Organizational legitimacy and the disciplinary evolution of Chinese higher education: Historical dilemmas and prospects

Abstract

Higher education as a discipline in China has consistently faced a severe legitimacy crisis. To transcend the limitations of static historical narratives in addressing this issue, this study integrated organizational legitimacy theory with Burton Clark's triangle of coordination model to develop a dynamic analytical framework for tracing the construction, contestation, and reconstruction of the disciplinary legitimacy across different historical periods. This framework was employed to systematically reveal the disciplinary developmental trajectory under the interactive forces of the state, the academe, and the market. The findings indicate that the legitimacy of Chinese higher education as a discipline has been constructed primarily in three stages: The initial acquisition of legitimacy (1949-1977), the period of legitimacy expansion and contestation (1978-2010), and the stage of legitimacy reconstruction (2011-present). Chinese higher education as a discipline has long exhibited an unbalanced legitimacy structure, characterized by an overreliance on regulative legitimacy. This imbalance has driven the disciplinary institutional and theoretical dependence on global models, subsequently contributing to its marginalization within global academic discourse. To address current developmental dilemmas, Chinese higher education as a discipline urgently needs to actively promote interdisciplinary integration, strengthen theoretical innovation and autonomy, and enhance its international influence. Only through the coordinated advancement of this threefold strategy can Chinese higher education achieve a breakthrough and sustainable development.