@article {4039, title = {Brothers in Arms? How neoliberalism connects North and South Higher Education: Finland and Portugal in perspective}, journal = {Social Sciences}, volume = {11}, year = {2022}, month = {13/05/2022}, pages = {213}, abstract = {

This paper puts in perspective the reforms of the Portuguese and Finnish higher education (HE) sectors in the light of the role intergovernmental organisations have{\textemdash}especially the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD){\textemdash}in influencing neoliberal public policies in these countries. On the year that the OECD celebrates its 62nd anniversary, (the OECD was founded with this name on 14 December 1960 by 20 countries, following the establishment of the former European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) in April 1948) and by comparing two different countries, this article analyses the extent to which the OECD has been and is an {\textquotedblleft}imperial agent{\textquotedblright} in Portuguese and Finnish HE policies. By cross-comparing the OECD reports of both HE systems, the empirical data shows how the OECD proposes neoliberal reforms based on three main components of neoliberalism: market, management and performativity in different countries. Taking these proposals into account, Portugal and Finland undertook similar HE legislative reforms despite their geographical, historical, cultural and economic differences. The data reveal a convergence in HE policies in these countries, anticipating the reinforcement of neoliberal policies at the national level.\ 

}, keywords = {Finland, HE, New Public Management (NPM), OECD, policy diffusion, policy implementation, Portugal}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11050213}, url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/5/213}, author = {Sara Diogo and Teresa Carvalho} } @inbook {4032, title = {An International Comparative Perspective on Higher Education Institutions{\textquoteright} Governance and Management {\textendash} Portugal, Finland, and Brazil}, booktitle = {Intercultural Studies in Higher Education}, series = {Intercultural Studies in Education}, year = {2019}, pages = {109{\textendash}133}, publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.}, organization = {Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.}, edition = {A. Moreira, P. Jen-Jacques, N. Bagnall }, abstract = {

Reforms in higher education (HE) in the last decades have been influenced by global and international trends associated with two parallel processes: questioning of the nation-state and the gradual decomposition of the welfare state (Carvalho and Santiago in\ Professionalism, Managerialism and Reform in Higher Education and the Health Services: The European Welfare State and the Rise of the Knowledge Society.\ Palgrave Macmillan, 2015; Kwiek in\ Higher Education in Europe\ 26:27{\textendash}38, 2001). These processes intersect with the influence of neo-liberal ideas, strongly diffused by international organizations (Amaral and Neave in\ International Organizations and Higher Education Policy: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally.\ Routledge, London, pp. 82{\textendash}98, 2009; Ball in\ Policy Futures in Education\ 14:1046{\textendash}1059, 2016). According to Stephan Ball (Policy Futures in Education\ 14:1046{\textendash}1059, 2016), neo-liberal influences in HE can be summarized by three interrelated and interdependent technologies: market, management, and performance. These technologies were translated in the emergence of new management and governance models within higher education institutions (HEIs) in such a way that institutional governance became an international issue (Reed and Meek in\ Governing Higher Education: National Perspectives on Institutional Governance. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. xv{\textendash}xxxi, 2002). It has been acknowledged that changes in governance and management structures in HE all over the world include transformations in the Humboldtian principles of organization along with changes in the collegial model of decision-making and a redefinition of power relations, where external stakeholders and new professionals assume a relevant role within academia (Capano in\ Public Administration\ 89:1622{\textendash}1642, 2011; Reed and Meek in\ Governing Higher Education: National Perspectives on Institutional Governance. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. xv{\textendash}xxxi, 2002; Welch in\ Higher Education in Southeast Asia: Blurring Borders, Changing Balance. Taylor \& Francis, 2011), with implications on academics{\textquoteright} work (Blackmore et al. in\ Re-positioning University Governance and Academic Work. Sense Publishers, 2010; Carvalho and Santiago in\ Higher Education Policy\ 23:397{\textendash}411, 2010; Marginson in\ Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management\ 22:23{\textendash}35, 2000). Nevertheless, few comparative international perspectives have been developed, especially when considering the need to include countries with distinct historical processes of nation-state creation, different welfare state models and diverse levels of economic development, and social and cultural characteristics. There is, indeed, a study gap on New Public Management (NPM) constructs and their application {\textquotedblleft}with little understanding of several important cultural dimensions{\textquotedblright} (Stromquist in\ Compare\ 30:261{\textendash}264, 2000). This chapter compares the perceived changes in HEI management and its impact on academics in three countries: Brazil, Finland, and Portugal. Data analysis relies on a qualitative approach, empirically based on 70 interviews conducted in the 3 countries to top and middle academic managers, following the same interviewing guidelines. Despite significant differences in systems{\textquoteright} organization and funding, cultures{\textquoteright} governance and management, and professionals{\textquoteright} and students{\textquoteright} profiles, there are more similar views on changes in governance and management and its impact on academics than expected. In these countries, academics expressed similar views on the increased influence of a management culture within their institutions and a loss of professional autonomy.

}, keywords = {Brazil, Finland, Globalization, Governance, Higher Education Institutions, International organizations, Management, new public management, Portugal}, issn = {978-3-030-15757-9}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15758-6_5}, url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-15758-6_5}, author = {Sara Diogo and Milka Barbosa and Teresa Carvalho} } @article {4072, title = {Exploring the relationship between institutional and professional autonomy: a comparative study between Portugal and Finland}, journal = {Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management}, volume = {40}, year = {2017}, month = {12 Nov 2017}, pages = {18-33}, abstract = {

By comparing two distinct settings{\textendash}Portugal and Finland{\textendash}and based on previous studies revealing similar trends in both countries, this article analyses the relationship between institutional and academic autonomy in the higher education sector. Based on crosschecking of the literature review and 47 interviews with key actors in both the Portuguese and Finnish higher education systems, the authors analyse the extent to which the political attempts to increase institutional autonomy are perceived by academics in these countries as leading to an increase in their professional autonomy. Data reveals that there is a lack of complete correspondence between the way different institutional dimensions have been changing at the organisational level and the way academics perceive the effects at the professional level. While there is a correspondence in the perceptions over organisational and interventional autonomy, no correspondence is found concerning policy autonomy in both countries. Furthermore, there are no homogeneous perceptions within academics group in each country concerning professional autonomy.

}, keywords = {academic freedom, comparative education, Finland, higher education systems, institutional autonomy, Portugal}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2018.1395916}, url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1360080X.2018.1395916}, author = {Teresa Carvalho and Sara Diogo} }