University Development from the Perspective of Knowledge Systems

Author: Piao Xuetao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-09
Features: As an organizational entity, the university is a product of the institutionalization of knowledge production and knowledge dissemination. Since the university is a hub for profound knowledge, the institutional arrangements and structures that influence its development exhibit a clear knowledge-centered characteristic, making the university system primarily a "knowledge system." The intrinsic mechanism of university development and progress is the evolution of the knowledge system, and the history of university development is the history of the evolution of the knowledge system. Different models of knowledge system evolution lead to different patterns of university development and produce different outcomes. A lack of innovation in the knowledge system, as well as an imbalance between the internal and external knowledge systems, can result in university crises. While university crises can hinder the development of both universities and society, they can also serve to improve outdated systems and give rise to new norms. In the context of university development in China, alleviating the negative impacts of unit-based systems and institutionalized eliteism on university development, while combining exogenous institutional arrangements with endogenous ones, is a rational choice for us to innovate in the knowledge system and promote university development.