IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v14y2026a12429.html

Diversity and Change Agents in Higher Education

Author

Listed:
  • Liudvika Leišytė

    (Department of Business and Economics, TU Dortmund University, Germany)

  • Rosemary Deem

    (School of Business and Management, Royal Holloway (University of London), UK)

  • Ivana Načinović Braje

    (Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia)

Abstract

This issue explores how higher education (HE) uses transformation to develop diverse and inclusive institutions, including policies utilising multiple actors’ agency. Existing HE literature has examined transformation through several lenses, such as how managerial reforms on diversity and inclusion work, and the potential of disruptive events for HE access and teaching quality, but also concerns that reforms may reinforce longstanding inequalities. Less attention has been given to how diversity, intersectionality, and the agency of institutional actors contribute to organizational transformation. Addressing this gap, we highlight the role of HE policies, practices, and agency of internal and external stakeholders in reshaping organizational practices, academic norms, and institutional routines. Drawing on perspectives that view transformation as emerging from complex interactions among stakeholders, the issue considers both planned reforms and emergent change processes. The contributions focus on: policies promoting equity and inclusion in HE, policy tools and organizational practices that support institutional change, and the agency of diverse stakeholders in transformative processes. Overall, the issue emphasises participatory governance and collaboration across institutional roles to foster more inclusive and adaptive HE systems. While these interactions can foster collaboration and coalition‐building across institutions, they may also reproduce exclusionary dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Liudvika Leišytė & Rosemary Deem & Ivana Načinović Braje, 2026. "Diversity and Change Agents in Higher Education," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:12429
    DOI: 10.17645/si.12429
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/12429
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.12429?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Inga Ulnicane, 2024. "Intersectionality in Artificial Intelligence: Framing Concerns and Recommendations for Action," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    2. Liudvika Leišytė & Rosemary Deem & Charikleia Tzanakou, 2021. "Inclusive Universities in a Globalized World," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 1-5.
    3. Minwei Chen & Cixian Lv & Xinghua Wang & Linlin Li & Peijin Yang, 2023. "A Critical Review of Studies on Coopetition in Educational Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Liudvika Leišytė & Rosemary Deem & Charikleia Tzanakou, 2021. "Inclusive Universities in a Globalized World," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 1-5.
    5. Jay R. Dee & Liudvika Leišytė & Barend J.R. van der Meulen, 2023. "Conceptualizing higher education transformation: introduction to the Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education," Chapters, in: Liudvika Leišytė & Jay R. Dee & Barend J.R. van der Meulen (ed.), Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education, chapter 1, pages 2-22, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vivian Anette Lagesen & Julie Katrine Flikke & Martine Sletten & Knut H. Sørensen, 2025. "From Authoritative Voices to Dialogical Policy‐Making: How Norwegian Universities Navigate Diversity Implementation," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 13.
    2. Agostinho antunes da Silva & Antonio J. Marques Cardoso, 2025. "Enhancing Customer Experience Through IIoT-Driven Coopetition: A Service-Dominant Logic Approach in Networks," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-26, June.
    3. Sofie Smeets, 2026. "“I Refuse to Answer This Question!”: Teachers’ Diversity Beliefs and Dutch Higher Education Transformation," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 14.
    4. Jesús González & Liliana Martínez & Roberto Aguas & Jhon De La Hoz & Henry Sánchez, 2023. "Redesign and Implementation of the Electromagnetism Course for Engineering Students Using the Backward Design Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:12429. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.