Memorandum submitted by Professor John
Brennan, Centre for Higher Education Research and Information
(CHERI), Open University
INTRODUCTION
1. The Centre for Higher Education Research
and Information (CHERI) conducts research on higher education
policy and on the broad relationships between higher education
and society, both in the UK and internationally. This submission
draws on this research and, in particular, on the following three
ongoing projects:
What is learned at university? The
social and organisational mediation of university learning (funded
by the Economic and Social Research Council).
The flexible graduate in the knowledge
societya European study of graduate employment (funded
by the European Commission and the Higher Education Funding Council
for England).
Higher education in Europe in 2010
and beyond: responding to economic and social pressures (funded
by the European Science Foundation).
2. These projects are ongoing and the submission
is not able to report on definitive conclusions at this stage,
but it is able to reflect some emerging findings and also to draw
on an extensive experience of national and international higher
education research conducted over several decades by the author.
Brief details of this work have already been submitted to the
Committee.
3. I want in particular to attempt to draw
attention to some of the features of UK higher education which
are distinctive when compared with other (mainly European) systems
and to consider the balance of advantage/disadvantage which might
arise from this distinctiveness. Attention is also drawn to features
of UK higher education which have undergone considerable change
in recent years.
THE FUTURE
SUSTAINABILITY OF
THE HIGHER
EDUCATION SECTOR
Differentiation and diversity
4. The higher education research literature
frequently employs the terms "elite" and "mass"
to describe the growth of higher education systems in virtually
all developed countries over the last two decades. The terminology
was coined by the American sociologist Martin Trow in the mid
1970s and included a third stage of "universal" higher
education to refer to the kinds of participation rates that are
now planned or achieved in the different parts of the UK. Mass
and universal systems are frequently seen to be differentiated
systems. It is also worth remembering that Trow did not see them
as necessarily sequential stages. Elements of each type can co-exist
within expanded systems.
5. Within the UK, a lot of concern seems
to have been devoted over the last 10 years to ensuring the protection
of elite higher education against the effects of expansion of
the system as a whole. Research selectivity plays its part in
this as does the popularity of institutional league tables and
differential institutional funding. The UK system would generally
be regarded as exhibiting the features of "vertical differentiation",
marked by an emphasis on reputational hierarchy. This contrasts
with the "horizontal differentiation" found more commonly
in continental Europe where the emphasis is more on functional
difference, possibly marked by different institutional types or
sectors. Horizontal differentiation is generally associated with
relationships of co-operation between institutions whereas vertical
differentiation is associated with competition between institutions.
6. The reputational differentiation within
UK higher education may be a reflection of a greater focus on
processes of "elite reproduction" whereby supposedly
"superior" institutions and experiences are reserved
for the education of relatively advantaged social groups. This
may limit the opportunities provided by expanded higher education
systems to offer greater opportunities for social mobility to
historically disadvantaged groups. Rankings and league tables,
from this perspective, are essential mechanisms for mass higher
education to continue to play this role in elite reproduction.
It of course all plays back into the school system and the ever
more creative strategies employed by middle class parents to purchase
social advantage for their children via perceived differences
in the education system.
7. To some extent, the policy choice is
between a vertically segmented and relatively closed higher education
system geared to the reproduction during early adulthood of existing
status differences in society and a functionally and horizontally
segmented but more open system providing opportunities for mobility
and personal transformation at all stages of the life-course.
The latter would be associated with considerable movement of students
between institutional types and sectors. The former would be associated
with a separation of students between different types of higher
education according to factors associated with social, ethnic
and educational background. To a considerable extent, the two
possibilities currently co-exist in UK higher education although
with some degree of tension between them.
The student experience
8. We know from many recent studies that
a majority of full-time undergraduates combine study with paid
employment during term-time. Many also combine it with significant
domestic responsibilities. There are institutional and social
class differences in the extent of the out-of-class responsibilities
of undergraduates and also in the extent to which they are likely
to remain living at home while in higher education. A lot of higher
education debate tends to assume the classic "full-time"
student living away from home for the first time prior to entering
the labour market. But a majority of today's students live busy
lives and possess multiple identities. Identities which historically
have been "sequential" (eg student, worker, parent)
are now experienced in parallel and may occur at different stages
in the life-course.
9. Additionally, the many part-time studentsundergraduate
and postgraduateoften are not given the attention they
deserve in policy discussion. In many ways, a distinction between
(i) full-time students on full-time courses, (ii) part-time students
on full-time courses, and (iii) part-time students on part-time
courses, may be more helpful that a straight full/part-time split.
But probably more helpful is to remove the distinction altogether
(following most of the rest of Europe). This would allow students
the flexibility to alter the intensity of their study over the
duration of their courses, to better accomodate the pressures
of the other things going on in their lives. Opportunities for
greater flexibility are also afforded by the introduction of new
pedagogies, use of ICT, modularity and changing modes of assessment.
These are altering teacher-learner relations and increasingly
take the higher education experience outside the walls of the
higher education institution.
10. Pointing to the variety and diversity
of student experiences today is not to suggest that some types
of higher education experience are superior to others. There may
be a need for society to better understand and value the newer
kinds of higher education experiences, especially if these differences
are not going to underpin a new form of inequalitybetween
the classic "full-timers" and the rest. There is certainly
a case for reviewing the distinction between full-time and part-time
study and also the duration of programmes of study in order to
take full account of the considerable variations which now exist
in the social contexts of learning.
Higher education and employment
11. In common with graduates from other
countries, UK graduates continue to enjoy favourable employment
opportunities. But there are some distinctive features: UK
graduates, according to our research:
appear less likely (than graduates
from other European countries) to make use in employment of the
knowledge and skills they acquired in higher education;
relatedly, are less likely to be
in jobs for which their degree subject was an essential entry
pre-requisite;
are more likely to receive education
and training support from their subsequent employers (and to receive
more of it); and
are more likely to value their higher
education for its contribution to their personal development and
its long-term career benefits rather than as an effective preparation
for a first job after graduation.
12. The short duration of the English first
degree, the different subject balance (less vocational programmes),
the less intensive nature of study and the more limited use of
work placements, may combine to provide a different division of
labour between higher education and employers in the education
and training of new graduates than is found in other parts of
Europe. There may be advantages from this in terms of flexibility
within the labour market but there is also a possibility that
higher education is being used predominantly as a screening/selection
device rather than as a genuine contributor to greater productivity
in the workplace.
Shifting boundaries between higher education and
other social institutions
13. The diffusion of knowledge creation
across all social institutions as reflected in such concepts as
"mode 2 science" and the "triple helix" creates
interesting challenges for the long-term role of higher education
within the so-called "knowledge economy", both in terms
of its contribution to research and knowledge creation and in
its effects upon teaching and the curriculum. With regards the
latter, a further growth in the importance of workplace learning
of a variety of sorts may be expected. These are likely to bring
to the fore currently problematic issues of control, support and
certification. With regards research, as boundaries between university
and other institutional settings become more blurred, the continuing
relevance of conventional notions of research outputs as embodied
in the research assessment exercises may need to be questioned.
14. Open access to knowledge via the web
may also suggest a reshaping of the roles of higher education
institutions and of individual academics, possibly with greater
emphasis given to the certification of knowledge acquired outside
the walls of higher education rather than knowledge transmitted
within them.
THE BOLOGNA
PROCESS
Bologna and European harmonisation
15. The effects of the Bologna agreement
have been given much less attention in the UK than in most other
European countries. This partly stems from the perceived adoption
of the Anglo-Saxon model of qualifications across the rest of
Europe. However, the belief that it implies no real changes to
UK higher education may be misplaced.
16. It is already clear that the implementation
of the two stage bachelors/masters model is controversial in many
countries with the bachelors qualification receiving little credibility
with either employers or intending students. It seems likely that,
initially at least, the bachelors qualification will be viewed
only as a staging post on the way to a (two year) masters qualification.
In these circumstances, it will be difficult to maintain a privileged
status for the UK bachelors degree (possible in the past when
lack of comparability with other European systems could be claimed).
With the harmonisation of qualifications, it remains to be seen
what the effects will be of harmonising the UK first degree with
a qualification that lacks acceptance in certain other parts of
Europe. The credibility of foundation degrees and accelerated
bachelors degrees may become even more of an issue.
17. None of this might actually matter insofar
insofar as national labour markets remain largely distinct. But
if the relatively short duration of the UK first degreecoupled
with the less intensive experience of studyis associated
with lower levels of academic achievement, there may be implications
for the quality of human capital supplied to UK employers. It
should be remembered that the short duration of the UK first degree
used to be justified in part by reference to the specialised nature
of A levels, involving the claim that the first degree was effectively
commenced during the sixth form. Such a claim becomes difficult
to maintain when so many degrees are not a direct progression
from specialist A levels but are commenced "ab initio"
on entry to higher education. The greater role played by employers
in the education and training of new graduates in the UK referred
to in above may be a consequence. There are also implications
for the provision of postgraduate qualifications, both after the
first degree and subsequently throughout the life-course.
CONCLUSION
18. It has not been possible to present
detailed evidence and references for the comments made above.
But if there are particular points where elaboration would be
helpful, this can be provided subsequently.
19. Debates about the future of higher education
tend to be debates between interested parties and the role of
the Committee in inserting a consideration of the "public
good" is an important one. In an important book written over
ten years ago, Peter Scott noted that the UK had created a mass
system of higher education but retained an elite mentality for
thinking about it.[1]
In some ways, this reflects the underlying ideology of "meritocracy"
which has characterised political debate about higher education
in recent years. Unequal treatment of individuals on the basis
of their different educational qualifications is regarded as legitimate
in ways that other forms of unequal treatment are not. But this
requires a belief that qualifications are themselves unequal and
the construction of a reputational hierarchy of higher education
institutions. Such a hierarchy may be functional if the goal is
to create and legitimise difference. But there may be dysfunctional
elements, for example in the emphasis upon the institution attended
rather than what has been learned as the basis for graduate recruitment.
For all the rhetoric given to debates about employability, UK
higher education appears to be less well-tuned to the needs of
the labour market (at least in the short-term) than some of its
continental European partners.
20. In terms of numbers, the UK already
has high participation rates in higher education. But if account
is taken of the short duration of higher educationie participants
receive "less" of itthen participation looks
rather lower. It is paradoxical, therefore, that so much attention
has been given to the introduction of additional short-cycle programmes
when the "gap", in terms of international comparison,
may be more at the postgraduate level. The length and character
of the UK first degree seems to result in a larger role for employers
in education and training but whether this division of labour
is optimumfor employers, students or societyis another
matter.
February 2007
1 Scott, P, 1994, The Meanings of Mass Higher Education,
Buckingham: Open University Press. Back
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