Paradigms in Higher Education Studies

Abstract

　 Research on higher education is drawing growing attention, as attested by the recent organization of Japan Society for Studies into Higher Education. This paper presents an epistemological model of higher education studies which involves three significant layers -discourses about policy and practice, empirical studies and conceptual paradigms. The establishment of the Society is important because the organization will provide the link connecting the three layers. But the coherence of the field will be critically dependent on the conceptual paradigm.
　 From this perspective, past developments in higher education studies in Japan are reviewed. In the 1970’s the Mass Higher Education thesis played a significant role as a paradigm, which provided the link between empirical analyses and policy issues in Japan at the time. Since the late 1980’s the nature of the issues in higher education. Mass Higher Education is an established reality and universal attendance is not envisaged. The Mass Higher Education thesis is now being replaced by Universal Higher Education thesis as a paradigm, but its basic logic will not change.
　 Meanwhile a completely new paradigm is emerging - that is the development of Market-Orientation in higher education. It involves a set of issues that are significant not only in designing changes of policy and practices, but also analytical issues that have to be carefully scrutinized through empirical analyses.