Conceptions of the value of higher education in a measured market
By M. Tomlinson. 2018
148 citations recorded by the source corpus.
A critical analysis is developed of the dominant meanings of value in marketised higher education. In policy terms, this has become informed by the logics of the measured market whereby value has become synonymous with economic return and institutional accountability. The notion of value is one which permeates many discussions on the purpose of higher education and the perceived benefits it confers onto individuals and society as a whole. This, however, remains largely implicit and unearthing the specific meaning of value (and values) clearly presents challenges. This article critically examines a variety of concepts relevant to discussion of the value of higher education, including the relationship between value and quality, consumerism, goods and performativity. In each case, it unpacks their meanings and implications for the relationship between students and institutions, particularly at a time when this is seen to be increasingly transactional. It then outlines an alternative value framing to the utilitarian ‘value for money’ so prevalent in much market-driven policy.
Subfields: Education, Political Science and International Relations
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9a754f86dbca2a3003532721f3ef578e1a5dae22
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In Education
In Political Science and International Relations
Citations in the corpus
- Graduate employability and higher education: Past, present and future (2019, background): “The research in journalism is one of several projects to explore the role of capital in employability development (see Arthur, Claman and DeFillippi (1995) and Fugate, Kinicki and Ashforth (2004) for early discussions on capital and Marginson (2014) and Tomlinson (2018) for more recent thinking).”