Abstract
In the post-war period, university education became a crucial driver of economic and social development. This led to the massification of higher education and the emergence of what is now referred to as the knowledge society. This expansion broadened the range of purposes associated with the academic world. Thus, the classical and modern traditions that emphasized that the role of education and knowledge is the creation of better societies, the development of human potential, and the understanding of the surrounding world, were complemented by approaches that highlight their instrumental contribution to the economic system. The neoliberal shift has entailed the radicalization and hegemony of this latter perspective. Along these lines, administrative teams in many universities have adopted a managerial approach based on subordinating educational and research processes to efficiency and profitability metrics. Furthermore, an increasing number of universities perceive students as consumers who must be continuously stimulated and gratified (overlooking the fact that education is not a commodity), impose international accreditation processes that enforce the application of foreign practices (paying limited attention to local particularities), and require researchers to publish in a small selection of high-impact journals (compelling the adoption of research agendas dominated by the Global North). These transformations call into question the very idea of the university as a pluralistic space for the collective construction of knowledge.
Presenters
Mario Marcello Pasco-Dalla-PortaProfessor, Management Sciences Department, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Lima, Peru
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Knowledge Economies as the Constant
KEYWORDS
Purpose of University, University Change, University Standards, Neoliberal University
