Abstract

LABRANA, Julio; RODRIGUEZ-PONCE, Emilio  and  PEDRAJA-REJAS, Liliana. Towards a Theory of Governance in Higher Education: An Analysis of the Specialized Literature. RMIE [online]. 2023, vol.28, n.97, pp.515-533.  Epub June 09, 2023. ISSN 1405-6666.

This article explores the main lines of governance in systems of higher education, as published in the mainstream literature (Web of Science) in the past ten years (2011-2020). Analysis shows the primacy of three discourses: 1) governance as a specific form of the state's management of higher education at a distance; 2) governance as government definitions of policy in higher education; and 3) governance as a set of actors directly and indirectly involved in discussing the organization of activities in institutions of higher education. Based on this analysis, an integrated definition of governance is proposed.

Keywords : higher education; university autonomy; state; governance; documentary analysis.