Future Studies of Higher Education
M. Taheri Demneh; A. Zackery; A. Asadnia
Abstract
The movement from intra-disciplinary toward inter-disciplinary approaches by focusing on real-world problems is a growing trend in higher education. Thus, next generation universities will move toward inter-disciplinary discourses. In the meantime, systematic studies of futures or futures studies have ...
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The movement from intra-disciplinary toward inter-disciplinary approaches by focusing on real-world problems is a growing trend in higher education. Thus, next generation universities will move toward inter-disciplinary discourses. In the meantime, systematic studies of futures or futures studies have also been considered by academics in various fields. In this qualitative meta-synthesis, an attempt is made to investigate the status of future-oriented studies in various disciplines in order to map the distribution these studies. Through a rigorous selection process, 737 articles were chosen and categorized into 19 main categories and 350 secondary categories which were correspondingly classified under more detailed sub-categories. The results indicate that geographical planning, security, and corporate foresight have had the highest application of futures studies. By contrast, sports, women’s studies and futures of professions had the lowest number of articles. This paper highlights the conspicuous gaps in future-oriented interdisciplinary researches along with their strength and weaknesses.
