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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1997

Steve O. Michael

Suggests that institutions of higher education in the USA encounter problems that are unique to the market environment. These problems include competition for resources…

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Abstract

Suggests that institutions of higher education in the USA encounter problems that are unique to the market environment. These problems include competition for resources, escalating costs, and resource constraints. In response to these problems, higher education systems within this kind of environment tend to borrow strategies from organizations operating under the most competitive environment ‐ the business sector. Discusses specific strategies adopted by institutions of higher education in North America. Examines how these strategies have affected the culture of higher education. Discusses the shift occurring between the consumerism‐ professorialism continuum. Calls for the need to understand the dual nature of higher education so that strategies can be selectively adapted.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2022

Prashant Sunil Borde, Ridhi Arora and Sanjeeb Kakoty

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on academic capitalism, consumerism and commodification (A3C) in higher education. Additionally, this study aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on academic capitalism, consumerism and commodification (A3C) in higher education. Additionally, this study aims to understand core attributes of educational leadership behaviours with ethical leadership (EL) and transformational leadership (TL) styles can contribute to inclusive and equitable quality education for students belonging to diverse socio-economic status (SES).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a literature review methodology initially on themes of A3C, EL, TL and SES, adopting social learning theory and social identity theory. Further, organizational behavioural dynamics related to students and faculty in higher educational institutions are illustrated. Simultaneously, suggestions with practical focus are offered.

Findings

This paper synthesizes the literature on the convergence of leadership and SES and develops propositions to encourage future inquiry. Further, the study illuminates several attributes of four groups of student populations, namely, “privileged,” “contestant,” “dependent” and “deprived” formed because of this convergence.

Research limitations/implications

A3C have posed several severe questions for the sustainable development of society. Educational leaders must benefit society, offer equitable opportunities and develop affirmative leadership.

Originality/value

Leaders with high EL and TL behaviours can considerably contribute to achieve United Nations Sustainable Goals of Quality Education. This paper presents realistic solutions and scrutinizes organizational dynamics because of convergence of leadership and SES. Further, pragmatic leadership development strategies are suggested.

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2024

Yaqiao Liu, Yifei Liang and Yilan Guo

The marketisation of higher education fosters the notion of students as consumers, highlighting the shifting dynamics of student–teacher relationships. This paper aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

The marketisation of higher education fosters the notion of students as consumers, highlighting the shifting dynamics of student–teacher relationships. This paper aims to contribute to ongoing discussions about students as consumers and their involvement in pedagogical practices. We explore students’ experiences in short-term study abroad (SA) programmes that involve collaborative learning, examining how a consumerism-oriented approach affects students’ perceptions of their pedagogical identities and student–teacher pedagogical relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to capture students’ rich and subjective perceptions and experiences. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 Chinese undergraduate students who participated in a short-term SA programme at a UK university. Following data translation and transcription, a thematic analysis approach facilitated our exploration.

Findings

Chinese students engage in SA programmes as a strategic investment in personal growth and transformation, with their consumer-oriented identity fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with educators and group members. This consumer mindset appears to enhance active student engagement and, to some extent, create reciprocal student–teacher interactions through power sharing and collaborative involvement.

Originality/value

This study presents empirical data exploring the impact of consumer identity on the dynamics of student–teacher relationships in the SA context. It provides recommendations for implementing pedagogical approaches designed to mediate the influence of consumerism on student engagement, particularly in shaping collaborative student–teacher relationships. This study offers insights for future research on the effects of consumerism in higher education within cross-cultural contexts.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2016

Daniel Lee Kleinman and Robert Osley-Thomas

Is the aim of the university to prepare citizens to contribute to civic and social life as well as to travel flexibly and successfully through a rapidly changing work world? Or is…

Abstract

Is the aim of the university to prepare citizens to contribute to civic and social life as well as to travel flexibly and successfully through a rapidly changing work world? Or is the purpose of higher education more narrowly to advance students’ individual economic interests as they understand them? Should we think of students as citizens or consumers? Many analysts argue that, in recent years, the notion that higher education should serve to advance students’ individual economic position has increasingly taken prominence over broader notions of the purpose of American higher education. In this paper, we examine whether and to what extent a shift from considering students-as-citizens to students-as-consumers has occurred in US higher education. We provide a longitudinal analysis of two separate and theoretically distinct discourse communities (Berg, 2003): higher education trustees and leaders of and advocates for liberal arts education. Our data suggest a highly unsettled field in which commercial discourse as measured by the student-as-consumer code has surely entered the US higher education lexicon, but this code is not uncontested and the more traditional citizenship code remains significant and viable.

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Gavriel Meirovich and Edward J. Romar

The applicability of total quality management (TQM) to higher education instruction is controversial. The purpose of this paper is to help clarify the application of TQM to higher

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Abstract

Purpose

The applicability of total quality management (TQM) to higher education instruction is controversial. The purpose of this paper is to help clarify the application of TQM to higher education instruction by identifying and analyzing the dual roles played by both students and instructors. The authors also offer an improvement to the instructor evaluation process designed to eliminate some of the negative effects of the duality of roles.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper discussing some of the shortcomings in previous discussions of the applicability of TQM to higher education instruction. In addition, it introduces the concept of the dual roles of students (customers/grade‐seekers) and faculty (suppliers/retention‐seekers), and analyzes their relationship to, and effect on, the evaluation of the educational process through the interaction of these dual roles.

Practical implications

This paper helps understand more fully the student/instructor roles and will contribute to a better understanding of the applicability of TQM to higher education. It offers a methodology to enhance the faculty evaluation process as a measure of instructional quality and offers actions that will strengthen the knowledge‐seeking motivation of students.

Originality/value

This paper offers a more thorough analysis of the roles of students and faculty than previous discussions of the TQM in higher education. The value of this paper is the identification of two pairs of contradictory roles played by both participants in the instruction process which complicates an understanding of the concept of quality and applicability of TQM to higher education.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Abstract

This chapter quotes how St. John, Daun-Barnett, and Moronski-Chapman (2012) maintained ideological shifts in American culture and politics which are important to the study of higher education policy because of the influence on public finance, government regulation, and curriculum. From the Great Depression through the Cold War to the present, human capital theory has guided higher education (St. John et al., 2012). Veiled concepts of accessibility and equity were substantial during this era to mask more nefarious attempts to shift to the privatization away from the public good of American Higher Education (Astin & Oseguera, 2004). This chapter focuses on the role of accountability as a neoliberal ideology, and the impact of this ideology, as a form of corporatization on higher education. Furthermore, this focus on corporatization intersects specifically with the discourse pertaining to corporate social responsibility (CSR), which can be understood as transparent actions that guide an organization to benefit society, such as in funding and accessibility. In this chapter, the authors engage in a critical analysis of neoliberalism, and academic capitalism, as threats to the institution of higher education as a public good. The authors initially provide a framing of the public to private dichotomy of American higher education in explaining the various products produced and expected outcomes. A historical context for performance-based funding in American higher education is provided as an understanding of the nature and scope of the contemporary model. To understand the influence of public funding policies on American higher education, it is also necessary to comprehend the role of political ideology and how the business model of higher education has evolved. Thus, a general discussion of neoliberalism permeates the entirety of this discussion. This chapter concludes with the tertiary impacts of neoliberalism.

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2018

Kristin Heffernan and Trevor G. Gates

The purpose of this paper is to explore how perceived student entitlement influences the work experiences of a sample of teaching staff in human services, counselor education and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how perceived student entitlement influences the work experiences of a sample of teaching staff in human services, counselor education and social work.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the relationship between perceived academic entitlement and job-related affective well-being among teaching staff in social work, counseling and human services, a cross-sectional design was utilized. To be eligible for the study, participants must have been 18 years of age and currently employed as teaching staff in a human service program in the USA.

Findings

A convenience sample of 118 teaching staff demonstrated that negative well-being is correlated with perceptions of academic entitlement. It also revealed that teaching staff with a lower academic rank perceived their students to be more entitled, suggesting that pressures of working toward tenure may influence these professors’ behaviors making them more accommodating to students. Accommodating behavior may be driven by a need for favorable teaching evaluations but impacts the quality of education a student receives.

Originality/value

These data shed light on the relationship between perceived student academic entitlement and job-related affective well-being among human service teaching staff and consider how a shift in students’ expectations influences the behaviors of teaching staff.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

174

Abstract

Details

Education + Training, vol. 45 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Book part
Publication date: 19 April 2018

Lorayne Robertson

This chapter concerns itself primarily with questions of how students in higher education studies can best acquire, apply, create, and share knowledge. Over the past several…

Abstract

This chapter concerns itself primarily with questions of how students in higher education studies can best acquire, apply, create, and share knowledge. Over the past several decades, multiple forms of active learning have been proposed in order to increase student engagement and deepen their understanding. This chapter, accordingly, examines the epistemological claims of the supporters and detractors of active learning while simultaneously exploring the nascence and development of some of the major understandings which presently underpin an epistemology of active learning. While the focus of earlier works may have been on changes that higher education instructors should make to improve student understanding of key STEM concepts, this chapter addresses changes in the roles of both students and instructors as the co-creators of active learning environments and learning communities. A particular focus is given to the significance of metacognition as a critical skill that enables students to assess their own learning and also critically assess sources of information. The chapter includes a framework which indicates trends toward high-impact active learning skills for students in STEM higher education and the research which theorizes and supports these new instructional imperatives.

Details

Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-488-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2015

Johanna Vuori

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Finnish higher education institutions communicate market differentiation on the admissions webpages of their international business and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Finnish higher education institutions communicate market differentiation on the admissions webpages of their international business and technology programmes when attempting to appeal to prospective students and distinguish themselves from other institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample included admissions webpages of 68 bachelor’s and master’s programmes representing both Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences. The analysis method was a qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The international programmes heavily accentuated their labour market relevance in their advertising and generated strong claims regarding the future career prospects of the graduates. In addition, the programmes emphasised their pedagogical methods and international atmosphere. References to non-academic life were not observed.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis was only based on text and included two study fields.

Practical implications

The results of this study can be used by marketers to critically examine their own marketing differentiation efforts and promises made to students.

Social implications

Finnish business and technology programmes send an unequivocal marketing message that education has an instrumental value and students are considered consumers of education.

Originality/value

This study is the first comprehensive study of the marketing communication practices of international higher education programmes in Finland. Moreover, this study contributes to the study of global international market mechanisms and research on marketing communication practised by higher education institutions.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

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