Professors' perceptions of institutional context and academic role in Paraguay: A study of the National and Catholic universities and the question of reform

This dissertation examines twenty-six social scientists' perceptions of their academic role in two Paraguayan universities---the National University and the Catholic University. The disciplines included in my study are Economics in the National University and Catholic University and Sociology and Political Science in the Catholic University.;My interest is on the interplay between academic role and institutional context in professors' perceptions. The research questions addressed are: (1) How do Paraguayan social scientists define their role within the institutions where they teach and do research? That is, what meaning do Paraguayan social scientists attribute to the purposes and dimensions of their academic role? (2) How do Paraguayan social scientists understand institutional characteristics at the university where they work that may constrain or facilitate their role?;The academic role dimension examines perceptions of teaching and research roles as well as professional contributions to society. The institutional dimension examines perceptions of working conditions, the organization of knowledge, and academic leadership. The findings include academics' understanding of their teaching and research as shaped by disciplinary beliefs and institutional conditions. In addition, beliefs regarding professional and personal commitments contribute to their understanding of academic roles. Despite the absence of research and scholarship, professors' hold disciplinary values in their understanding of role. Perceptions of institutional conditions highlight the importance of institutional mechanisms that support reform in a context where such conditions are not in place. As mediators of change professors' perceptions of their context will influence their understanding and implementation of any reform.;This research suggests that two academic identities stand poised to envision a new competitive university. These academic identities are the "cosmopolitans" and "locals", which take on unique attributes within the Paraguayan context. These attributes includes unusual institutional, intellectual, and disciplinary affiliations allowing us to build new definitions which I termed, colloquially, "cosmos" and "critical locals" conveying a different set of dimensions arising in this context.