Trusting in Higher Education: An Anthropological Perspective

Abstract

In this chapter an anthropological perspective is taken to this complex notion of trust in higher education due to a form of fatigue in reading about higher education institutions, and the challenges facing them, through a lens that seems more confined by the very thing it is exploring than illuminating the dark areas and finding a voice to say what is known and felt, but unspeakable or unsayable for many employed in higher education in UK today. Some may not need such a voice or perspective; however, my experience with a range of higher education institutions, students and staff would indicate that some would welcome perspectives which may contribute to understanding and improving the environments in which they spend most of their working lives, and in which they would like to recover joy through a commitment to learning and teaching, and a sense of belonging to a culture that celebrates such contributions. It is a conceptual lens on trust in higher education. It positions higher education as an amorphous object posing challenges to how we communicate with it and the role of leadership in higher education institutions which has a strong influence on whether the culture is enabling or disabling for its members. A cautionary note here is that an anthropological lens does not offer any solutions, but can only claim that a different perspective might lead to different understandings and different attitudes and actions.