Thinking about Higher Education

With higher education around the world in a period of extreme flux, this volume explores its underlying philosophy, a core element of the ongoing debate. Offering a diverse range of perspectives from an international selection of renowned scholars of higher education, the book is full of imaginative insights that add up to a substantive contribution to the discussion. As universities attempt to adapt to a new environment characterized by stiff international competition, networked remote learning, burgeoning student numbers, and comparative performance assessment, how we conceptualize the purpose and ethos of our higher learning institutions is more important than ever. This publication features a multitude of distinctive approaches that illuminate potential solutions to the complex issues universities must grapple with in these uncertain times. Rather than espousing a singular philosophical approach, the editors have assembled views from across the spectrum and from differing national contexts, representing a multidisciplinary response to the situation. This collection of papers aims thus to inspire fresh developments in the way we think about the complexities of, and options available to, higher education Contents 5 Contributors 7 Introduction 10 What does this Book Offer to Think About? 11 Thinking About Higher Education 13 Reference 14 Part I Positive Imagination 15 Thinking about Higher Education 16 Introduction 16 An Emptying of Thought 17 Glimpsing Possibilities 19 Conceptual Fragility 21 Feasible Utopias 23 Prospects 24 The Coming of the Ecological University 25 An Ecological Higher Education 27 Conclusion 28 References 29 Higher Education and Ethical Imagination 30 Introduction 30 The University and (its) Utopianism 31 The Banality of the Current 37 Thinking About Higher Education and Ethical Imagination 38 Conclusion 42 References 42 Happiness not Salaries: The Decline of Universities and the Emergence of Higher Education 44 Happiness 45 J. S. Mill 47 Beginning the Reforms: Measurements 50 The Realisation 52 The Path to Happiness 53 Higher Education Without the University 54 Postscript 56 References 56 Part II Finding the Public Good 58 Higher Education and Public Good 59 Introduction 59 Higher Education as a Social Sector 61 Conceptual Frameworks for Identifying Public Goods in HEIs 64 The Empirical Terrain 67 Policy Problems 68 Conclusion: One Possible Way Forward 69 Starting Notion of Public Good 70 Measurability 71 Globalised Comparative Methods 71 References 73 Forces in Tension: The State, Civil Society and Market in the Future of the University 76 The State and Higher Education 77 State-Centered and Civil Society Institutional Alignments 79 The State-Building University 80 The Market and Higher Education 80 The Civil Society 81 Academic Civil Society 82 The Institutional Role 83 Anchor 9 84 The Future of Higher Education and the State 84 The Neoliberal Moment 84 Redistribution 85 The Future of Higher Education and the Market 85 The Future of Higher Education and the Civil Society 87 The Future of the Institutional Role 88 Conclusion: A Question of Balance 89 References 91 Beyond Neo-Liberalism: Higher Education in Europe and the Global Public Good 95 Introduction 95 Relationships Between Higher Education, the State and Society 96 Higher Education: A Public Good or a Private Commodity? 97 The Evaluative State 98 Accountability Between Trust and Stakeholder Control 99 The Rise of Supra-National Actors 100 The Increasing Power of Agencies 101 Actorhood of Higher Education Institutions 103 Ideas for the University of the Twenty-first Century 104 The Multi-Versity 104 The Entrepreneurial University 105 The Network University 107 Conclusions: The Role of Universities in Emerging Knowledge Societies 109 References 110 Futures for Community Engagement: A Sociomaterial Perspective 113 Introduction 113 Uncertainty and Possibility in Community Engagement: ‘Emergence’ 114 Engaging Difference in Community: Multiple Worlds 117 Responsibility in Community Engagement: ‘Touching’ 120 Implications for Higher Education Futures 123 Conclusion 125 References 125 Part III Which Knowledge and Who Can Have It 127 Babies and Bathwater: Revaluing the Role of the Academy in Knowledge 128 Introduction 128 A Critical Realist Argument 129 The Nature of Knowledge and the Disciplines 130 Mode 1 and 2 Knowledge and Society 131 Reflexivity and Audit 133 TINA: There is no Alternative 134 Implications for Universities, Higher Education, Students and Curriculum 135 Higher Education, Students and Curriculum 137 Implications for Professional Education 137 Conclusion 138 References 139 Curriculum in Higher Education: Beyond False Choices 141 Introduction 141 Epistemic Access: What is it and Why? 142 Curriculum in Higher Education: A Contextual Turn 144 The Conceptual Framework 146 Field of Knowledge Production: Differentiated Knowledge 149 Field of Recontextualization: Differentiated Knowledge 151 Conclusion: A Curriculum for Epistemic Access 154 References 155 Finding a Voice as a Student 158 Introduction 158 Structure 159 Different Understandings of Selfhood 160 Voice and Selfhood 161 Finding a Voice Stage One: Breaking Free Through Separation 162 Finding a Voice Stage Two: Coming Together Through Integration 163 Finding a Voice Stage Three: Moving Towards Self-Fulfilment 166 Finding a Voice Stage Four: Identifying and Clarifying Values and Ideals 168 Supporting Student Voice 169 Listening 170 Conclusion 172 Notes 173 References 173 Into the Heart of Things: Defrosting Educational Theory 175 Introduction 175 A Complementary View on Bildung—and a Lack of Words 177 Maps, Globes, Instruments and Machines 179 Mosquito Bites, Shadows, Rivers and Gods 181 Linguistic and Educational Shamanism 183 Bildung as a Marriage Between Word and World 186 Conclusion 189 References 190 Coda: Reaching for Higher Education 192 Introduction 192 Index 195 Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-5 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 Thinking about Higher Education....Pages 9-22 Higher Education and Ethical Imagination....Pages 23-36 Happiness not Salaries: The Decline of Universities and the Emergence of Higher Education....Pages 37-50 Front Matter....Pages 51-51 Higher Education and Public Good....Pages 53-69 Forces in Tension: The State, Civil Society and Market in the Future of the University....Pages 71-89 Beyond Neo-Liberalism: Higher Education in Europe and the Global Public Good....Pages 91-108 Futures for Community Engagement: A Sociomaterial Perspective....Pages 109-122 Front Matter....Pages 123-123 Babies and Bathwater: Revaluing the Role of the Academy in Knowledge....Pages 125-137 Curriculum in Higher Education: Beyond False Choices....Pages 139-155 Finding a Voice as a Student....Pages 157-173 Into the Heart of Things: Defrosting Educational Theory....Pages 175-191 Coda: Reaching for Higher Education....Pages 193-195 Back Matter....Pages 197-199