Page 96 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 1-2: The Language of Neoliberal Education, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 96
šolsko polje, letnik xxix, številka 1–2
and take primacy over the academy’s traditional goals and practices, then
this almost invariably and predictably leads to the corruption of research,
hindering of new scientific discoveries, dumbing down of curriculum to
inflate grades, and shutting down of academically significant but unpop-
ular departments and fields of research. To be certain, this is current-
ly the case across the tertiary education sector (Bachan, 2017; Havergal,
2016; McKie, 2018), such that many universities, including most of those
from the Russell Group, are running the significant risk of becoming lit-
tle more than degree-mills that churn out largely uncritical, self-interest-
ed, and unenlightened graduates.
However mythical it may well be, the traditional university model is
revered by possibly most academics not because they are nostalgic, recal-
citrant, or lazy, but rather because they are themselves products of higher
education. As such, they unlike the neoliberal managers who run the uni-
versities, understand full-well that a university education is valuable be-
cause it is supposed to: 1) nurture intellectual passions and interests –irre-
spective of their economic utility; 2) hone the capacity to reason logically
and independently investigate truth claims, and 3) cultivate communitar-
ian values along with a sense of fairness and justice (Newfield, 2018; Pavur,
2009). It is first and foremost through the achievement of these aims that
a university education can help students to self-actualize and lead them to
make broader and positive cultural, societal, and economic contributions.
References
Ash, M. G. (2006) Bachelor of What, Master of Whom? The Humboldt
Myth and Historical Transformations of Higher Education in
German‐Speaking Europe and the US. European Journal of
Education, 41(2), pp. 245–267.
Bachan, R. (2017) Grade Inflation in UK Higher Education. Studies in
Higher Education, 42(8), pp.1580-1600.
Ball, S. J. (2012) Performativity, Commodification and Commitment:
An I-spy Guide to the Neoliberal University. British Journal Of
Educational Studies, 60(1), pp. 17–28.
Boyles, D. R. (ed) (2004) Schools or Markets? Commercialism, Privatization
and School Business Partnerships. New York: Routledge.
Chubb, J. & Watermeyer, R. (2017) Artifice or Integrity in the
Marketization of Research Impact? Investigating the Moral Economy
of (Pathways to) Impact Statements Within Research Funding
Proposals in the UK and Australia. Studies in Higher Education,
42(12), pp. 2360–2372.
94
and take primacy over the academy’s traditional goals and practices, then
this almost invariably and predictably leads to the corruption of research,
hindering of new scientific discoveries, dumbing down of curriculum to
inflate grades, and shutting down of academically significant but unpop-
ular departments and fields of research. To be certain, this is current-
ly the case across the tertiary education sector (Bachan, 2017; Havergal,
2016; McKie, 2018), such that many universities, including most of those
from the Russell Group, are running the significant risk of becoming lit-
tle more than degree-mills that churn out largely uncritical, self-interest-
ed, and unenlightened graduates.
However mythical it may well be, the traditional university model is
revered by possibly most academics not because they are nostalgic, recal-
citrant, or lazy, but rather because they are themselves products of higher
education. As such, they unlike the neoliberal managers who run the uni-
versities, understand full-well that a university education is valuable be-
cause it is supposed to: 1) nurture intellectual passions and interests –irre-
spective of their economic utility; 2) hone the capacity to reason logically
and independently investigate truth claims, and 3) cultivate communitar-
ian values along with a sense of fairness and justice (Newfield, 2018; Pavur,
2009). It is first and foremost through the achievement of these aims that
a university education can help students to self-actualize and lead them to
make broader and positive cultural, societal, and economic contributions.
References
Ash, M. G. (2006) Bachelor of What, Master of Whom? The Humboldt
Myth and Historical Transformations of Higher Education in
German‐Speaking Europe and the US. European Journal of
Education, 41(2), pp. 245–267.
Bachan, R. (2017) Grade Inflation in UK Higher Education. Studies in
Higher Education, 42(8), pp.1580-1600.
Ball, S. J. (2012) Performativity, Commodification and Commitment:
An I-spy Guide to the Neoliberal University. British Journal Of
Educational Studies, 60(1), pp. 17–28.
Boyles, D. R. (ed) (2004) Schools or Markets? Commercialism, Privatization
and School Business Partnerships. New York: Routledge.
Chubb, J. & Watermeyer, R. (2017) Artifice or Integrity in the
Marketization of Research Impact? Investigating the Moral Economy
of (Pathways to) Impact Statements Within Research Funding
Proposals in the UK and Australia. Studies in Higher Education,
42(12), pp. 2360–2372.
94
