Academic middle managers and management in university colleges and universities in belgium

Abstract

This chapter explores facets of managerialism in Flemish policy and institutions of higher education through addressing four questions: (i) What is managerialism and what are its characteristics? (ii) How did the national policymakers make way for managerialism in institutions of higher education? (iii) Are there indicators of managerialism in higher education research of the 1990s? (iv) Do deans, heads of departments and heads of research units perceive the current management of institutions of higher education as having characteristics of managerialism? The empirical research reported in this chapter demonstrates that managerialism is not present in Belgium universities in its extreme forms. A relatively large group of middle managers still prefer a collegial attitude, and they criticise some of the less pleasant consequences of managerialism.