Reflections on the evolution of higher education as a field of study in Canada

This paper provides a reflective analysis of the evolution of higher education as a field of scholarship in Canada. The first professors of higher education in Canada were appointed in the mid-1960s and, by the early-1970s, a small higher-education research community had emerged, with the creation of a national association and a scholarly journal. Several universities developed graduate programs specializing in higher education but there was little growth in these programs in the 1970s and 1980s and there were relatively few full-time faculty associated with these programs. There has been a growth in higher education programs, faculty and activity since 2000, though the field has become increasingly fragmented with the growth of professionalization and global higher education research networks. Following a review of three major higher education research initiatives, the author concludes that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on research infrastructure, especially mechanisms for storing and sharing research reports and materials emerging from increasingly diverse research communities.