Papers by Claudius Elmenthaler
The research-teaching nexus has been the issue of several studies, from different fields and thei... more The research-teaching nexus has been the issue of several studies, from different fields and their varying theoretical perspectives. This wide array of findings have gathered important insights in the relationship of research and teaching. But reciprocal use of this knowledge is difficult, because of the incompatible underlying theoretical paradigms. I suggest an approach to overcome this obstacle by reformulating the examined phenomena on basis of Niklas Luhmanns Systemtheory, including a suitable method to aim at the nexus of research and teaching itself. The goal is a theory of the middle range trough the combined use of the funktionale Analyse and the grounded theory methodology. This includes a discussion on a philosophical level about this decision, and a profound discussion of the methodological consequences. The Paper ends with how to access the empirical field.
With the combination of findings from sociological research about organizations, education, profe... more With the combination of findings from sociological research about organizations, education, professions and science, it is possible to formulate a theory of higher education and its role in regard to research and scientific knowledge production. With this theory, it is possible to explain how especially universities are institutionalized in society since the Modern Age. Two concepts are crucial for this explanation. First the concept of epistemic Communities, and second the concept of cognitive dissonance, as a psychological drive to maintain a consistent identity. With findings from the sociology of knowledge, the first concept explains , why higher education organizations are so weak in managing themselves, and why in social and thematic issues they totally rely on existing epistemic Communities. The second concept explains with findings from social psychology, why the identity as a researcher is a key factor for the motivation to partake in research and scientific knowledge production. It appears, that the very nature of scientific knowledge production bears numerous uncertainties, and makes researchers heavily dependent on their epistemic Communities (or scientific Communities) for the consistency of their identity as scientists, regardless of their field of interest and disciplinary background. Conclusions for the governance of higher education institutions and for higher education pedagogics are drawn at the end of the paper.
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Papers by Claudius Elmenthaler