A paradox of the public good: how far should we democratize? From principles to policy to practice

Abstract

In the complex real world of the higher education policy-maker, he/she often has to weave a tortuous route between universally held principles governing higher education in general and the actual formulation of operating policies that embody these principles. In addition he/she must monitor the implementation of these policies to see that their implementation actually achieves their intended purposes. Unfortunately, in practice, the desired effect is not always realized. This paper looks at one such universal principle, that of democratization of higher education, which conveys the twofold notion of equity of access, and providing as many places in higher education as society demands. It then looks at a few instances where this principle is translated into a variety of policies, with different results.