academic capitalism & distance education: reconciling markets & scholarly values

academic capitalism & distance education: reconciling markets & scholarly values

Kelly O’NeillAthabasca UniversityKelly O’NeillAthabasca University

IntentIntent

Discuss the tensions between the commodification of distance learning and higher education/ institutional values

AcadementiaAcadementia

• Most people don’t know how different the academy is, and workplace orientations seldom cover academic culture

• Who knew? Efficiency and productivity aren’t in the foundation

» Leontiades, 2007

• Purpose of DE was for learner accessibility but has morphed into economics

• Distance learning is seen as an add on and a problem solver– Economies of scale to develop curriculum and

deliver to underserved/marginalized populations without due consideration of that population’s needs

Key tensionsKey tensions

• Purpose of higher educationindividual benefits/ economic tool

or

civic engagement/democratic training ground/societal contribution

• How academia should be conceived of and operated

corporatist vs scholarly

Why have these tensions evolved?Why have these tensions evolved?

• Budget cuts have forced entrepreneurial activities• Early opportunists saw DE as a cash grab

• Increased adoption of market philosophy applied to academia

• Proliferation of for-profits• Widespread adoption of in-house education

• Seeming inability of higher ed to respond to market training needs

• Timeliness of program development frustrated industry

• Again, widespread adoption of in-house education

• Global commodification of higher ed teaching and learning:

Public good is no longer the prevailing notion:

• we have an industry of national competitiveness and a lucrative service up for international sale

» Naidoo and Jamieson (2005)

Characteristics of New Public ManagementCharacteristics of New Public Management

1. Large scale corporatization2. Managerialist processes that use

• Mission statements• Business plans• Performance agreements• Those at the top have a lot of power

3. Change management more important than incremental change

4. Least resources w/ max benefit5. Ends must justify means6. Performance measures: indicators and

contracts that describe obligations» Tolofari, 2005

Education as an economic toolEducation as an economic tool

• UC Davis found in 2000 that chocolate is good for your heart – study financed by Mars (maker of M&Ms, Milky

Way and Snickers)

• Greenbriar School in Georgia: Coke Education Day; chemical composition, speeches from administrators and a coke pep rally– 2 students suspended for Pepsi t-shirts

Contributions to greater goodContributions to greater good

• Paul Berg, Nobel Prize winning biologist laid the foundation for splicing DNA molecules for cloning. Set off a multi-billion $$ industry but couldn’t get venture capital. Colleague at Merck was told to shut down

» Washburn (2005)

Non-economic purposesNon-economic purposes

• Community values, and environment for personal development, and a setting for critical thinking and the debate of ideas

• “Rather than teaching students to be citizens concerned with the well-being of others and the development of radically democratic communities”, our educational system trains students to be consumers

» Saltman, Collateral Damage, p 167

Knowledge economy (a compromise…)Knowledge economy (a compromise…)

“…Ironically, the best preparation for the work of the future may be to cultivate knowledge of the broadest possible kind to make learning a way of life that in the first place is pleasurable and then rigourosly critical... The learner who really understands the economy knows how fragile is the concept of career.”

» Arnowitz, 2000, The Knowledge Factory, p. 164

Operational contradictionsOperational contradictions

• Market incentives: be competitive vs collegiality and cooperation(Stillwell 2003)

• Budget prioritization, performance management, output measures focus on known outcomes vs novelty (Marginson, 2007)

• What is the risk that adopting platform technologies = courseware WalMarts? (Talab, 2007)

Assess values & contradictionsAssess values & contradictions

• What is promoted in your academic culture?

• What is frowned upon?• Who holds the power?

• What compromises work for you?• Which ones don’t?