Normative isomorphism: The patterns of profession of academics at Turkish higher education

Abstract

Normative isomorphism is derived from professionalization. Professionalization is a collective effort of the members of a profession to define their practices of the members and also to control the services provided within a jointly agreed framework. Its legitimation is based on its power and status of the profession. In line with this framework, the profession of academics relies on the existence of teaching, research, and community engagement. Thus, normative isomorphism is represented by a variety of activities including bureaucratic control, assessments, publishing, and rankings. This paper aims to explain normative isomorphism through the profession of academics and gives evidence of normative isomorphism patterns based on examples from the Turkish higher education system. Keywords: Isomorphism; normative isomorphism; professionalization; profession of academics; higher education; Turkey.