Oxford and the Decline of the Collegiate Tradition

Although the governance of British institutions of higher education incorporates differing traditions, the idea of collegiality is a central part of the heritage.

This book explores the meaning of collegiality, the contemporary pressures which are threatening its continuing viability and the ways in which it is adjusting its character to meet those pressures.

While much of the book will focus upon developments within the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (part of the empirical basis of the book is some fifty interviews with Oxford dons and officials), there is a strong comparative dimension to the work because the idea of collegiality has penetrated the theory and practice of university governance worldwide.

Therefore, besides mapping the evolving character of university governance this book explores the centrality of ideas in the process of educational change.