Academic Inbreeding as an Undesirable Evil or a Necessary Good in Higher Education: A Research Review and Implications for Czech Higher Education Policy

Vol.24,No.1(2019)
Studia paedagogica

Abstract
Academic inbreeding, i.e., when institutions employ their own graduates, may negatively influence the functioning of higher education institutions, although in some cases inbreeding might be inevitable. The issue of academic inbreeding has not yet been dealt with in the Czech Republic in all its complexity. The aim of this review is therefore to introduce the findings from current studies of inbreeding published abroad and thus introduce the concept and related research to Czech readers. On the basis of 25 selected sources published between 2008 and 2018, we present findings in the following areas: (1) the rate of inbreeding related external characteristics of academic institutions, (2) the impact of inbreeding on higher education and institutions, and (3) the emergence and reproduction of inbreeding. We conclude this review by presenting the implications from the research findings of Czech higher education policy.

Keywords:
higher education institutions; academic inbreeding; higher education policy; academic mobility
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