![]()
1
AN INTRODUCTION TO DEMOCRATIZING HIGHER EDUCATION
John P. Anchan
Preamble
The term Higher Education may carry distinct meanings to different readers. This discourse (and the chapters in this book) will imply âeducation beyond the k-12â system. There are many works on the history of higher educationâeven writings about early Greek and Roman education such as Clarkeâs 2012 Higher Education in the Ancient World. The intent of this discussion is not to track or create a compendium of the development of higher education around the world. Available contributions provide excellent records describing the meanings, history, evolution, application, and current issues surrounding higher education. This exposition aims to contribute to the ongoing dialectic on contemporary issues relating to higher education in selected sample countries. While comparing systems across countries can create its own limitations and cautionary tales, a global village (thank you, Marshall McLuhan) challenges us to think beyond the traditional borders of nation states. We are global and indeed, everything we now do has some international consequence. With international migration, an increase in global travel, interconnected manufacturing and distribution/consumption systems, interrelated political systems, and shared natural resources and calamities, the world is no more a collection of nations. We are truly connected and our decisions will have an impact on people living elsewhere and what happens elsewhere affects us all.
The terms post-secondary education, higher education, tertiary education, and third-level education are sometimes used interchangeably but may carry slightly different meanings in different countries. In some countries, tertiary education, post-secondary education, or third-level education normally refers to any formal education beyond high school and may include higher education and further/continuing education. In other countries, higher education is not included in further/continuing education or, in fact, may indicate any education that does not lead to a degree from an accredited institution. This discourse uses the UNESCO (1998) definition of higher education that includes, âall types of studies, training or training for research at the post-secondary level, provided by universities or other educational establishments that are approved as institutions of higher education by the competent State authoritiesâ (n.p.).
A Quick Backdrop
Education has existed from pre-recorded history throughout ancient civilizations around the world in different forms. For example, the Chinese Confucianism existed in 124 BC and the Qing dynasty from 200 BC; similarly, the Japanese education in the early 6th century was mostly influenced by the Chinese system. The diverse countries on the African continent evolved within their own unique histories with oral histories giving way to written histories and concurrently, various forms of education systems developing across the large continent.1 Egypt had its own system of education and so did the Middle East with its scribal schools. Ancient Israel had its Torah schools. The more popularly known ancient Greek education in the 5th century BC aimed at democratization. With the familiar Plato and other influential pioneers, education in Greece was more ideological and relatively less religious. By the 4th century BC, Rome had its elitist educational institutions in place. In India, from the 12â13th centuries, the ancient Vedic Temple schools were followed by the residential Gurukula system. Chinese Buddhist scholars in India had a great influence on the Indian system, which was then succeeded by the Pre-Mughal rulers with the Islamic Madrassas. Many of the early forms of educational initiatives can be closely linked to religious training (e.g. Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.). In most instances, these were predominantly elitist, private, and exclusive teacher-student learning endeavors. The interaction inherently involved the master transmitting knowledge to the students. The precursor to the current educational institutions as teaching and research bodies can be traced back to the archetypical learning situations. In fact, the research universityâs roots can be followed back to the founding of the University of Bologna in 1088. By the 19th and 20th centuries, the Humboldtian German model of higher education, with its emphasis on academic freedom, scientific inquiry and research, knowledge creation, and specialization, became the de facto model for most modern universities. The research university model has its historical roots in the German ideal of education for self-cultivation (Bildung). The parallel development of liberal arts colleges with their focus on exposure to multiple disciplines (e.g. the classics, humanities, math, and science) focused on the development of well-rounded students through the enlargement of general intellectual capacity. This model has it historical roots in the English ideal of liberal education. Whereas the research university model has traditionally focused on faculty research and producing students as specialists, the liberal arts college model emphasized faculty teaching and producing students as generalists.
The idea of Bildung was based on the notion of self-cultivation through the harmonization and transformation of the mind, heart, and personality, and the development of personal agency along with self-identity. In short, this idea entailed a process of becoming a more self-regulating and self-determining individual with life-long development and empowerment. The idea of Bildung was greatly influenced by the writings of Hegel, a contemporary of Humboldt (Bruford, 1975; Hegel, 1977). The English idea of liberal education is oriented around the cultivation of the individual but also focuses on education as personal empowerment through the development of broad intellectual capacity and transferable skills (Hoerner, 1970). In addition to this historical perspective, Kovbasyuk and Blessinger (2013) have reviewed the two major epistemological paradigms that dominated educational thought over the centuries.
The Research University
Until recent history, the research university and the liberal arts college have been the two dominant models of higher education. Broadly speaking, and as a result of their historical developments, research universities have been mainly faculty-centered institutions focusing on research and publishing, whereas liberal arts colleges have been mainly student-centered institutions emphasizing undergraduate teaching. However, in todayâs higher education landscape, a great deal of cross-pollination has occurred and there are elements of many traditionsâancient and modernâin higher education institutions from around the world. These interactions can be viewed as a positive development. The higher education landscape is now dotted with several different types of institutions (e.g. business colleges, community colleges, vocational colleges, non-research proprietary universities). It is interesting to note that in the USA, for instance, more students attend community colleges rather than research universities.
Yet, for much of society, higher education has been shrouded in mystery and governed by a labyrinth of rules and customs that have been handed down from previous generations of educational institutions. Despite many changes within higher education, these institutions around the world still follow arcane rituals, traditions, and rites of passage that reflect their historical legacies. For most of their 800-year history, European universities have been medieval and monastic in character, reflective of their early religious roots. These customs and rites (e.g. as a passage from youth to adulthood and as a passage from novice to expert) are so embedded in the university life that many historical artifacts still remain with us today (e.g. the donning of robes and hoods and the use of other regalia at graduation). For the general public, all this symbolism can mask the true inner workings of a higher education institution. In spite of these historical vestiges, todayâs higher education institutions are also very bureaucratic organizations and many have grown into massive multimillion and multibillion dollar enterprises that must operate in an increasingly competitive higher education landscape and within a complex nexus of government regulations and constituent interests. The changing demographics of the student population together with increased calls for reforms to modernize higher education institutions have put additional pressures on educators to institute such changes (DeMillo, 2011).
Higher Education and Globalization
The history of higher education is hardly limited to the growth and development of educational institutions. It is a complex and highly interrelated set of events and movements that connect to the cultural and political histories, social developments, civil rights, and the overall evolution of the nations themselves.2 Thus, post-colonial legacies, diversity and equality, industrial revolution, the role of the church and state, and the individual trajectories of nation states define the nature of higher education in general. A corollary but important focus of discussion is the role of national and global competition in higher education that has resulted in what Marginson (2006) calls âpositional goodsâ that allow major world players from mostly English-speaking countries to compete for research and teaching statureâwhich in turn affect student recruitment and the institutional prestige (see Altbach and Knight, 2007, for an excellent explication on this topic). The internationalization of higher education has grown dramatically and for various reasons. Increasingly, a number of sources publish world rankings of educational institutions, e.g. Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings, CWCU of Shanghai Ranking, and The Global Higher Education Rankings 2010. This obsession with world rankings of dramatically different institutions with diverse histories, differing challenges, and disparate resources has further raised questions on the metrics of such comparisons.
There is a rich source of academic record of the history of the American higher educationâespecially focusing on the development of American colleges and universities. These detailed discourses explore the development of higher education in relation to politics, post-colonial institutions, gender, immigration, religion, and Land Acts (Goodchild & Harold, 1997; Lucas, 2006; Thelin, 1976). Similarly, the Canadian context appears familiar and yet unique, with many variations across provinces, with education being a provincial jurisdiction (Dunning, 1997; Harrigan, 1986; Harris, 1976; Sheehan, 1985; Skolnik & Jones, 1991). In the past, there have been sincere attempts to analyze the evolution of higher education in Australia, Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world (Lee & Knight, 1996; de Wit, 1995).
Technology and Higher Education
This overview would be deficient without briefly mentioning by far the most important factor impacting the learning environment and the educational academies at all levelsâemerging technologies. Like any technology, academic technologies are promising, in that they can enhance the learning environment. The latest buzzword has been the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course): a system that can provide the space and access to affordable learning. Despite the inundation of literature holding us hostage to the MOOC-lingo, the debate will eventually subside and one or more forms will become the favored delivery method. Though quite premature, MOOCs will undergo adaptations that can further assist in enhancing the learning process. Currently, blended or hybrid approaches can allow educators to experiment with what works for a given situation. Learning is contextual and hence one cannot suggest that any single system would work for all. These are not universal panacea for pedagogical practices, but rather cautious opportunities for adopting emerging technologies to enrich the learning processes. MOOCs and other such technologies will exist in various formats and provide multifarious learning opportunities. Importantly, these technologies will address the needs of a specific population of learners in defined situations. Nevertheless, in the hands of entrepreneurial advocates, a promising tool could turn into a constraining instrument. One such area is the management of institutions by administrators tasked with the sustainability of the establishment. An unfortunate trend has risen with increasingly more administrators (e.g. Bowen, 2013) beginning to adopt arguments for using MOOCs as a means to an end in cost-cutting measuresâtending to present approaches under the guise of pragmatic solutions to fiscal challenges.
The MOOC conundrum is only one of many other such technological concerns worrying well-intentioned educators. With the dramatic development of the internet, along with rapid growth of the social networking service (SNS), the process of education itself has undergone a big shift. From individual SNS clients (Facebook, Skype, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Twitter, etc.) to larger networks and cloud systems (Dropbox, Box, Mega, iCloud, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Tresorit, etc.), the landscape has experienced a radical change. Academic technologies, including eBooks, Learning Management Systems (LMS) (BlackBoard, BB Collaborate, D2L, Angel, Moodle, Sakai, etc.), along with telepresence and various emerging tablet and other mobile technologies (iOS devicesâiPad, iPhone, iPods; Android devices; Windows mobile; BlackBerry QNX Neutrino, and Symbian systems), the academic enterprise has dramatically changed on-campus and online learning systems in both the developed and developing world. Along with the newer technologies arise unexpected but important issues such as intellectual property, confidentiality, security, stability, and sustainability.
This is by no means an attempt to list all the available technologies; it is a quick attempt to highlight the amazing changes that have engulfed usâchanges we could not have imagined or predicted even a few years ago. Tablets, laptops, smartphones, and communication systems in classrooms have become ubiquitous and in some cases, even mandatory. While some are more positive and optimistic about technologyâs role in education (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008; Tapscott, 2009, 1998, 1996, 1993; Turkle, 2012, 1995, 1984), a growing cadre of critics (Bauerlein, 2009; Carr, 2009, 2010; Cuban, 2001; Postman, 1993; Roszak, 1986; Stoll, 1995, etc.) are less enamored by such claims. Despite taking a moment to acknowledge the impact of these major influences on higher education, due to space it is beyond the scope of this discussion. After all, it is irrefutable that these are tools and the teachers using the tools will influence the quality of such experiences. Tools on their own can do nothing. The pedagogical practice influences the process and the outcome. As Eleanor Doan rightly said, âGood tools do not make a good teacher, but a good teacher makes good use of tools.â
The Overarching Goals of Higher Education
One cannot talk about the role and changes in higher education without the goals and critiques of such ventures. One of the main themes of any education is reform. In fact, many aspiring learners and their families, especially in the developing countries, view higher education as a prerequisite for change. Literacy, in particular, and education, in general, remain the cornerstones of societal change. The education of women tends to confirm that it plays an important role in the overall betterment of a society. Education is considered as a tool for change. Factors such as mortality rates, health, human rights, democracy, employability, and ...
