Democratisering van universitaire instituten: een onderzoek naar organisatiekenmerken

Samenvatting

In the Institute of Sociology of the University of Leiden in 1969, several study groups conducted research on sudden change in societal institutions. One group concentrated on the democratization taking place at the time at various Dutch universities. Several characteristics of organization were examined: (1) means of self-evaluation within the organization, (2) relationships with other departments, (3) facilities, (4) the existence of pressure groups, and (5) the number of faculty and students. None of the investigated departments had any significant pressure groups, and the issue of autonomous facilities did not appear to be relevant. Relationships with other departments were important in that degree programs which were interdisciplinary were less likely to become democratized. Departments which were more democratic had in most cases already given up the older organizational structures. Evaluation commissions in most cases were not set up with a preventive function, but rather were designed to investigate mistakes. Democratization was not only dependent on the desire of the students for change, but also on the readiness of the organization. 4 tables, 1 figure. P. Tiersma.