Academic freedom
[8] Norwegian education sees it as a guarantee that research and teaching is "intellectually and morally independent of all political and economic interests", leading to openness, free enquiry and debate.
According to Humboldt, the fundamental proposition underlying the principles of academic freedom was to uphold the view that science is not something that has already been found but as knowledge that will never be fully discovered and, yet, needs to be searched for unceasingly.
[14] In 1936, as a consequence of an invitation to give lectures for the Ministry of Heavy Industry in the USSR, Polanyi met Bukharin, who told him that in socialist societies all scientific research is directed to accord with the needs of the latest five-year plan.
[15] In a series of articles, re-published in The Contempt of Freedom (1940) and The Logic of Liberty (1951), Polanyi claimed that co-operation among scientists is analogous to the way in which agents co-ordinate themselves within a free market.
When scholars attempt to teach or communicate ideas or facts that are inconvenient to external political groups or to authorities, they may find themselves targeted for public vilification, job loss, imprisonment, or even death.
[18] Sociologist Ruth Pearce argued that the concept of academic freedom exists to protect scholarship from censure by state or religious authorities, and not to defend intolerance.
David Audretsch and colleagues estimate that academic freedom has declined over the last decade for the first time over their century-long observation period, resulting in at least 4% fewer patents filed.
[32] In December 2020, the Associated Press reported that China was controlling scientific research into the origins of COVID-19 under direct orders from CCP general secretary Xi Jinping.
According to the report, an order by China's State Council required all research to be approved by a task force under their management, saying scientific publication should be orchestrated like "a game of chess", warning that those who publish without permission will be held accountable.
According to Maassen et al. (2023) "Recent discussions about academic freedom in France have, amongst other things, been focused on the government approach to so-called “Islamo-leftism" in academia".
[39] Maassen et al. (2023) also argues that "The debates in France illustrate that over the last decades higher education and society in the EU Member States and elsewhere have developed a new relationship, where traditional borders and distinctions have become less prominent" (pp. 76–77).
Following the suspension, Ernest Renan was also removed from the "body of College de France", with an "accusation" of not "abiding" the rule of not to include any "personal opinion" against the "fundamentals of the Christian Religion".
[43] Paty had created a lesson for his class to teach his students the freedom of expression, in which he used the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazines that showcased caricatures of Muhammad.
[46] This bill also stated that law enforcement will now be able to use drones to film citizens in public,[47] along with allowing body-camera footage from police officers to be live streamed in real time to French authorities.
[46] This would effectively end most homeschooling practices and privately religious owned schools in France, which means that French parents now cannot guide their child's education path to best suit their needs.
"[46] Shortly after the murders, Macron also began to push for another proposed anti-extremist bill that would force imams to train in France while cracking down on the various groups that spread extremist and separatist ideals.
[49] In a tradition reaching back to the 19th century, jurisdiction has understood this right as one to teach (Lehrfreiheit), study (Lernfreiheit), and conduct research (Freiheit der Wissenschaft) freely, although the last concept has sometimes been taken as a cover term for the first two.
Protections for academic freedom for research, teaching and other activity "to question and test received wisdom, to put forward new ideas and to state controversial or unpopular opinions" without being disadvantaged, are provided in Section 14 of the 1997 Universities Act.
[54] In recent years, a fierce debate has erupted on the issue of academic freedom, following extreme political statements by a number of university faculty members.
[61] In 1992 the Law of Higher Education and Research (Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek, article 1.6) was published and became effective in 1993.
When Margaret Thatcher's government sought to remove many of the statutory protections of academic freedom which Robbins had regarded as so important, she was partly frustrated by a hostile amendment to her bill in the House of Lords.
This incorporated into what became the 1988 Education Reform Act, the legal right of academics in the UK 'to question and test received wisdom and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or the privileges they may have'.
The guidance also makes clear the statutory requirement of universities to ensure they protect freedom of speech on campus however as well as compliance with the Prevent Strategy and the Equality Act 2010.
"[Note 2] The statement also permits institutions to impose "limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims", so long as they are "clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment".
According to The Wall Street Journal, the common goal of these bills is to expose more students to articles and videos that undercut evolution, most of which are produced by advocates of intelligent design or biblical creationism.
In 2014, a debate was held by the Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP), addressing the potential need to either further revise the text, overhaul it completely, or leave it as is.
Since 2014, Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey Flier,[104][105] and American Mathematical Society Vice President Abigail Thompson[106] have contended that academics are asked to support diversity initiatives, and are discouraged from voicing opposition to equity and inclusion through self-censorship, as well as explicit promotion, hiring, and firing.
[111] In 2006, Lawrence Summers, while president of Harvard University, led a discussion that was intended to identify the reasons why fewer women chose to study science and mathematics at advanced levels.
Another significant factor of his resignation was several votes of no-confidence placed by the deans of schools, notably multiple professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
[117] In 2009 the University of California at Santa Barbara accused William I. Robinson of antisemitism after he circulated an email to his class containing photographs and paragraphs of the Holocaust juxtaposed to those of the Gaza Strip.
