Organizations, Culture and Higher Education: An Interview with Edgar Schein

Bringing change to higher education is often framed as a problem of creating new content, curriculum, and pedagogy, but higher education has a history that goes back to the 11th century and a culture that has evolved over centuries to its current state. And “culture” is a word that is often used loosely without clear understanding of what it is or how it functions, particularly in an organizational context. In this episode, host Dave Goldberg interviews organizational culture authority Edgar Schein to better understand culture and to consider the culture of higher education more carefully. Ed is author of “Organizational Culture and Leadership” among many other titles. Join Ed and Dave for a deep dive into organizational culture and its interaction with change initiatives generally. Also join the conversation to consider how the lessons of organizational culture theory can be helpful in bringing about more effective change efforts in higher education and education generally.