This document discusses a session on the political economy of higher education in the UK. The session aims to consider perspectives on the role of higher education, explore contemporary developments in higher education management, and examine implications of different views of students. It includes group activities on defining the purpose of higher education and describing students. The document also discusses challenges around competition and privatization in higher education.

1. Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching
The Political Economy of Higher
Education
Phil Carey & Clare Milsom
8th February 2012

2. Aim
To raise issues about the organisation and management of UK
Higher Education
Session outcomes
 Consider perspective on the role of higher education
 Critically explore contemporary developments in the
management of Higher Education
 Examine the implications for practice of differing notions of
‘the student’

3. GROUP TASK: THE PURPOSE OF HIGHER
EDUCATION
Use five of the provided words or phrases to
construct a statement on the purpose of Higher
Education.
Statements should be 25 to 40 words.
Feedback to the group – offering a two minute
rationale for your choices

4. Perspectives on education
Often considered in relation to statuatory
education, but equally appropriate to Higher
Education
• Functionalist
• Marxist
• Liberal education
• Humanist
• Radical

5. Strategic plan 2008-13 Strategic plan 2012-16
We value Our values
High academic and professional standards Creativity: foster culture innovation
Independence: integrity and impartiality Empowerment: transform learning
Responsiveness: meet needs of ‘SH’ Working for public good
Creativity Professionalism
Willingness to share
Inclusiveness
Student engagement
Self evaluation
Accountability, transparency, vfm

6. ‘Graduates earn more money than non-graduates, so it makes
sense that they should contribute.’
Blunkett (2000)
“[universities] are academic and cultural institutions as much as
engines of the economy. But part of maintaining support for
public investment in that role, is demonstrating their relevance
to our economic life as well.
(Mandelson, DBIS, 2009)

7. GROUP EXERCISE: WHAT STUDENTS ARE.
• List key words that describe students
• Rank in order of group consensus
• Feedback

8. Student as receiver
• ‘Tabula Rasa’
• Direct instruction
• Little interaction
• Objective assessment
• Knowledge is fixed
• Curriculum defined by knowledge experts
• Power resides with the ‘academy’

9. Student as novice
• Social learning model
• Experiential learning
• Discursive and task-based activities
• Reflective assessment
• Knowledge is contextual
• Curriculum defined by practitioners
• Power resides with the tutor

10. Student as customer
• Consumerist model
• Focus on satisfaction
• Little direct impact of learning and assessment
practice, but individualistic
• Knowledge is a product
• Curriculum defined through market research
• Power resides with the student

11. Student as co-producer
• Collaborative model
• Active student participation
• Assessment is negotiated
• Knowledge is created
• Focus on community of learners
• Curriculum defined by students and tutors
• Power is shared

12. HE White Paper: Students at the Heart of the System
Improving the Student Experience
‘Putting financial choice into the hands of learners makes
student choice more meaningful’

13. “It should be a source of pride for an institution to be an excellent
teaching university. That is what most students rightly see as the
backbone of their university experience.” David Willets 9th Sept 2010
Willetts defends universities white paper June 2011

14. Higher Education Summit 2012
A speaker interview Matthew Batstone, co-founder and director
Interview
‘New university gathers top academics to At a glance
teach £18,000-a-year degrees Prof. Ronald Dworkin QC
New College of the Humanities promises Prof. Adrian Zuckerman
more direct teaching. The student-teacher How we teach
ratio will be better than 10 to one and The NCH professoriate will typically
there will be 12 to 13 hours' contact with deliver four lectures in each week of the
teachers each week.’ 5.June 2011 longer autumn and spring terms. The
professoriate will lecture both for degree
subject courses and Diploma modules.

15. Challenges to practitioners and
universities
• Conflict between competition and
collaboration
• Marketisation of Higher Education
• Mangerialism
• Privatisation of knowledge
• Narrow view of employability

16. Suggested reading
• Jan McArthur (2011) Reconsidering the social
and economic purposes of higher education,
Higher Education Research & Development,
30:6, 737-749
• Alistair McCulloch (2009): The student as
co‐producer: learning from public
administration about the student–university
relationship, Studies in Higher Education,
34:2, 171-183

17. More suggested reading
Futures for Higher Education Analysing trends Universities UK January 2012
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/FuturesForHigherEduca
tion.pdf
HEFCE: Opportunity, Choice and Excellence in HE July 2011
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/stratplan/strategystatement.pdf
Higher Education Academy Strategic Plan 20122/16:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/strategic-plan
White Paper Putting Students at the Heart of the HE System June 2011
http://c561635.r35.cf2.rackcdn.com/11-944-WP-students-at-heart.pdf

18. Functionalist
Education for work and a work force
• prepares students for the
workplace
• reflects divisions of labour
• is a form of socialisation
• support meritocracy by providing
opportunities for upward social
mobility

19. Marxist
Education for social control
• Similar to functionalist critique but sees
education as:
– Reflecting class divisions.
– creating compliance by reinforcing the
norms and values of a dominant elite.
– Meritocracy is a myth as established social
divisions are maintained.

20. Liberal education
Education for cultural enlightenment.
• the relationship to work is incidental.
• students develop intangible, meta
skills that help them deal with
complexity.
• Strong values base
• supports progressive social
development

21. Humanist
Education for personal development
• Focuses on individual self-actualisation.
• Educational processes reflect the needs of
individual students
• Addresses affective as well as intellectual
learning

22. Radical
Education for social change
• Focuses on empowerment
• encourages politically motivated change
agents to overthrow systems of oppression.
• Strong emancipatory/transformative
tradition