Abstract
Starting from 2015–2017, significant progress can be observed in Europe, possibly more than in other parts of the world, in developing new and better adapted frameworks of reference for safeguarding academic freedom. This includes the adoption for the first time of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA)-wide common conceptual reference for academic freedom in 2020, shared at least nominally by 49 countries. The present paper proposes a new analytic framework for studying and understanding these developments. When employing this new perspective, it becomes evident that similar developments regarding new conceptualizations, codification, monitoring, and practice of academic freedom are happening in other parts of the world and at other levels in higher education systems as well (i.e., institutional, national, and global). A specific question to be asked in this context is how European developments fit with and interact with global developments and trends in this area. In particular, the paper examines the possibility and desirability of a global conceptual reference for academic freedom, one that transcends national and regional frameworks, including that of the EHEA. Answers are sought through an analytical overview of the scholarship regarding the feasibility and desirability of a common global conceptual reference for academic freedom and by interrogating the results of a curated expert dialogue dedicated to this topic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | European Higher Education Area 2030: Bridging Realities for Tomorrow’s Higher Education |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 531-551 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- frameworks of reference for academic freedom
- conceptual references for academic freedom
- Academic Freedom
- European Higher Education Area