rooted in the mode 2 knowledge system. While the formation of a new system of knowledge production and the institutions, networks, and tools that arise from it is undeniable, the author's question is whether these developments are happening completely, and in a timely manner? Doesn't the expansion of the mode 2 university lead to a chain of challenges and problems? Are the effects of emerging issues in mode 2 universities all positive, beneficial, and constructive? What are the possibilities and obstacles in the transition to a mode 2 university? This research is a qualitative study that uses the Boland systematic review method. The findings showed that developments are identifiable in four domains: developments in knowledge and science institutions, teaching and learning, the relationship with society and the market, and the technological domain. Then, separate lists of possibilities and obstacles were obtained for each domain. According to the findings, two different styles of discourse are in opposition to think about the future of higher education. First, the market discourse, managerialism, and technology, and second, reflective discourses that focus on deeper social structures and cultural approaches, as well as broader scientific and intellectual changes.
The important point , is there a way to integrate the two existing strong discourses (market and technology discourse-social discourse)? The qualitative findings indicate that integrations can only be formulated at the micro-technical level and executive initiatives. However, as for macro-structures, rules, and resource allocation, the process of change is slow, since we are dealing with the hard parts of science governance. In the current circumstances, we need to change the paradigm. The responses are slow and the changes are conservative or accompanied by resistance and stability. Therefore, the evidence suggests that the formation of the mode-2 university and its transition period will be long, although the youth are eager for it. Until the mode-2 knowledge system is formed and matures, the mode 2 university is nothing more than a slogan. This is the lesson we have learned from Gibbons.

Keywords

New system of knowledge production

Mode 2 university

Futures studies of higher education

Systematic review

Subjects

University, Communications and Cyber Space

Asgari, A., Korsandi, A., & Ghiyasi, S. (2020). Implementing an Innovation District with the Aim of Regional Development under the Anchor Approach Using the Fourth Generation University. Journal of Science and Technology Policy, 13(3), 67-81. doi: 10.22034/jstp.2020.12.3.1241

Boland, A., Cherry, M. G., & Dickson, R. (2017). Doing a systematic review (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Bouchrika, I. (2024). 11 top trends in higher education: 2024 data, insights & predictions. Retrieved from https://research.com/education/trends-in-higher-education

Chandwaskar, P., & Jape, S. (2024). Case of Learnbiz Simulations: Challenges and opportunities ahead. Emerging Economies Cases Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/25166042241228367

Dator, J. (2009). Trend analysis vs. emerging issues analysis. Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies. Retrieved June 28, 2014, from http://www.futures.hawaii.edu

Duderstadt, J. (1998). University in the 21st century: A tale of two futures: Challenges facing higher education at the millennium. NY: Oryx Press.

Galtung, J. (2005). Structure, culture, and intellectual style: An essay comparing Saxonic, Teutonic, Gallic, and Nipponic approaches. Sociology, 20(6), 601-624. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901848102000601

Gibbons, M. (1994). The new production of knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. SAGE Publications. Thousand Oaks, CA.

Gilles, B., & Lambert, M. (2009). Globalisation et universités: Nouvel Espace, Nouveaux Actors (H. Javdani, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Institute for Social and Cultural Studies. (In persian)

Johnston, B., et al. (2018). Conceptualising the digital university: The intersection of policy, pedagogy, and practice. Springer.

Lang, T. (2015). An overview of four futures methodologies. Academia.edu. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/37104878

Lavinia, M. (2021). On the possibility of a digital university: Thinking and mediatic displacement at the university. Springer.

Les Bell et al. (2017). Ayande-ye amuzeš-e āli: xat-e mašy, āmuzeš va tajrobe-ye dānešju [The future of higher education, policy, education and student experience] (J. Karimi, & P. Karimi, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Institute of Cultural and Social Studies. (Original work published 2009)

Mahdavi Mazdeh, M., Bank, M., Zahedi, M. R., & Poormesgari, M. (2013). Ta’in-e šāxesha-ye ta’sirgozār dar kārāfarini-ye dānešgāh-haye dowlati-ye Iran va rotbebandi-ye dānešgāh-ha az in manzar [Recognition of State Universities Entrepreneurship Indicators and Ranking the Universities in aspect of Entrepreneurship]. Journal of Science and Technology Policy, 6(3), 81-98.

Marginson, S. (2024). Higher education faces a more fragile and contested future. University World News. Retrieved from https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240215145839243

Nietzel, M. T. (2024). 5 higher education trends to watch for in 2024. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2024/01/01/five-higher-education-trends-to-watch-for-in-2024/

Parsmodir (2023). Prisma čist? [What is prisma?]. available at: https://parsmodir.com/db/research/prisma.php

Raschke, C. A. (2003). The digital revolution and the coming of the postmodern university. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/The-Digital-Revolution-and-the-Coming-of-the-Postmodern-University/Raschke/p/book/9780415369848

Samim, R. (2013). Talfiq-e olguhā-ye sonnati va motajādded-e āmuzeš-e āli-ye olum-e ensāni dar Iran: Tahlili jāme’e-šenāxti az tajrobe-ye dānešgāh-e Imam Sadegh dar ejrāye miān-rešte’iha-ye Eslāmi [The Combination of Traditional and Modern Models for Higher Education in Iran: a Sociological Analysis on the Imam Sadiq University and its Islamic Interdisciplinary Curricula]. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 5(4), 55-72. doi: 10.7508/isih.2014.20.003

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. Jossey-Bass.

Scott, P. (2000). A tale of three revolutions: Science, society, and the university. In Higher education reform. Falmer Press.

Spriggs, J. (2024). The transformative trends reshaping higher education in 2024. The EvoLLLution. Retrieved from https://evolllution.com/the-transformative-trends-reshaping-higher-education-in-2024

UNESCO. (2005). Toward knowledge societies: UNESCO world report. Imprimerie Corlet. Conde-sur-Noireau, France.

Van der Zwaan, B. (2017). Higher education in 2040: A global approach. Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvfp63n9

Van Weert, T. J. (2006). Education of the twenty-first century: New professionalism in lifelong learning, knowledge development, and knowledge sharing. Education and Information Technologies, 11(3), 217–237.

Workday Staff Writers. (2023). Future of higher education. Workday Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.workday.com/en-us/2023/future-higher-education-5-trends-watch.html

Zakersalehi, Gh. (2020). Ayande-pažuhi-ye ta’sirāt-e bohrān-e COVID-19 bar āmuzeš-e āli [Futurology on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on higher education]. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 12(2), 181-211. doi: 10.22035/isih.2020.3962.4063

Zhang, L. F., & Sternberg, R. J. (2006). The nature of intellectual styles (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203053881