Description
Book SynopsisThe paradigmatic values underlying British and German higher education emphasise personal growth, the wholeness of the individual, intellectual freedom and the pursuit of knowledge, which cumulatively can be viewed as a form of academic essentialism. However, these concepts were generated within a particular cultural and historical context which has largely been supplanted by neoliberalism. This book studies the emergence over the last twenty years of trends that define themselves in opposition to the traditional university ethos. It addresses the first experiments with private universities in both the United Kingdom and Germany, the instigation of bidding and competition for funding, the assertion of a practical over a theoretical focus in British teacher education and the contrasting views of their institutions held by British and German students and staff. It shows how the antithesis of a neoliberal university system, that of the former German Democratic Republic, was transformed under the impact of unification policies. The author also analyses important social issues, such as gender, in relation to the academic profession, highlighting how the individual may feel atomised despite a discourse of equality. Finally, the two higher education systems are examined within the context of the Bologna Process, which in many respects embraces academic capitalism – the epitome of neoliberalism. The book encompasses both qualitative and quantitative research spanning two decades of scholarship, and reflects the author’s profound engagement with universities and with British and German academic culture.
Trade Review«Das Buch ist ein Gewinn für alle Leser, die sich mit einer international-vergleichenden Perspektive dem Verständnis beider Hochschulsysteme nähern wollen.» (Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung)
«[...] this is a book with rich empirical data and well-arranged arguments. It is recommended reading for anyone with a serious interest in higher education policy or management as well as any postgraduate students of comparative study in the field of education.» (Sheng-Ju Chan, Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research 65, 2013)
Table of ContentsContents: Traditional University Values – Academic Autonomy –
Bildung – Neoliberal Developments in HE – Private Universities – German Higher Education – German Universities – Gender Equality in Academe – Government Steering in Britain – Competition and Bidding – East German Higher Education – Teacher Education – Market Force Culture – Bologna Process – New Public Management – Academic Time Deployment.
