John B. Krejsler

Bio: John B. Krejsler is an academic researcher from University of Copenhagen. The author has contributed to research in topics: Bologna Process & Knowledge economy. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 57 publications receiving 546 citations. Previous affiliations of John B. Krejsler include Aarhus University & University of Education, Winneba.

Professions and Their Identities: How to Explore Professional Development among (Semi-)Professions.

Abstract: This article explores conditions for discussing what it means to be professional among teachers, pre‐school teachers, nurses, and social workers. From an epistemological point of view it explores how analytical strategies can frame in sufficiently complex ways what it means to be a professional today. It is assumed that at least four main issues must be dealt with in order to conduct a satisfactory analysis of professions and their identities. Firstly, it is of fundamental strategic importance that one makes explicit the epistemological point of departure from which one's analyses frame and describe the surrounding world. Secondly, one must qualify one's stance in relation to the sociology of professions. Thirdly, one must reflect a discourse on professions in the light of the extensive processes of individualisation in society. And, lastly, one must reflect a discourse on professions in light of the new administrative practices within the public sector.

Successful principals : telling or selling? On the importance of context for school leadership

Abstract: This article will argue that diverse national, regional and local contexts leave different rooms for manoeuvre for school principals. The social technologies applied by the authorities (like accountability systems) can be 'tight' or 'loose' and so leave little or much room for principals' interpretations of what a good school is and what successful school principalship is. Thus it is important for their choice of forms of influence in exercising leadership. We will outline the relations between the state, local authorities and schools in each of eight countries participating in the International Successful School Principal Project (ISSPP): the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, China, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, based on previosly published case studies. We want to obtain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the social technologies used and the room for interpretation of the purposes and objectives left to the schools. Principals choose the forms of influence they can exercise when setting directions for the school. The arguments on which principals base their decisions are also diverse, but heavily flavoured by the contexts in which the schools function. Comparing education and educational leadership and the values and practices of school principals is a contested enterprise because the contexts in which the values are constructed and practice developed is often forgotten. In posing the questions from above and below the level of principal, we try to take account of the findings from many leadership studies, which indicate that educational leadership and its successes are highly contextually dependent even within educational systems.

Discursive Battles about the Meaning of University: The Case of Danish University Reform and its Academics

Abstract: The meaning of university and, subsequently, academics' working conditions are rapidly changing as knowledge economy and globalisation discourses continue to deepen across the Western world. Higher education and research agendas are increasingly staged in the discursive universe of knowledge economy language: common strategies and harmonisation within Europe (the Bologna process), integration of universities into national knowledge economy strategies that adapt to signals from the World Trade Organisation, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, etc. Illustrated by the case of Danish university reform, this article traces the transition from a vanishing ‘democratic and “Humboldtian”’ university discourse‘ toward an emerging ‘market and efficiency oriented university discourse‘. Universities are being turned into organisations with self-ownership, which allegedly increases their freedom of operation on the re...

Successful school principalship in Danish schools

Abstract: Purpose – Aims at conceptualizing and investigating the meaning of good school principalship within the space for manoeuvring that is available within the context of Danish comprehensive schools. The paper aims to present findings from case studies of two Danish schools within the frame of reference.Design/methodology/approach – Outlines the educational context for the Danish schools and gives a short account of the point of departure for the analysis. The perspective in this study is that leadership is about communication, decision making and community building at several levels in schools. In the beginning of the project a series of interviews with stakeholders in those schools was conducted. That formed the basis for the accounts of the first two schools. Later on a number of key stakeholders in the schools were observed and interviewed and that is the basis for the account of the third Danish school.Findings – The findings show that whilst there is a high degree of consensus amongst the schools and th...

Discursive Strategies that Individualize: CVs and Appraisal Interviews.

Abstract: Professionals in education must increasingly speak of themselves through an individualizing discourse that commits them to a lifelong and life‐encompassing learning and working project. By means of techniques like CVs and appraisal interviews, post‐signifying regimes conjure up discursive spaces that thrive on the language of commitment, love and enthusiasm. This urges professionals to speak of their role and personality in accordance with the vision of their organization. Such discursive technology may encourage commitment, be turned into manipulative power instruments, or be reduced to shallow rituals. Beyond doubt, however, post‐signifying strategies raise the stakes in organizational communication. The purpose of this article is epistemological, i.e. it intends to explore positions and strategies made available through the language provided by a certain discursive technology. It does not claim to say how this technology is actually employed empirically in particular contexts. The article draws on idea...

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

Seven strong claims about successful school leadership

Abstract: This article provides an overview of the literature concerning successful school leadership. It draws on the international literature and is derived from a more extensive review of the literature completed in the early stage of the authors’ project. The prime purpose of this review is to summarise the main findings from the wealth of empirical studies undertaken in the leadership field.

What is philosophy

Abstract: Doing philosophy means reasoning about questions that are of basic importance to the human experience—questions like, What is a good life? What is reality? How are knowledge and understanding possible? What should we believe? What norms should govern our societies, our relationships, and our activities? Philosophers critically analyze ideas and practices that often are assumed without reflection. Wesleyan’s philosophy faculty draws on multiple traditions of inquiry, offering a wide variety of perspectives and methods for addressing these questions.