TY  - JOUR
AU  - Russell Thacker
AU  - Sydney Freeman, Jr.
PY  - 2022
CY  - Berlin, Germany
PB  - Peter Lang Verlag
JF  - PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
IS  - 1
VL  - 3
SN  - 2578-5761
TI  - 4. Toward a Theory of the Study of Higher Education
DO  - 10.3726/PTIHE012021.0004
UR  - https://www.peterlang.com/document/1169761
N2  - From the inception of the field, scholars of higher education have routinely borrowed theory from other disciplines and fields to inform their work. Consequently, scholars have struggled to find a permanent academic home for their craft and continue to debate whether the study of higher education should be organized as a field or a discipline. This theoretical proposal begins the establishment of a guiding theory of the study of higher education by examining the governing ideas which shape how scholars of higher education approach their research. Four propositions are identified which together distinguish the approach of scholars of higher education from those of other traditions. We apply these propositions to one contemporary issue, leadership development, for higher education leaders to demonstrate how research into higher education issues can be enhanced. Additional scholarship and further development of the theory is invited.
KW  - higher education as a field of study, higher education research, theory development
ER  -