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Sociological Perspectives on Higher Education Research

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Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions
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Synonyms

Sociology of higher education

Definition

The sociological perspective is a perspective on human life, social interaction between individuals and groups, how these are conditioned by social structures or a society as a whole, and how social interaction in turn maintains or transforms these social conditions. Sociological perspectives may focus on people’s attitudes, beliefs, values, ways of feeling and acting in social space, but also on social institutions, relations and organizations, or race and ethnicity, social class, and gender.

Introduction

Sociology is a general social science that focuses on broad questions such as the nature of social action and complex interplay between social structures and agency, causes and consequences of social struggles, preconditions of social order, and how societies evolve and change over time. There are several key sociological traditions and multiple theories that aim to provide fruitful insights in these topics. One way to categorize this...

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References

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Correspondence to Ilkka Kauppinen .

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Kauppinen, I. (2019). Sociological Perspectives on Higher Education Research. In: Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_171-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_171-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Sociological Perspectives on Higher Education Research
    Published:
    13 September 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_171-2

  2. Original

    Sociological Perspectives on Higher Education Research
    Published:
    15 November 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_171-1