Abstract
The values and the value of higher education are equally contested issues in contemporary South Africa. The affirmation of the ‘utility’ or ‘market value’ of higher education (Etzkowitz 2002), especially in the context of an emerging network knowledge economy (Castells 1996), is sometimes seen as threatening to traditional higher education values of ‘reason and culture’ (Barnett 2000). These values are considered to be a bulwark against trends of instrumentalism, populism, managerialism and performativity, currently influencing calls for the re-positioning of higher education. This paper poses the question: Would good values advance the value of higher education in facilitating social and economic progress, beyond instrumentalism, in the context of an emerging knowledge economy? Good values or ‘intellectual virtues’ (Aristotle) are seen on a continuum from civic-mindedness to institutional self-interest in the spheres of university leadership and governance. The value of higher education is considered in relation to ‘the object of life’ (Aristotle), which is presented in South African terms. The theoretical framework is informed by selected perspectives on universities in the knowledge economy context, including issues pertaining to national systems of innovation, the triple helix of university–government–industry and theory on the role of universities in development. The subject of the study is a research-active university in an emerging economy. It is argued that the value of higher education in a knowledge economy is not by definition antithetical to traditional values, but may be developed and derived from them in either an evolutionary or revolutionary way.
Highlights
The values and the value of higher education are contested issues in contemporary South Africa
The affirmation of the ‘utility’ or ‘market value’ of higher education [14], especially in the context of an emerging network knowledge economy [6], is sometimes seen as threatening to traditional higher education values of ‘reason and culture’ [5]. These values of reason and culture are considered by many ‘guardians’ of university values to be a bulwark against trends of instrumentalism, populism, managerialism, performativity and state capture, currently influential in the repositioning of higher education
This paper poses the heuristic question: Would good values realize the value of higher education in facilitating social and economic progress, beyond instrumentalism, in the context of an emerging knowledge economy? To explore this question, three case studies are investigated in a single university setting
Summary
The values and the value of higher education are contested issues in contemporary South Africa. South Africa exhibits various features of being in transition to a knowledge-based economy It allocates a reasonable level of gross domestic expenditure on research and development, above 0.9 % throughout the period 2006–2010; it has a wellstructured institutional foundation for human capital advancement and knowledge production, including 23 universities and a wide range of scientific performing agencies; it has relatively sophisticated information and communications technology (ICT) networks and broadband infrastructure for advanced communications, though there is a notable digital divide; and it has adopted a wide range of policies to foster higher education [16] and a national system of innovation [10, 11]. It is necessary to achieve a higher epistemological level of discourse, in order to consider how we can advance from the seeming inertia of a twentieth-century view to a twenty-first-century perspective which sees opportunities to appropriately augment traditional values and to create new value for both university and society It is generally acknowledged by all actors that the regional socioeconomy benefits from university-based knowledge production. Each of the case studies demonstrates socio-economic benefits, but the article problematizes the benefit to the university, as this is what is contested in South Africa
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
