7/28/2019 Askling; Edgar Almén -- From participation to competition- Changes in the notion of decentralization in Swedish hi… http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/askling-edgar-almen-from-participation-to-competition-changes-in-the 1/12 Tertiary Education and Management, Vol.3, No.3, 1997, 199-210 From Participation To Competition: Changes in the Notion of Decentralization in Swedish Higher Educational Policy B erit A sklin g and E dgar Alm(n Introduction During the late 1980s and the early 1990s, national reforms of higher education systems were launched in many European countries, aim- ing at improving quality and efficiency By the use of surprisingly similar strategies, extensive redistribution of authority was carried out in terms of decentralization, deregulation and in- creased institutional autonomy (Kogan 1988; Maassen and van Vught 1994). Other trends in common are the focus on quality and efficiency and enterprise, and the search for procedures of evaluation and accountability, implying a devel- opment of the 'new Evaluative State' (Neave 1988). In Sweden, in successive steps since the 1970s, state regulations have decreased on all levels in the public sector, not just in the educational system and not just in higher education. In the comprehensive school the professionalism of teachers is now considered an important steering factor for equivalence and quality. In higher education, academic freedom is referred to as a guarantee for quality. In the official rhetoric of educational policy, the concept 'decentralization' has played a predominant role. Irrespective of political colour, successive governments have launched further steps towards decentralization in the educational system by using such words of honour as 'freedom' and 'responsibility'. In this paper, we scrutinize the Swedish gov- ernmental decentralization policy on higher edu- cation. A distinction is made between two waves of decentralization policy, the one manifested in the higher education reform of 1977, and the other in the higher education reform of 1993. By comparing some crucial aspects of the policy of the 1970s with similar aspects at the begin- ning of the 1990s, the underlying assumptions behind the decentralization policy are examined and compared. A Framework for Studying DecentraliTation In spite of considerable difficulties in agreeing on what is actually meant in practice when the concept 'decentralization' is used, the notion of decentralization seems to command a great deal of attention in countries that have a centralist structure of governance (Weiler 1990). I This article s based on a paper, hic h wa s p r e s e n t e d a t the 15th EA IR Forum, August 1993, in Turkn, Finland. Professor Berit Asklin~ until reccnt~ Pro Rector at Link@ing Univcrst'~y, s Prof~sor of Educaion in the Departmaff of Educational Research at Gtteborg Univers~, Swed~ ]'el +4631 7732443. Fax +465I 7732462. Email: B~it Askli ng@~s~ Dr Edgar Almtn is A.~tant Professor n Dim'ni~.y, Dep an m~ of Tbemt, Link@in$ University, as abo~ Tel: +46 13 28 24 95. Fax: +46 13 28 18 43. Email: [email protected]~ 199
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7/28/2019 Askling; Edgar Almén -- From participation to competition- Changes in the notion of decentralization in Swedish hi…
T e r t ia r y E d u c a t i o n a n d M a n a g e m e n t , V o l. 3, N o . 3 , 1 9 9 7 , 1 9 9 - 2 1 0
From Part ic ipat ion To Competi t ion:C h a n g e s in t h e N o t i o no f D ecentra liza tion in Sw edishHigher Educat ional Pol icy
B er i t A sk l i n g and E dga r A lm (n
I n t r o d u c t i o n
During the late 1980s and the early 1990s,
nat ional reforms of higher educat ion systems
we re launch ed in man y European countries, aim-
ing at improving qual i ty and eff iciency By the
use of surprisingly similar strategies, extensive
redistribution of authority was carried out in
terms o f decentralization, dereg ulation and in-
creased ins t i tu t ional autonomy (Kogan 1988;
Maassen an d van Vught 1994). Oth er t rends in
com mo n are the focus on qual i ty and eff iciency
and enterprise, an d the search for procedures ofevaluation and accountabili ty, implyin g a devel-
opment of the 'new Evaluat ive State ' (Neave
1988).
In Sw eden, in successive steps since the 1970s,
state regulations have decreased on all levels in
the public sector, not just in the educational
system and not just in higher education. In the
comprehensive school the profess ional ism of
teachers is now considered an im portant s teering
factor for equivalence a nd qu ality. In hig her
education, academic freedom is referred to as a
guarantee for quality. In the official rhetoric of
educa tional policy, the conc ept 'decentralization'
has played a predominant role. Irrespective of
polit ical colour, successive governments have
launched further s teps towards decentral izat ion
in the educat ional system by using such wo rds o f
ho no ur as 'freedom ' and 'responsibili ty'.
In this paper, we scrut inize the Swedish gov-
ernmen tal decentral ization pol icy on h ighe r edu-
cation. A distinction is m ade betw een tw o waves
of dece ntral izat ion pol icy, the o ne manifes ted in
the h igher educa t ion re fo rm of 1977 , and the
other in the higher educat ion reform of 1993.
By com paring some crucial aspects of the pol icy
o f the 1970s w i th s imilar aspects at the b egin-
ning o f the 1990s, the und erlying assumptions
behind the decentralizat ion pol icy are examined
and compared.
A F r a me w o r k f o r S t u d y i n g D e c e n t ra l iT a t i on
In spite o f considerable difficulties in ag reein g on
what is actually meant in practice when the
concep t 'decentralizat ion ' i s used, the not ion of
decentralization seems to command a great deal
of attention in countries that have a centralist
structure o f governance (Weiler 1990).
I T h i s a rt ic le s b a s e d o n a p a pe r , h i c h w a s p r e s e n t e d a t t h e 1 5 t h E A I R F o r u m , A u g u s t 1 9 9 3 , i n T ur k n , F in l a n d.
ProfessorBerit Asklin~ until reccnt~ Pro Rector at Link@ ing Univcrst'~y, s Prof~sor of Ed ucaion in the Departm aff of Educational
Research a t G tt eborg Un ivers~ , Swed ~ ] ' el + 4631 7732443. Fax + 4 65I 7732462. Emai l: B~ i t A s k l i n g @ ~ s ~
Dr E dgar Alm tn is A. ~ta nt Professor n Dim'ni~.y , D ep an m ~ of Tbemt , L ink@in$ Universi ty , as abo ~ Tel: +4 6 13 28 24 95.
Fax: +4 6 13 28 18 43. Emai l : edgal@trmLlia .s~
1 9 9
7/28/2019 Askling; Edgar Almén -- From participation to competition- Changes in the notion of decentralization in Swedish hi…
200 B E tL IT A S K L I N G A N D E D G A R A L M I~ N
W i t h r e g a r d t o h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m s , su c h
c o n c e p t s a s d e r e g u l a t i o n , d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n , a n d
d e c o n c e n t r a t i o n a r e s o m e t i m e s u s e d a l m o s t a s
s y n o n y m s f o r d e c e n t r a l i z a ti o n w h e n r e f e re n c e s
a r e m a d e t o c h a n g e s i n r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n
c e n t r a l a u th o r i t i e s , i n s t i tu t io n s a n d in d iv id u a l
academics. A p p a r e n t l y , t h e r e a r e m a n y a s p e c t s t o
t a k e in t o a c c o u n t w h e n u s i n g t h e c o n c e p t d e c e n -
t r a l i z a t io n .
O v e r t h e y e a r s , t h e p o l i t i c a l a s p e c t s h a v e a t -
t r a c te d m o s t a t t e n t i o n a s t h e y - i n a v e r y p r o -
f o u n d w a y - c h a n g e t h e r e l a t iv e i n f l u e n c e o f
g o v e r n m e n t s , t h e r e la t i v e a u t h o r i ty o f i n s t i t u t io n s
a n d t h e p r o f e ss i o n a l a u t o n o m y o f a c a d em i c s
( K o g a n 1 9 8 8 ; T e i c h l e r 1 9 8 8 ; v a n V u g h t 1 9 8 8 ;
1 9 8 9 ) .
I n t h i s p a p e r, w e i d e n t i f y fi v e as p e c t s o f d e c e n -
t r al i z a ti o n t o b e u s e d i n o u r a n a l y si s o f t h e t w o
S w e d i s h h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n r e f o r m s .
f. Decentralization as a Geooorapbical
Dism'buu'on (Th e Centre-PeripheryAspect)
A c o m m o n d e f i n i t i o n o f d e c e n t r a l i z a ti o n i m p l i e s
a m o v e m e n t a w a y f r o m t h e c e n t r e t o t h e p e r i ph -
e ry , in d ic a t in g a g e o g r a p h ic a l d i s p e r s io n o f r e -
s o u r c e s , o r th e e s t a b l i s h me n t o f in s t i tu t io n s , e t c .
Z Decentralizau'on as a VerticalMovementD e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n c a n a l s o r e f e r t o a p o l i t i c a l
t r a n sm i s s i o n o r d e v o l v i n g o f a u t h o r i t y f r o m t h e
t o p d o w n w a r d s i n a h i e r a r c h i c a l l y s t r u c t u r e d
s y s t e m o r o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h i s a s p e c t o f d e c e n t r a li -
z a t i o n c o n c e r n s t h e v e r t i c a l d e v o l v i n g f r o m t h e
c e n t r e a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t r e s t r u c t u ri n g o f r o le s ,
r e l a t io n s h ip s a n d r e s p o n s ib i l i t i e s b e twe e n c e n t r a l
a n d l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e g
3. Decentralizau'on as a Dispersion o f Influence
A m o n g A c to r s
A n o t h e r a s p e c t o f d e c e n tr a l i z at i o n c o n c e r n s t h er e la t iv e i n f l u e n c e o f a c to r s. T r o w p r o v i d e d a v i e w
o f t h e A m e r ic a n h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m a s b e -
i n g m a r k e t - o r i e n t e d a n d c o n s u m e r - d i r e c t e d i n a
w a y t h a t w a s u n l i k e m a n y E u r o p e a n u n i v e r s i ti e s
w i t h t h e i r s t a t e a u t h o r i t i e s a n d s t r o n g a c a d e m i c
g u i l d s ( T r o w 1 9 8 8 ) . B y s u c h c o n c e p t s a s ' p r o -
d u c e r ' , ' b u y e r ' a n d ' c o n s u m e r ' , T r o w r e m i n d s u s
o f th e i m p o r t a n c e o f t a k i n g a 'h o r i zo n t a l ' d i m e n -
s i o n a n d n o t j u s t t h e v e r t i c a l o n e i n t o a c c o u n t
w h e n p o t e n t i a l so u r c e s o f i n f l u e n c e a r e t o b e
i d e n t if i ed . C l a r k i d e n t i f i e d t h r e e a r e a s o f a u t h o r -
i t, /, o r a r ea s o f n e g o t i a t i o n , i n h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n .
I n h i s t r ia n g l e o f c o - o r d i n a t i o n h e i d e n t i f i e d
t h e m a s s t a t e au t h o r it y , a c a d e m i c o l i g a r c h y a n d
t h e m a r k e t ( C l a r k 1 9 8 3 ) , w h i c h a l s o m e a n s t h a t
h e i d e n t i f ie s a c t o r s w i t h v a r i o u s i n te r e s ts . B e c h e r
a n d K o g a n h av e e x p a n d e d t h e t r ia n g l e i n t o a
q u a d r il a t er a l b y i n c o r p o r a t i n g t h e p u b l i c / s o c i a l
u s e f u ln e s s t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t a l , p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d
m a r k e t . (B e c h e r a n d K o g a n 1 9 9 2 ) . T h u s , i t i s n o t
g i v e n b y t h e d e f i n it i o n o f d e c e n tr a li z a t io n w h o s e
s p a c e o f a c t io n w i l l b e i n c r ea s e d . T h e r e l at i v e
i n f l u e n c e c a n i n c r e a s e a m o n g t h e a c a d e m i c s
t h e m s e l v e s ( i nt e rn a l a c t o rs ) o r a m o n g p o l i t i ci a n s ,
o r r e p r e s e n ta t i ve s f r o m v o c a t i o n a l f i e l d s o r s o c i -
e ty in g e n e r a l ( e x te r n a l a c to r s ) . S tu d e n t s f o r m, in
t h i s r es p e c t, a c o m b i n a t i o n o f e x t e r n a l a n d i n t e r -
na l ac tor s .
4. Decentralizalion as a C hange in the Relative
Bal , mce o f P m a c~ e and Re troac tive . .g tev'ing
A s h a s b e e n e v i d e n t i n r e c e n t y e a r s i n m a n y
h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m s , d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n i s
o f t e n f o ll o w e d , o p e n l y o r m o r e c o n c e a l e d , b y a n
in c r e a s e in e v a lu a t io n a c t iv i t i e s , I n f lu e n c e th a t i s
n o t e x e r t e d p r i o r t o a n a c t i v i t y ( i n t e r m s o f
g o v e r n a n c e a n d s t e e r i n g b y p l a n s , p r e s c r i p t io n s ,r u le s , r e g u la t io n s ) c a n b e e x e r t e d a f t e r wa r d s ( in
t e r m s o f as s e ss m e n t o r e v a l u a t i o n ) o r s i m u l t a n e -
o u s ly (s u c h a s in s p e c t io n ) ( W e s te r h e i jd e n e t a L
1 9 9 4 ) . F ro m t h e p e r s pe c t iv e o f s t a f f a n d i n d i v i d -
u a l t e a c h e r s , a d e c e n t r a l i z e d i n f l u e n c e m a y b e
p e r c e i v e d v e r y d i f f e r e n t l y a c c o r d i n g t o i t s t e m -
p o r a l a p p e a r a n c e . W h e n e x a m i n i n g a d e c e n t r a l i -
z a t i o n p o l i cy , w e h a v e t o p a y a t t e n t i o n t o t h e
r e la t i ve s t re n g t h o f t h e p r o a c t i v e a n d r e t r o a c t iv e
inf luences .
5. The F o ~ (Inue) o f the Decentrali~_._d
A u tbor i~
F i n a ll y ' a n e x a m i n a t i o n o f d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n
m o v e m e n t s m u s t a l so p a y a t t e n ti o n t o w h a t k i n d
o f i s s u e s a r e i n f o c u s f o r t h e g o v e r n a n c e o r
c o n t r o l , a n d t h i n h o w f a r - r e a c h i n g a n d i n f l u e n -
t i a l a n d d e m a n d i n g t h e d e c e n t r a l i z e d d e c i s i o n -
m a k i n g p o w e r w i l l b e . T h e i m p l i c a t io n s o f a
d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n p o l i c y c a n b e r e s t r i c t e d t o o n e
k i n d o f i ss u e a n d e n s u r e a r e s t ri c t e d i n f l u e n c e o r
7/28/2019 Askling; Edgar Almén -- From participation to competition- Changes in the notion of decentralization in Swedish hi…
F R O M P A R T I C I P A T IO N T O C O M P E T I T IO N 2 0 3
T h i s k i n d o f d e c e n tr a l iz a t i o n w a s p e r c e i v e d b y
m o s t t e a c h e r s i n h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a s an i n c r e as e
i n b u r e a u c r a c y (A s k l i ng 1 9 8 3 ; L a n e 1 9 8 7 ) . T h er e o r g a n iz a t io n o f s tu d ie s in th e c o u r s e s , th e in -
t r o d u c ti o n o f p l a n n i n g c o m m i t t e e s a n d t h e m a n y
r e f e r e n c e s to th e l a b o u r ma r k e t r e s u l t e d in a
c o n f u s io n a m o n g m a n y t e a c h er s o f w h a t t o i n -
c l u d e i n t h e c o u r s e s, w h a t t o d e m a n d f r o m t h e
s t u d e n t s , a n d h o w t o e x a m i n e , w h e n t h e t r a d i -
t io n a l d i s c ip l in a r y s t r u c tu r e wa s lo o s e n e d .
F o r th e s tu d e n t s , t h e d e c e n t r a l i z e d o r g a n iz a -
t i o n o p e n e d u p o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p a r t i ci p a t i o n o n
b o a r d s a n d c o m m i t te e s , b u t in a r a t h e r f o r m a l i ze d
w a y a n d , t o th e i r d i s a p p o i n tm e n t , m a i n l y r e -
s t r i c t e d to ' s o f t ' i s s ue s . Be s id e s , th e o r g a n iz a t io n
o f p r o g r a m m e s i n t o c o m p u l s o r y c o u r se s , a n d
c o u r s e s i n t o c o m p u l s o r y l e s so n s a n d t h e p r o d u c -
t i o n o f p o i n t s l i n k e d t o s t u d y g r an t s , m e a n t t h a t
t h e s t u d e n t s w e r e f a c e d w i t h s t u d i e s w i t h f e w
o p t io n s f o r f r e e c h o ic e s . I n a d d i t io n , a n y s u g g e s -
t i o n s a b o u t c h a n g e s i n c o u r s e s o r c u r r i c u l u m
c o u l d e a s i l y b e t u r n e d d o w n b y t h e i n t e r n a l
r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s w i th r e f e r e n c e to th e f i r mn e s s in
t h e s t r u c t u re o f t h e s y s t e m o f p r o g r a m m e s a n d
c o u r s e s a n d b y th e e x te rn a l r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s w i th
r e f e r e n c e t o d e m a n d s f r o m v o c a t i o n a l f i e l d s .
T h u s , a s c o n s u me r s , th e i r p o s i t io n wa s r a th e r
w e a k . ( I t o u g h t , h o w e v e r , t o b e m e n t i o n e d t h a ta s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n o f s tu d e n t s d i d n o t f o l l o w
t h e s e p r o g r a m m e s ' a n d t o o k c o u r s e s o f t h e ir o w n
c h o ic e . )
W i th r e g a r d to th i s a s p e c t o f d e c e n t r a l i z a t io n ,
t h e r e f o r m i m p l i e d a n a b o l i t i o n o f a c a d e m i c
s e l f - g o v e r n a n c e in th e s e n s e th a t p a r t i c ip a n t s o f
v a r i o u s b o a r d s w e r e n o t j u s t t o b e r e c r u i te d f r o m
v a r i o u s k i n d s o f s t a f f b u t , i n a d d i t io n , f r o m e x -
te rna l in te res ts .
4. Proactiveand~ or Retrtw.cE~ ~eering
I n t h e 1 9 7 0 s , d e c e n t r a l iz a t i o n w a s l a u n c h e d a s ad e mo c r a t i c s h i f t f r o m a f o r ma l i s t i c g o a l - r e g u -
l a t ed s t e e r i n g t o o n e o f a m o r e d y n a m i c a n d
p r o g r e s s i v e g o a l - o u t c o m e c o n t r o l n a t u r e . H o w -
e v e r, d u e to th e lo n g t r a d i t io n o f c e n t r a l is t g o v -
e r n a n c e a n d c o n f i d e n c e i n p r e s c r i p t i o n s a n d
r e g u la t io n s , th e r e w a s n o f a mi l i a r i ty w i t h a s s e s s -
m e n t a n d e v a l u a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s o n t h e s y s t e m
l ev el . T h e r e w a s c o n f u si o n a b o u t h o w t o a c c o m -
p l i sh o u t c o m e e v a lu a t i o ns w i t h o u t b e i n g t h e v i c -
t ir o s o f o v e r - me c h a n ic a l a c c o u n ta b i l i ty a c t iv i t i e s .
B e s i d es , t h e r e w a s a ls o c o n f u s i o n a b o u t w h a t
o u t c o m e s t o c o n t r o l.A s a w a y o u t o f th i s d i le m m a , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t
o f lo c a l s e l f - e v a lu a t io n a c t iv i t i e s wa s a d v o c a te d .
T h e l o ca l p ro g r a m m e c o m m i t t ee s w e r e i n t e n d e d
t o g a t h e r d a t a f o r th e i r o w n r e t r o s p e c t iv e a n d
in t r o s p e c t iv e u s e , n o t f o r in te r - in s t i tu t io n a l c o m -
p a r i s o n s a n d n o t f o r a c c o u n t a b i l i t y u s a g e. T h u s ,
o n e c a n s a y t h a t d e c e n tr a l iz a t i o n w a s n o t i m m e -
d i a t e l y f o l l o w e d b y a n y i n c r e as e i n c o n t r o l .
.~ . Focus Top i~ and I ~ )
W i t h i n t h e f i r m s t r u c t u r e , m a n i f e s t e d i n t h e
a b o v e - m e n t i o n e d g e n e ra l s t u d y p l a n s e s t a b l is h e d
b y t h e n a t i o n a l b o a r d , t h e s p a c e o f a c t i o n f o r t h e
d e c e n t r a li z e d a u t h o r i t y w a s m a i n l y r e s tr i c t ed t o
p e d a g o g ic a l p r o c e s s v a r i a b le s , s u c h a s in f lu e n c e
o n t h e s e l ec t io n o f t e x t b o o k s , c o n t e n t a n d m e t h -
o d s i n u n d e r g r a d u a t e t e a c h in g .
K~ Wordso f the 1970s
K e y w o r d s a t t h a t t i m e w e r e p a r t i c i p a t io n , co-op-
erat ion, r e g i o n a l i z a t i o n , s o c i a l / p o l i t i c a l r e l e -
v a n c e , c e n t r a l r a t io n a l p la n n in g a n d n a t io n a l
e q u i v a l e n c e o f w o r t h .
T r e n d s i n t h e S e c o n d W a v e o f R e f o r m . ~ i n
t h e B e g i n n i n g o f t h e 1 9 9 0 s
A t t h e e n d o f th e 1 9 8 0 s ' t h e S o c i a l D e m o c r a t i c
P a r ty a p p a r e n t ly lo s t i t s e a r l i e r b e l i e f in r a t io n a l
p l a n n i n g f o r m e e t i n g l a b o u r m a r k e t d e m a n d s .
T h e v o c a t i o n a l o ri e n t a ti o n o f m a n y h i g h e r e d u -
c a t i o n s t u d y p r o g r a m m e s a n d t h e c l o s e l i n k s
b e t w e e n s t u d y , p r o g r a m m e s a n d ' c e r ti f i c a ti o n ' f o r
t h e p r o f e s s i o n s w e r e q u e s t i o n e d . D e m a n d s f r o m
a c o m m o n N o r d i c l a b o u r m a r k e t a n d d e v e l o p -
m e n t t o w a r d s a c o m m o n E u r o p e a n m a r k e t p a v e dt h e w a y f o r a ' c o n t r o l l e d r e t r e a t ' ( B j 6 r l d u n d
1 9 9 5 ) . S e v e r a l s t e p s w e r e t a k e n b y t h e S o c i a l
D e m o c r a t i c g o v e rn m e n t t o d e v o l v e t h e d e c i s i o n -
m a k i n g a u t h o r i t y i n o r d e r t o c o p e w i t h s h o r t -
c o m i n g s i n t h e s y s t e m a n d a c c e l e r a t in g c o s t s. T h e
S o c i a l D e m o c r a t i c M i n i s t e r a d m i t t e d t h a t a f t e r
t e n y e a r s t h e r e f o rm s t o o d o u t a s o n e o f t h e m o s t
m o d e r n ' p l a n n i n g p h i l o s o p h i e s ' i n E u r o p e , a l -
t h o u g h b r i n g i n g a b o u t e x t en s i v e a d m i n i s t ra t i v e
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wave o f decen t ra li za t ion has made a m ore pow -
erful ins t i tu t ional m anagem ent necessary. In the
Swe dish contex t , th is is a new issue.
Meanings and FuncU'onso fHigher Educan'on
In bo th per iods , the 1970s and the 1990s , h igher
educa t ion has been looked upon as a too l fo r
importan t pol ic y measures con cerning the future
of the nat ion. In the 1970s, the government
'knew' the fu tu re and des igned the h igher edu-
cat ion system in accordance with i ts own pol icy
and wishes . In the 1990s ' the government has a
more hum ble at t itude. For the future of the na-
t ion , soc ie ty i s depend en t on h igher educa t ion
and i ts capac i ty to p roduce know ledge and com-
petence fo r tomo rrow 's (markets and) society .
In 1994 , The M in is try o f Educa tion fo rmu-
lated the chal lenge ahead in the fol lowing way:
Th e old central isation has been replaced byautonomy, plural ism, inst i tu t ional compe-tence and individual choice. That is , in myop in ion , the on ly poss ib le way , fo r any c oun-try, to create a s t ructure for schools and uni-versi ties whic h can deal with th e dem ands forflexibi l ity and qual i ty in an uncertain tomo r-
row. (Unckel 1994 , Ix 12)
In his v iew, the univers i ty is considered as having
a unique and fundamental ro le in society , inp roducing and rep roducing knowledge . One ma-
j o r t a s k f o r t h e g o v e r n m e n t h a s b e e n t o
s t reng then Swe den as a na tion o f knowledge .
This s tands in sharp contrast to the view of
higher educ at ion in the 1970 s, as impo rtant tools
for the rationalistic plann ing o f future society.
The functionalist (or instrumentalist) approach at
that t ime neglected the in trinsic character of
higher educ at ion (Barnet t 1992). To som e ex-
tent , i t also s tands in sharp contrast to how
academics themselves in te rp re ted the Higher
Educa tion Comm iss ion a t the beg inn ing o f the
1990s in i ts appeal to the a utonom y of academics
by the use of 'Freedom, Responsibi l i ty , Compe-
tence ' (the title o f the final report).
In the 1970s , there was a s trong b d i ef among
polit icians in bein g able to use higher educat ion
as a tool for societal changes. The future could
be posi t ively influenced by del iberate measures
and the educat ional system (l ike other parts of
the public sector) could have such an act ive
service funct ion. The pol icy created formed a
strange com binat ion o f functional is t ic vocat io nal
o r ien ta t ion on the on e hand , and re fe rences to
the Humbolt ian ideals (not least the research
connection) on the other.
In the 1990s the v iew i s qu i te d i ffe ren t. Globa l
competitiveness makes central govern anc e diffi-
cul t, i f not impossible. Instead o f designin g a
national system, the only wa y is apparently, from
the gove rnment 's perspective, to de sign a f lexible
and loosely organize d system, w hich al lo ws for
fluctuat ions and an in terplay w ith ex ternal - and
international - forces.
In th is respect , Swedish higher educat ion has
undergon e the same shift in aims as is evid ent in
man y othe r countries.
The main pu rposes o f h igher educa t ion havevaried grea t ly from t ime to t ime and place top lace a round the wor ld . Somet imes they havebeen service to the church, or to the ancientprofessions, o r to an ideology, or to an aris-tocrat ic and/or affluent dass" or to the effi -c iency and p owe r o f the na t ion s ta te . Inmodern t imes and in m ore and m ore p laces ,the main purpo se has come to be: to serve the
economy. (Kerr 1994a, p .51)
The government has also given up the rat ional
planning m odel of governance, and take n del ib-
erate s teps towards a mo re self-regulat ive model
of governance. W hether th is wil l also imply a
deve lopmen t towards the so -ca l l ed convergence
model, advoca ted by Kerr (1994b) and imp ly ing
a more outspoken different iat ion and s trat i f ica-
t ion be tween and wi th in the h igher educa t ion
institutions (the US model), is still an ope n q ues-
t ion.
T h e T w o R e f o r m s i n R e t r o sp e c t
The h igher educa t ion sys tem and the h igher
educat ion insti tu t ions have unusual ly com pli-cated pow er structures (Clark 1983). In th e fi rs t
wave of decentralization, in the 1970 s ' the com -
plexi ty was almost neglected. The dis tr ibut ion of
authori ty was t reated as an almost one-dimen-
sional issue of t ransmission, d ispers ion an d dev o-
l u t io n o f p o w e r i n t e rm s o f r e s p o n s i b il i ty ,
authori ty and autonomy. The goals were also
treated as e asy and w ell-definable.
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F R O M P A R T I C I P A T IO N T O C O M P E T I T I O N 2 0 9
Th e f i r s t wave o f decen t r a l i za t ion po l icy was a
r esponse t o an expans i on t ha t had a l r eady s t a r t ed
( and a s a m a t te r o f fac t a lm os t ceased wh en ther e fo r m w a s t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d ) a n d i m p l i e d a n
i n v i t a t i o n t o n e w i n t e r e s t g r o u p s t o b r e a k t h e
a c a d e m i c m o n o p o l y o n c u r r ic u lu m d e s i g n a n d t o
take an act ive part in direct ing undergraduate
programmes. With reference to the corporat iv is t
t r a d it io n a n d t o o n g o i n g d e m o c r a t i za t / on p r o c -
e s s i n t h e l a b o u r m a r k e t , t h e s o c i a l / p o l i t i c a l
in f luence inc r eased and soc ia l and voca t iona l
r e l evance c r it e r ia over shadowed academi c c r i t e -
r i a . The democra t i za t i on bo t h f rom above ( t he
state) , f rom wi thin (new personnel groups) and
from below (students) b lurred the universi ty ' s
aims a nd und erm ined i t s specif ic in t r insic values
(Ber t i l sson 1991) . De cent ral izat ion was imple-
m e n t e d w i t h i n a f r a m e w o r k o f u n i f o r m i t y a s a
guaran t ee fo r equ i va lence as an i mpor t an t aspec t
o f q u a l i ~ .
In t he secon d wave, i n t he 1990s , t he au t ho r i t y
o f t he academ i c s t a f f was t o som e ex t en t r e- es-
t ab l ished , as was t he au t onom y o f t he i n s t it u -
t i ons , w i t h r egard t o t he i r r e l a t i onsh i p t o t he
s t a te . Academ i c c r i te r ia r ega i ned t he i r p redo mi -
n a n c e. H o w e v e r , t h e a u t h o r i t y a n d a u t o n o m y o f
t he i n s t i t u t i ons and t he i r academi cs have t o be
used fo r compet i t i ve pu rposes i n ex t e rna l mar -
kets~
Decen t r a l i za t i on i s a mu l t i -d i mens i ona l and
pos i t i ve ly va l ue- loaded concep t . O ver t he year s,
i t has been de l i bera t e l y u sed by po l i ti c i ans fo r
r ed i s t r ibu t i on o f au t ono my and au t ho r i t y i n vari -
ous d i rect ions, to var ious recipients , an d co ncern-
ing va r ious tasks and i ssues.
O u r e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e t w o w a v e s o f p o l ic y
i nd i ca tes t ha t t he con t i nuous and l ong- t e rm ref -
e rences t o decen t r a l i za t ion do n o t i m p l y a con -
t i nuous and one-d i mens i ona l r educ t i on i n s t a t e
governance and a co r r espond i ng con t i nuous andone-dimensional increase in local and individual
auton om y. O n the cont rary , the pol i t ical act iv i ty
s i nce t he 1970s can be l ooked upon as a 30 -year
s t rugg l e be t ween t wo con t r ad i c t o ry model s o f
s t a t e governance : the model o f r a t i ona l p l ann i ng
and t he m odel o f se lf - r egu l a t ion .
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