Education and the Global Expansion of Formal Organization

Formal organizational structures have expanded, worldwide, over recent decades, particularly in the neo-liberal period. In the background are the scientization of many aspects of social life, expanded conceptions of human empowerment, and the consequent explosive expansion of education.  Educational systems have a great deal in common worldwide, so expanding international organizational structures are also common. Prof. Meyer will discuss the domestic and international expansion of organizations, including for-profit, non-profit, and public agencies of all sorts, and the consequential rise of social movements for organizational “social responsibility.” 

John W. Meyer is Professor of Sociology (and, by courtesy, Education), emeritus, at Stanford.  He has contributed to organizational theory, comparative education, and the sociology of education, developing sociological institutional theory.  Since the 1970s, he has studied the impact of global society on national states and societies. In 2003 he completed a collaborative study of worldwide science and its national effects. He is currently working on a collaborative project on the impact of globalization on organizational structures.  

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