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Assessing the Contributions of Higher Education
Knowledge for a Disordered World
9781035307166 Edward Elgar Publishing
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com.
Despite the broad engagement of higher education institutions in most social sectors, limited thinking and hyper-individualistic approaches have dominated discussions of their value to society. Advocating a more rigorous and comprehensive approach, this insightful book discusses the broad range of contributions made by higher education and the many issues entailed in theorising, observing, measuring and evaluating those contributions.
Despite the broad engagement of higher education institutions in most social sectors, limited thinking and hyper-individualistic approaches have dominated discussions of their value to society. Advocating a more rigorous and comprehensive approach, this insightful book discusses the broad range of contributions made by higher education and the many issues entailed in theorising, observing, measuring and evaluating those contributions.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
Despite the broad engagement of higher education institutions in most social sectors, limited thinking and hyper-individualistic approaches have dominated discussions of their value to society. Advocating a more rigorous and comprehensive approach, this insightful book discusses the broad range of contributions made by higher education and the many issues entailed in theorising, observing, measuring and evaluating those contributions.
Prepared by a group of leading international scholars, the chapters investigate the multiple interconnections between higher education and society and the vast range of social, economic, political and cultural functions carried out by universities, colleges and institutes and their personnel. The benefits of higher education include employable graduates, new knowledge via research and scholarship, climate science and global connections, and the structuring of economic and social opportunities for whole populations, as well as work and advice for government at all levels. Higher education not only lifts earnings and augments careers, it also immerses students in knowledge, helps to shape them as people, and fosters productivity, democracy, tolerance and international understanding. The book highlights the value added by higher education for persons, organisations, communities, cities, nations, and the world. It also focuses on inequalities in the distribution of that value, and finds that the tools for assessing higher education are neither adequate nor complete as yet.
International and interdisciplinary in scope, this book will prove an invaluable resource to students and scholars of higher education, educational policy and social policy. It will also prove a useful resource to both university executives and tertiary education policymakers who want to make higher education more effectively accountable to the public.
Prepared by a group of leading international scholars, the chapters investigate the multiple interconnections between higher education and society and the vast range of social, economic, political and cultural functions carried out by universities, colleges and institutes and their personnel. The benefits of higher education include employable graduates, new knowledge via research and scholarship, climate science and global connections, and the structuring of economic and social opportunities for whole populations, as well as work and advice for government at all levels. Higher education not only lifts earnings and augments careers, it also immerses students in knowledge, helps to shape them as people, and fosters productivity, democracy, tolerance and international understanding. The book highlights the value added by higher education for persons, organisations, communities, cities, nations, and the world. It also focuses on inequalities in the distribution of that value, and finds that the tools for assessing higher education are neither adequate nor complete as yet.
International and interdisciplinary in scope, this book will prove an invaluable resource to students and scholars of higher education, educational policy and social policy. It will also prove a useful resource to both university executives and tertiary education policymakers who want to make higher education more effectively accountable to the public.
Critical Acclaim
‘A vital and timely contribution to a debate that is rising in intensity around the world with big implications for higher education. Across 14 chapters, 18 authors collectively and individually explore what higher education “does for persons, organisations, communities, cities, nations and the world…what difference does it make [and] and how do we know" [...] In conclusion, Assessing the Contributions of Higher Education is a giant step forward—pulling all the diverse pieces together and helping us understand the whole picture. That is exactly the role of scholarly endeavour.’
– Ellen Hazelkorn, Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research
‘Apart from providing improved knowledge about the contributions of higher education, Assessing the Contributions of Higher Education widens discussions on conceptual, theoretical and empirical aspects of the contribution of higher education to human welfare. It will serve as an invaluable read for all on the role of higher education in development.’
– Jandhyala B.G. Tilak, Review of Development and Change
‘The debate about the contributions of higher education for individuals and societies has been dominated by those aspects associated with the labour market''s participation of more qualified individuals and the expansion of wealth and income derived from the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Despite their importance, the excessive attention to those benefits has induced a tropism that has narrowed academic and policy debates about the multiple and complex roles that higher education institutions can play in the betterment of their communities. The authors of this volume should be commended for their important effort to develop a broader and more fruitful dialogue among social scientists and policy-makers about those contributions. Their achievement is also a reminder of the need for more interdisciplinary approaches to understand complex social phenomena.’
– Pedro Nuno Teixeira, University of Porto, Portugal and former Director of CIPES – Center for Research in Higher Education Policies
‘If the legitimacy of higher education is to be maintained in the face of increasingly hostile questioning, it is essential that its contributions to societies are opened up to critical scrutiny so that they can be enhanced and more widely recognised. This engaging and insightful book does a great service to the field by beginning this important work.’
– Paul Ashwin, Lancaster University, UK
‘This book takes readers on a world tour to make a compelling case that higher education has made a significant difference and for some countries, the contributions have been underestimated. The set of authors who are situated across different national contexts present fresh data and analyses to recognize and conceptualize both local and global contributions of higher education. At the same time, the authors are aware that the full potential of higher education has not yet been fully realized and make clear the challenges moving forward for both policymakers and scholars of higher education. Readers will appreciate the deep analyses and insightful observations offered here on a global scale not just for celebrating the contributions of higher education to justify future investment but also for offering different paths forward to account for and address global challenges to maximize the return on that investment.’
– Mitchell J. Chang, University of California, Los Angeles, US
– Ellen Hazelkorn, Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research
‘Apart from providing improved knowledge about the contributions of higher education, Assessing the Contributions of Higher Education widens discussions on conceptual, theoretical and empirical aspects of the contribution of higher education to human welfare. It will serve as an invaluable read for all on the role of higher education in development.’
– Jandhyala B.G. Tilak, Review of Development and Change
‘The debate about the contributions of higher education for individuals and societies has been dominated by those aspects associated with the labour market''s participation of more qualified individuals and the expansion of wealth and income derived from the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Despite their importance, the excessive attention to those benefits has induced a tropism that has narrowed academic and policy debates about the multiple and complex roles that higher education institutions can play in the betterment of their communities. The authors of this volume should be commended for their important effort to develop a broader and more fruitful dialogue among social scientists and policy-makers about those contributions. Their achievement is also a reminder of the need for more interdisciplinary approaches to understand complex social phenomena.’
– Pedro Nuno Teixeira, University of Porto, Portugal and former Director of CIPES – Center for Research in Higher Education Policies
‘If the legitimacy of higher education is to be maintained in the face of increasingly hostile questioning, it is essential that its contributions to societies are opened up to critical scrutiny so that they can be enhanced and more widely recognised. This engaging and insightful book does a great service to the field by beginning this important work.’
– Paul Ashwin, Lancaster University, UK
‘This book takes readers on a world tour to make a compelling case that higher education has made a significant difference and for some countries, the contributions have been underestimated. The set of authors who are situated across different national contexts present fresh data and analyses to recognize and conceptualize both local and global contributions of higher education. At the same time, the authors are aware that the full potential of higher education has not yet been fully realized and make clear the challenges moving forward for both policymakers and scholars of higher education. Readers will appreciate the deep analyses and insightful observations offered here on a global scale not just for celebrating the contributions of higher education to justify future investment but also for offering different paths forward to account for and address global challenges to maximize the return on that investment.’
– Mitchell J. Chang, University of California, Los Angeles, US
Contributors
Contributors: Brendan Cantwell, Aleksei Egorov, Isak Froumin, John P. Haupt, Glen A. Jones, Jenny J. Lee, Rita Locatelli, Sergey Malinovskiy, Simon Marginson, Terhi Nokkala, Daria Platonova, James Robson, Ksenia Romanenko, Anna Smolentseva, Jussi Valimaa, Marijk van der Wende, Johanna Witte, Lili Yang
Contents
Contents:
Preface x
List of contributors xiii
1 Introduction: higher education and the contributions problem 1
Simon Marginson, Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova
and Anna Smolentseva
PART I CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES
2 Intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes of higher education 12
Simon Marginson, Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova
and Anna Smolentseva
3 Contributions of higher education to society: towards
conceptualisation 38
Anna Smolentseva
4 Higher education as student self-formation 61
Simon Marginson
PART II GLOBAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND COMPARISONS
5 Higher education, science and the climate crisis 89
Johanna Witte
6 Opportunities and challenges for open higher education
systems in global context 112
Marijk van der Wende
7 A comparison of Chinese and Anglo-American ideas
about higher education and public good 131
Simon Marginson and Lili Yang
8 US–China collaboration in science for the global common good 158
John P. Haupt and Jenny J. Lee
PART III CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMY, POLITY,
GOVERNMENT AND CULTURE
9 Graduate employability and employment 178
James Robson
10 UNESCO’s common good idea of higher education and
democracy 198
Rita Locatelli and Simon Marginson
11 Understanding the contributions of higher education
through the politics of reform 219
Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova and Isak Froumin
12 The professoriate and public policy 244
Glen A. Jones
13 Cultural contributions of higher education 263
Jussi Välimaa, Terhi Nokkala and Ksenia Romanenko
14 Higher education and regional elite formation in Russia 287
Aleksei Egorov and Sergey Malinovskiy
Index
Preface x
List of contributors xiii
1 Introduction: higher education and the contributions problem 1
Simon Marginson, Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova
and Anna Smolentseva
PART I CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES
2 Intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes of higher education 12
Simon Marginson, Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova
and Anna Smolentseva
3 Contributions of higher education to society: towards
conceptualisation 38
Anna Smolentseva
4 Higher education as student self-formation 61
Simon Marginson
PART II GLOBAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND COMPARISONS
5 Higher education, science and the climate crisis 89
Johanna Witte
6 Opportunities and challenges for open higher education
systems in global context 112
Marijk van der Wende
7 A comparison of Chinese and Anglo-American ideas
about higher education and public good 131
Simon Marginson and Lili Yang
8 US–China collaboration in science for the global common good 158
John P. Haupt and Jenny J. Lee
PART III CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMY, POLITY,
GOVERNMENT AND CULTURE
9 Graduate employability and employment 178
James Robson
10 UNESCO’s common good idea of higher education and
democracy 198
Rita Locatelli and Simon Marginson
11 Understanding the contributions of higher education
through the politics of reform 219
Brendan Cantwell, Daria Platonova and Isak Froumin
12 The professoriate and public policy 244
Glen A. Jones
13 Cultural contributions of higher education 263
Jussi Välimaa, Terhi Nokkala and Ksenia Romanenko
14 Higher education and regional elite formation in Russia 287
Aleksei Egorov and Sergey Malinovskiy
Index
