World Class Universities A Contested Concept

• Other Authors: Rider, Sharon (Editor), Peters, Michael A. (Editor), Hyvönen, Mats (Editor), Besley, Tina (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2020
• Series: Evaluating Education: Normative Systems and Institutional Practices
• Subjects: Educational strategies & policy; Higher & further education, tertiary education; Organization & management of education; Sociology; Philosophy & theory of education; Educational Policy and Politics; Higher Education; Administration, Organization and Leadership; Sociology of Education; Educational Philosophy; Philosophy of Education; Organization and Leadership; open access; higher education policy; global rankings and league tables; audit culture and the university; universities and liberal education; mediatization and the university; academic excellence and marketization; higher education and performance indicators; academic freedom; global educational competitiveness; world class university discourse; academic capitalism; Educational administration & organization
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Summary

This open access book focuses on the dimensions of the discourse of 'The World Class University', its alleged characteristics, and its policy expressions. It offers a broad overview of the historical background and current trajectory of the world-class-university construct. It also deepens the theoretical discussion, and points a way forward out of present impasses resulting from the pervasive use and abuse of the notion of "world-class" and related terms in the discourse of quality assessment. The book includes approaches and results from fields of inquiry not otherwise prominent in Higher Education studies, including philosophy and media studies, as well as sociology, anthropology, educational theory. The growing impact of global rankings and their strategic use in the restructuring of higher education systems to increase global competitiveness has led to a 'reputation race' and the emergence of the global discourse of world class universities. The discourse of world class universities has rapid uptake in East Asian countries, with China recently refining its strategy. This book provides insights into this process and its future development.

Physical Description

1 electronic resource (289 p.)

ISBN

978-981-15-7598-3

Access

Open Access