About this Research Topic
The university is one of the oldest and most persistent institutions in history. In modern, complex societies, it has become key for solving societal problems. A successful functioning of the institution, however, requires well-functioning research processes. Our existential need for trustworthy science provides one important reason for why academia’s manifold internal problems demand attention from different disciplinary perspectives.
This Research Topic is meant to discuss both up-to-date descriptions of urgent problems in academic organization and institutionalization, as well as corresponding approaches to solving them. It aims to gather a multi-faceted perspective on academic life in its entirety: We therefore call for either comprehensive analyses of individual problems in the university system, or of their interplay, such as social aspects (e.g., young academic’s precarious living conditions) overlapping with functional ones (e.g., innovations falling short of their potential). In particular, submissions could address:
• organizational issues (e.g., quality management of research and teaching)
• institutional issues (e.g., contemporary forms of employment and funding)
• evaluation issues (e.g., criteria design for hiring, promotion, or projects)
• consistency issues (e.g., the 'replication crisis' of research findings)
• transformation issues (e.g., the implementation of digital technologies)
• impact issues (e.g., political recognition of climate change research results)
• equality issues (e.g., discrimination and biases)
• possible ameliorations, mitigations, or solutions.
With this Research Topic, we aim to make a substantial contribution to the self-critique of academic processes, so that they can better fulfill their institutional role in a situation characterized by multiple crises. Submissions from all disciplines are welcome, especially from sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, and philosophy.
This Research Topic is meant to discuss both up-to-date descriptions of urgent problems in academic organization and institutionalization, as well as corresponding approaches to solving them. It aims to gather a multi-faceted perspective on academic life in its entirety: We therefore call for either comprehensive analyses of individual problems in the university system, or of their interplay, such as social aspects (e.g., young academic’s precarious living conditions) overlapping with functional ones (e.g., innovations falling short of their potential). In particular, submissions could address:
• organizational issues (e.g., quality management of research and teaching)
• institutional issues (e.g., contemporary forms of employment and funding)
• evaluation issues (e.g., criteria design for hiring, promotion, or projects)
• consistency issues (e.g., the 'replication crisis' of research findings)
• transformation issues (e.g., the implementation of digital technologies)
• impact issues (e.g., political recognition of climate change research results)
• equality issues (e.g., discrimination and biases)
• possible ameliorations, mitigations, or solutions.
With this Research Topic, we aim to make a substantial contribution to the self-critique of academic processes, so that they can better fulfill their institutional role in a situation characterized by multiple crises. Submissions from all disciplines are welcome, especially from sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, and philosophy.
Keywords: academic organization, teaching, University, institutions
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
