Organizational Learning Research in Higher Education: A Critical Analysis of the Literature

• In Event: 56.081 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 56.081-7 - Leading, Learning, and Strategy in Higher Education

Abstract

This paper critically examines how higher education scholars have used organizational learning (OL) theories to study college and university organization and administration. We conducted a literature review in which we identified 57 publications that use at least one OL theory to analyze organizational processes and outcomes in higher education institutions. Results indicate that the higher education literature is limited by a lack of diverse theoretical perspectives. As a result, higher education scholars have uncritically embraced OL and have neglected to consider how OL might serve as an instrument of power and oppression. Furthermore, the role of personal agency in OL is seldom considered in higher education research, and conceptual linkages between OL and organizational change are seldom specified.

Authors

• Jay R. Dee, University of Massachusetts Boston

• Cheryl Daly, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Anne M. DeFelippo, Salem State University