Implausible Dream : The World-Class University and Repurposing Higher Education / James H. Mittelman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mittelman, James H., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education, Higher--Uganda.

Education, Higher.

Education, Higher--Finland.

Education, Higher--United States.

Education and globalization.

Universities and colleges--Ratings and rankings.

Universities and colleges.

Education, Higher--Economic aspects.

Education, Higher--Aims and objectives.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (263 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Why the paradigm of the world-class university is an implausible dream for most institutions of higher educationUniversities have become major actors on the global stage. Yet, as they strive to be "world-class," institutions of higher education are shifting away from their core missions of cultivating democratic citizenship, fostering critical thinking, and safeguarding academic freedom. In the contest to raise their national and global profiles, universities are embracing a new form of utilitarianism, one that favors market power over academic values. In this book, James Mittelman explains why the world-class university is an implausible dream for most institutions and proposes viable alternatives that can help universities thrive in today's competitive global environment.Mittelman traces how the scale, reach, and impact of higher-education institutions expanded exponentially in the post-World War II era, and how the market-led educational model became widespread. Drawing on his own groundbreaking fieldwork, he offers three case studies-the United States, which exemplifies market-oriented educational globalization; Finland, representative of the strong public sphere; and Uganda, a postcolonial country with a historically public but now increasingly private university system. Mittelman shows that the "world-class" paradigm is untenable for all but a small group of wealthy, research-intensive universities, primarily in the global North. Nevertheless, institutions without substantial material resources and in far different contexts continue to aspire to world-class stature.An urgent wake-up call, Implausible Dream argues that universities are repurposing at the peril of their high principles and recommends structural reforms that are more practical than the unrealistic worldwide measures of excellence prevalent today.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables

Preface and Acknowledgments

Abreviations

A Note on Terminology

INTRODUCTION: Questions and Arguments

PART I. GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE GOVERNANCE

CHAPTER 1. A Crisis of Purpose

CHAPTER 2. Contending Purposes of Modern Universities

CHAPTER 3. Drivers of Reform

PART II. CASE STUDIES

CHAPTER 4. The Neoliberal Model: The United States

CHAPTER 5. A Social Democratic Path: Finland

CHAPTER 6. Postcolonial Experience: Uganda

PART III. OUTCOMES

CHAPTER 7. Polymorphism

CHAPTER 8. Plausible Alternatives

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9781400888085

1400888085

OCLC:

1132669851