Quality Education and the Marketplace: An Exploration of Neoliberalism and its Impact on Higher Education

Mandy Frake

doi:10.26522/brocked.v18i1.110

Abstract

This paper is an in attempt to open discussion about the impact of globalization and theories of neoliberalism on higher education. More specifically, viewing higher education institutions as a market place, where the more a product costs, the greater supply and quality of the product should be received; the quality of education received by university students should also reflect this. Considering the conflict between teaching and research in higher education, quality of education becomes questionable. This paper explores issues of neoliberalism resulting in a greater demand for the completion of research in higher education institutions. Furthermore, the imperialism of higher education leading towards the demand for more research, the teaching versus research nexus within universities, and discussion of how these theories impact international students will be examined throughout this paper

Highlights

It is widely recognized that there are competing and conflicting competencies within higher education institutions1
Liberalist perspectives focus on economy and the marketplace and having an understanding of the “dynamics of marketization as it operates within capitalism is key to understanding the changes taking place in education and their effects” (Raduntz 2005, 238)
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the teaching versus research tension and neoliberalism and the marketplace

Summary

Introduction

It is widely recognized that there are competing and conflicting competencies within higher education institutions. Neoliberalist theories and practices are defined by Bourdieu (1998) as being a program fully able to annihilate any configuration attempting to oppose the logic of the ‘pure market’ This statement is one that I am forced to ponder as I continue to read literature and formulate my own theories and practices within an educational context.. There is a divide between those who view the primary role of the university as a teaching institution and those who perceive the university as a primary place to complete research. This pedagogical divide brings into question the quality of education students receive (Pocklington and Tupper 2002). What is the impact on students if within the institution, teaching is a part of a faculty member’s workload, but research is their primary focus? Higher education

Quality Education and the Marketplace

Discussion and Conclusion