The Shifting Balance of Academic Systems: National, Regional, Global?

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the evolving roles, identities, and activities of the academic profession within the context of a knowledge-based society. It focuses on how global, regional and national dynamics shape academic careers, job satisfaction, and engagement with broader societal goals. Drawing on data from the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society (APIKS) project, this volume offers a comparative analysis of academic professionals across diverse regions, including Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America. Through exploring themes such as academics’ societal engagement, job satisfaction, demographic shifts, and the emergence of non-tenure track roles, the book presents a nuanced understanding of the pressures and opportunities faced by academics today. This work integrates a range of methodological approaches, from large-scale quantitative analyses to regional case studies, to reveal how different national and institutional contexts influence the academic profession. It provides valuable insights for policymakers, institutional leaders, and researchers seeking to understand and navigate the complexities of higher education in a rapidly changing global environment. By highlighting both commonalities and differences in how academics across regions adapt to the demands of a knowledge-based society, this book offers new findings and points towards future research directions related to the comparative international study of the academic profession.