Examining boundary spanning practices in higher education in terms of human capital growth: An institutional ethnography study

EXAMINING BOUNDARY SPANNING PRACTICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN TERMS OF HUMAN CAPITAL GROWTH: AN INSTITUTIONAL ETHNOGRAPHY STUDY Sezer Alper ZEREYALP Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Betül BALKAR February 2025, 460 pages The aim of this study is to examine the boundary expansion policies that support human capital development at the academic staff level in higher education institutions in the context of institutional structure and culture. For this purpose, the institutional structure and culture that determine the meaning of boundary spanning policies that contribute to human capital development within a university was evaluated within the framework of institutional policies, social context, institutional discourse, power relations and leadership style. The research, in which qualitative research methods and techniques were used, was conducted with an institutional ethnography approach. In the study group of the research, there are two faculties and one college within Çukurova University. The university in the study group was determined in line with the criterion of being a "research university." In determining the academic units, the criterion sampling method was applied with a two-stage approach. In the first stage, the criterion of "being among the academic units getting regularly involved in boundary spanning practices" was adopted, while in the second stage, the criterion of "including academic units from different disciplinary fields in the study group" was adopted. As a result, a total of three academic units at the level of two faculties and one college from the fields of Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Foreign Languages Education were included in the study. Research data were collected through interviews, observation and document analysis. Interview data were collected through semi-structured interviews with administrators and academic staff working in the academic units in the study group. Two administrators and two academic staff from each academic unit (three academic staff in one academic unit) were interviewed. Since the interviews were conducted separately for internal and external boundary spanning activities, each participant was interviewed twice. Observation data were obtained as a result of observing the meetings and activities on boundary spanning practices in the academic units by the researcher in the role of participant observer. One internal and one external meeting of each academic unit within the scope of boundary extension activities was observed. As a part of document review studies, annual unit activity reports, institutional internal evaluation reports (self-evaluation reports) and collaborative working protocols of the academic units in the study group for the last three years' period when the research data were collected were analysed. The research data were analysed by content analysis conducted with a two-stage approach. In the content analysis conducted in the first stage, the data obtained from interviews, observations and documents regarding internal and external boundary spanning policies were analysed by applying deductive and inductive analysis approaches together. In the content analysis conducted in the second stage, the themes, sub-themes and codes determined as a result of the analysis of interviews, observations and documents were evaluated together and subjected to a second level analysis with a deductive approach. In the content analysis carried out at this stage, internal and external boundary spanning policies were also evaluated together. According to the results of the study, boundary spanning activities are mostly guided by institutional policies in the context of strengthening the research infrastructure of the university, supporting the professional development of academic staff and increasing the social contribution (community engagement) activities of the university. It is understood that boundary spanning activities improve the research infrastructure of the university and increase the capacity of academic staff to conduct research. In the context of boundary spanning activities, it has been revealed that the university works in cooperation with external stakeholders, especially in the region where it is located, and prioritises addressing regional problems and needs. As a result of the evaluation of the social context of boundary spanning policies in the context of human capital development, it was concluded that these policies created a democratic, participatory and sharing working environment within the university and thus an organisational culture and climate that supported the human capital development of academic staff emerged. It is understood that the institutional discourse of the university where the research was conducted focuses on the goals of contributing the society, internationalisation and increasing institutional capacity through cooperation, in line with the general trends in the Turkish higher education system. The results of the research show that the boundary spanning activities included in the institutional discourse are also addressed in the context of the professional development of academic staff and the visibility of these activities is also linked to the academic outputs produced by academic staff. The results of the study indicate that the differences in the working systems of the university and external stakeholders and their lack of sufficient knowledge about each other's institutional functioning emerge as an uncertainty factor in power relations and make it difficult to establish a power balance. However, especially external stakeholders' trust in both the expertise and ethical functioning of the university serves as a function that prevents conflict in power relations. The results of the study showed that the establishment of a balance of power between the parties in the boundary spanning process also supports the development of human capital of academic staff by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experience in the context of collaborative work. The boundary spanning leaders who implemented the boundary spanning policies were found to have a systems mindset and thus worked with a high understanding and awareness of the factors affecting the internal and external boundaries of the university. Boundary spanning leaders pioneered the creation of a work culture and climate conducive to boundary spanning by establishing an innovative, productive and democratic work environment. It was concluded that boundary spanning leaders lead academic staff to personal, social and professional development by displaying an attitude dedicated to communication, learning and development. In line with the results of the study, recommendations are presented for the effective implementation of boundary spanning activities in universities and its use as a tool for the human capital development of academic staff. Key words: Boundary spanning, human capital growth, higher education, institutional ethnography