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Wither the welfare state The new global adventures of higher education
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Wither the welfare state The new global adventures of higher education

Wesley Shumar
Learning and teaching, v 7(1), pp 92-104
01 Mar 2014

Abstract

Education & Educational Research Social Sciences
This summary article situates the articles in this collection within the historical unfolding of the commodification and neoliberalisation of higher education. From the 1970s to the present, the article suggests that commodification and neoliberalisation are two social forces that in many nations are difficult to disentangle. It is important to see these forces as analytically distinct as they set up contradictions whilst transforming higher education in many nations in the world. While commodification begins the process of turning university programmes and degrees into commodities that a consuming public buys, neoliberalism puts pressure on universities to document that people are getting value for the money they spend. Neoliberalism also questions how we measure the quality of a product. Together these forces create an increasingly contradictory space where faculty work becomes very conflicted. The article then goes on to situate each of the articles in this contradictory university space. Finally the article discusses some ways faculty can move beyond resistance and collusion and find ways to reclaim higher education.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#1 No Poverty
#8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

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Education & Educational Research
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