Page 80 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 1-2: The Language of Neoliberal Education, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 80
šolsko polje, letnik xxix, številka 1–2
dearth of empirical studies that have gaged the extent to which contem-
porary universities have replaced humanist and enlightenment education-
al ideals and principles with neoliberal ones. Therefore, to begin to fill this
gap, the present content analysis study examines the latest education strat-
egy statements of the 24 elite British public universities that collective-
ly form the Russell Group, and tests whether these statements are signifi-
cantly more reflective of neoliberal university discourses than traditional
ones. This article continues with a brief review of the literature on neo-
liberalism and higher education. It then proceeds to discuss this study’s
methods, findings, and implications.
Neoliberalism and Higher Education
Neoliberalism refers to a political-economic paradigm based on an ideol-
ogy that calls for the commercialization of, and state facilitation or imple-
mentation of market mechanisms into, many aspects of public and private
life (Ball, 2012; Leyva, 2018). To wit, neoliberal theorists and policy-mak-
ers argue that countries should seek to maintain international competi-
tiveness and induce and accelerate economic growth in large part by: elim-
inating or drastically reducing government public expenditures, trade
barriers, and business regulations; partially or fully privatizing their state
enterprises and services; and focusing on generating exports. In so doing,
countries can gain from their comparative advantages in factor endow-
ments, ensure market credibility, achieve fiscal solvency, and attract for-
eign direct investment. Over time, the successful enactment of these goals
and processes is hypothesised to engender prosperous and dynamic, but
stable and efficient national and international markets in addition to the
skilled, self-reliant, and flexible workers needed to sustain and compete in
them (Friedman, 2002; Hartwell, 1995). Neoliberalism, as approximately
described above, rose to prominence in the 1980s in the United Kingdom
and the United States, and has since significantly shaped the 21st-centu-
ry world order (Ellwood, 2011; Hall & Rustin, 2015). This section, how-
ever, will only briefly review features of neoliberal education policies and
practices and their effects on contemporary Anglo-American universities.
According to neoliberal doctrine, education institutions need to be
essentially turned into fiscally solvent commercial entities whose prima-
ry function is to condition and train a professionally skilled and extrin-
sic-value orientated workforce. It follows from this logic that funding for
schools should be allocated based on market principles of cost-effective-
ness, accountability, productivity, and consumer demand (Chubb & Moe,
1990; Friedman, 2002). To expedite this institutional restructuring, ne-
oliberals advocate for policies that A) force schools to compete for state
78
dearth of empirical studies that have gaged the extent to which contem-
porary universities have replaced humanist and enlightenment education-
al ideals and principles with neoliberal ones. Therefore, to begin to fill this
gap, the present content analysis study examines the latest education strat-
egy statements of the 24 elite British public universities that collective-
ly form the Russell Group, and tests whether these statements are signifi-
cantly more reflective of neoliberal university discourses than traditional
ones. This article continues with a brief review of the literature on neo-
liberalism and higher education. It then proceeds to discuss this study’s
methods, findings, and implications.
Neoliberalism and Higher Education
Neoliberalism refers to a political-economic paradigm based on an ideol-
ogy that calls for the commercialization of, and state facilitation or imple-
mentation of market mechanisms into, many aspects of public and private
life (Ball, 2012; Leyva, 2018). To wit, neoliberal theorists and policy-mak-
ers argue that countries should seek to maintain international competi-
tiveness and induce and accelerate economic growth in large part by: elim-
inating or drastically reducing government public expenditures, trade
barriers, and business regulations; partially or fully privatizing their state
enterprises and services; and focusing on generating exports. In so doing,
countries can gain from their comparative advantages in factor endow-
ments, ensure market credibility, achieve fiscal solvency, and attract for-
eign direct investment. Over time, the successful enactment of these goals
and processes is hypothesised to engender prosperous and dynamic, but
stable and efficient national and international markets in addition to the
skilled, self-reliant, and flexible workers needed to sustain and compete in
them (Friedman, 2002; Hartwell, 1995). Neoliberalism, as approximately
described above, rose to prominence in the 1980s in the United Kingdom
and the United States, and has since significantly shaped the 21st-centu-
ry world order (Ellwood, 2011; Hall & Rustin, 2015). This section, how-
ever, will only briefly review features of neoliberal education policies and
practices and their effects on contemporary Anglo-American universities.
According to neoliberal doctrine, education institutions need to be
essentially turned into fiscally solvent commercial entities whose prima-
ry function is to condition and train a professionally skilled and extrin-
sic-value orientated workforce. It follows from this logic that funding for
schools should be allocated based on market principles of cost-effective-
ness, accountability, productivity, and consumer demand (Chubb & Moe,
1990; Friedman, 2002). To expedite this institutional restructuring, ne-
oliberals advocate for policies that A) force schools to compete for state
78
