female education research paper

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Paper on women education

This paper is a discussion of the relationship between women education and sustainable economic development in Kenya and its implications for curriculum development and implementation processes. The argument advanced in this paper is that the solution to the development problems in Kenya and other developing nations lies on women education. Indeed, women education is one of the initiatives that can propel Kenya in the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. In addition, women education can facilitate the achievement of Kenya Vision 2030 which aims at making Kenya a newly industrializing, middle income country providing high quality life for all its citizens by the year 2030. The paper provides recommendations on the way forward for women education in Kenya as well as the implications for curriculum development and implementation processes. Key words: Women education, development, curriculum, implementation, Millennium Development Goals

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Oirc Journals

Gender and mainstreaming are currently the emerging issues in education in modern world. They are the issues that focus on inclusivity in education. Gender deals with the issues of including both men and women in total realisation of the development agenda of the society while mainstreaming is the process of planning for and including gender in the management of Teacher education programme in modern Africa and especially in Kenya. Whereas these two issues have been embraced in the developed world for enhanced and accelerated development, the situation is quite different in the developing world and especially in modern Africa. The established traditionalism and customary beliefs as well as conservatism in administration of education are the main barriers to managing gender in administration of education and especially Teacher education programme. Therefore,, this paper is designed to discuss the concept of gender and mainstreaming in Teacher education programme in modern Africa, the need for mainstreaming gender in this programme in modern Africa and especially in Kenya, the benefits of gender mainstreaming in Teacher education programme for sustainable development in modern Africa and more so in Kenya, the best practices/approaches of conducting of this process in this continent, the challenges of administering gender mainstreaming process in Teacher education programme for sustainable development in modern Africa and particularly in Kenya and the considerations (recommendations) in undertaking this process in modern Africa.

Kennedy Mureithi

Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (2013, No. 3-4, 109-125)

Mokua Ombati

This paper based on a critical analysis of official reports and related literature, focuses on girls’ education in Kenya within the context of a larger development paradigm that centres on the importance of their education for both economic and social development. It asserts that a country that does not invest enough in educating and empowering girls is undermining its socio-economic resilience, productivity and competitive potential. Investing in girls’ education is investing in development. Girls’ education has significant multiplier effects; in particular, as resources shrink, investing in girls should be recognized as a high-return investment. Despite the strides that Kenya has made in expanding the educational opportunities since independence in 1963, the access of girls to educational opportunities continues to be limited due to various socio-economic and political barriers. The paper contends that, until all vestiges of these inequities are eliminated, gender equality in education and in the larger development paradigm remains but a pipe dream. Measures to level the educational playing field remain critical for girls, families, communities and the nation as a whole, which cannot afford to be dispossessed off the full potential of over half of its population women

Ufahamu a Journal of African Studies

Margaret Ngau

US-China Education Review A

Grace Koteng

Valentine Mghalu

xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 4 1.3 Purpose of the study 5 1.4 Objectives of the study 5 1.5 Research questions 6 1.6 Significance of the study 6 1.7 Limitation of the study 6 1.8 Delimitation of the study 7 1.9 Basic Assumption of the study 7 1.10 Definition of terms 7

Dismas B Msanya

Development and gender is an important course with the intention to bring an overview, awareness and understanding of all kinds of gender issues in relation to development perspectives with respect to peace that have a full contents related to human development, such as poverty, migration, co-development or cooperation, among others. This course was categorized into some parts which made it be clear to learn and understand during and after class sessions. I managed to learn through class discussion and presentation done by both professor and students basing on different themes; that involved gender, health, development and learning some variables that may promote or prevent human development. Under this, I learned human development in terms of social roles, responsibilities and relations between men and women. Also through this course I learned different perspectives on individual opportunities to participate in society. Without forgetting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, outlined the 20th century fundamental consensus on the human rights of all people. From there, I attempted to make analyses of the extent to which Girls education can contribute towards an individual, community and national sustainable development in Tanzania. Moreover, it discusses different perceptions towards girls’ education in Tanzania and global world. Education in third world countries like Tanzania has been identified as a major contributor to development (World Bank, 2010). The poorest countries of the world report the lowest literacy rates, and the correlation is clear: a more educated population contributes better to the prosperity of a nation. According to the CIA World fact book (2009), shows developed nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom report 99% literacy rates among the population aged 15 and above. Nations such as Sierra Leone and Malawi report 35.1% and 62.7% respectively. Education has a very strong impact on the ability of a population to raise its economy, but it also has extensive impacts on the physical, social and mental wellbeing of a population. For instance, in Malawi, a male dominant society, the role of women is extremely important and educating women is equally important. Their roles concern ensuring the well-being of the family as a whole, and their education is extremely pertinent to the success of the family, the community, and ultimately the entire nation. In Tanzania, education is a scarce resource in rural areas, with few schools, teachers, notebooks and classroom materials. For a child from a rural area to attend school on a regular basis is a great blessing indeed. Many factors, from financial to culture often hinder a child's access to education, especially girls' access. Therefore the valuable role of girl’s education is being held in very high esteem, particularly in developing nations like Tanzania. As the importance of girls' education is being realized, Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's) as well as the Government, have implemented various projects and action plans in an effort to improve the horrible situation in Tanzania. Several projects have taken a different approach, and each has had varying levels of success. Overall the situation of girls' education has improved, and, while there is still a lot of work to do, the increase in the awareness of the problem has allowed for efforts to focus on the issue and to treat it with appropriate urgency.This requires more investment that state must commit on making sure that everything planned according to the global world competition is implemented.

Moses Ngware

IOSR Journals

The Kenyan Government, is a key stakeholder in the education sector, and has the obligation to engage different actors in ensuring that the gender parity discourse in education translates into praxis. Any gender related programme, which fails to address a girl child right to education as priority problem area, cannot drive the transformative education agenda for women. This right is not only a gender issue, but also an equality, equity and inclusive issue. In order for education in Kenya to be progressively transformative and able to face 21 st century, theory and research methodology are critical. This paper argues that: i) though every child has the right to education, the most left behind has been the girl child, due to a failed African philosophic educational discourse, owing to a number of factors; ii) transformative educational discourse must deconstruct the ontology of the girl-child beyond theoretical and methodological limitations; iii) the philosophical and anthropological grounding of law, rights(equality) and justice(equity) can be demonstrated from a Thomistic perspective; iv) Girl-child right to education and the 21 st century transformative discourse: equality, equity and inclusion. The idea of gender parity has been the most persistent issue dominating postmodernist-constructivist discourse in feminist literature on one hand and in philosophy of education on the other. The frameworks as well as levels of analysis of the discourse itself, have generated more fundamental questions than answers and propelled by what critics perceive as a feminist essentialist agenda, whose content continue eliciting contradictory propositions. Critics of this debate have disproportionately held that, lack of proper sound theoretical, philosophical and methodological conversation around this issue, has not only complicated it, but rather weakened what would have otherwise been a compelling and convincing feminist liberationist debate on the relevance of education for women generally, and the girl child in particular, in recent times. In other words, it is not enough to profoundly propound the content of the agenda of gender in philosophy of education, inspired by feminist liberationist ideologies, but that also the method of presenting the content determines outcomes at two major problematic levels: First, the subjectivist individualism dominating feminist liberationist discourse appears compellingly suspicious in the whole agenda of the gender project, apparently determining the hypotheses that proponents want to test by defending and proving, in view of achieving, within the critics' perspective, certain suspicious strategic objectives. These very strategic objectives the critics conclude that they target a clique of elitist feminist minority group in affluent urban settings and have continued to work against the disadvantaged peripheral woman and girl child in the countryside. Problematically weak legal frameworks make it easier for disenfranchised neo-feminist essentialist proponents to prevail over established systems and sneak through agendas that have persistently suffered parliamentary rejection at legislative level, because they appeared too suspicious to be altruistic. Second, the objectivist collectivist policy approach to educational content and methods in most African countries, presupposes, by necessity, an inclusivist Stakeholders Participatory Model (SPM). Critics, on one hand, argue that this approach suffers continued setbacks due to a collectivist agenda that seems to ignore the concordance between quantity and quality in terms of content and methods in the planning and implementation processes; while the proponents on the other hand, view the model as an attempted response to fundamental pedagogical questions that have dominated education discourse in post-colonial Africa as far as relevance of education needed for 21 st century Afro-cultural context is concerned. The extent to which the girl child's rights to education becomes a yardstick to ethical-moral criteria for evaluating outcomes of stakeholders' performance remain controversial.

Edward Raupp

Introduction

Women, education, and social change in rural pakistan, methods and study area, the emergence of female education in nagar.

Female education and changing perceptions of women's social roles in Nagar

Becoming teachers and better housewives—use of female education

Fewer children, more education—perceptions on family planning, “go out and see the world”—changing mobilities, becoming more self-confident, discussion and conclusion, supplemental material.

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This article investigates the emergence of female education and its social impacts in a remote and male-dominated mountain community through a case study of Nagar District in northern Pakistan. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 24 women from different educational backgrounds and 15 selected male informants, the study reveals a notable increase in educational opportunities for girls and young women within a relatively short time span, and shows how these changes have affected local perceptions of women's social roles. While there are mixed opinions about the usefulness of education for girls—some find that educated women are better housewives and mothers, while others highlight career opportunities for women—female education has clearly contributed to an increase in self-determination of women. Young women now marry later and have fewer children, parents give their daughters more freedom, and education has contributed to an increase in female mobility and to a more confident and visible role of women in community life. While other aspects of social change also play critical roles, this study shows that female education is one important element in the development of a more equitable society in mountains and elsewhere.

When the central wish of an uneducated mother is to give her children the opportunity to go to school for as long as they want, even if this means that she has to work twice as hard in the fields, then one can be sure that education is considered a chance for a better life. In Nagar, a high-mountain community in northern Pakistan (36.25°N, 74.54°E), such strong and impressive women are not an exception.

Access to education, especially for girls, is still lacking in parts of the world. Despite its prominent role within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals, we are far from reaching “Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” The recently published SDG progress report of the United Nations Secretary-General flags that 262 million children and youth between the ages of 6 to 17 were out of school in 2017, while two-thirds of the 750 million illiterate adults are women ( UN ECOSOC 2019 ). Furthermore, there is great structural inequality behind these figures. Higher rates of illiteracy and poor educational infrastructure are more frequent in remote, rural areas than in urban settlements, while educational levels are higher for men than women and for wealthier households ( Somuncu 2006 ; UNESCO 2010 ; Benz 2013 ). That access to quality education in remote mountain areas is generally low, as pointed out in several case studies, is therefore not surprising ( Somuncu 2006 ; Audsley et al 2016 ; Schwilch et al 2017 ).

Studies on education in mountains have shed light on a number of important aspects, such as the role of public infrastructure in providing education to communities ( Simedru 2006 ; De Piero et al 2017 ; Schwilch et al 2017 ; Song et al 2017 ). Other aspects that have received significant attention are questions related to the inclusion of marginalized ethnic groups in educational systems ( Hu and Liu 2017 ; Thi Kim Chi and Hongcheng 2018 ; Xiaoyan et al 2018 ) and to the role of education in promoting sustainable development and ecological awareness among mountain communities ( Roa García et al 2008 ; Laurentiu 2018 ; Mili et al 2018 ). The topic of female education, however, has received less attention in research on education in mountains, despite its important role in broader research and policy debates on sustainable development ( Gurung 1999 ; Murtaza 2012 ; Eger et al 2018 ; Wier and Price 2019 ). Through a case study in the high-mountain region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, this paper aims to address this gap.

Despite its peripheral location in high mountains with low population density and often poor communities, educational levels in the semiautonomous region of Gilgit-Baltistan are surprisingly high. Benz ( 2014 : 9) found that in 2005–2006, the total net enrollment of the region's primary schools was above the country's average, with 100% enrollment for boys and 66% for girls. However, disparities can also be witnessed within Gilgit-Baltistan. For instance, the 2 districts of Hunza and Nagar are direct neighbors and share ethnolinguistic similarities but are otherwise conspicuously different. Hunza, a well-researched community of predominantly Ismaili Muslims, showed a high attendance of school-age children in educational institutions—over 90%—even before the 1990s ( Kreutzmann 1993 : 36), while the more conservative Twelver Shia community of Nagar reached a similar level only around 2007 ( Benz 2013 : 137). For a large part, this lag can be explained by a later emergence of female education: in Nagar, the first girls' school opened only in the late 1980s. Since then, however, female education has undergone rapid development. This development and its impact on mountain communities—in northern Pakistan in general, and in Nagar in particular—has not received much scientific attention.

Based on 7 weeks of qualitative field research, we investigate how education for girls has emerged in the community of Nagar and how this development has contributed to a process of social change. Many academics argue that female education changes people and societies. Among others, women may become more self-confident and higher education can enable them to gain skills for jobs and leadership and to achieve economic independence ( Basu 2002 ; Malik and Courtney 2011 ; Murtaza 2012 ). To assess such changes, the aim of this paper is to shed light on the local perceptions of changes of women's roles in Nagar's society, and how these changes are influenced by female education. We ask the following research question: In what way has female education contributed to a shift in women's (perceived) social roles in a remote and male-dominated mountain community in northern Pakistan?

To address this question, we begin with a brief literature review on how female education can influence women's roles in society in countries of the global South, focusing on Pakistan. We then introduce the study area and research methods, before providing an overview of the development of female education in Nagar. The remaining part of the paper investigates the ways in which the emergence of female education has contributed to a shift in the perceived social roles of women. Based on the manifold effects highlighted by interview partners we structure our findings into 4 different aspects of change: (1) the perceived practical use of education for women, (2) perspectives on family planning, (3) changes in female mobility, and (4) increased self-confidence of women.

Our aim is to analyze how perceptions of women's role in society can change with the emergence of female education. A role can be understood as the expected behavior of an individual, along with the individual's rights and obligations within a particular social setting. In this regard, women often have to deal with a role overload that comes with expectations, demands, and obligations—for example, their reproductive role, caring for relatives, and other work obligations ( Erdwins et al 2001 ; Akter et al 2017 ).

Female education must be seen as one of many aspects that can influence the social role of women, and the outcomes of educational developments on gender relations can vary strongly between different cultural contexts ( Parpart and Marchand 1995 ; Lind 2003 ; Mohanty 2006 ). Furthermore, a society is always in a process of change, and the causes of this change might not always be traceable. Internal household factors, for instance, often play a prominent role—especially in Pakistan, where households are usually joint families represented by a male head ( Shah and Shah 2012 ). As Murtaza ( 2012 ) and Shah and Shah ( 2012 ) argue in their research in rural Pakistan, the control over resources and decision-making—including education-related decisions—is seldom in women's hands.

In addition to the limited decision-making power of women within the household, a variety of other factors hinder female education in rural Pakistan. First, the financial situation of a household: generally, less affluent parents in Pakistan are more willing to invest in their sons' education because work opportunities are better for men, and also because sons usually stay with the family, while daughters leave the household when they get married and are often needed to work in their husbands' families ( Lloyd et al 2007 ; Shafa 2011 ). Other factors contributing to low enrollment rates of women and girls, especially in remote areas, are the lack of qualified (female) teachers, educational facilities, and basic sanitary infrastructure for schools ( Khalid and Mujahid-Mukhtar 2002 ; Shah and Shah 2012 ). Moreover, the distance to school can be an important factor in the educational decisions of conservative households, when girls are not supposed to leave the house and wander around the village by themselves ( Kabeer 2005 ; Malik and Courtney 2011 ). Gender relations are strongly regulated and create separate worlds for women and men, which, in male-dominated societies such as Pakistan, often leads to the social exclusion of women ( Shafa 2011 ; Grünenfelder 2013 ).

The status of a family depends on its reputation within its social network and can significantly change through the behavior of female family members, as highlighted by research on the concept of honor ( izzat ; see Shah and Shah 2012 ). In conservative rural areas, there is often a fear that the increased independence gained by young women through education might lead to culturally inappropriate behavior, such as disapproved of forms of contact with unrelated men ( Khalid and Mujahid-Mukhtar 2002 ; Shafa 2011 ). However, various studies in Pakistan observe that educated women—and thus their families—gain a higher status within their community ( Malik and Courtney 2011 ; Murtaza 2012 ). Several studies find that women's role in Pakistani society is primarily seen in reproductive terms, with education being a helpful instrument for becoming a better mother and wife ( Durrant and Sathar 2000 ; Kabeer 2005 ; Grünenfelder 2013 ). Educated women are believed to have better saving habits, make better investments in health and children's education, and have better access to knowledge and information ( Kabeer 2005 ; Janzen 2008 ; Murtaza 2012 ). However, socially accepted jobs for women do exist in Pakistan. Most of these occupations are located in a female environment: for instance, women's doctor, nurse, or girls' teacher ( Bradley and Saigol 2012 ; Grünenfelder 2013 ). Remote rural communities particularly benefit from these occupations, where women fill the missing gaps. However, the ability to gain income also allows women a certain independence from their family and husband, and gives them more confidence and decision-making power, even though their income is often lower than that of their male colleagues ( Kabeer 2005 ; Murtaza 2012 ).

Generally, the status of female education, as well as its societal effects, strongly depends on the local context and varies significantly within Pakistan ( Murtaza 2012 ; Benz 2013 ; Zulfiqar et al 2020 ). While the majority of studies have focused on lowland Pakistan (see the above-cited literature), this article sheds light on a community in the mountainous north of the country that has been neglected by social science research in general and by research on education and gender relations in particular.

The field study was conducted in Nagar, a high-mountain community located by the Karakoram Highway in the semiautonomous region of Gilgit-Baltistan ( Figure 1 ). Because of geographical isolation, a lack of proper road infrastructure, and limited mobility, there was little interaction of the local population with lowland Pakistan until the 1970s. Until 1972, Nagar was one of several princely states covering the territory of today's Gilgit-Baltistan region. The dissolution of the princely state and the completion of the Karakoram Highway, connecting lowland Pakistan with China, in 1978 brought major changes to the local communities. Agriculture—the economic backbone of the community—shifted from subsistence-oriented to market-oriented production, and new income opportunities emerged in trade, education, tourism, and the nongovernmental organization (NGO) sector, among others. Moreover, many people, especially young men, migrated for work to the larger cities of lowland Pakistan ( Kreutzmann 2006 , 2020 ; Malik and Piracha 2006 ; Benz 2014 ; Spies 2018 , 2019 ). At the same time, government institutions and NGOs launched various development projects in the region, focusing mainly on 2 sectors: agriculture and education. Overall, the community of Nagar has been subject to profound socioeconomic changes in recent decades, with the emergence of female education being one of several interrelated aspects.

Nagar District and lower Hunza. (Map design by Michael Spies)

Empirical research for this article focused mainly on 2 villages in Nagar: Minapin and Hopar (see Figure 1 ). During 7 weeks of field research by the first author from March to May 2015, 24 semistructured interviews were conducted with women aged 20–85 years, with a wide range of social and educational backgrounds. The interview questions ranged from general information about the household and daily routine to the household members' educational history and future wishes for the respondent's children. Moreover, questions were asked on broader cultural–religious and political–institutional factors, and on the historical developments of education in Nagar. Additional interviews were conducted with 15 male informants (mainly school headmasters and local community activists), who provided valuable background information on educational history and the social context. Further data were collected during 4 workshops with (mainly female) teenage students (see Figure 2 ) and participatory observations during community meetings, invitations to households, and discussions in schools. These observations could not always be noted down directly but were protocolled afterwards. The majority of interviews were conducted with the help of female research assistants (local teachers), who facilitated access to interview partners and interpreted between the local languages, Burushaski and Shina, and English. In around half of the interviews ( Supplemental material , Appendix S1 (mred-40-04-02_s01.pdf) : https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00028.1.S1 ), the main language was English and the first author communicated directly with the interview partners. During the interviews, notes were taken and, with the consent of the interview partners, some interviews were recorded and transcribed later. After each session, a short review of the interview notes was carried out with the research assistant to check for gaps and misunderstandings. One interview with a male informant was conducted jointly with the second author. As a female and foreign researcher, the first author did not experience cultural restrictions on conducting interviews with women and men. On most occasions, an open and trustful atmosphere could be created during the interviews, which was also because the research assistants were known to the interview partners and belonged to the same community.

Workshop with students at a girls' school in Minapin, Nagar District, 7 April 2015. (Photo by Katja Voigt)

Inspired by the grounded theory of Glaser and Strauss ( 2010 ), the first author used an open-coding approach to categorize the empirical data. In several rounds of qualitative data analysis, the field notes and interview transcripts were coded into various codes and subcodes, which were then grouped into coherent categories that translated into the 4 aspects of change presented below. For the analysis, the codes and categories were used to structure and more systematically interpret the diverse arguments and narrations provided by the interview partners. Data analysis was qualitative, focusing on understanding the complex social processes and relations through local narratives and life stories rather than quantifying them. Throughout the coding and analysis process, the identified arguments, codes, and categories were discussed with and checked for plausibility by the second author. The following section is based mainly on interviews with male key informants, while the main findings presented in this article draw primarily on the 24 semistructured interviews with women.

In the princely state of Nagar, education was previously reserved for boys and young men of the local elite—members of the royal family and religious leaders and their families. As informants explained, the ruling class was afraid they would lose power if education became available to all. Hence, educational opportunities for boys of the general public became available only after the local ruler was overthrown in 1972 ( Frembgen 1985 ). However, female education was still out of the question: some influential religious scholars strongly opposed the establishment of girls' or mixed schools; some even argued against secular education in general. After 1972, religious leaders played an increasingly influential role in the Shia community of Nagar and were afraid to lose their newly gained power. In the 1980s, however, the village of Minapin became the center of educational efforts for girls. An attempt by the government to establish a girls' school in 1974 failed because of protests by local men loyal to conservative religious leaders. However, subsequent years saw a growing number of local activists lobbying for educational opportunities for girls. Their efforts eventually paid off: the first girls' school in Nagar was established in Minapin in 1986. The initiative came from a group of well-educated men. Some of these activists were related to the well-known community leader Syed Yahyah Shah, who played an important role in bringing ideas of modern development to the community ( Spies 2019 ; Kreutzmann 2020 ). The first teacher was chosen strategically—a local, well-respected, and educated man, who had just graduated from a university in Karachi. The first girls he taught were his relatives, but soon the number of students grew from 27 to around 100. The school became a governmental school in 2009 and hosts classes up to grade 10 today.

In the more remote village of Hopar, in turn, the first attempts to establish female education started in the 1990s, when an educated couple returned from Karachi and established a home-based school for girls. The fact that their daughters would be taught by a woman played an important role in the decision of neighbors to send them to these classes. The couple was supported with a small salary by a local NGO, the Naunehal Development Organisation, and continued home-based schooling until the first official girls' school opened in Hopar in 1995.

Since the 1990s, local and external NGOs, in particular the Aga Khan Foundation and the Uswa Education System, have played important roles in supporting female education in Nagar, by providing funds for community-based schools, raising awareness among parents, and even constructing their own schools. While the NGO and community-based schools usually take a moderate fee from parents to pay for teachers and infrastructure, they are known to be better quality than governmental schools, even though teachers earn considerably less.

While there has been a strong proliferation of governmental and private schools that offer education of girls all over Nagar since the 1990s, local religious scholars also began to favor female education. As many scholars—and increasingly other people—began to travel to Iran on pilgrimages, they experienced a stronger participation of women in daily life and relatively advanced development of female education. There are also religious schools for girls in Nagar today, and some parents even send their daughters to Iran or other Shia communities for higher education. The Shia background of the privately funded Uswa schools proliferating in Nagar might also have played a role in their acceptance by the community ( Mostowlansky 2016 ). However, as the principal of one Uswa school in Nagar explains, some local religious leaders have been in strict opposition to these schools because of their mixed-gender classes. Furthermore, since Karakoram International University was opened in the nearby town of Gilgit in 2002 ( Felmy 2006 ) and opportunities for distance education appeared through universities such as the Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad, families are increasingly allowing young women to access higher education.

Today, almost every young girl in Nagar goes to school. Even though it is still an ongoing process, access to education by girls and young women has greatly increased. Some women from Nagar have already completed master's degrees in business, engineering, medicine, and education. As will be discussed in the following, many informants regard this development as a crucial element of social change.

Female education and changing perceptions of women's social roles in Nagar

When we asked illiterate mothers in Nagar why they sent their daughters to school, many of them argued that they knew from their own experience which problems their daughters would face without education. Some of them simply stated that their daughters went to school because every girl in the village does so, while others mentioned the advantage that their daughters could read letters from relatives or other information to them. A man working with a local NGO stated that women are the first people from whom children get education—“This has an effect on the society and on the whole nation” (interview in Sikanderabad, 4 April 2015). Informants argued that the education a woman receives would be helpful to manage a household, take better care of children, and handle money more carefully. Several respondents claimed that they had already observed changes in household and living standards as a result of these effects. Yet many young and educated women in Nagar do not want to stay at home or work in the fields like their mothers, but strive for jobs in the off-farm sector. During the school workshops, most teenage girls stated that they wanted to become a doctor or teacher; some already had clear specializations in mind. Economic independence is a strong motivation for women to get higher education, but income opportunities are limited. In Nagar, socially accepted jobs for women are mostly restricted to a female environment, for example in the health or education sectors.

Generally, many women mentioned that they were supported by their family to gain higher education, in the hope of finding better-paid jobs. Some mothers argued that they now worked twice as much in the fields to support their daughter's university fees while compensating for the lack of workforce in the household. While many parents are still reluctant or unable to facilitate higher education for their daughters, a significant change is evident and many people are very optimistic about future developments, as a male informant stated: “Now, Nagarkuts [people from Nagar] have to be prepared for well-educated mothers” (interview in Minapin, 23 March 2015).

Female education is often claimed to be responsible for declining fertility levels and shifts in the age of marriage and birth of the first child ( Kabeer 2005 ; Palloni et al 2012 ). Many educated young women in Nagar confirm this. Married women often explained that their independence vanished after marriage, which constituted the biggest change in their life. Before marriage they studied, worked, and had free time, now they have “a lot of housework and many children” (interview in Minapin, 29 March 2015). As a girl in Minapin stated: “Boys are independent, and they can go wherever they want. When girls get married, they are dependent when they want to get higher education” (workshop discussion in Minapin, 7 April 2015). Hence, many interviewed mothers argued that they support the decision of their daughters to complete their education before getting married.

Some women are mothers, housewives, and teachers all at once—although they recognize that this would not be possible without the help of relatives and early childhood development classes that start before primary school. In Pakistan, only 6 months of paid maternity leave are granted ( Alvi 2020 ), but at the time of research, this period was only 3 months. The difficulties of balancing childcare and work strongly influence family planning: when young women were asked about how many children they want to have, they usually answered 2–4 children—a big difference from their mothers, who often gave birth to 6–8 children.

Twenty years ago, women did not know anything about the world; today they can go outside and see it. This development came with education. Men thought that women belong in the house and should not talk with other people; now they can go outside and meet others .

( interview with middle-aged woman in Minapin, 29 March 2015 )

Respondents argued that only a few decades ago, it was rare to see any woman in public places in Nagar. This has changed significantly: not only are women and girls able to move around the village today, more and more people are willing to send their daughters to Gilgit or even lowland Pakistan to better schools or for higher education. Respondents argue that it is not only decision-making by men, but also changing attitudes of mothers, that play a critical role in this change: the idea of sending their daughters to different places with many perceived dangers frightened them. With increasing work migration to Gilgit and lowland Pakistan, some parents can now send their daughters to stay with close relatives. While some respondents felt safer when their daughters stayed with relatives, others strongly opposed this idea—and would rather rent a house or have them stay in a girls' hostel so that they could better concentrate on their studies and did not have to help in the household.

While girls and young women in Nagar migrate mainly for education, the idea of traveling for work is also gradually gaining social acceptance in Nagar, at least within the district. Female teachers, for instance, often commute to a different village for work, which would have been unthinkable previously. It is generally believed that this trend of women's increasing mobility will continue. As respondents stated, many people are still afraid of giving their daughters freedom, but this attitude will change with the coming generation (interview in Minapin, 30 March 2015).

The daily interaction with people of one's age group outside the household, as in schools, can have a positive impact on self-confidence ( Basu 2002 ; Murtaza 2012 ). This positive effect is also reported by respondents in Nagar. As a local NGO worker argued:

[When I] observed the waiting room of a doctor, women could not talk to the doctor, they could not speak Urdu and had no self-confidence. Now this has changed .

( interview in Sikanderabad, 22 March 2015 )

Moreover, several female teachers recalled that they had to force themselves to overcome their fears when they started their profession in a very male-dominated society. Now, they encourage other women to do so. Today, informants explained, many families and the village community respect and support female teachers and encourage their daughters to pursue their education along a similar path. In Nagar, it is not just (former) students that benefit from female education: women generally gain more confidence and play a more active role in public life by engaging with teachers, joining school support groups, getting involved in community projects, or opening the small shops for women that have recently emerged in various villages.

In Minapin, local women established a women's organization 9–10 years ago that takes care of the village environment, among other duties: they regularly patrol the village and fine people who pollute the irrigation water channels or illegally graze their animals on other people's cropland. Similar women's organizations were reported in other villages of Nagar. Apart from community and school, the household is also an area in which women's influence and confidence is perceived to have increased. The interviews revealed that educated mothers are usually more trusted when it comes to their children's education, and are believed to be better at handling money and taking over other decision-making responsibilities within the household. While female education cannot be regarded as the sole reason for this increase in self-confidence, it certainly played an important role.

Nagar's current female education situation is the product of a dynamic process in which different actors, including local activists, NGOs, and conservative religious leaders, played important roles. Moreover, educational developments have been shaped to a large extent by rapid socioeconomic developments following political reforms and the construction of the Karakoram Highway in the 1970s. As a result of this process, Nagar has had a reasonably well-developed education system for girls for about 1–2 decades now, at least for primary and middle schools. Today, most men and women in Nagar appear to value female education highly, and many parents are willing to give their daughters time and space to study—and increasingly invest in their higher education. In the conservative and highly male-dominated society of Nagar, this would have been unthinkable a few decades ago, and this observation alone hints at a significant process of social change.

In what way does this notable change affect local perceptions and opinions on women's roles in society more generally? First, there are mixed opinions on the usefulness of education for girls. In particular, while some parents and older people perceive education as an important means to becoming a better housewife and mother, young women and girls primarily see education as a possibility to pursue a career. However, in order to have a reasonable chance of employment in Pakistan, the level and quality of education is especially important ( Aslam and Kingdon 2008 )—opportunities for which are particularly lacking in mountain areas ( Somuncu 2006 ; Lloyd et al 2007 ; Shah and Shah 2012 ; Schwilch et al 2017 ). Second, changes can also be witnessed in family planning issues: young women want to finish their education and possibly work for a few years before getting married and starting a small family. Many mothers support these aspirations because they want their daughters to have a more self-determined life. As also found by Wier and Price ( 2019 ) in a study in rural Nepal, for instance, the family's support and commitment to education must be considered a crucial factor in the educational success of girls. Third, female education contributes to an increase in mobility of girls and young women in this remote mountain setting, not only for attending better schools and higher educational institutions, but increasingly also for work. The idea of daughters living away from the household is gaining social acceptance. The increasing acceptance of women being able to live outside of patriarchal control should be regarded as a crucial factor for more gender-just development in mountain areas of the global South, where local opportunities for gaining quality education are limited and education, besides job opportunities, is a major reason for migrating to cities in the lowland ( Murtaza 2012 ; Schwilch et al 2017 ; Sudmeier-Rieux et al 2017 ). Fourth, female education and new opportunities to work have significantly increased the self-confidence of many women, which has affected local society: woman are more active in community life and contribute more than before to household decisions, which also holds true for many poorly educated women, who now participate in public events or create their own small enterprises. As found in various studies in Pakistan and beyond, the daily interaction with unrelated people of one's age group; the ability to read, write, and calculate; and in some cases also a self-earned income give women more confidence and decision-making power ( Basu 2002 ; Kabeer 2005 ; Murtaza 2012 ).

Female education itself is not solely responsible for the changes observed; various other factors shape local perceptions and opinion making in multiple ways and play important roles in developments towards a more emancipated society. Such factors are found in the varying intrahousehold (power) relationships, but also in more structural inequalities at the community or government level, among others. Gender discrimination on all levels can be seen as a major hindering factor for achieving national and international educational goals, such as SDG 4 ( UN ECOSOC 2019 ; Zulfiqar et al 2020 ). Nevertheless, several studies in Muslim and other societies of South Asia have found that educated parents are usually more willing to send their children to school ( Basu 2002 ; Lewis and Lockheed 2007 ; Lloyd et al 2007 ; Wier and Price 2019 ). Thus, given the significant expansion of both male and female education in Pakistan over the last 2 decades ( Benz 2013 ), it can be assumed that the new generations of educated parents will play an important role in pushing forward similar developments, as observed in Nagar. As this study has shown, the promotion of female education is one important element in the development of a more just society with strong and confident women—in mountains and elsewhere.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Field research for this article was funded by the von-Humboldt-Ritter-PenckStiftung of the Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin and the PROMOS program of the Freie Universität Berlin. Special thanks go to Aiman, Bina, Ansia, Alam, Tariq, Mujaheed, and Muzafar for their invaluable support of this research in Nagar.

APPENDIX S1 (mred-40-04-02_s01.pdf) List of interview partners.

Found at: https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00028.1.S1 .

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Women and education: progress and problems

Corporate author : unesco international bureau of education, person as author : sutherland, margaret b., in : prospects: quarterly review of education, xxi, 2, p. 145-155, language : english, also available in : العربية, also available in : français, also available in : español, year of publication : 1991.

quarterly review of education Editor: Zaghloul Morsy Prospects is also available in the following languages: French perspectives revue trimestrielle de l'éducation (ISSN 0304-3045), Unesco Spanish perspectivas revista trimestral de educación (ISSN 0304-3053), Unesco Arabic \AMHA*ÊÎA (ISSN 0254-119-X), Unesco Russian nepcneKTMBbi • Bonpocu o6pa3oeaHMn (ISSN 0207-8953), M o s c o w Chinese (ISSN 0254-8682), Beijing Subscription rate: 100 French francs (one year) Single issue: 30 French francs Subscription requests for the different editions should be sent to the Unesco national distributor in your country, who will furnish prices in local currency.PERIODICALS COLLECTION ED /JITOSpeCtS Landmarks V O L . XXI, No . 2,1991 (78) -M- '"S7 „( U N E S C O \'î| |V EDySDï/l/ V \ I 3 9 / ; ' / VIEWPOINTS ÍCÓNTROVERÜm$P^'' W o m e n and education: progress and problems Margaret B. Sutherland Ethnography and critical knowledge of education in Latin America Elsie Rockwell 145 156 OPEN FILE Higher education: I: Situation, challenges and prospects T h e idea of the university: changing roles, current crisis and future challenges Torsten Husên Patterns in higher education development: towards the year 2000 Philip G. Altbach Autonomy and accountability in Higher education Orlando Albornoz Open universities: a comparative approach Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble Privatization of higher education Jandhyala B. G. Tilak University, research, development Abdallah Laroui Universities and national development: issues and problems in developing countries Lawrence J. Saha Rethinking the financing of post-compulsory education Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier 171 189 204 214 227 240 248 258 TRENDS/CASES Research in educational inequality issues and policy trends in 279 Kenya Daniel N. Sifuna Profiles of educators: Fukuzawa Yushiki (1835-1901) Shunsaku 287 Nishikawa ISSN 0033-1538Landmarks Anyone familiar with specialized journals in the natural or social sciences - especially regarding education in the latter - is bound to have noticed, over the years, the low percentage of women's names in their ta- bles of contents when compared, naturally, to the number of men's names. Does this mean that women have less to say, or that their re- search is of a lower standard than that of men? This would be, to say the least, something of a paradox, given that for more than a decade now, we have been hearing so much about the 'feminization of the teaching pro- fession '. As if 'feminization ' excluded study, research and intellectual output. It is therefore with some pride that Prospects has for the last twenty years tried its best to include, in every issue, contributions by women from all regions and cultures, specialists in the themes covered in the journal. For instance - as a sort of challenge at the time - the Open File of Vol. V, No. 3,1975, brought together no fewer than nine articles, all written by women, led by that of the late Margaret Mead (United States) entitled: 'Women and the Future of Mankind'. This, it is true, was for an issue devoted to International Women's Year - that is, 1975. The present issue opens with two articles written by women, both equally well known and of international repute: Margaret Sutherland of the United Kingdom and Elsie Rockwell of Mexico. In her article, Ms Sutherland provides a thorough examination of the whole question of the education of women in the world. Despite the efforts made by both industrialized and developing countries, the sit- uation is still, to say the least, far from satisfactory. This is not surpris- ing when we consider the most recent statistics and percentages provided in the report prepared for the World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990J. Let us recall some of them: Today, the following realities persist: More than 100 million children, including at least 60 million girls, have no access to primary schooling. More than 960 million adults, two-thirds of w h o m are w o m e n , are illit- erate, and functional illiteracy is a significant problem in all countries, in- dustrialized and developing. . . .' I mentioned Margaret Mead's paper, from which I quote a short extract: Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 1991Landmarks The new roles of women... are inextricably bound up with the whole process of modernization, social and economic development, the search for social justice and 'equality, and dignity for every human being. Sixteen years after Margaret Mead, Margaret Sutherland gives evidence once again of how scientific thinking and research are far in advance of social attitudes, particularly as regards social justice and equality of the sexes. The Open File on higher education in this issue has a story behind it. Although a contributor to Prospects since 1983,21 first met Philip Alt- bach (United States) in 1987, at the sixth World Congress on Compara- tive Education (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 1987). During that Con- gress, as well as the following one (Montreal, Canada, June 1989), he and I were in charge of planning and conducting a symposium of editors of international and comparative education journals. From being dis- tant colleagues, we became friends. As I was aware of his wide in- ternational knowledge in the field of higher education and had long res- pected the journal he edited and, as I knew of his devotion to UNESCO and to the ideals of the United Nations, I suggested to him in Montreal that we prepare together a special issue of Prospects on the present and future of higher education in the world. He accepted my proposal enthu- siastically and we have been working on it non-stop and in perfect har- mony since October 1989. The actual result is not just one Open File - this one - but two. The second one will appear in the next issue (No. 79). During the two symposiums mentioned earlier, I raised the point of the almost universal hegemony of English-language publications in comparative education and expressed my concern that specialists writ- ing in other languages were so poorly represented in them, and that too often scholars from English-speaking countries - and even then, not all of them - were the only ones to deal with practically all the educational issues concerning countries of the former socialist countries, Latin America, Africa, the Arab States, etc. In short, my argument was that educational knowledge and research was tending to become - whether deliberately or not - exclusively the domain of English speakers. Philip Altbach often made this same point, in particular in an article he wrote for Prospects.3 Our joint project, which is seeing the light today, demonstrates that it is possible to get not only American and British specialists to work to- gether on a particular theme, but also, as in this issue, those from Swe- den, Venezuela, India, Morocco and France, and, in the forthcoming is- sue, from the United Republic of Tanzania, Lebanon, Brazil, Malaysia, Poland, the USSR, Finland, among others. In these two Open Files, although many of the articles were written and submitted in English, a good number of them were also submitted in Arabic, Spanish, FrenchLandmarks 141 and Russian. For both issues, readers will judge the result. In any case, it is no coincidence that these observations hint at my earlier remarks concerning women as 'neglected' sources of knowledge. It is therefore very warmly and sincerely that I pay tribute here to Philip Altbach for having contributed, through his close collaboration, to providing a more concrete and wider dimension to international co- operation. In this already lengthy issue, these Landmarks seem to be becoming quite lengthy as well. I ought, then, to stop here. I would have liked to confirm the ideas put forward by my compatriot and colleague Abdallah Laroui, in light of my experience as a former professor at the same un- iversity. I also would have liked to inform readers about UNESCO's ac- tivities in the field of higher education. Unfortunately, I am running short of space. However, I should like to refer readers to a recent UNESCO document which presents a 'recapitulatory table' - not of what the Organization has accomplished in this field in the last forty years or so, but rather the specific activities it plans to carry out in its Programme for 1992-1993, which are obviously a continuation of- and sometimes a break with - what it has planned and achieved in the recent and distant past in higher education in its fields of competence, namely within the Programmes 'Education and the Future', 'Science for Pro- gress and the Environment', 'Culture: Past, Present and Future', 'Communication in the Service of Humanity', 'The Social and Human Sciences in a Changing World' and 'UNESCO's Contribution to Pros- pective Studies and to Strategies Concerned with Development'.4 Z . M . Notes 1. MeetingBasic Learning Needs: A Vision for the 1990s,p. 164, background document, World Con- ference on Education for All, Paris, W C E F A , November 1990. 2. P. G . Altbach, 'Key Issues of Textbook Provision', Prospects, Vol. XIII, N o . 3, 1983 (47), pp. 315-25. 3. P. G . Altbach, 'International Dimension of Scholarly Journals', Prospects, Vol. XVIII, N o . 2, 1988 (66), pp. 261-9. 4. 'Recapitulatory Table of Activities Relating to Higher Education' (26 C/INF.7 , 5 September 1991). This document, which unfortunately is available in English and French only, can be ob- tained on request from E D / S D I , U N E S C O , 7 place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris, France.VIEWPOINTS CONTROVERSIESWomen and education Progress and problems Margaret B . Sutherland T h e education of girls and w o m e n has made re- markable progress in the second half of the twentieth century. Even before the United N a - tions International W o m e n ' s Decade major ad- vances were evident, especially in the area of higher education. T h e Nairobi conference which rounded off the Decade in 1985 revealed great, if incomplete, achievement, but at the same time drew attention to the considerable differences in the fortunes of w o m e n in different countries - both developed and developing countries - differences that greatly affect the educational prospects of w o m e n and the nature of educational provision for them. T h e expansion of female participation in education has been paralleled by an increase in research and writing about the situation of w o m e n . Countless books and articles have been written on this topic, research has been underta- ken to discover the situation of w o m e n and the factors that apparently determine it. Since edu- cation is of major importance in defining the place of w o m e n in society, this has been a prin- cipal focus for research and study. Margaret B . Sutherland (United Kingdom). Pro- fessor Emérita of Education, University of Leeds; edited the British Journal of Educational Studies (1974-85); has contributed widely to journals and books on comparative education and women's stu- dies. Her books include: Sex Bias in Education (Blackwell, 1981), W o m e n who Teach in Univer- sities (Trentham Books, 1985), Theory of Educa- tion (Longman, 1988). She is Past President of the World Association for Educational Research and cuurently President of the Galton Institute. Today some stock-taking is necessary. H o w complete have reforms in female education been? Wha t changes in the situation of w o m e n have resulted from so m u c h thought and effort? Access to education Different levels of education show variations in female participation. At primary and secondary levels, w o m e n have equal access in the deve- loped countries, while some inequalities remain in the less developed countries ( U N E S C O , 1988). Universal primary education is not yet compulsory in all countries due to lack of re- sources. W h e n education is not compulsory and free, families m a y try to provide education for boys rather than for girls, as an educated male will be expected to help support the family while a female m a y take the benefit of her education to her husband's family. For girls, too, a different kind of education, training in domestic and oth- er tasks normally attributed to w o m e n , such as caring for younger children, m a y be thought more important. At the secondary level, there are other problems, especially if schools are dis- tant from the h o m e . Parents m a y fear for the morals and safety of young w o m e n living away from their supervision. Lingering traces of traditional, and conti- nuing, deprivation of education among w o m e n remain in the illiteracy figures in many deve- loped countries as well as in developing coun- tries ( U N E S C O , 1988). Where illiteracy is c o m - m o n , it is likely to affect w o m e n more than m e n , Prospects, Vol. XXI, No. 2,1991146 Margaret B. Sutherland though such differences are becoming less pro- nounced among the younger age-groups of adults. Third-level education continues to be an area of unequal access. In many countries, w o - m e n are still less frequently found among stu- dents at this level ( U N E S C O , 1988) though the extent of the discrepancy varies considerably. In most developed countries the difference m a y be small and becoming smaller, so that at least 40 per cent of students are w o m e n . In other parts of the world, the difference may be m u c h more im- portant, for example, in China and Nepal in 1985, where w o m e n accounted for 30 and 23 per cent, respectively ( U N E S C O , 1990). O n the oth- er hand there is a slight tendency in some coun- tries today for females to account for more than 50 per cent of students in the first stage of higher education. This is evident in various European countries, in North America - and especially in the Philippines where it is 61.5 per cent. But at the level of Master's and Doctor's degrees, w o - m e n are generally in the minority, though they m a y continue to be the more numerous in some subject areas, and w o m e n have recently made considerable progress at Master's level, especial- ly in the United States and Canada. Assessment of w o m e n ' s progress must also take into account the wide divergences in the quality and prestige of third-level courses and the occupational prospects they offer. Teacher education, popular with w o m e n , is often consi- dered an inferior form of higher education, but university education itself is undergoing consid- erable change in many countries. These chang- es - increased vocational emphasis, the value set on technology, decreasing prestige for tradition- al studies and occupations, financial problems for students - affect both m e n and w o m e n but w o m e n seem more likely to suffer from these factors (Sutherland, 1990). N e w circumstances are certainly causing a fluctuation in the attrac- tiveness of higher education for both m e n and w o m e n . O n e recently developed form of higher education has proved helpful to w o m e n , espe- cially to those seeking 'second chance' higher education: the Open University or similar dis- tance-learning provision. Although some dis- tance learning has been provided in various parts of the world, notably in Eastern Europe, for many years and has helped m a n y working stu- dents, recent developments have greatly trans- formed and increased such opportunities. These new facilities have succeeded in attracting large numbers of w o m e n students to higher educa- tion, even though these mature students tend to stick to the subjects traditionally thought suit- able for w o m e n , with less obvious vocational be- nefits (Faith, 1988). For many years w o m e n in developed coun- tries have also participated keenly in informal adult education at various levels and in a variety of subjects. W o m e n ' s aims here seem to have been largely directed towards enjoyment rather than vocational qualifications. In general, some evidence from different parts of the world sug- gests that w o m e n ' s motivation for study differs from that of m e n , concentrating more on the in- trinsic interest of subjects while that of m e n tends towards career prospects (Sanyal and Joze- fowicz, 1978; Aisenberg and Harrington, 1988): but it is not possible to judge whether such diffe- rences are innate or the result of traditional so- cial pressures. Women as teachers Whatever problems w o m e n have, or have had, in gaining access to education, they have in- creasingly contributed to education systems by school teaching, even though at various periods during the present century a marriage bar, which forbade the employment of married w o - m e n , restricted the numbers of w o m e n teachers in many countries (Schmuck, 1987). In primary schools and especially in pre-school institutions w o m e n are almost everywhere the major compo- nent of the teaching force ( U N E S C O , 1988). In secondary schools in developed countries there is a more even balance between numbers of m e n and w o m e n teachers, though there m a y be diñe-W o m e n and education: progress and problems Ml rences according to levels of secondary educa- tion, m e n predominating at the 'upper' levels, teaching older pupils. Indeed, in some countries w o m e n ' s participation has led to considerable discussion of the alleged disadvantages of the 'feminization' of the profession at secondary le- vel. W o m e n , it is said, cannot teach adolescent males effectively, for such students need male teachers as models to emulate and to respect. In- deed at primary level, too, it has been suggested that boys suffer in an environment where auth- ority is predominantly female. Moreover, w h e n economic conditions are difficult and teachers are threatened with unemployment there is of- ten overt or covert pressure on w o m e n to with- draw from teaching, m e n , it is still argued, are the breadwinners and therefore have superior claims to available posts. Yet in times of prosper- ity, m e n will find higher remuneration elsewh- ere, and thus leave the profession largely to w o - m e n . Feminization in teaching, as in other professions, is frequently associated with lower salaries. It has indeed been suggested, though evidence is incomplete, that in countries where w o m e n are numerous in third-level teaching it is because these countries accord relatively poor pay and status to that occupation. At the same time, despite their numerical superiority in primary teaching, w o m e n do not hold a proportionate number of positions of authority. Similarly, in secondary schools, as in school administration (Shakeshaft, 1987), w o - m e n are under-represented in the higher ranks. It is sometimes alleged that w o m e n are less in- terested in promotion or that they reduce their career prospects by temporarily leaving teaching to devote time to family responsibilities; but re- search evidence does not always support these opinions. In third-level education, differences are even more evident. Generally, the percentage of w o m e n teachers is smaller than that of males, though there are some notable exceptions to this, especially in the Philippines and some La- tin American countries. A typical pyramid struc- ture is frequently found in which w o m e n are present in even smaller minorities in the higher ranks (Sutherland, 1985; Council of Europe, 1990): for instance, in the United Kingdom among those at full professorial level 3 per cent were w o m e n ( E O C , 1988) and Nepal there were 3.4 per cent in 1980 and 2.4 per cent in 1985 (UNESCO, 1990). Similarly, women are rarely found in the top administrative levels of higher education: few w o m e n become heads of universities or equivalent institutions (Council of Europe, 1990). Differential choices of subjects and occupations Even w h e n equal access to different levels of education is achieved, males and females still tend to make different choices of subjects to stu- dy: this largely determines the occupations they enter and their career prospects. There is nowa- days relatively little gender differentiation in the primary-school curriculum in developed coun- tries but the structure of secondary education can encourage gender bias. W h e n secondary education is provided in separate schools or tracks, geared to different vocations, or w h e n the curriculum allows m a n y optional subjects, then characteristic differences appear: young w o m e n opt for the humanities, languages, textiles, retail distribution and the service sector, while young m e n opt for technical subjects, applied sciences and industrial skills. Even new studies of infor- mation technology/computing are tending to show gender bias. A n d it is remarkable that in an education system like that of Sweden where con- scious efforts have been made to reduce gender stereotypes the traditional bias in choice of sub- jects recurs in the upper secondary classes (Scott, 1984). Such differences persist in the subjects stu- died in higher education (Moore, 1987) and the careers of university graduates. Yet traditional choices in higher education show some signs of change ( U N E S C O , 1988). W o m e n students in various countries n o w take up medical studies148 Margaret B. Sutherland more frequently; indeed the study of medicine was one of the principal attractions for w o m e n seeking university education in the nineteenth century. W o m e n also study law more often and are increasingly employed in the legal profes- sion in many countries. Similarly w o m e n are in- creasingly to be found among students of ac- countancy, finance, business studies and administration - though again the pyramid structure remains in commerce as it does in the legal and medical professions and equal pay is rarely achieved. In all, if w e consider girls' and w o m e n ' s ac- cess to education and to subsequent employ- ment in the world today some inequalities clear- ly remain. In developed countries, there is no legal impediment - indeed discrimination on a gender basis has become illegal in m a n y coun- tries. It could be argued that remaining diffe- rences, particularly in the choice of subjects and occupations, are due to w o m e n ' s and men ' s in- dividual preferences and therefore call for no further action. O n the other hand, it is evident that w o m e n , despite their educational progress - in many countries it has been recognized that the school performance of girls at secondary school is better than that of boys ( O E C D , 1986) - girls do not have equal access to the highest le- vels in education and top positions in employ- ment: and, despite various pieces of legislation intended to ensure equal pay, w o m e n do not on average receive as m u c h pay as m e n doing equivalent work ( O E C D , 1985; Currie, 1990). Forces opposing equal educational opportunity If inequalities remain in spite of efforts to ensure equality, what factors m a y be preventing the achievement of this goal? Four major influences have been singled out by researchers: (a) w o - men ' s dual role as mothers and workers; (b) reli- gion; (c) attitudes based on prejudice and stereo- types; and (d) economic factors. W O M E N ' S DUAL ROLE Traditionally, w o m e n have the major responsi- bility for the care of children and in close asso- ciation with this they have in most countries also the duty of attending to the domestic needs of the family. In societies where w o m e n ' s other employment is informal, for example, in farm- ing communities where caring for livestock, sea- sonal involvement in harvesting, some market- ing, can be simply integrated into a w o m a n ' s everyday activities, the dual role has not been perceived as such; w o m e n have simply c o m - bined domesticity and the care and supervision of young children with these other tasks. In in- dustrialized societies the involvement of w o m e n as paid employees in work outside the h o m e has m a d e divided responsibilities more obvious: es- tablished hours of paid work and its location dif- ferentiate w o m e n ' s two spheres. But what has happened in m a n y societies is that w o m e n have taken on full-time work outside the h o m e with no reduction in their domestic chores. S o m e so- cieties anxious to include w o m e n in the work- force have tried to reduce their domestic load by creating creches, kindergartens, child-care facil- ities. Even so, w o m e n have continued to have the tasks of shopping, taking children to and from kindergarten, housework, preparing the evening meal, looking after the well-being of the family - responsibilities meagrely recognized in the former G D R by allowing w o m e n workers one day a month off work for domestic tasks. In various countries of the world, m e n have begun to take a greater share of domestic duties and to involve themselves more closely in child-care. T h e development of paternity leave, alongside maternity leave, bears witness to some such sharing. Yet there is surprising agreement in evidence from developed countries that w o m e n still play a dominant domestic role especially looking after children (Jowell et al., 1988; E N W S , 1990). W o m e n ' s dual role affects their education and employment prospects by reducing the time and energy available for higher studies or a pro- fessional career. Differences in social class asW o m e n and education: progress and problems 149 well as differences between countries are signif- icant here. W o m e n belonging to an affluent so- cial class m a y be able to employ domestic help for housework and child-care. In less developed countries, it m a y be possible easily to find in- expensive help of this kind. In all countries fe- male relations can be helpful in looking after children while the mother is out at work, though the increasing employment of w o m e n outside the h o m e is eroding this resource. A m o n g less affluent social classes, in countries where cheap domestic help is hard to find, in countries where public provision of child-care facilities is poor, w o m e n very often have to cope with excessive demands. Consequently, it is more difficult for them than it is for m e n to obtain higher qual- ifications or secure professional advancement - for example, by attending late meetings or con- ferences away from h o m e . This m a y well be an explanation of w o m e n ' s slower promotion and their relative scarcity in top jobs, as employers m a y hesitate to appoint w o m e n with family res- ponsibilities. It is also argued, though not always convincingly (Allen, 1990), that w o m e n con- scious of their dual obligations m a y be unwilling to apply for, or accept, positions that would take away the time needed for family duties or for en- joying family life. T h e interweaving of care for children and domestic work certainly confuses the situation. It m a y be argued that w o m e n are biologically conditioned to give greater attention than m e n to the needs of children, but at the same time, there is research evidence that the influence of the father is also of major importance in the de- velopment of children. There seem at least to be no biological indications of suitability for house- work - indeed both developed and developing societies have assigned to w o m e n tasks that de- m a n d considerable physical effort. It appears to be rather a matter of apparent convenience that w o m e n w h o look after children also do most of the other domestic tasks. This dual role, however, need not be an in- superable barrier even though it does exert con- siderable influence: w o m e n could be freed from m a n y of their customary tasks, by better facilities for child-care, shopping and cleaning, by better sharing of domestic work and by the restoration to m e n of their fair share in child-rearing. RELIGION O n the whole, while individual w o m e n have achieved recognition as members of religious orders and as mystics, saints and martyrs, the in- fluence of the major religions of the world has not encouraged full participation of girls and w o m e n in education. Study of major religions (King, 1987) would indicate that w o m e n played an important part in the early stages of religious movements even though the attitudes of the great male religious leaders towards w o m e n so- metimes appear to have been ambivalent. T h e subsequent evolution of the major religions in male-dominated societies has often led to reli- gious teachings supporting the subordination of w o m e n in social affairs. Christianity, Hinduism and Islam have in differing ways emphasized w o m e n ' s place within the family and the educa- tion of girls towards distinctively female roles. M e n have held most positions of authority in the major religions: they have received not only specific religious education for such authority but at the same time have had access to all levels of secular education: thus expectations that m e n occupy positions of authority in secular society have been reinforced. In various parts of the world, religious e m - phasis on the chastity of w o m e n has meant that daughters have been kept under close supervi- sion, in a restricted environment. Marriage ar- ranged at an early age has further conflicted with the development of full secondary or higher education for girls. Today, various countries have difficulties w h e n their provision of education for girls (and boys) does not accord with the religious beliefs of some groups of parents. Co-education is not readily accepted by some Muslim parents, espe- cially at the secondary level, and even in higher education (e.g. in Saudi Arabia). Yet it has be- come the c o m m o n form of education in m a n y countries of the world. So religious views m a yi5o Margaret B. Sutherland lead to demands, as in the United Kingdom to- day, for all-girls' schools to be reintroduced to provide the segregated education thought ap- propriate by some Muslim groups. School reg- ulations about girls' uniforms or dress for phys- ical education, have similarly met with some parental disapproval on religious grounds. O n the other hand, as in France, girls' wearing of head-coverings, for religious reasons, m a y rouse secular disapproval: and the style of dress pre- scribed for w o m e n by some religions is seen by m a n y feminists as likely to have adverse effects on the wider education and attitude formation of both females and males. In general, the domestic role emphasized by m a n y religions in the past, and by some in the present, has restricted female access to educa- tion. Girls have been urged towards female oc- cupations, to wifehood and motherhood, rather than towards the development of intellectual and other abilities. T h e role of the mother has also been narrowly interpreted, since girls' edu- cation has all too rarely provided practical know- ledge of health and hygiene: the concern moth- ers must feel about social affairs affecting their children's future well-being has not usually been recognized by providing civic education for girls. ATTITUDES BASED ON PREJUDICE AND STEREOTYPES Past interpretations and misinterpretations of re- ligious teachings have combined with tradition- al social customs to produce a legacy of prejud- ice and stereotypes that discriminate against w o m e n . In developed countries today, it is not c o m m o n to find overt or explicit statements of these irrational attitudes w h e n appointments are being m a d e or facilities for study offered: yet m a - ny people consider that such attitudes remain, even though unexpressed: individuals m a y well be unaware of their o w n prejudices. C o m m o n stereotypes of w o m e n present them as unduly emotional, unable to use author- ity in a balanced way, lacking confidence in their o w n judgement, not seriously interested in learning ( ' W o m e n go to university mainly to find a good husband'). There are also some more subtle mental sets generated by custom: w o m e n are not often seen in positions of authority, the- refore w o m e n are not considered w h e n appoint- ments to such positions are made . W o m e n seem incongruous in occupations where w e are accus- tomed to see m e n - just as m e n m a y seem in- congruous w h e n doing housework or employed in nursing and midwifery. A n d since w o m e n are not usually found in posts of authority, it is as- serted that m e n would not work for a female boss. Indeed, going further, it is argued that w o - m e n also prefer to have a m a n rather than a w o - m a n in authority. C o m m e n t s on w o m e n polit- icians aptly illustrate these prejudices. A major problem in dealing with stereo- typed attitudes is that w o m e n as well as m e n m a y accept them uncritically: social pressures and expectations affect both gender groups. Thus w o m e n m a y indeed fail to realize and have con- fidence in their o w n abilities. Possibly one of the most distressing examples of social conditioning is found in the belief among some w o m e n that female circumcision should continue, even w h e n rational thought and the decisions of va- rious governments condemn the practice. Attitudes of the kind described produce not only w o m e n ' s restricted access to top positions in education or educational research: they m a y also explain to some extent w o m e n ' s characte- ristic choices of subjects to study. Since there are many w o m e n role models in these disciplines, and they are commonly thought of as w o m e n ' s domain, there is social encouragement for young w o m e n to enter these subject areas. School experience m a y reinforce such trends: not only parents but schoolteachers m a y expect girls to make the traditional choices. Further- more, young w o m e n - or young m e n - w h o opt to study subjects more commonly taken by the other sex, m a y encounter strong prejudices on the part of their teachers and their fellow stu- dents. This m a y be particularly true for w o m e n , young or mature, attempting to take vocational training of a kind not traditional for w o m e n . If some options m e a n combating prejudice, put- ting up with criticism and opposition based onW o m e n and education: progress and problems 151 stereotypes, many people naturally take the ea- sier way and follow the traditional paths, sup- ported by family and career guidance counsel- lors. Young w o m e n and m e n are of course also influenced in their vocational choices by what they perceive to be the chances of employment. In some countries employers in the private sec- tor have been found more likely to be motivated by traditional attitudes (Moses, 1990) than pu- blic-sector authorities. Young w o m e n highly educated in preparation for certain occupations m a y thus have to satisfy themselves with pos- sibly less well paid and less promising work in the public sector. ECONOMIC FACTORS T h e changing patterns of the labour market in different societies make differential demands for the participation of m e n and w o m e n workers. W h e n countries with industrialized economies are in need of a large labour-force, w o m e n ' s par- ticipation is encouraged, for example, by provi- sion of child-care services. Manpower planning m a y safeguard the position of w o m e n even in non-traditional fields. But such a situation does not necessarily lead to equal vocational educa- tion for w o m e n . In some instances they m a y cer- tainly be encouraged to take the technical train- ing required to ensure efficiency in parts of the economy, hence, for example, the greater per- centages of w o m e n studying engineering sub- jects in the Eastern European countries (though even here, they have remained a minority in some technical specialities): but such w o m e n m a y be kept mainly in the lower ranks of tech- nical workers (Council of Europe, 1990). Even where labour markets rely greatly on female par- ticipation, true vocational equality is not found. Similarly, in countries where agriculture remains an important feature of the national economy, relatively little concern m a y be shown for the contribution made by w o m e n , since very often this contribution is informal. Female farm- workers in Europe, for instance, have often ac- cepted their farm tasks as part of their daily rou- tine as housewives or members of the family. Such participation has not led to improved voca- tional education for these w o m e n , though some are n o w beginning to recognize themselves as agricultural workers with corresponding rights ( E N W S , 1990). It is also noteworthy that in some African countries where w o m e n have been chiefly responsible for food production, develop- ment aid has too often been directed towards m e n rather than to w o m e n , though this weak- ness is n o w , fortunately, being recognized and eliminated (van Rynbach, 1990). O n the other hand, where countries are concerned that the birth-rate is low and unlikely to ensure an adequate future labour-force a re- turn m a y be made to a policy of encouraging w o - m e n to have larger numbers of children by such inducements as favourable maternity leave pro- visions and cash bonuses or housing aid. Such policies reduce concern for the vocational edu- cation and promotion of w o m e n and indeed, through over-generous maternity leave, reduce their chances of promotion at work (Council of Europe, 1990). Overall, many industrialized countries have regarded w o m e n as a reserve from which addi- tions to the labour-force m a y be drawn when ne- cessary and to which w o m e n can be returned (to remain as housewives) when there is a superflui- ty of workers ( O E C D , 1985). Unemployment in- creases are often accompanied by encourage- ment of w o m e n to leave paid employment. Marriage and motherhood m a y still be seen by some w o m e n as an escape from formal u n e m - ployment - hence the difficulty of determining exactly h o w many w o m e n are affected by eco- nomic recesssions. Part-time employment, while having some advantages both for w o m e n and their employers, can reinforce w o m e n ' s sub- ordinate status on the labour market. In sum, these employment factors reduce w o m e n ' s ac- cess to better vocational education and to top le- vels of employment.Sutherland Progress towards change T h e four factors described above thus contribute to failure to achieve equal educational opportun- ities for girls and w o m e n . They maintain tradi- tional sex biases in choices of subjects and occu- pations, with the associated neglect of technical and technological studies for females. Their in- fluence is difficult to measure: it is none the less real. Various efforts m a d e so far to change atti- tudes - whether based on religion, social custom or employment - have achieved only partial suc- cess. PROGRESS BY LEGISLATION O n e major effort, associated with changed atti- tudes and w o m e n ' s movements in different countries, has been the introduction of legisla- tion intended to safeguard w o m e n ' s chances of education, vocational training and employment. For example, in the United States, Canada, Aus - tralia, France and the United K i n g d o m various enactments have m a d e sex discrimination in education and employment illegal. Such enact- ments have been accompanied in some coun- tries by the creation of government posts, de- partments or ministries specifically concerned with the situation of w o m e n . Considerable changes in the position of w o m e n and in their education have resulted from these provisions, especially through the possibilities they give of bringing legal action against those infringing w o m e n ' s rights in education and employment. But legislation by itself is not enough: it must be supported by public opinion if it is to be effec- tively implemented. PROGRESS BY WOMEN'S STUDIES In developed countries, especially in the West, w o m e n ' s studies have grown considerably both in number and in scope (Klein, 1984). In less de- veloped countries attention has probably fo- cused on practical means to improve w o m e n ' s level of literacy and to improve living conditions for w o m e n and their families rather than on stu- dying the situation and the principles involved. In the former socialist countries of Eastern E u - rope, while there was usually some official w o - m e n ' s organizations, they were rather more in- volved in applying and propagating the policy of the ruling party than in objective research into the actual situation of w o m e n , w o m e n ' s studies were therefore unevenly developed, their main strengths being found in Western democracies. T h e term ' w o m e n ' s studies' is used in a number of ways that m a y be confusing to non- specialists. It describes a variety of activities that m a y be grouped under the following headings: research; teaching; communication; and formu- lating feminist philosophies. Research Research into m a n y aspects of the education of girls and w o m e n has been carried out and re- ported widely (Acker et al., 1984; O E C D , 1986; Clemens et al., 1986). Such research has pro- duced data on attitudes and problems in schools, vocational training and higher education. S o m e has concentrated on factors affecting girls' parti- cipation in mathematics and science (Harding, 1985) and other subject choices. Similarly re- sarch in different countries has revealed some unexpected and sometimes discouraging effects of co-education. Pressures exerted by social ex- pectations that w o m e n will marry and devote themselves to their domestic duties and the con- flicts between these and w o m e n ' s striving for educational and professional advancement are other themes widely researched: so is the related theme of the effect on children's development of mothers going out to work (Gottfried and Gott- fried, 1988) even though the results of such re- search seldom seem to eliminate c o m m o n pre- judices. T h e validity of such studies varies consider- ably: as Delamont (1989) has pointed out, some dramatic case studies have been published with- out due attention to their reliability. Neverthe- less the s u m of research studies in m a n y educa- tion systems offers impressive evidence of theW o m e n and education; progress and problems 153 similarity of the problems that females encoun- ter in education and the pervasiveness of un- helpful attitudes. Teaching T h e teaching of w o m e n ' s studies has developed most rapidly in North America and Scandinavia since the 1970s. It is n o w available at all levels of education. Courses offered in higher education normally include discussion of feminist theories as well as reports of research in different aspects of w o m e n ' s experience - in health, the labour market, education, history, society generally: they often include practical work by the student, observing, analysing, reporting data in a chosen area. Degrees in w o m e n ' s studies at first and higher levels are sometimes taken in conjunc- tion with work in a more traditional discipline and the teaching for such courses is often pro- vided by tutors from a variety of traditional dis- ciplines. At rather different levels, short courses m a y be offered as part of adult education, often for w o m e n w h o are re-entering the labour mar- ket after a period at h o m e : w o m e n ' s studies m a y then be combined with courses in self-evalua- tion and self-assertion. Communication Communication between groups of those inter- ested in w o m e n ' s studies has been particularly fostered by 'networking' - the creation of in- formal links between people with c o m m o n in- terests. It proceeds also through the growing number of national societies and journals devot- ed to aspects of feminist theory and to research on gender-discrimination in education and so- ciety. In Europe, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the European Network for W o m e n ' s studies was founded in 1989 to im- prove communication by links with all Euro- pean countries, reporting research projects and giving news of meetings important for those in this field. Formulating feminist philosophies A rich variety of feminist theories have also de- veloped during the last two or three decades, with differing philosophical, political, sociolog- ical or psychological bases. Patriarchal interpre- tations of society have been denounced and the insidious effects of male-dominated thinking - on the use of language itself, for example - have been subjected to radical analysis. At some points there has been hostility between propo- nents of different theories though more recently a greater tolerance and willingness to consider, albeit critically, alternative views has become evident ( E N W S , 1990). There remains never- theless considerable disagreement between those w h o would opt for changes of emphasis in existing theory, or for supplementation of exist- ing views, and those w h o totally reject existing philosophies and would replace them by a n e w feminist system of knowledge and interpretation of life. In parallel w e find stronger 'backlash' ef- fects in some societies where extremes of femi- nist theory have seemed an intolerable threat to m e n . Government attitudes to w o m e n ' s studies have also varied from country to country. In Scandinavia, government support has been gi- ven to establishing research centres and teach- ing posts in higher education devoted to w o - men ' s studies (Council of Europe, 1990) while in other countries such developments have de- pended on the determination of individuals, us- ing their o w n resources of time and energy, and on the goodwill of individual institutions. Future developments, future progress? T h e international acceptance of the need to im- prove w o m e n ' s access to education and advance- ment by education seems to have had two major results: changes in w o m e n and girls' participa- tion in the formal educational structures of diffe- rent countries and the growth of research, teach- ing and writing on w o m e n ' s studies. Are these changes likely to be permanent? Are they likely to go still further? So far as w o m e n ' s studies are concerned,154 Margaret B. Sutherland some uncertainties remain. Research certainly will persist, finding new areas for study and pro- ducing yet more useful information about m o - tivation and effective strategies for improve- ment. Whether such research will easily find funding is doubtful - in m a n y countries at pre- sent, official government policy tends to favour areas of research apparently linked to industry and commerce and the advancement of w o m e n is not necessarily perceived as vital to these areas. Teaching is confused by the uncertainty whether w o m e n ' s studies should continue to be a separate discipline in higher education or whether it should be integrated into other dis- ciplines. For example, should w o m e n ' s situation at different periods of history be presented in w o m e n ' s studies units or should n e w emphases and new material be integrated in existing courses within schools or faculties of history? Those w h o favour integration maintain that a more balanced view of any discipline will be achieved if the findings of w o m e n ' s studies are included in general teaching. They fear the 'ghettoization' that might result from continu- ing separation between w o m e n ' s studies centres and other areas of higher education, and male students might feel subtly or clearly excluded from such centres. They fear that teaching w o - m e n ' s studies might offer limited career pros- pects. But those w h o oppose integration fear that assimilation would m e a n the gradual disappea- rance of the w o m e n ' s studies input and that tra- ditional teaching, neglecting w o m e n and their contribution, would again become dominant. It is difficult to evaluate such conflicting views without information as to the future numbers of w o m e n teaching in higher education and the degree of critical awareness in w o m e n students and staff. Progress in the practical situation of w o - men ' s education and subsequent employment is similarly hard to predict. N e w gains m a y well be m a d e in w o m e n ' s entry to secondary and higher education in less developed countries, and those m a d e in developed countries consolidated. Whether changes will greatly reduce the tradi- tional division in subject choices is less clear: the origin of such choices - innate factors or social conditioning - needs further study. But one thing is nevertheless certain - m u c h will depend on the state of the labour market and w o m e n ' s perception of future employment prospects. In all countries the essential question is whether w o m e n will indeed enjoy equal opportunities in education, employment and social affairs. T h e gaining of access by w o m e n to universities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was followed by a period of stagnation, w h e n the rights obtained were less than fully exploited. Is similar stagnation n o w going to occur in the education and general situation of w o m e n - pos- sibly even some recession? As w e noted above, the economic problems of some countries m a y m e a n a lowering of the demand for a large la- bour-force: w o m e n m a y still be regarded as a flexible labour reserve and encouraged, in such economic conditions, to return to domestic roles and such a retreat could be supported by reli- gious teaching and lingering prejudice. But one important defence against reces- sion and a continuing subordination of w o m e n in education is their awareness of the situation. Not all feminist writings have reached a wide public: the implementation of legislation in- tended to protect the rights of w o m e n (and oth- ers) in education and employment is not always wholehearted or complete. But the widespread circulation of c o m m e n t on the situation of w o - m e n has raised the consciousness of w o m e n (and m e n ) in so m a n y countries, and this aware- ness is supported by so m a n y international con- tacts and organizations that it seems likely to be an effective defence. Thus in the 1990s continuing efforts must be m a d e to remove, in both developed and deve- loping countries, any remaining handicaps of girls and w o m e n in education: constant aware- ness of their situation must be maintained. 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World Food Programme Journal (special issue on the L D C question), pp. 22-4. R o m e , World Food Programme. U N E S C O . 1988. Statistical Yearbook. Paris, U N E S C O . . 1990. Women's Participation in Higher Education: Chi- na, Nepal and the Philippines. Bangkok, U N E S C O .Ethnography and critical knowledge of education in Latin America Elsie Rockwell In the last fifteen years or so, ethnographic re- search in education has taken on greater signif- icance in Latin America. Although projects and publications are still relatively few in number , m a n y university faculties and educational re- search centres are debating and testing the possi- bilities offered by this option. This article sets out to put forward some ideas on the ground covered by ethnographic re- search in Latin America. It starts by pointing to a number of features that distinguish ethno- graphic studies from other approaches to qual- itative research. It then attempts to recall the theoretical background to the purposes for that ethnographic research has been used in the re- gion and to outline some of its thematic trends and the theoretical contribution that it is making to critical knowledge of education. Elsie Rockwell (Mexico). Educational anthropolo- gist. Since 1973, she has been working as a resear- cher in the Educational Research Department at the Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Mexico City), where she has carried out and directed ethnographic studies in Mexican primary schools, especially in connection with teaching work. She is currently engaged in a project on the social uses of written lan- guage, from the combined historical and ethnogra- phic standpoints. She is the author and co-author of numerous articles and research studies. What is ethnography? In the anthropological tradition, ethnography occupies a precise place as the branch of the science whose task is to describe the m a n y forms in which h u m a n beings manage to survive, live and give meaning to their lives. Starting out from this initial definition, the term 'ethnogra- phy' takes on another meaning, in that it can be said to be the whole set of tools and practices de- veloped to perform that task. However , it has never been vizualized as being a 'method' in the strict sense: it is rather a particular way of link- ing field experience and analytical work, which has given rise to considerable epistemological and theoretical debate, as well as to differing methodological approaches. A m o n g the wide variety of ways in which ethnography can be visualized, it is possible to find a number of features in c o m m o n that define it by contrast with other forms of research. T h e main task of ethnography is to docu- ment the undocumented aspects of social real- ity. T h e original task of the ethnographer, which consists in giving an account of peoples with no written culture, gathers fresh impetus from switching the anthropological focus from 'others' onto 'ourselves'. In our 'literate' socie- ties, studies are m a d e of those environments that are not documented, such as school, where so- cial and power relationships are forged. Prospects, Vol. XXI, No. 2, 1991Ethnography and critical knowledge of education in Latin America 157 Ethnographic research is based on the di- rect and prolonged experience gained by the ethnographer in a particular locality. T h e e m - pirical reference system of an ethnographic stu- dy remains circumscribed by the horizon of the day-to-day personal reactions between the re- searcher and the inhabitants of the locality for the length of time needed to narrow d o w n the questions and c o m e up with a number of answ- ers. In ethnography, every researcher performs both the field-work and analytical work, which are inseparable parts of the same process. Ethnographic research has addressed such varied aspects of h u m a n life as canoe-building techniques and initiation rites, kinship practices and production relationships, the distribution of physical space and the uses of language. H o w e v - er, regardless of the purpose of the study, the ethnographer attempts to grasp the 'local know- ledge' (Geertz, 1983) of the phenomenon being studied and integrate it into the description. In ethnographic research, the main product of the analytical work is a descriptive paper. This analytical description is necessarily built up from a theoretical conceptualization, albeit an implicit one. In other words, the description m a d e is one of m a n y such possible descriptions. T h e challenge lies in writing a paper that pre- serves the specific local features, while at the same time making the phenomenon studied in- telligible in the broader context. Ethnography steers the search for answers to the more general questions towards an understanding of the spec- ific and varied forms of h u m a n life. Unlike liter- ature or journalism, the description of these forms is inherent in the theoretical debate. T h e need to confine the empirical reference system of the study to a locality does not limit the scope of the construction. Paradoxically, in anthropol- ogy, the more successful it has proved to un- derstand the specificity, or 'intrinsic logic' of a particular cultural formation, the more possible it has been to answer wider-ranging questions about the different social groups and acknow- ledge their c o m m o n humanity. In the face of widespread empiricist atti- tudes, it has been possible to show the impor- tance of theoretical work in ethnographic re- search. Both during the field-work and in the analytical process, the construction of categories and conceptual relationships makes it possible to articulate a more thorough and intelligible description of the real-life situation being stu- died. Owing to the way in which analysis is con- ducted in ethnographic research, the process can, in fact, contribute to evolving, qualifying and adding to the theoretical concepts that are its starting-point (Erickson, 1986; Hammersley and Atkinson, 1983). In educational research, ethnography has opened up an area for the qualititative recon- struction of educational processes and relation- ships, with the aim of gaining an understanding of h o w education is built up in social terms. This approach has been adopted by a number of dis- ciplines taking the same line to the study of edu- cational processes, including sociology and psy- chology. A critical approach to ethnography In Latin America, the purposes for which eth- nography has c o m e to be used stemmed from a series of experiences and discussions that steered it in a specific direction. T h e educational processes existing in the region in the 1970s provided a meaningful con- text for ethnographic research. In those coun- tries dominated by military regimes during that period, a popular education movemen t - in the sense that it lay outside the formal system - came into being, primarily through the lead gi- ven by the thinking of Paulo Freiré, with links with the Catholic Church and political groups. Projects were carried out which postulated that grassroots knowledge should be taken as the starting-point for fostering consciousness-rais- ing. Although, at the outset, the people involved in popular education argued against the state- run school system, which they regarded as being an 'instrument of reproduction', as the process of democratization went forward they began to158 Elsie Rockwell seek ways of transferring to the school system the experience of pedagogical innovation gained in non-formal educational projects. T h e situation differed in those countries where attempts were m a d e to reform the public education system, such as Mexico, Colombia and Peru in the 1970s and other countries in the early 1980s. These reforms involved education- ists w h o were critical of the existing education system and w h o were committed to the task of bringing about a higher standard of public edu- cation. In such instances, this led to the identifi- cation of a number of c o m m o n themes, such as the determination to transform schooling, the need to become familiar with the teaching pro- fession and the real-life situation in schools, and curriculum and teaching problems in the class- room environment. Almost all of us w h o have engaged in eth- nographic studies in the region have had direct experience of popular education projects or re- forms in basic education, and our initial ques- tions and concerns were heavily marked by that experience. S o m e of us were anthropologists, while most of us had a background in education, sociology or psychology, but few of us had had training in educational ethnography through having done post-graduate studies in English- speaking universities. Originally, with some ex- ceptions, educational ethnography did not grow up in the academic climate of anthropology or sociology but in a number of interdisciplinary educational-research centres, in which the con- ditions existed for carrying out projects.1 In these institutions, discussions were quick to focus on the real-life situation in schools. In the 1970s, the re-reading of the clas- sics of Marxism, including Lukacs and Gramsci, was accompanied by the study of contemporary theoreticians such as Althusser, Foucault, Hel- lier, Habermas, Bourdieu and Williams, a m o n g others, all of w h o m represented important refe- rences for ethnographic research in Latin A m e r - ica. Other standpoints were also adopted, such as those of oral history, genetic epistemology and psycho-analysis, especially through the works of Lacan. In the initial approaches taken by ethnography, there was inevitably some de- bate between the structural and phenomenolog- ical outlooks and the search for a view of things going beyond them. However, the path taken by social thought in Latin America carried even more weight. In the 1970s, there were discussions on the Left about the relevance of Marxist categorization to the Latin American situation. T h e patterns specific to the region, such as dependence and the rural exodus, were analysed and discussed. Discussions in Latin America on Gramsci's the- ory (Arico, 1982; Pereya, 1984; Portantiero, 1977; et al.) had an influence on educational re- search. T h e macro-social and political ap- proaches gave added substance to the analysis of the relationship between school and society in the work of such Latin American researchers as Garcia Huidobro (1985), Tedesco (1987), Savia- ni (1984), R a m a (1979), Brunner (1988), Paiva (1980) and Fuentes (1979). This theoretical background featured prominently in the origins of ethnographic research in the region and re- presented a significant influence prior to that ex- ercized by writers in the English-speaking tradi- tion, such as Y o u n g (1971), Apple (1982), Giroux (1983), Willis (1980), Erickson (1986) and Delamont (1983) w h o became references for the ensuing debate. F r o m this range of theoretical sources, eth- nographic research in Latin America set out from an epistemological concern which rejected the empiricist approach. M a n y researchers were aware that descriptions are always based on some form of conceptualization and therefore at- tempted to ensure a measure of consistency bet- ween ethnographic research and the develop- ments in theory in the region. F r o m this standpoint, they analysed the ethnographic stu- dies produced by the American school of an- thropology and distanced themselves from the latter's basic concept of cultural conflict. They sought ways of building into ethnographic study a social context that was more wide-ranging and differentiated than the 'community' which had largely featured in educational ethnography in the 1970s.2 In educational research institutions, eth- nography had to stake a place for itself and,Ethnography and critical knowledge of education in Latin America 159 above all, establish its legitimacy in the face of long-standing traditions. As was to be expected, there were, for a variety of reasons, keen debates with those engaged in quantitative or participa- tory research. A dialogue was also established with other researchers with a qualitative outlook w h o did not see themselves as ethnographers (see, for example, Parra, 1986, Ñ a m o de Mello, 1982). With a few exceptions,3 external funding for projects of this type was limited and there was little scope for publishing their findings. Progress started to be m a d e with the setting up of small teams which were determined to create the conditions for carrying out studies. Ethnog- raphy is n o w acknowledged as being a valid op- tion and the region probably has more than 100 researchers engaged in ethnographic projects.4 In Latin America, ethnography took on specific practices and forms on account of its re- lationship with other activities in the education- al field. It has been integrated into various pro- jects for pedagogical and curricular innovation. It has been introduced as a subject in the n e w curricula of teacher-training institutions and used in projects designed to put forward alterna- tive approaches to in-service teacher training. In situations such as these, the ethnographic work has generally been confined to preparing quant- itative records for classes, which are subsequent- ly used as an integral part of the sessions con- ducted with the participants, in a bid to spark off ideas or else document the changes in practice. It has also been used for follow-up purposes or for evaluating curriculum development projects. T h e records of the experimental process, which include photographs and videos, have m a d e it possible to amend proposals and communicate findings. As the work proceeds, the difficult task of drawing the dividing line between ethnographic projects and other types of qualitative research is starting to be narrowed down . A number of qual- itative studies which are not considered ethno- graphic (Ansion, 1990, inter alia), are in fact very close - in content and context - to ethnography. O n e significant change lay in the recognition and adoption of educational ethnography in an- thropological circles in several Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Ethnographic studies were the starting-point for disseminating n e w ideas on educational process- es, which were taken up by researchers w h o had been most reluctant to accept its methodological heterodoxy. T h e culture of school and student cultures, concealed and actual curricula, every- day teaching practices and conditions are all concepts that form an integral part of the educa- tional debate in the region, but which cannot be readily grasped through surveys, censuses or his- torical records. It is important to recall that the goal of eth- nography is, above all, to document diversity, and the temptation has to be avoided of making unduly hasty summations. F e w schools have so far been studied (and most of these have been at the primary level), though pre-school secondary and higher levels are n o w starting to be investi- gated.5 T h e research has been instrumental in raising a greater number of issues than those that existed some ten years ago. Even so, the stu- dies carried out from different conceptual stand- points have m a d e it possible to build up a stock of knowledge and to outline the specific real-life features of education in the Latin American re- gion. Thematic trends in educational ethnography in Latin America Owing to the fact that ethnographic research in Latin America was quick to be associated with a critical outlook, investigations tended to be di- rected in a number of specific directions. O n e of its initial targets was the primary-school system and the relationship it bore to the social struc- ture of Latin American countries. Although the 1970s saw quantitative growth and significant re- forms in curricula in the region, educational re- search continued to point to high drop-out, re- petition and illiteracy rates. T h e problems of the quality of teaching were compounded by grow- ing evidence of the apparent irrelevance of thei6o Elsie Rockwell contents of basic education curricula to the bulk of the urban and rural population. It was accord- ingly important to start to disentangle the every- day mechanisms of school life. Ethnography was seen as being a suitable approach to tackling this problem. O f all the thematic issues broached by eth- nographic research in Latin America, there are six that feature most prominently. A n attempt is m a d e here to quote examples of these thematic issues in relation to some of the projects carried out, though it is not proposed to engage in an ex- haustive review of all the work produced.6 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL REPRODUCTION O n e important standpoint adopted is the out- c o m e of the early interest taken in the processes of social and cultural reproduction. Ethnogra- phy was suited to studying the concealed curri- culum and the implicit socialization of school. W h e n schooling first began to be examined, it was possible to see the way in which educational practice re-creates the division of manual and intellectual work and conveys ideological atti- tudes consistent with the dominant capitalist structure. Even so, a number of studies conducted along these lines gave rise to some discussion over the theoretical reference systems used. It was argued, for example, that the implicit for- mation of relations with labour and authority takes precedence over vocational technical training (Paradise, 1979). Factors that result in whole population groups being deprived of schooling is more indicative of cultural depriv- ation than of the imposition of an arbitrary sys- tem of symbols (Tadeu da Silva, 1988). T h e way in which subjects are set in schools concurs with the alternative cultural reference systems of the popular classes (Safa, 1986). In the context of the military regimes, stress was laid more on the as- pects bound up with political control than with social and cultural reproduction. These advanc- es in thinking call into question the idea of school as being a device that ensures the d o m - ination of the state and determines to what ex- tent the state can be effective in the field of edu- cation. T h e m a n y questions to which this approach has given rise have still not been re- solved, and increasingly far-reaching and consi- dered thought is being given to the issue in the studies currently being carried out. SCHOOL FAILURE T h e alarming development whereby pupils are expelled from the education system in Latin America has caused m a n y ethnographic studies to be addressed to the problem of school failure. In these studies, an attempt has been m a d e to identify those educational factors influencing such cases of failure, in open controversy with studies giving prominence to such exogenous factors as social and economic levels (Avalos, 1986) and cultural differences or deficiencies (Souza Patto, 1990). It was found that there was a complex network of ideological and pedagogical practices that are built into 'school culture' (Lo- pez et al., 1983) and that explain h o w individual failure patterns evolve within school. O n the ba- sis of these studies, teacher-training methods were designed to focus on critical thinking about teaching practices and the understanding of popular cultures, and these in turn were the sub- ject of ethnographic analysis. T h e questions asked about the quality of basic education prompted a search in the direc- tion of the environment in which teachers are trained. These studies (Calvo and Donnadieu, 1982; Parra et al., 1986; Tezanos, 1986) laid stress on the training implicit in the everyday practices and outlook that are a feature of teach- er-training colleges, by showing their continuity with teaching practices in primary schools, which stand in marked contrast to the apparent discontinuity at the formal level. S o m e of the researchers w h o analysed the problem of school failure subsequently exa- mined its counterpart (in the form of schools and teachers that were regarded as good) in an attempt to understand the conditions that would make it possible to reverse the trends. They stu- died pupils w h o succeeded in completing theEthnography and critical knowledge of education in Latin America 161 basic education stage, with the aim of under- standing the ways in which they had adapted to school, as well as schools in which innovative projects had worked successfully in popular or indigenous situations. These studies show that, in spite of the obvious social correlations of fai- lure, educational results are particularly respon- sive to differences in the quality of the expe- rience gained at school, and hence that investment in school conditions should have a significant bearing on retention and develop- ment rates. SCHOOLS AND THE UNDERCLASS A number of ethnographic studies have set out to gain an understanding of the outlook of the more disadvantaged sectors of the population to schooling. In some of these, the analysis was fo- cused on parents and their relations with the teachers (de Crespo et al., 1982; Safa, 1986; L ó - pez et al., 1983, Rodriguez Brandao, 1983). In others, a study is m a d e of cultural knowledge (Paradise, in press) and the everyday knowledge of children as opposed to the knowledge ac- quired at school. As a rule, it has proved possible to go beyond the straightforward school-community dichotomy to investigate the significance that the state-run school system represents for diffe- rent popular sectors. Although this significance differs in every country and region, depending on the specific background factors, there is so- mething thought-provoking in the idea that there is popular participation in the construction of the state-run school system and in the con- stant negotiations aimed at ensuring that it will continue to be free and at demanding quality of service, according to the findings of a study car- ried out in Mexico (Mercado, 1985). A number of studies have investigated the presence of local cultures in schools, relating the 'cultural conflict' explanation advanced in the United states in connection with ethnic minor- ities. In Latin America, the problem has been posed from the standpoint of the popular classes as the majority users of the basic school system and discussions on their demands have taken on dimensions that are as m u c h ideological and political as they are cultural. EVERYDAY SCHOOL LIFE As a result of ethnographic research, schools, that is, each individual school rather than the school system as a whole, are starting to be more visible and they are no longer taken for granted or are the subject of a priori suppositions (Ez- peleta, 1986). T h e study of everyday school life is coming to occupy a central place. W h a t had originally seemed to be 'chaos' (de la Peña, 1981), can be seen as being a complex institu- tional network that is the outcome of negotia- tions between m a n y different interests. Descrip- tions have accordingly been produced of the effects of organization and bureaucratic control on everyday life in school. A start is being m a d e to investigating h o w educational reforms filter through the successive administrative echelons d o w n to each teacher. It has been possible to find processes that are an impediment to change in schools or else contribute to their decline. Factors have been identified which govern or fa- cilitate teaching practices, such as the internal organization of the school and negotiations bet- ween directors, parents and teachers (Achilli, 1988; Ezpeleta, 1989; Rockwell and Mercado, 1986; Souza Patto, 1990; Quiroz, in press). Although the initial studies show that prac- tices are similar from one school to another and people are starting to speak of a generalized 'school culture', more refined comparisons m a d e between countries or regions, and even between closely adjoining schools, show that there are significant differences. These contrast, for example, the forms of discipline and teach- ing traditions in different countries. Each local- ity has specific ways of combining the ideas, knowledge, customs and resources that go to shape schools, in spite of the standard rules ap- plying to the country as a whole. However, it can be seen from the wide variety of schools investi- gated that there are recurrent themes and simi- lar processes, as well as significant differences inIÓ2 Elsie Rockwell the quality of the education intended for diffe- rent social classes. TEACHERS AS WORKERS Another specific feature that has had an in- fluence on ethnographic research has been the linkage between researchers and the processes involved in the organization of teachers. Teach- ers' protest and pedagogical movements in Latin America in the 1980s m a d e it mandatory to m a k e allowance for their point of view in de- scriptions of life at school. School started to be seen as a 'teachers' work-place'. Although from the very first studies refe- rence was m a d e to the difficult working condi- tions experienced by teachers in the schools in- vestigated, it was necessary to redefine the concept of teaching work (Ezpeleta, 1989; Rock- well and Mercado, 1986). Part of the task consist- ed of visualizing teachers as social subjects and of considering their social background and the way in which their professional identity takes shape. In an endeavour to understand h o w school as an institution conditions the practices adopted by teachers, investigations were con- ducted into the everyday processes defining teaching work and the negotiations conducted on working conditions in the trade union and school contexts (Aguilar, 1986; Sandoval, 1986; Carvajal, 1991). Growing interest has been taken in a number of studies on material conditions and constraints and power relationships in school (Ezpeleta, 1989; Tovar, 1989; Sunirats and Nogales, 1989). T h e specific knowledge characterizing teaching work and the formative relationship between teachers is also an impor- tant subject area that is being increasingly opened up (Mercado, in press; Talavera, 1991). In this connection, a number of teachers have adopted ethnography for their o w n purpose, in a bid to gain a closer insight into their working conditions and patterns. These studies have m a d e it possible to instil a fresh view of teachers as workers, rather than as 'agents for the perpetuation of the state', and to start rebuilding teaching as the central focus of their work, from a different standpoint than that marked by a set of didactic prescriptions. THE REAL KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED IN SCHOOL In the Latin American critical tradition, the in- terest originally taken in ideological processes is giving way to interest in knowledge in school. T h e real curriculum is replacing the concealed curriculum as the focal point of analysis. Instead of the issue of consciousness-raising which was topical in the 1970s, the quality of teaching is n o w regarded as being the fundamental political problem of education in the region (Tedesco, 1987). T h e handing d o w n of a cultural heritage to all children, without detracting from their culture of origin, is considered essential to social change. This urgent task prompted some ethnog- raphers to devote attention, from an early stage, to the processes of teaching and the transmission of knowledge in the school environment. In this connection, studies have been m a d e not so m u c h to evaluate proposals for curricula or in- novative teaching science as to understand h o w the educational process takes place in the histor- ical local conditions of each school. Right from the outset, strains could be seen to exist between official syllabuses and the knowledge presented in the classroom, as well as between teaching methods and content, and bet- ween the proposals made by the teachers and children's activities. It has been noted that pu- pils adapt to the interaction patterns with teach- ers as they become involved in the content. B e - sides responding to the formal demands m a d e of them, they set up a communication network a m o n g themselves, which functions as the con- text for school work. O n e central question raised in ethnograph- ic studies in the classroom is h o w knowledge is built up in social terms. Descriptions have been m a d e of the uses of written language (Rockwell, 1982) and the construction of scientific know- ledge in the classroom (Candela, 1989, in press; Rockwell and Galvez, 1982), as well as of the mechanisms militating against the lasting reten-Ethnography and critical knowled¡ [ge of education in Latin America 163 tion of what is learnt, such as ways of presenting and evaluating knowledge. T h e ways in which knowledge is expressed in the classroom and the relationship between the subjects taught and knowledge have been the thrust of a number of ethnographic studies (Assael and N e u m a n n , 1987; Batallan et al., 1986; Edwards, 1985; T a - deu da Silva, 1988). Situations have been identi- fied in most of these studies which afford greater scope for the acquisition of knowledge by pupils, as well as teaching strategies adapted to children which foster significant learning attainment. T h e development of this line of research has provided a number of important criteria for crit- icism and curriculum development in basic edu- cation. T h e critical perspective in Latin America Ethnography is a study requiring the reformula- tion of theories, in turn altering attitudes to the object of study. Latin American ethnographers have beaten their o w n paths within the critical tradition forming the framework for ethno- graphic research, and m a n y advances in ethnog- raphy in the region have occurred relatively in- dependently of developments in ethnography in the Anglo-Saxon countries. T h e intensification of exchanges of experience with European and North American researchers in recent years has occurred during a period of consolidation in La- tin American ethnographic research, and there is some awareness of the inappropriateness of studying real situations in Latin America in the light of theories based on study of situations in the developed countries. This has sparked off a debate in the region about universal theoretical frames of reference, from which both parties m a y have something to learn. In the past decade the Anglo-Saxon school of 'critical ethnography' (Simon and Dippo, 1986; Anderson, 1989) and research in Latin America have developed along similar lines, both tending to call into question the initial the- ories of social reproduction, both identifying contradictory cultural processes in the spheres of education and both showing a determination to understand the teaching profession and its work. Nevertheless, Latin American education- al experience has inclined scholars to take cer- tain positions that are worth summarizing. Awareness of the magnitude of the problem of popular access to formal basic education (con- sidered as an end in itself) can be observed in La- tin American ethnography, even though the e m - pirical referent is the daily life of individual schools. Ethnographic interpretations are usual- ly backed up by a knowledge of the national edu- cational and political context, without glossing over the heterogeneity of educational trends in the various localities and the diversity of back- grounds that produce them. In Latin America, therefore, theoretical conceptions have predom- inated in which daily life is related to social pro- cesses taking place at higher levels.7 In a region characterized by strong indige- nous and popular traditions and by a history of creation of national identities that simultaneous- ly incorporate the colonial heritage and hold it at arm's length, scholars have found it indis- pensable to confront the cultural dimension. T h e cultural complexity of the region has helped research to transcend the dichotomies that characterize the work of m a n y Anglo-Saxon ethnographers, and has enabled it to see the schools as points of convergence and reformula- tion of cultural influences not confined to the dominant models, though these, too, are vigo- rously propounded by certain educational prac- tices. M a n y ethnographic studies based on repro- duction theory (e.g. Willis, 1980) have e m p h a - sized cultural resistance to schooling as a bas- ically 'self-condemnatory' process, in that it perpetuates class and power relationships. In Latin America, a different concept of resistance can be discerned in m a n y studies. W h a t is de- scribed is the resistance of parents to the dis- mantling of public education and the resistance of teachers to the growing bureaucratization of their work. There is also resistance to failure oni64 Elsie Rockwell the part of those children w h o opt to remain in school and m a k e sense of it, despite all the diffi- culties involved. Another difference between Latin A m e r - ican and Anglo-Saxon research emerges in stu- dies of the teaching profession. While some wri- ters in the school of critical ethnography (e.g. Apple, 1982; Giroux, 1983) emphasize the alie- nation that characterizes teachers' working prac- tices, research in Latin America has concentrat- ed on the material conditions in which teaching is performed and on the techniques developed by teachers to deal with them. Anglo-Saxon eth- nography has adopted a critical approach to teaching methods, based on the work of Paulo Freiré, which offers teachers models of peda- gogical practice radically different from those they are accustomed to using. In Latin America, ethnographic research has m a d e us conscious of the difficulty of transferring to the public educa- tion system the models of popular education prevalent in the region, and has promoted the search for, and assessment, of widely applicable alternatives based on the teachers' situation and background. T h e present upgrading of the teaching pro- fession is very timely. T h e situation in the re- gion is alarming; the miserable salaries paid to teachers and the political m o v e towards the right in recent reforms seem likely to result in the complete disintegration of the teaching profes- sion, which would only aggravate the situation in education in Latin America. Better condi- tions of employment for teachers are n o w recog- nized to be the key to any reform of Latin A m e r - ican education. Ethnographic research encourages aware- ness both of the region's educational heritage and its trials and tribulations in the present. T h e integration of ethnographic and historical re- search, which is beginning to develop in the re- gion should give a clearer picture of the social processes that gave rise to present-day education systems and practices. Ethnographic research could thus help to foresee the side-effects of pu- blic policies and actions, and avoid imposing re- forms on education systems that are not properly understood in their existing form. In Latin America, critical attitudes have succeeded in enhancing the status of the state- run school system in terms of effective demand emanating from the general public, regardless of its m a n y material and teaching problems. W e m a y recall R a m a ' s (1984) claim that 'in Latin America, schooling has contributed more to critical rationality than to instrumental rational- ity'. While a certain critical heritage tends to condemn the place occupied by the state in pu- blic education and, in so doing, ultimately echoes those attitudes militating in favour of privatization, other critical voices demand that the state fulfil its constitutional obligation of providing basic, free quality education to the population as a whole. Educational ethnography has endeavoured to contribute to that struggle. Notes 1. In Latin America, although there has been close contact between anthropologists and those responsible for indige- nous education since the beginning of the century, little ethnographic research was done on the schools themselves before the 1970s (see, for example, M . Saenz, Carapan (Mexico City), September 1966). In the 1970s a number of ethnographic research projects on education were started at the Centro de Investigación Superior of the Instituto N a - cional de Antropología e Historia and at the Departamento de Investigaciones Educatives (DIE) of the Centro de In- vestigación y de Estudios Avanzados at the Instituto Poli- técnico Nacional in Mexico City. Soon afterwards projects were carried out in other institutions which already had a good deal of experience in investigating the quality of edu- cation. These include: the Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigación Educativa, Santiago, Chile; the Centro de Investigación of the Universidad Pedagógica, Bogotá, C o - lombia; the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias So- ciales, Buenos Aires, Argentina; the Fundación Carlos Chagas, Sâo Paulo, Brazil; the Centro Boliviano de In- vestigacio y Acción Educativa, L a Paz, Bolivia. 2. For example, the series on education and the community published by the Teachers' College Press, under the co- ordination of G . Spindler. 3. In the 1980s, the International Development Research Centre (CRDI) , in Canada, took the initiative of funding ethnographic research projects and supported the setting up of the Latin American Network of Qualititative R e - search on Educational Reality, which was co-ordinated byEthnography and critical knowledge of education in Latin A m e r i c a 165 Rodrigo Vara, whose courses and publications (Dialogan- do) were successful in disseminating ethnographic work. T h e O A S , the World Bank and the U N E S C O Regional Office of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean, along with scientific councils in several countries ( C O - N A C Y T , C O N I C E T ) , have also supported a number of projects. A useful contribution has been made by the c o m - parative studies between countries of the Region, directed by B . Avalos (Avalos, 1986; López et al., 1983; de Crespo et al., 1982; Tezanos aided by Nogales (1986), and sup- ported by the C R D I ; as well as studies by Ezpeleta (1989); Subirats and Nogales (1989) and Tovar (1989) published by O R E A L C , which proved to be very useful. It would be most important to strengthen this comparative approach. 4. There are currently groups engaging in ethnographic stu- dies in other institutions, notably the following: in Mexico, the Universidad Pedagógica, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, the Escuela Nacional de Antropolo- gía e Historia, and several universities and teachers' train- ing colleges; in Brazil, the Universities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Fluminense, Porto Alegre and Minas Gérais, and the Pontifical Universities of Rio and Säo Paulo; and in Argentina, the Rosario Centre of Social Sciences Research and the Universities of Córdoba and Buenos Aires. There are most probably many other groups on which w e have no information. 5. Shortage of space and limited knowledge have made m e confine m y attention in this review to studies of the system of basic, above all primary, education, though important research is being done at other levels. Researchers I have not mentioned include E . Remedi and E . Weiss and their colleagues and students at the Departamento de Investiga- ciones Educativas (DIE), w h o are working on higher and technical education, M . Bertely and A . Barcena, w h o have studied pre-school education, and colleagues in the Semi- nario de Investigación del Salon de Clase of the CISE , U N - A M in Mexico. In other countries too, ethnographic re- search on the higher levels of education is under way. There is also a growing number of foreign researchers w h o have recently produced work based on lengthy residence in Latin America, among them N . Hornberger, C . Martin and B . Levinson. 6. In so brief a presentation of the field, it is impossible to in- clude all the references. Almost all the authors mentioned have engaged in additional studies and have directed a large number of postgraduate theses. S o m e of the c o m - ments relate to unpublished or ongoing research which would warrant being more widely publicized. 7. A major work on the subject is Heller, 1989. 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Situation, challenges and prospects JT h e idea of the university Changing roles, current crisis and future challenges Torsten Husén centres have specialized in comparative studies in higher education. A communication network for the exchange of experiences and research has been established by organizations such as the International Council for Educational Deve- lopment ( ICED). T h e Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, followed by the Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education, dealt pri- marily with problems of higher education in the United States, but commissioned several compa- rative studies, such as the one by Ben-David (1977). T h e Commission dealt with problems of undergraduate education in a long series of re- ports. Given this proliferation of material, it would be utterly presumptuous to try to present within the framework of an article like this a more detailed picture of the state of the art in this field. T h e goal set for the present article has been to present some of the major issues and trends. In order to put the present situation in perspective it has been necessary to begin with a short historical background. In preparing this work I have drawn from m y paper on global edu- cation written in 1985/86 for the United Nations University. Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 1991 Before the 1950s, higher education was hardly a field of scholarly studies, which is paradoxical given the fact that institutions of higher learning were the places where most of the research ac- tivities were taking place. There was 'institu- tional research' at some American universities, in most cases focused on pedagogical and/or in- structional problems, but not on studying un- iversities as institutions and the social settings within which they were operating. However, since the late 1960s, higher education has be- come a rapidly growing field of research, to a large extent, comparative in orientation. A sur- vey and bibliography by Altbach and Kelly (1985) contains 6,901 entries, most of them from the 1970s and early 1980s. Several research Torsten Husén (Sweden). Professor Emeritus of International Education at the University of Stock- holm and President of the International Academy of Education. Former Director of the Institute of Edu- cational Research (1911-82), Chairman of the Governing Board of the International Institute for Educational Planning (1970-80) and Chairman of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (1962-78). He is the author of some fifty books and hundreds of articles.Husén T h e concept of the university - a brief historical review T h e university as an institution has to be con- ceived in its historical, cultural and economic setting. F r o m the present vantage-point, in our high-technology, information-based society, it differs enormously from the university esta- blished in medieval Europe. It does not, as an or- ganization and with regard to its functions, have m u c h in c o m m o n even with the G e r m a n , French or British universities of the mid-nine- teenth century. But there are, as w e shall see, certain features which are concerned with aca- demic ethos and freedom and which have sur- vived the changing conditions. In order to obtain a proper perspective of the current situation and the issues that univer- sities in both developed and developing coun- tries must face, it is useful to indicate briefly the main stages in their development process, cover- ing some 800 long years. T h e medieval university - a community of masters and students - was a typical example of the guild system. Students wanting access to ad- vanced learning flocked as apprentices to m e n known for their scholarship. T h e term 'chair', designating a teaching chair, has been used for centuries to m e a n a full professorship. W i s d o m was, in the beginning, literally lectured ex cathe- dra. T h e next stage in the development of the university was inextricably connected with its role in shaping the national state, which needed professionally trained civil servants. Students from countries like Sweden and Norway on the periphery of Europe were sent to continental un- iversities, just as developing countries today send their students to Europe or the United States. Latin established itself as the lingua fran- ca. In the 1630s, Comenius (Jan A m o s K o m e n - sky) produced a widely used textbook entitled Janua linguarum reserata (The Door to the Lan- guages Opened). A n international academic cul- ture with Latin as the m e d i u m of communica- tion dominated scholarly Europe. T h e idea of cross-national co-operation in culture, science and, not least, education, was indeed a hallmark of the seventeenth century. Francis Bacon, for example, spelt out a plan for such co-operation. In his book Seminarium Un- iversum, published in 1701, G e r m a n educator August Wilhelm Francke advanced the idea of internationalizing teachers' education. T h e activities of the very respected educa- tionist Comenius should be viewed in such a context. Comenius was convinced that a prere- quisite for international co-operation, as well as for educational reform, was a fundamental change in language instruction, that is, in teach- ing Latin. His concept oî'pansophia' was closely related to this. Well into the nineteenth century, universi- ties were solely teaching and training institu- tions. Research played only an accidental role. But the founding by Wilhelm von Humboldt of a research university in Berlin in the early nine- teenth century set an example that was emulated all over the world. Research in most European countries had until the end of the eighteenth century been conducted under the auspices of the academies, such as the Royal Society in Great Britain. T h e G e r m a n research university model was emulated in the United States, partic- ularly by the private universities such as Johns Hopkins (which provided only graduate teach- ing and research), Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago. Before the turn of the present century, a good m a n y American students went to Germany for graduate studies that were not available in the United States. College was the American counterpart of the European upper secondary school. T h e American secondary school the high school - had developed as an extension of the elementary school, which was further e m - phasized by the fact that it was run by the local community, whereas the European grammar school - lycée or Gymnasium - usually was go- verned by the state. High school, m u c h earlier than the European junior secondary school, be- came a mass institution. Until the mid-twentieth century, the un- iversity in Europe was an élite institution, typ-T h e idea of the changing roles, current cris ically enrolling 2 to 4 per cent of the relevant age-group. A qualified technical work-force, re- quired by emerging industry and c o m m e r c e , w a s trained by tertiary institutions outside the u n - iversity system, for example by institutes of tech- nology for the training of engineers. S u c h a bin- ary system w a s m o r e prevalent in Great Britain than in G e r m a n y , where institutes of technology could m o r e easily gain university status. In the United States the Morrill Act of 1862, and the founding of the so-called land grant colleges, opened the doors of universities to 'practical' studies relevant to agriculture and industry. T h e transition after the Second Wor ld W a r from an industrial to a service and welfare socie- ty, which gave rise to a rapidly growing public sector, has led to a corresponding d e m a n d for highly trained m a n p o w e r in different occupa- tions - social workers, office workers and teach- ers. During the period from 1950 to 1975 u n - iversity enrolment 'exploded' in several European countries, the United States and in s o m e developing countries. T h e university changed from an élite to a mass institution. In his taxonomy of university development T r o w (1973) distinguished between three stage: élite, mass and universal. H e the dividing line bet- w e e n the élite and mass system at 15 per cent en- rolment of the relevant age-group. T h e enrolment increase w a s accompanied by the diversification and specialization of train- ing p r o g r a m m e s and research activities and the appearance of the 'multiversity' - a term coined by Kerr (1963) in a book o n the development of the large state universities in the United States. 'Practice' entered a scene that had previously been dominated by 'theory', wh ich had enjoyed m u c h higher prestige {Oxford Review of Educa- tion, 1985). Discussion began on what should be the real objectives of the university in a society where, for example, 20-25 per cent of an age- group went on to tertiary studies. The matter was seriously considered by the Robbins C o m - mission in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and by the U 6 8 Commission in Sweden (Husén, 1977). During the last few decades a new role for the university has been considered - to provide : university: 173 is and future challenges 'recurrent' education (Tuijnman, 1989) within a strategy of a 'triple alliance' between the world of e m p l o y m e n t , the government (both local and central) and the education service (Ball, 1985). T h e National Advisory B o d y and the University Grants Commi t t ee in the United K i n g d o m a few years ago issued a joint statement about objec- tives. After taking notice of the fact that specific knowledge quickly becomes outdated, and that the context in which it is applied changes rapid- ly, it is underlined that 'initial higher education, particularly at diploma and first degree level, should . . . emphasize underlying intellectual, scientific and technological principles rather than provide too narrow specialist knowledge ' . T h e abilities required in m o d e r n industry and business include (Ball, 1985, p . 232): the ability to analyse complex issues, to identify the core problem and the m e a n s of solving it, to synthesize and integrate disparate elements, to clarify values, to m a k e effective use of numerical and other information, to work co-operatively and constructively with others, and above all perhaps, to communicate clearly both orally and in writing. At s o m e Amer ican universities centres for conti- nuing education had already b e n n founded in the 1950s, where professionals were given the opportunity, for a few days or a couple of weeks , to upgrade their competences with the assis- tance of faculty m e m b e r s . B y and large, the universities in advanced industrial countries have increased the propor- tion of part-time students w h o take carefully chosen courses in order qualify for m o r e de- m a n d i n g tasks in their vocational life and to be promoted. This sketchy review has followed the deve- lopment of the university in Europe . Third Wor ld countries, s o m e of t h e m referred to as 'developing', have followed different northern models , wh ich in s o m e instances have been i m - bued with indigenous traditions, for example in Japan. After the Second Wor ld W a r , w h e n a great m a n y countries changed their status from colonies to au tonomous nations, an eno rmous need for graduates to run the administration and the professions in the independent countries174 Torsten Husén emerged. Y o u n g , promising people w h o came out of the indigenous secondary schools were sent to Europe or the United States for, in the first place, basic tertiary education. They were thereby educated in the prevailing intellectual and cultural traditions of the host countries. T h e universities founded in Africa, Asia and Latin America were often established ac- cording to European models. Graduates from these continents were sent to Europe and the United States for advanced degrees in order to provide indigenous faculty to replace expa- triates. Those w h o studied abroad and were as- signed teaching positions after the completion of their studies quite naturally emulated the practices established at the institutions where they conducted their studies. Curricula at universities in the Third World countries have usually been patterned on European models. T h e 'eurocentric' system of university education has been hampering un- iversities in these countries in releasing endoge- nous creativity and seeking their o w n cultural roots. There is, however, a tension between the orientation toward indigenous values and pro- blems, on the one hand, and addressing global problems, on the other, a tension that can only be alleviated or resolved by communication across cultural boundaries. Irrespective of whether a university is in a high-technology, information-based society or in a developing society still dominated by a sub- sistence economy, w e can identify certain perva- sive, and even universal features of higher edu- cation, which make higher education, in fact, 'higher'. C a n w e identify a c o m m o n core that constitutes 'the idea of the university'? T h e main part of the present article is devoted to this exercise. T h e university as a social system T h e university as an institution has always been rigid and conservative, but its ethos of inquiry and pursuit of truth has been radical in the liter- al sense of the word - that is, going to the roots. This appears as a paradox. H o w can an institu- tion be conservative per se but radical in its mis- sion to the extent of coming into conflict with power centres such as the state or the Church? T h e explanation lies in the scope of freedom that in spite of everything has been given to the university. Intellectuals, whether they be single authors or linked to some other institution, can- not enjoy the institutional protection that the university can give its inmates. Typically, in im- portant matters the European university for a long time operated under its o w n jurisdiction. Attempts from the outside to introduce deep-seated institutional changes have been met with fierce resistance, which has been seen as a conservatism rooted in self-interest. But in this case, self-interest happens to coincide with in- terests to protect the freedom to search for knowledge. T h e university was once established as a community of scholars and students, as a loose, but intimate, association with no hierarchical or bureaucratic superstructure. F r o m the outset, the communicative link between the professor and the students w h o flocked around his 'chair' was an outstanding feature of the institution. T h e university could operate within a relatively wide ideological and financial margin set by the state and/or the Church. Professors at leading universities have to- day been characterized as 'prima donnas', and the model of traditional university governance as 'professional feudalism' or, more recently as 'organized chaos' or 'garbage'. Universities diff- er fundamentally from other organizations in so- ciety. They are not, as are large commercial en- terprises, guided by instrumental and economic rationality towards c o m m o n , well-defined goals. Maximization of expected values is fundamental to rational action. But an academic organization, such as a university, has no c o m m o n goals. T h e goal structure, to say the least, is extremely dif- fuse. But the single units, the institutes, depart- ments and 'chairs' represented by individual 'prima donna' scholars, which together consti-T h e idea of changing roles, current ( tute a university, possess an ample a m o u n t of what the university as a collectivity lacks, n a m e - ly clear goals. T h u s , the university can be con- ceived as a 'container' for a n u m b e r of rather in- dependent units (institutes, departments, and, not least, individuals). E a c h unit pursues goals of its o w n . T h e structure is atomistic. Decisions taken at the university level have to be settled by the governing board. T h e rationality has its fo- cus at the basic operational level where indivi- dual academics strive for recognition by finding out better solutions to problems than their col- leagues. Goals of university education Against the background given above, what could be conceived as the proper goals of the universi- ty education? T h e purpose is not to espouse any particular educational philosophy but rather to try to synthesize certain aspects of the debate that has been going o n over the last century and to pinpoint p r o g r a m m e s aiming to achieve learning of a m o r e integrative and liberal arts na- ture. W e are here primarily interested in u n - iversity p r o g r a m m e s that try to equip students with what is referred to as liberal or general edu- cation. W h a t traditional subjects should be in- cluded in a core curriculum? Should these tradi- tional subjects be rearranged so as to achieve the cross-disciplinary m i x that would prepare the students to tackle practical problems with which they will be confronted in real life? Is disciplin- ary structured knowledge m o r e useful in the long run than an ad hoc reorganization that helps tackle actual problems but not unforeseen ones? T h u s , the very exposure to problems and information relevant to their solution is a peda- gogical issue of the highest importance. T h e pedagogical approach conducive to liberal arts education has to be considered. Tha t the 'cognitive m a p ' , in terms of specific pieces of information, tends to change rapidly so as to m a k e today's 'approved' knowledge obsolete by : university: 175 ;is and future challenges tomorrow is an important fact. This has led to greater emphasis on general cognitive skills, such as problem-solving, rather than on mastery of specific facts. It has also led to greater empha- sis on skills to find and sift n e w knowledge in an era of information explosion to promote the abil- ity to keep up with the changes taking place on the cognitive m a p . In order to obtain a perspective on the Western university of today, w e could start with the Humboldtian university in Berlin, esta- blished with emphasis on research and graduate training which first spread to other parts of Ger- m a n y and then was emulated in other countries. W h e n John Henry N e w m a n held his famous lecture in 1852 on ' T h e Idea of a University', making a plea for 'knowledge being its o w n end' and refuting the Baconian concept of utilitarian- ism, the idea of research and teaching being conducted in close connection began to mate- rialize at G e r m a n universities, with institutes and seminars being established around universi- ty chairs. T h e idea of a university, with research and training of researchers as a main mission, mate- rialized in the United States at Johns Hopkins, which was founded in 1876 and began as a pure graduate school with emphasis entirely on re- search and training of researchers. Shortly be- fore that, the Land Grant Act (the Morrill Act) had been passed in Congress, which was a break- through for a n e w utilitarian conception of the university, followed some decades later by the extension services that revolutionized agricul- ture in the United States. In the 1930s, the young President of the University of Chicago, Robert M . Hutchins, launched a 'counter-refor- mation' which he said should 'take the universi- ty back to Cardinal N e w m a n , to T h o m a s Aqui- nas, and to Plato and Aristotle'. H e succeeded, according to Kerr (1963, p. 17), in reviving the philosophical dialogue, but 'Chicago went on being a modern American university'. T h e undergraduate programme introduced by Hutchins was one designed by 'secular abso- lutists'. Students should be acquainted with ab- solute and timeless truths. Worthwhile know- ledge was to a large extent embodied in a set of176 Torsten Great Books, which could be listed and identi- fied as what every educated person should know. Thanks to the devoted work by the faculty and a good selection of students, the Chicago under- graduate programme was successful for quite some time in training young people to become 'generalists', to give them a well-rounded liberal education. Schematically w e can distinguish four m o - dels on the European and North American scenes, models that have been more or less e m - ulated in the rest of the world (Ben-David, 1977): T h e Humboldtian research university, where re- search and teaching were expected to in- teract from the very beginning of university studies. Studies were to gain experience from the frontiers of knowledge and h o w these frontiers were extended in order to be prepared as pioneers in their respective pro- fessional fields. T h e British residential model - the 'Oxbridge' model - is built on close informal contacts between students and professors. Such con- tacts are considered as important for the de- velopment of young people as is the atten- dance of formal lectures and seminars, and have at Oxbridge been formalized by tuto- rials. T h e French grandes écoles model, epitomized a state-directed meritocratic society, where professionals with a particular education are regarded as an exquisite élite. These in- stitutions (where no research is conducted) are intellectually and socially highly selec- tive. T h e Chicago model, developed by Hutchins, was a programme with a strong liberal arts orientation. T h e ideal was to m a k e students familiar with the thinking of leading perso- nalities in the humanities, sciences and so- cial sciences, and to promote their ability to pursue further studies on their o w n and to train them to be independent and critical in their study and thinking. Traditions of the Western university For centuries, the university, as it emerged in medieval Europe, changed little and slowly. It embodied, as mentioned above, the paradox of being conservative as an institution, but with re- gard to its intellectual orientation it has tended to be a hotbed of n e w ideas and innovations, and very often of political radicalism. It was original- ly created to educate an élite for the Church and the state. It has always tried to establish both a certain distance and autonomy between the two. Briefly, the Western university has been charac- terized by the following: It has m a d e a more or less sharp distinction bet- ween theory and practice. It has put a premium on autonomy and aloofness to the extent of complete irrelevance. It has been both socially and intellectually an el- itist institution. It has tried to be an 'ivory tower', as an institu- tion whose main purpose is to 'seek the truth'. These four characteristics have also loomed large in universities in other regions of the world, where the European model or models have been emulated. In 1984, on the occasion of the fiftieth anni- versary of the N e w School for Social Research in N e w York City, a special issue of its journal So- cial Research reprinted an article by the out- standing political scientist Hans Morgenthau entitled 'Thought and Action'. T h e article is typical of h o w a European academic, a G e r m a n professor no less, sees the university. Morgen- thau begins his article with the following dictum (Morgenthau, 1984, p. 143): Theoretical thinking and action as typical modes of h u m a n behaviour are irremediably separated by way of their logical structure. Since politics are in their essence actions, there exists with the same necessity an unbridgeable chasm, an eternal ten- sion between politics and a theoretical science of politics.T h e idea of changing roles, current c Theory tries to understand the empirical world by observing it but without changing it. Practice tries to interfere in the empirical world with the prime purpose of changing it. T h e vita contemplativa (theoretical analysis) is the very negation of the vita activa (political action). Morgenthau refers to the Nichomachean Ethics, where Aristotle makes a distinction between the- oria which is the highest form of h u m a n activity and is incompatible with praxis, which belongs to the realm of politics. T h e same views have in a m o r e elaborate way been spelt out by Lobkowicz (1983), Rector of the University of M u n i c h , in an anthology of papers entitled The Western University on Trial. At the core of 'the idea of the university', L o b - kowicz sees the pursuit of truth. T h e crisis of the Western university is due to its failure to ask it- self the basic question: ' W h a t is the university good for?' T h e very expression 'the idea of the university' goes back to Cardinal N e w m a n , and his 1852 lectures as founding rector of Dublin University. T h e raison d'être of universities is usually defended by pragmatic arguments, for example the competitive power of a nation on the world market. But most of the disciplines taught at the university have little, if any, direct bearing on the economic efficiency of a country and its standing in international trade and military competition. Its faculty and researchers feel an overriding obligation to contribute to the ex- tending of the frontiers of knowledge which they see as its fundamental and distinctive mis- sion. A university is a comprehensive institution with a wide range of disciplines and specialties. T h e very multiplicity of subjects enables the u n - iversity to combine professional training with cultural enlightenment. T h e fact that h u m a n - ities, social sciences and natural sciences are stu- died in the same institution gives it the resources to educate well-rounded professionals and not just narrow technocrats. It is particularly impor- tant to bridge the gap between humanists and scientists, the ' two cultures' that C . P . S n o w spoke about. According to Lobkowicz, (1983, p . 34): university: 177 s and future challenges ' T h e university, as originally conceived, is the only h u m a n association in which m e n can c o m e together solely for the purpose of knowing . . . [it] represents institutionalized theory.' T h e search for truth is what ultimately justifies the existence of the university. In this view the u n - iversity serves society best by being itself 'a place for tranquil, disciplined and objective thinking', which is the best w a y of preparing for any profes- sion. Mos t advocates of the ivory-tower model of a university pay at least lip service to the idea that the university should serve society by pursu- ing things relevant to that society. But these functions, they say, can also and m o r e effectively be fulfilled by other pragmatically oriented in- stitutions. Universities are easily distracted from their tasks, which require a high level of origi- nality and detachment from practical concerns. T h e traditional European philosophy about the proper role of the university has had its strongholds at the great research institutions and on the whole at élite universities. But not even at those institutions, depending upon h o w they perceive their mission, has this philosophy re- mained unchallenged. O n e example is the M a s - sachusetts Institute of Technology, which for a long time has played an important role in contri- buting to policy-making in both technology and economics in the United States. T h e stance ta- ken by Morgenthau, for example, has increas- ingly been repudiated by academics determined to break away from the idealistic philosophy of a line of demarcation between theoria and praxis. A similar development can be seen in Third World countries where the role of u n - iversities in promoting social and economic de- velopment has b e c o m e a major task (see, for ex- ample, T h o m p s o n et al., 1977). In this study, the focus was on 'promising experiments' going on in L D C s with the purpose of having higher edu- cation play a pivotal role in social change.178 Torsten Husén Crisis and reappraisal of higher education Western universities went through a period of soul-searching self-examination after the period of trials and tribulations that reached a peak with the 'events' of 1968. Those w h o defended the traditional idea of the university felt that it was under fire from those w h o wanted to politicize, moralize and reform an institution whose 'prim- ary allegiance is to cognitive rationality' (Chap- m a n , 1983, p. 1). T h e re-examination was also partly epis- temological. M u c h of the quest for a hermeneut- ic (understanding) approach was a revulsion against analytic and utilitarian causal rational- ism and a call for spiritual unity and moral sig- nificance. Here, there was of course an inherent ambiguity between the two approaches, which required a delicate balance between them. It was felt that the Western universities primarily c o m - mitted to intellectual objectivity and using the criterion of competitive excellence in their in- ternal promotion did not quite adequately meet the needs of Third World countries. Agencies concerned with h u m a n and social development took a m u c h more pragmatic view of the role of the university in Third World countries. U N E S C O noted that science, being a product of history and society, 'owes as m u c h to the social environment as to the work of scien- tists'. Science interacting with the surrounding society implies that the developing societies should try to work out their o w n scientific and technological development strategy. Although the application of science on a long-term basis calls for analyses of global problems, it has to re- cognize the importance of local cultures and the needs of the people w h o share that culture. In its M e d i u m - T e r m Plan for 1977-82 the Organiza- tion points out that the n e w concept of develop- ment puts m a n in the centre of development. A major objective should be the 'promotion of the formulation of a global, multidisciplinary inter- pretation of development, having regard to the interrelations between the various factors contri- buting to this, and which are, in return, affected by it'. In a presentation to an African audience the Director-General of U N E S C O pointed out that in the developing countries the university has a key role where students and teachers from a wide variety of background can work together, 'combining training and research, study and production, tradition and progress, attachment to one's identity and responsiveness to the world, in the work of pursuing the objectives of the community' (Sanyal, 1982, p. 8). In 1986, within the framework of the U N E S C O Medi- u m - T e r m Plan, the Division of Higher Educa- tion adopted certain principles of action, among them giving priority in higher education to en- dogenous national development, avoiding eli- tism and giving national policies precedence ov- er individual options, and promoting institution co-operation, as a means of bridging the gap bet- ween countries at different stages of develop- ment. T h e ivory-tower philosophy has, as w e have seen, been challenged over the last couple of de- cades. T h e 'ecology' of higher education has changed rapidly since the early 1950s. Universi- ty enrolment has multiplied manifold. It thereby changed from an élite to a mass institution (Trow, 1973). Research began to be supported by governments on a massive scale. People be- gan to talk about 'mega-science'. T h e increased financial support from public sources gave rise to demands for accountability and influence on the part of public interest groups on university governance. Whether the academics wanted it or not they became closely involved with go- vernment and industry, not least by undertaking large-scale commissioned projects. T h e body of research grew and was greatly enriched as new areas of study were introduced. Verwissenschaft- ligung ('scientification') created hopes that re- search would add a n e w dimension of rationality to decision-making in public affairs. Hopes were high for what science could achieve in improv- ing the h u m a n condition (see, for example, Lundberg, 1947). T h e tendency to 'vocational- ize' university education at a time w h e n demand for highly trained manpower was greater than the supply was met by opposition on the part ofThe idea of the university: 179 changing roles, current crisis and future challenges students w h o wanted 'genuine education', and also reacted against the neglect they felt they were being subjected to in an era of rapidly in- creasing resources for research, w h e n professors cared more about their research projects than about their teaching. T h e uproar at the University of Paris in 1968 illustrated what can happen w h e n student disenchantment reaches an explosive level. T h e then Minister of Education Edgar Faure, archi- tect of the loi d'orientation (guideline legislation) of 1968, outlined in a book his diagnosis of the French situation and the objectives of the n e w law (Faure, 1969). T h e book includes a presenta- tion given by h im at the General Conference of U N E S C O in 1968. H e regarded the student upheaval as a crisis of communication, at the root of which, politically, was the double pro- blem of autonomy and participation. H e quotes a U N E S C O report on h o w young people, w h o learn, through modern news media, about diffe- rent cultures tend to form a separate internation- al youth culture in opposition to adult cultures, locked into traditional schemes. T h e protesters were concerned about the war in Viet N a m and violently opposed to the consumer society which was seen as depriving individuals of their self- determination. Faure also pointed out the imba- lance, in terms of enrolment, between faculties and disciplines. In France, six students out of ten were enrolled in the humanities and social sciences, and only one out of four in the natural sciences. T h e planning document prepared by the Commissariat du Plan pointed out that at least twice as m a n y science graduates were need- ed. T h e n e w university, guided by the princi- ples of autonomy and participation, needed a n e w pedagogy based on a dialogue and not just a transfer of knowledge which, once it has accum- ulated a certain stock, was assessed by 'punctual examinations'. Furthermore, universities should realize that teamwork was called for, be- cause in the real world this was a basic m o d e of work, not least in the field of management . T h e n e w category of students w h o , to a large extent, c o m e from homes without a tradition of ad- vanced education, would gain most from such changes in teaching strategies. M o r e emphasis had to be put on learning h o w to learn in un- iversity courses, as well as on teaching h o w to teach. Foreign study, cultural authenticity and internationalization T h e number of students attending universities outside their h o m e countries has increased more than tenfold worldwide over the last thirty years. T h e motive for studying abroad is, in the first place, to obtain good professional training that either cannot be had in the h o m e country or, if available, is considered inferior to that of the fo- reign country. Graduate studies at leading in- stitutions in other countries is, at the very least, a means of transferring competence and know- ledge essential for economic and social develop- ment in the h o m e country. Study abroad has been an appropriate educational remedy for the h u m a n capital needs of developing countries. Even though foreign study has gone through a period of spectacular expansion over the last few decades, it has a long history. Lead- ing universities established themselves on the European continent m u c h earlier than in coun- tries on the periphery, where they were unable to reach the level of quality of the continental ones. Students from peripheral countries flocked to the universities of Germany and France. La - tin served as the lingua franca and had the same instrumental value for international c o m m u n i - cation in the academic world as English and French have today. In addition to the pragmatic goal of obtain- ing useful profession training, a period of study abroad contributes to a broader cross-cultural perspective for the student. A deepened know- ledge of the h u m a n condition in other cultures contributes to promoting international discourse and understanding. Until the early 1970s, international and oth- er agencies dealing with development believedi8o Torsten Husén that higher education was the key to economic take-off in countries newly liberated from colo- nial rule. A few highly trained individuals would have a multiplier effect and were expected to bring about a take-off in the education system as well. Foreign study would be the fastest route for replacing expatriate manpower and making pro- visions for rapid economic development. In the 1970s there was a shift in priorities, noticeable for example in the World Bank's edu- cational policy for the Third World, which changed from giving priority to post-secondary education to meeting the basic educational needs of the poor. At the same time, doubts were being raised about the value of the advanced higher education provided at leading universi- ties in the North. T h e categories of thinking im- parted at foreign universities were those of 'nor- mal science' in these countries. T h e relevance of the subject matter presented and the frame of reference for it was called into question. Stu- dents from the developing world coming to 'cen- tral' countries for graduate studies were incor- porated into the scientific-technological, market-dominated infrastructure of these coun- tries. Underlying all this were the epistemolog- ical and philosophical foundations of the West- ern countries with a research orientation and attitudes towards teaching and curricula which reflected highly developed and affluent econo- mies. T h e emulation of the professional models of countries at the 'centre' did not always contri- bute to liberating indigenous creativity and self- reliance. Given this background, the very idea of stu- dying in central countries has been challenged. Weiler (1984, p. 177), for example, sees the de- pendence on academic training provided by cen- tral countries as 'the more significant obstacle to cultural authenticity'. W e are faced here with a serious dilemma that looms large. H o w can bright students from developing countries be gi- ven an opportunity to develop their potential without being sent to the best central universi- ties? H o w can cultural authenticity and the cul- tivation of local and/or national traditions and paradigms of inquiry be preserved in higher education in a world of increasing interdepen- dence? T h e modes of inquiry and the entire in- tellectual orientation of universities have tradi- tionally, since the seventeenth century, been universal in character. Scholars have been searching for universal truths and universally va- lid principles. Latin was, as pointed out above, in spite of linguistic, cultural and other diffe- rences, the language of scholarly communica- tion. Students from the backward and underde- veloped countries in the North went to Paris, Prague and Leyden for their studies, which were conducted in Latin. O n e could easily find paral- lels in earlier centuries to countries at the 'centre' and 'periphery' respectively. T h e idea of the university as it is still es- poused in Europe and North America has d o m - inated Western science. In his Introduction to The Western University on Trial, Professor J. W . C h a p m a n , a political scientist, points out in con- sidering the predicament of Western universities by 1980: ' N o other civilization - not the Chi- nese, Indian or Islamic - invented an institution specialized for intellectual education; this is un- ique to the West' (Chapman, 1983, p . 1). But he is keenly aware of the tension between indivi- dualistic rationality and the desire for spirited unity and moral significance. This internal a m - biguity calls for a delicate balance between truth-seeking and relevance. Comenius was convinced that the main prerequisite for educational reforms of interna- tional proportion was a c o m m o n language of in- struction in higher education. T o this effect, in 1631 he published his Janua linguarum reserata. It was a phenomenal success and was translated into twelve European languages as well as Arab- ic, Persian and Mongolian. Alfred North White- head once referred to the seventeenth century as the 'century of genius' with outstanding scien- tists, such as Bacon, Galileo, Kepler and Locke. H e could just as well have referred to it as the century of genius in the realm of international relations, where scientists and philosophers were able to communicate with each other through the bona officia of the n e w academies, such as the British Royal Society and the Acadé- mie Royale des Sciences in France. IntellectualT h e idea of the changing roles, current cris communications were established between scholars in Europe and the Far East. Along with internationalism went growing pluralism and re- ligious tolerance in countries like the Nether- lands, spurred by the expulsion of religious dis- senters from other countries. Internationalism in the seventeenth centu- ry was marked by m o r e than a dozen proposals for a universal language. There was almost the same n u m b e r of cultural utopias and schemes for educational co-operation, such as Bengt Skytte's 'Sophopolis' (Brickman, 1983/84). In- spired by C o m e n i u s he spelt out the idea of es- tablishing centres or cities of learned and wise m e n drawn from m a n y countries. Such centres were conceived as islands in a world of intol- erance, censorship and persecution. At least two universities, Padua and Leyden, had multina- tional faculties and student bodies. T h e idea of cross-national co-operation in culture, science and, not least, education was indeed a hallmark of the seventeenth century. Francis Bacon deve- loped a plan for such co-operation. Revising the undergraduate curriculum Before the A g e of Enlightenment both the school and the university curriculum were based on faith - reverence for the past and firm trust in authority. Already before the impact of the E n - lightenment a change was elicited by the Carte- sian m o d e of thought. It proceeded with Sir Isaac N e w t o n and was completed by the Ency- clopedists, a development that led to nine- teenth-century positivism. E v e n though there was a decline in the dominance of the Scrip- tures, the classical heritage, with Latin and Greek playing key roles, prevailed for a long time. Classical studies were considered to be the core of culture genérale. A curriculum is often perceived in terms of subjects that should be studied for so m a n y years and for so m a n y periods a week , as well as in university: 181 s and future challenges terms of the sequence of topics within each sub- ject. T h e choice of subject areas and their rela- tive importance, as reflected in h o w m u c h teaching should be devoted to them, is usually controversial because it is concerned with the relative importance and power of the various academic organizations. T h u s , territorial con- flicts easily flare up . T h e problem of composing a well-rounded curriculum becomes particularly difficult and vexing because the academic re- ward system promotes narrow specialization and therefore works against the cross-disciplinary approaches necessary for a concerted effort in tackling real-life problems. There are always dif- ficulties in trying to achieve a consensus on what subjects should constitute the core curriculum in studies organized to achieve the aims of a 'lib- eral' or 'general' education. If an institution of higher learning wishes to turn out graduates with a well-rounded educa- tion with the dual aim of preparing them both as professionals and as educated persons, a difficult selection has to be m a d e from the considerable choice of courses offered. Each of the various departments are offering m a n y courses from which the selection has to be m a d e . T h e great variety of such courses, each with a rather dilut- ed body of information, easily leads to what could be called multidisciplinary illiteracy. Su- perficial knowledge replaces study in depth, and the great m a n y short courses easily prevent the development of analytical skills and of critical, independent study which ought to be the by- products of in-depth study. O n two occasions, in 1943 and 1978, Har - vard University appointed committees, with the mission of inquiring into the problem of devis- ing a curriculum of well-rounded general educa- tion for undergraduate students. T h e R e d B o o k , as the 1946 Harvard report, General Education in a Free Society, is k n o w n , went to s o m e length to put the issues of undergraduate curricula into the framework of m o d e r n , democratic society. Given its premises, democracy evidently carries the ge rm of 'discord and even fundamental di- vergence of standards'. O n the other hand, de- mocracy cannot function unless there are s o m e 'binding ties of c o m m o n standards'. This dilem-l82 Torsten Husén m a has to be resolved by the educational in- stitution, which must help establish a c o m m o n frame of reference of standards and beliefs with- out which democracy cannot survive. Thus an undergraduate curriculum would have to achieve two overriding objectives - her- itage and change, and communality in outlook and diversity. In their discussion of the princi- ples upon which a core curriculum 'for survival' should be based, Boyer and Kaplan (1978) point out that every core curriculum in the past has been guided by a vision of communality. T o be sure, all the students should be equipped with some basic, discipline-structured competence. But they should also learn to be self-conscious in relation to tradition. This goes beyond ' know- ing', it means knowing how and why w e know. T h e core curriculum they propose is 'built on the proposition that students should be encour- aged to investigate h o w w e are one as well as m a - ny (e pluribus unum)' (Boyer and Kaplan, 1978, p. 58). Boyer and Kaplan consider the following three domains as the commonality, the 'core' of a c o m m o n undergraduate 'survival' curriculum. First, history that makes students aware and knowledgeable about the c o m m o n heritage, a history taught without bias and with a m i n i m u m of national ideology. Second, exposure to the broad range of issues raised by our c o m m o n ex- istence. This means 'comprehensive literacy' in terms of mother-tongue and various 'languages', including computer language and mathematics. It also means studies of institutions in present society and their impact on us as individuals and on our roles as producers and consumers. Final- ly, preparation for the future on the basis of knowledge about the present situation. Deple- tion of natural resources, proliferation of nuclear weapons, overcrowding and mass starvation, and unbalanced economic distribution are some of the main problems faced by a world of increas- ing interdependence. In 1978 the second Harvard Committee produced a Report on Core Curriculum. Out of 100 courses, the committee proposed a selection of eight, with the intent of equipping undergrad- uates with a c o m m o n core of learning but not with a body of c o m m o n teaching. T h e commit- tee proposed that every undergraduate student should take at least one course in each of the fol- lowing areas: literature and the arts, history, so- cial and philosophical analysis, and foreign lan- guages and cultures. Emphasis in the teaching and learning in these fields should be put on the ' m o d e of understanding' in the respective fields. In the discussion on the core curriculum, m a n y participants pointed out the importance of put- ting emphasis on the modes of inquiry in the major fields of intellectual discourse instead of trying to present comprehensive courses with a large amount of more or less unstructured and unanalysed information. Dilemmas in preparing an undergraduate curriculum In preparing its curricula, the university is faced with a dual task: on the one hand, it is expected to prepare its students to generate n e w k n o w - ledge. O n the other hand, it is in charge of im- parting already-existing knowledge to a n e w generation of professionals. These two tasks ea- sily c o m e into conflict with each other, since most students do not intend to go in for research and are not interested in it. Those aiming for a research career are more interested in trans- forming existing knowledge than accepting what already exists. Another dilemma has to do with special- ization as against general or comprehensive overviews. Evidently, in-depth study in a given field generates solid competence in that partic- ular field but easily leads to a narrow perspective and weakens the ability to acquire n e w know- ledge w h e n the subject matter learned becomes obsolete. O n e solution to this dilemma has been to recommend a core curriculum that provides a c o m m o n frame of reference for all students. It gives them an opportunity to test their interests and abilities and can thereby serve as a launch- ing pad for subsequent specialization. T h e dan-The idea of changing roles, current c ger of too m u c h specialization at the undergrad- uate level has been given m u c h attention. But considering the exponential growth of research, coupled with enormous specialization, there is ample reason to be concerned about too m u c h specialization at the graduate (doctoral) level as well. A well-rounded, general education is con- cerned not only with cognitive objectives but al- so with emotional and moral development. It is also concerned with the cultivation of values. W h e n , in 1943, James B . Conant, the President of Harvard University, appointed a committee on 'General Education in a Free Society' with the task of looking into the proper curriculum for the 'great majority' of young people and not only the 'comparatively small minority that at- tends the universities or colleges', he said in the Introduction to the report (Harvard Commit tee , 1945, pp. viii et seq.): T h e heart of the problem of a general education is the continuance of the liberal and h u m a n e tradi- tion. Neither the mere acquisition of information nor the development of special skills and talents can give the broad basis for understanding which is essential if our civilization is to be preserved. N o one wishes to disparage the importance of being 'well-informed'. But even a good grounding in mathematics and the physical and biological sciences, combined with an ability to read and write several foreign languages, does not provide sufficient educational background for citizens of a free nation. For such a program lacks contact with both m a n ' s emotional experience as an individual and his practical experience as a gregarious ani- mal. It includes little of what was once k n o w n as the 'wisdom of the ages', and might nowadays be described as 'our cultural pattern'. It includes no history, no art, no literature, no philosophy. U n - less the educational process includes at each level of maturity some continuing contact with those fields, it must fall short of the ideal. T h e student in high school, in college, and in graduate school must be concerned, in part at least, with the words 'right' and 'wrong' in both the ethical and the mathematical sense. Unless he feels the import of those general ideas and aspirations that have been a deep moving force in the lives of m e n , he runs the risk of partial blindness. university: 183 s and future challenges These words were spoken in 1945, before the real enrolment explosion had begun in the U n - ited States, not to mention Europe. But the m a s - sification at the undergraduate level with the ac- companying diversity a m o n g students with regard to background, intellectual ability, inter- est and expectations, has created a situation where major changes are called for. O n e of the strategies developed to cope with the n e w sit- uation has been the establishment of the c o m - prehensive university, the 'multiversity' Clark Kerr referred to in his Godkin lectures in 1963, or the Gesamthochschule that hardly took off in G e r m a n y after the unrest of the late 1960s. T h e establishment of the comprehensive university occurred for various motives. In the Swedish U 6 8 reform, the bringing of all students to large comprehensive institutions of higher learning, a högskola, was considered to be beset with the same virtues as the setting up of comprehensive secondary schools. In addition to providing a c o m m o n frame of reference one would also be able to inculcate egalitarian values. Closely related to comprehensivization as a response to 'massification' were, in m a n y coun- tries, systematic attempts to vocationalize the programmes, particularly those in the faculties of arts and sciences. Every university pro- g r a m m e should lead to a given vocational sector; this was , for example, the case in S w e d e n . In this context, attempts were m a d e to disconnect teaching from its disciplinary orientation and in- corporate cross-disciplinary approaches as learn- ing strategies. It is perhaps too early to pass m o r e defin- itive judgement on the policy of comprehensive institutions introduced in Europe in the 1970s. A s pointed out by Cerych (1980), there has been an 'appreciable loss of m o m e n t u m in certain ambitious reforms', and the late 1970s have been a period of 'reform dissolution'. H e makes par- ticular reference to the French 'orientation law' of 1968. H e refers to the time-honoured belief that one cannot change institutions that have ex- isted for m a n y centuries overnight (Husén, 1986).Husén Goal conflicts T h e modern university is expected to work to- wards m a n y different goals. It has to fulfil its tra- ditional goal of training professionals. It is ex- pected to promote equality of educational opportunity by giving access to university educa- tion to underprivileged groups. It is expected to contribute to the extension of the frontiers of knowledge by high-quality research. It is expect- ed to serve the national economy by carrying out research which will benefit national industry and trade. In some countries it is also expected to let different interested parties participate in its governance. Evidently, all these goals are far from compatible with each other. S o m e are in direct conflict, such as competence and quality with participation, or equality with quality. W e shall elaborate here on the former goal conflict. Research cannot be organized within the same managerial straitjackets that have been adopted for undergraduate programmes in rapid expansion, or in an emergency situation of en- rolment explosion. There is a fundamental con- flict between research, on the one hand, which needs plenty of elbow room for discretionary de- cisions to be taken by individual scholars or as- semblies of qualified scientists and, on the other hand, the bureaucratic and hierarchical control of work and the output. This conflict has be- c o m e aggravated by other conflicts since the 1960s. T h u s w e have witnessed the conflict bet- ween the application of intellectual criteria in academic appointments and the exercise of im- portant power by being elected to serve on deci- sion-making bodies, representing particular in- terest groups. Academic competence has been forced to yield to the power of numbers. If such a conflict pertains to matters in which academic qualifications are indispensable, the solution m a y damage the standard of work at the un- iversity, be it research or teaching. Centralized government of universities with detailed control exercised through an ad- ministrative hierarchy has grown stronger in re- cent decades in several countries. This has c o m e into conflict not only with academic freedom but also with vociferous demands for student or junior faculty participation. Perhaps the most serious conflict of roles is the one between competence and participation. O n one side, w e have the insistence on collégial autonomy exercised by scholars whose compe- tence has been thoroughly assessed in peer re- views and, on the other, w e have hierarchical decision-making machinery that takes decisions in assemblies constituted by representation of interest groups and executed through a hierar- chical administration. Present trends and future challenges A s pointed out above, well into the twentieth century the university mainly served as an in- stitution training professionals for the state or the Church - lawyers, priests and physicians. T h e faculty of philosophy had a preparatory function - to lay the foundations of general c o m - petence needed in order to be able to absorb more specialized knowledge. In the late twentieth century, higher educa- tion has assumed n e w important functions, such as in-service training of professionals. At the same time enrolment, in terms of the proportion of the relevant age-group enroling, has in- creased enormously. As late as 1950 the typical percentage entering the university in the indus- trial countries was 2 to 4 per cent. Over three de- cades it has increased to typically 15-20 per cent. T h e university was transformed from an élite to a mass institution. Before the onset of the fi- nancial crisis in the 1970s it seemed as if the third stage, universal higher education, would soon be reached. Three features stand out today. First, a university degree has become a pre- requisite for an increasing number of occupa- tions, which thereby have become professional- ized. By the fact of being trained in institutions where research is conducted, a professional sta-T h e idea of changing roles, current c tus has been conferred to, for example, social workers and certain categories of teachers. Second, a well-rounded general, liberal arts-oriented education has established itself at the undergraduate level. This has particularly been the case in the United States, where the college was established as a substitute for the European lycée or Gymnasium. In m a n y coun- tries, university studies have traditionally been very pragmatic and goal-oriented. T h e y train ci- vil servants, secondary-school teachers, medical practitioners, etc. In a rapidly changing society, where specific competencies easily b e c o m e ob- solete, both the public and the private sectors have realized the usefulness of employing well educated 'generalists' w h o are trained to employ analytical techniques in problem-solving. Third, whereas before the end of the nine- teenth century research played a subordinate role or was even non-existent at the university, it has today (with the United States taking the lead) b e c o m e professional. Research institutes have a staff of full-time researchers w h o have considerably reduced or even eliminated teach- ing loads. This applies particularly to the best universities. C a n w e expect these trends to pre- vail in the future? There are m a n y indications that they will. W e will point out s o m e of them below. Professionalization in terms of research- based vocational education will increase in a high technology and information-based society. This will result in an increased enrolment in ter- tiary institutions both of young people of 'nor- m a l ' university age and adults w h o have already spent a considerable n u m b e r of years working. Recurrent or lifelong education will b e c o m e a pervasive element in the life of the majority, par- ticularly a m o n g those w h o already have received further formal education. T h e collaboration bet- w e e n the university and business and industry will gradually increase in terms of enterprises buying complete packages of courses for their employees. T h e need for 'generalists' with well-round- ed education in leading positions, persons with good analytical training, keen receptivity and in- dependence, will increase. In a rapidly changing university: 185 s and future challenges society there is a need for leaders with a wide margin of adaptability w h o also possess the abil- ity and the moral power to steer changes towards desired goals. Research and development will play an in- creasingly dominant role and permeate both productive and social life. T h e role of the u n - iversity is primarily to produce fundamental knowledge that can then be applied not only in the training of professionals but also in the deve- lopment of n e w techniques and products. T o what extent should the university pro- vide its students with moral and ethical gui- dance? Such a task is, of course, extremely del- icate in a pluralistic society. But if there is such a thing as an academic ethos, the core of it is the pursuit of truth which traditionally is the guid- ing ethical principle for research. Closely related to the task of providing eth- ical guidance is the critical function of the u n - iversity. This is a radical task in the literal sense of the word. Academic freedom in terms of free- d o m of expression has often brought the u n - iversity into conflict with centres of power, the state or the Church . It is difficult for the state to accept that those w h o eat from its hand m a y also sometimes bite it! M o d e r n society is dominated by industrial mass production of goods and by increased pu- blic services in health, education and welfare. There is an expanding body of information that the ordinary citizen must master in order to sur- vive. Such a society needs a tertiary system of education with widened functions and expanded enrolment. Whether the mega-institutions emerging are called universities or not is a mat- ter of taste. T h e 'multiversity' has c o m e to stay, at least in advanced high-technology societies. If higher education develops to b e c o m e not only a mass but almost a universal good, w e can begin to ask what is 'higher' in higher educa- tion. But all social systems have a tendency to adapt themselves to n e w frameworks. W e can note h o w , by differentiation, an élite sector in a mass system is emerging. Certain institutions or programmes stand out as m o r e demanding, and therefore became m o r e prestigious, such as the study of medicine. In the United States and Ja-i86 Torsten Husén pan the co-existence of public and private un- iversities has brought about a differentiation and a 'pecking order' within the system. In the U n - ited States the private universities have taken the lead, whereas in Japan the 'imperial', that is, the state universities, are the most prestigious. In a pluralistic society moving towards in- creased specialization and differentiation, the need for a c o m m o n core of learning becomes more urgent than before. T h e more specializa- tion goes on and the earlier in life it is intro- duced, the more the individual is doomed to sol- itude. Thus , more than ever, the goal for institutions of higher learning is to education generalists - a professional élite with a c o m m o n core of learning that provides them with a c o m - m o n frame of reference. Growing research and development, partic- ularly in modern high technology industry, has given rise to partnerships between universities and private enterprises with regard to training, retraining of staff and research. Universities have begun to play an important role in in-ser- vice training of professionals and in providing educational services to labour-market organiza- tions. However, partnerships between universi- ties and corporations are not without their pro- blems. T h e c o m m o n denominator of these is that university resources are easily diverted from the traditional tasks - the education of students and the conducting of fundamental research. Authorities and students are asking whether the enterprises really are footing the entire bill, par- ticularly for contracted research. It is difficult to estimate h o w m u c h of the costs are covered by the public purse from which a university is fi- nanced. Another problem is that of continuity. Research contracts imply employing staff for projects over a short time span. W h e n a project is finished, the head of a department is faced with the problem of finding a means of livelihood for those w h o worked on the project. Short-term in- volvement in 'applied' projects with its effects on continuity is a disadvantage for basic research which works with a distant time horizon. Innovation in business corporations is not an end in itself, whereas it is usually the case in university research where scholars seek k n o w - ledge for its o w n sake. Corporations operate un- der the competitive pressure of the market- place. Their goal is to serve consumer needs with products, to improve means of production, enhance technical k n o w - h o w and to meet dea- dlines. Pursuing research for its o w n sake, as is the custom in universities, is done without the restrictions of the market. T h e 'market' is the in- ternational community of scholars where the va- lue of research results is assessed according to internal science-specific criteria. T h e partnership between university and government is beset with the same problems, which have become more acute over the last few decades, w h e n universities have contracted large projects with central or local governments. A major challenge for the future seems to be to maintain fundamental research as a principal function of the university. It is the only place where activities aiming at the extension of the frontiers of knowledge is institutionalized. T h e university plays an important role in the establishment and preservation of cultural and historical identity. T h e national leaders in a newly independent country are often university- educated, and the creation of at least one nation- al university has usually been a top priority w h e n a former colonial territory has gained national independence. Studies and research in the hu- manities, particularly in history, are often of ut- most importance in the establishment and pre- servation of national identity. Academic freedom and autonomy, partic- ularly vis-à-vis the state, will continue to be an overriding issue. This relationship is delicate and has to be discussed making a distinction bet- ween 'dependency' and 'intervention'. Universi- ties in most countries are financially highly de- pendent on the state, and in m a n y cases teaching staff are appointed by the Ministry of Education. But the scope for intervention can be very limit- ed, most often due to the civil-service status of professors with life tenure. T h e academic ethos at Western universi- ties, according to which the overriding objec- tives of the university is 'to seek the truth', an ac- tivity seen as separate from the totalT h e idea of the university: 187 changing roles, current crisis and future challenges responsibility for social and h u m a n affairs of the surrounding society or the world as a whole, re- presents an issue that has become particularly relevant in modern 'risk' societies with their close relationships to research. This issue is closely related to the dichotomy between theory and practice. A balance has to be struck between endoge- nous creativity and independence of the domi- nant intellectual streams from Europe and North America and the universalist orientation necessary in science and technology in attempts to tackle pressing global problems. Universities in Third World countries, both in their teaching and research, have to address social and h u m a n development in their o w n re- gions and countries, but must also help open up the perspectives of their students to problems of a universal character. This again is a problem of a delicate balance between parochialism and in- ternationalism. General or 'liberal' versus specialized edu- cation will continue to be a pervasive issue. It cannot be resolved by comprehensive courses in various disciplines but by the style of learning adopted in the field of specialization. It is con- cerned with learning, which goes beyond any encyclopedic knowledge in a particular field, a learning centred around intellectual skills and academic values. • References and bibliography A L T E A C H , P. G . (ed.). 1975. The University's Response to Socie- tal Demands. N e w York, International Council for Educa- tional Development. A L T B A C H , P. G . ; K E L L Y , D . H . 1985. 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Special issue: Mass Higher Education and the Elitist Tradition. Vol. VIII, N o . 1/2.Patterns in higher education development Towards the year 2000* Philip G . Altbach Universities are singular institutions. They have c o m m o n historical roots yet are deeply embed- ded in their societies. Traditionally élite institu- tions, modern universities have provided social mobility to previously disenfranchised groups. Established in the medieval period to transmit established knowledge and provide training for a few key professions, universities over the centu- ries have become the most important creators of n e w knowledge through basic research.1 T h e contemporary university stands at the centre of its society, an institution which is crucial to ev- ery modern society. It is the most important in- stitution in the complex process of knowledge creation and distribution, not only serving as h o m e to most basic science but also to the in- creasingly complex system of journals, books and data bases which communicate knowledge worldwide.2 Philip G . Altbach (United States of America). Pro- fessor, Director of the Comparative Education Cen- ter, State University of New York at Buffalo. He has written widely on higher education, and is most recently Editor of International Encyclopedia of Comparative Higher Education (1990). Former Editor of Comparative Education Review. Universities are the key to providing train- ing in an ever-increasing number of specializa- tions that are important for modern societies. Universities have also taken on a political func- tion in society - they often serve as centres of political thought, and sometimes of action, and they train those w h o become members of the political élite. This article is concerned with dis- cussing the patterns of higher-education deve- lopment evident in the post-Second World W a r period throughout the world and in analysing some of the reasons for these trends and will point to likely directions for universities in the coming decades. Questions such as autonomy and accountability, the role of research and teaching, reform and the curriculum and the implications of the massive expansion that has characterized universities in most countries are of primary concern here. Universities are simul- taneously international institutions, with c o m - m o n historical roots, and are also embedded in national cultures and circumstances. It is worth while to examine the contemporary challenges to higher education in both a historical and comparative perspective. * T h e author is indebted to Robert A m o v e , Gail P . Kelly and Lionel Lewis for their comments on this article and to Lalita Subramanyan for her assistance with editing. Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 1991190 Philip G. Altbach A common heritage There is only one c o m m o n academic model worldwide. T h e basic European university m o - del, which was established first in France in the thirteenth century, has been significantly m o d - ified but remains the universal pattern of higher education. T h e Paris model placed the professor at the centre of the institution and enshrined au- tonomy as an important part of the academic ethos. It is significant that the major competing idea of the period, the student-dominated U n - iversity of Bologna in Italy, did not gain a major foothold in Europe, although it had some im- pact in Spain and later in Latin America.3 T h e university rapidly expanded to other parts of E u - rope - Oxford and Cambridge in England, Sala- manca in Spain, Prague and Krakow in the Slav- ic areas and a variety of institutions in Germany were established in the following century. M u c h later, European imperialist nations brought universities to their colonies. T h e Brit- ish, for example, exported academic models first to the American colonies and later to India, Afri- ca and South-East Asia;4 the French in Viet N a m and West Africa; the Spanish and Portu- guese throughout Latin America; the Dutch in Indonesia. Other colonial powers also exported academic institutions. Colonial universities were patterned directly on institutions in the mother country, but often without the traditions of autonomy and academic freedom that the lat- ter enjoyed.5 T h e university was by no means a static in- stitution. It changed and adapted to new circum- stances. With the rise of nationalism and the Protestant Reformation in Europe, the universal language of higher education, Latin, was re- placed by national languages. Academic institu- tions became less international and more local in their student bodies and orientations. Univer- sities were significantly affected by their national circumstances. Protestant Amsterdam differed from Catholic Salamanca. Fledgling Harvard, although patterned on British models slowly de- veloped its o w n traditions and orientations. Aca- demic institutions have had their ups and downs. Oxford and Cambridge, strongly linked to the Church of England and the aristocracy, played only a minor role in the development of the Industrial Revolution and the tremendous scientific expansion of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.6 In France, universities were abolished after the Revolution in 1793. They were gradually re-established and the N a - poleonic model became a powerful force not on- ly in France but also in Latin America.7 G e r m a n universities were severely damaged during the Nazi period by the destruction of autonomy and the departure of m a n y of their professors, per- manently losing their scientific pre-eminence.8 For our purposes, two more recent m o d - ifications of the Western academic model are re- levant. In the mid-nineteenth century, a newly united Germany harnessed the university for na- tion-building. Under the leadership of Wilhelm von Humboldt, G e r m a n higher education was given significant resources by the state, took on the responsibility for research aimed at national development and industrialization, and played a key role in defining the ideology of the new Ger- m a n nation.9 T h e reformed G e r m a n universities also established graduate education and the doc- toral degree as a major focus of the institution. Research became for the first time an integral function of the university. T h e university was re- organized as a hierarchy based on the newly emerging scientific disciplines. American re- formers took these G e r m a n innovations and transformed higher education even more by further stressing the links between the university and society through the concept of service and direct relationships with industry and agricul- ture, democratized the G e r m a n chair system10 through the establishment of academic depart- ments and the development of the 'land grant' concept for both high-level research and ex- panded access to higher education.11 Institutions which seem deeply embedded in the national soil have in fact been significantly influenced by international ideas and models. T h e world's universities follow institution- al patterns which are basically derivative of these Western models. There are virtually no excep-Patterns in higher education development: 191 towards the year 2000 tions. T h e one remaining fully non-Western in- stitution, the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, fo- cuses mainly on traditional Islamic law and theology. Significantly, its science faculties are n o w organized along European lines.12 There are m a n y variations, including post-secondary polytechnic institutions in the United K i n g d o m , the Soviet Union and other countries, O p e n U n - iversities in the United K i n g d o m , Israel, Thai- land and elsewhere and even the two-year c o m - munity colleges in the United States and similar institutions, often following the American m o - del, in other countries.13 While the functions of these institutions m a y differ from those of tradi- tional universities, their basic organization, pat- terns of governance and ethos remain remarka- bly linked to the basic Western academic ideal. Networks of knowledge and higher education There are m a n y explanations for the domination of the Western academic model and the lack of alternatives in the modern world. T h e fact that the Western university institutionalized the stu- dy of science and later its production is a key fac- tor. T h e link between universities and the domi- nant world economic systems no doubt is a particularly important reason for Western d o m - ination. For significant parts of the world, aca- demic institutions were imposed by colonizers. There were few possibilities to develop indepen- dent alternatives. In m a n y cases, traditional in- digenous institutional forms were destroyed by the colonizers, as in India w h e n in the nine- teenth century the British imposed European patterns and no longer recognized existing tradi- tional institutions.14 It is significant that none of the formerly co- lonized nations have shifted from their basically European academic models. T h e contemporary Indian university resembles its pre-Indepen- dence predecessor. Japan, never colonized, re- cognized after 1868 that it had to develop scien- tific and industrial capacity and jettisoned its traditional academic institutions in favour of Western university ideas. It imported ideas and models from Germany , the United States and other countries in the development of its un- iversities.15 Other non-colonized nations, such as China and Thailand, also imported Western m o - dels and adapted them to local needs and condi- tions.16 Western universities were seen to be suc- cessful in providing advanced education, in fos- tering research and scientific development and in assisting their societies in the increasingly complex task of development. Universities in both the United States and Germany were active in fostering industrial and agricultural develop- ment in the nineteenth century. T h e harnessing of higher education to the broader needs of na- tional economic and social development was perhaps the most important innovation of the ni- neteenth century. T h e idea that higher educa- tion should be generously supported from public funds, that the university should participate in the creation as well as the transmission of k n o w - ledge and that academic institutions should at the same time be permitted a significant degree of autonomy was behind m u c h of the growth of universities in this century. Further, Western universities were at the centre of a knowledge network that includes re- search institutions, the means of knowledge dis- semination such as journals and scientific pu- blishers, and an 'invisible college' of scientists. It is worth noting that the bulk of the world's scientific literature n o w appears in the English language. Even scholars in such industrialized nations as Sweden and the Netherlands often find it necessary to communicate their research findings in English. T h e large Dutch multina- tional publishers, Elsevier and Kluwer, publish virtually all of their scholarly and scientific books and journals in English. T h e circulation of scholars and students worldwide, and in a sense even the 'brain drain' is an element of the international knowledge system, helping to circulate ideas and also main- taining the impact of the major 'host' countries and their research hegemony. There are more192 Philip G. ' Altbach than one million students studying outside their h o m e countries. T h e large majority of these stu- dents are from Third World nations and they are studying in the industrialized nations, with the United States, the United K i n g d o m , G e r m a n y and the Soviet U n i o n a m o n g the major 'host' countries.17 T h e y gain expertise in their studies, but they also learn the n o r m s and values of the academic system in which they are located, of- ten returning h o m e with a zeal to reform their universities in a Western direction. Frequently, foreign graduates have difficulty readjusting to their h o m e countries, in part because the ad- vanced training they learned abroad m a y not be easily assimilated into less well-developed eco- nomies. Such frustrations, along with the blan- dishments of significantly better remuneration, leads to the brain drain. H o w e v e r , in the con- temporary world, the brain drain is often not permanent. For one thing, m e m b e r s of the Third World scientific diaspora often maintain contact with their colleagues at h o m e , contri- buting advanced knowledge and ideas. T h e y fre- quently return h o m e for periods of time and work with local academics. A n d in an increasing n u m b e r of instances, they return h o m e pe rma- nently w h e n academic - and sometimes political - conditions are favourable. T h e y bring with t h e m considerable expertise and often assume leadership positions in the local scientific and academic communities. Without question, the massive circulation of highly educated person- nel has a great influence on the transfer of k n o w - ledge. Wi th few exceptions, the knowledge and institutional patterns that are transferred are from the major industrialized nations to the Third World - or even to other m o r e peripheral industrial countries - with very little traffic in the other direction.18 T h e knowledge network is complex and multifaceted, and there is evidence that while its centres remain extraordinarily powerful, there is a m o v e m e n t towards greater equalization of re- search production and use. Japan, for example, already has a powerful and increasingly re- search-oriented university system and s o m e of the newly industrialized countries of East and South-East Asia are building u p research capac- ity in their universities.19 While h e g e m o n y m a y be slowly dissipating, inequality will remain en- demic to the world knowledge system. Expansion: hallmark of the post-war era Post-secondary education has dramatically ex- panded since the Second World War . Expansion has taken place in virtually every country in the world to differing extents. T h e growth of post- secondary education has in fact been, in propor- tional terms, more dramatic than that of primary and secondary education. Writing in 1975, T row spoke of the transition from élite to mass and then to universal higher education in the con- text of the industrialized nations.20 While the United States enrolled some 30 per cent of the relevant age cohort in higher education in the immediate post-war period, European nations generally maintained an élite higher education system with fewer than 5 per cent attending post-secondary institutions. By the 1960s, m a n y European nations educated 15 per cent or more of the age-group: Sweden, for example, enrolled 24 per cent in 1970, and France 17 per cent. At the same time, the United States increased its proportion to around 50 per cent, approaching universal access. In the Third World, expansion was even more dramatic. Building on tiny and extraordi- narily elitist universities, Third World higher education expanded rapidly in the immediate post-independence period. In India, enrolments grew from approximately 100,000 at the time of Independence in 1947 to over 3.5 million in 1986. Expansion in Africa has also been dramat- ic, with the post-secondary student population growing from 21,000 in 1960 to 437,000 in 1983.21 Recent economic difficulties in m u c h of sub-Saharan Africa have mean t that per-student expenditure has dropped significantly, contri- buting to a marked deterioration in academic standards.Patterns in higher towards Similar trends can be seen elsewhere in the Third World. In a few instances, such as the Phi- lippines, where more than one-third of the age cohort enters post-secondary education, Third World enrolment ratios have reached the levels of m a n y of the industrialized nations, although in general the Third World lags far behind in terms of proportions of the population attending higher education institutions. For example, des- pite China's student population of more than 2 million, only about 1 per cent of the age cohort attends post-secondary institutions - about 4 per cent of those graduating high school. Expansion in the Third World has, in general, exceeded that in the industrialized nations, at least in pro- portional terms, although there are significant variations a m o n g Third World nations - some countries maintain small and relatively elitist university systems while others have expanded more rapidly. Regardless of political system, level of eco- nomic development, or educational ideology, the expansion of higher education has been the most important single post-war trend worldwide: about 7 per cent of the relevant age cohort (20 to 24 years) attend post-secondary educational in- stitutions - a statistic that has shown an increase each decade since the Second World W a r . High- er education expanded dramatically first in the United States, then in Europe; currently the main focus of expansion is in the Third World. There are, of course, significant variations in en- rolment statistics and ratios. W o m e n , in general, attend university less frequently than m e n - although they n o w constitute approximately 40 per cent of enrolments - with considerable va- riations by country. T h e industrialized nations, with a few exceptions, have a higher proportion of the age cohort in post-secondary education than Third World countries. Generalized statis- tics concerning enrolments in post-secondary education mask m a n y key differences. For ex- ample, m a n y industrialized nations have a high- er proportion of students in technological and scientific fields than in the traditional liberal arts, which tend to predominate in the non-so- cialist developing nations. There are m a n y reasons for the expansion ication development: 193 year 2000 of higher education. A key factor has been the increasing complexity of modern societies and economies, which have demanded more highly trained personnel. Post-secondary institutions have, almost without exception, been called on to provide the needed training. Indeed, training in m a n y fields that had once been imparted 'on the job' have become formalized in institutions of higher education. Entirely n e w fields, such as computer science, have c o m e into existence and rely on universities as a key source of research and training. Nations n o w developing scientific and industrial capacity, such as the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, have depended on academic institutions to provide high-level training as well as research expertise to a greater extent than was the case during the first Industrial Revolution in Europe.22 Not only do academic institutions provide training, they also test and provide certification for m a n y roles and occupations in contemporary society. These roles have been central to un- iversities from their origins in the medieval pe- riod but have been vastly expanded in recent years. A university degree is a prerequisite for an increasing number of occupations in most socie- ties. Indeed, it is fair to say that academic certifi- cation is necessary for most positions of power, authority and prestige in modern societies. This places immense power in the hands of universi- ties. Tests to gain admission to higher education are key rites de passage in m a n y societies and are major determinants of future success.23 C o m p e - tition within academe varies from country to country, but in most cases there is also m u c h stress on high academic performance and tests in the universities. There are often further ex- aminations to permit entry into specific profes- sions. T h e role of the university as an examining body has grown for a number of reasons. A s ex- pansion has taken place, it has been necessary to provide increasingly competitive sorting m e - chanisms to control access to high-prestige oc- cupations. T h e universities are also seen as m e - ritocratic institutions which can be trusted to provide fair and impartial tests that will honestly measure accomplishment and therefore access.194 Philip G. Altbach W h e n such mechanisms break down , as in Chi- na during the Cultural Revolution, or where they are perceived to be subject to corrupt in- fluences, as in India, the universities are signif- icantly weakened. T h e older, more informal and often more ascriptive means of controlling ac- cess to prestigious occupations, are no longer able to provide the controls needed nor are they perceived as fair. Entirely n e w fields have deve- loped where no sorting mechanisms existed and academic institutions have frequently been called upon not only to provide training but also examination and certification. Expansion has also occurred because grow- ing segments of the population of modern socie- ties have demanded it. T h e middle classes, see- ing that academic qualifications were increasingly necessary for success, demanded access to higher education. Governments gener- ally responded by providing access.24 W h e n go- vernments did not m o v e quickly enough, private initiative frequently established academic insti- tutions in order to meet the demand. In coun- tries like India, the Philippines and Bangladesh, a majority of the students are educated in private colleges and universities.25 At present, there are worldwide trends towards imposing user fees, increasing the stress on private higher educa- tion, and raising tuition fees in public institu- tions. These changes are intended to reduce the cost of post-secondary education for govern- ments while maintaining access, although the long-term implications for quality, access and control of higher education are unclear. In most societies, higher education is hea- vily subsidized by the government and most, if not all, academic institutions are in the public sector. While there is a growing trend towards private initiative and management sharing res- ponsibility with public institutions, there is little doubt that the government will continue to be the main source of funding for post-secondary education.26 T h e dramatic expansion of academ- ic institutions in the post-war period has proved very expensive for governments worldwide.27 N o n e the less, the demand for access has proved to be an extraordinarily powerful one.28 There have been significant variations in higher education expansion. For example, m a - ny analysts writing in the 1960s assumed that the world, and particularly the Western industrial- ized nations, would m o v e from élite to mass and finally to universal access to higher education, generally following the American pattern.29 This has not occurred. In m u c h of Western E u - rope, the expansion that characterized the 1960s slowed and in some countries came to a c o m - plete halt, although there are n o w signs of re- newed expansion. T h e causes for this situation were in part economic, with a slowdown of the Western economies following the 'oil shocks' of the 1970s; in part the causes were demographic, resulting from a significant drop in the birth rate and a smaller cohort of young people; and in part philosophical, as countries were less sym- pathetic to further growth of public institutions, including universities. Generally, the proportion of the age cohort going on to higher education in Western Europe stabilized at under 20 per cent.30 With the excep- tion of the Soviet Union, most Eastern European countries also enroll under 20 per cent of the re- levant age-group in higher education, thus maintaining relatively elitist academic systems. Similar trends are also evident in the United States, where access is considered to be 'univer- sal' and enrolments have stabilized at around 50 per cent of the age-group. In sharp contrast to the Western industrial- ized countries, Third World universities have, in general, continued to expand without stopping, despite the fact that, at least in Africa and Latin America, there have been serious economic pro- blems in the past two decades. While with only a very few exceptions, such as the Philippines, Third World enrolment ratios remain signifi- cantly lower than those in the industrialized na- tions, there continues to be a strong commit- ment to continued expansion and access. This is the case even in countries like India, where there is severe unemployment of graduates and where there is a significant brain drain of un- iversity graduates abroad. In sub-Saharan Africa, there has been a slowing of expansion, not so m u c h because demand for higher eduction has decreased but due to severe economic problemsPatterns in higher education development: 195 towards the year 2000 which have limited the ability of governments to pay the costs of continued growth. In m a n y Third World countries, it remains impossible for local universities to absorb all of those qualified to attend, thus creating an exodus of students abroad. This is the case in Malaysia, where about half of the country's enrolments are abroad.31 It is necessary to analyse the prospects for continued expansion of higher education from several perspectives. While there are c o m m o n worldwide trends, such as the increasingly im- portant role of technology, there are also impor- tant differences a m o n g countries and in diffe- rent parts of the world. T h e Third World presents a specific set of circumstances. While it is likely that its pace in some Third World coun- tries will slow in the coming decade, expansion will continue to be a key factor in higher educa- tion. Regional variations will be important, with economic factors dominating. Universities will very likely grow more slowly in less-successful economies. Rapidly expanding economies, such as those of the newly industrializing countries in East Asia, will have resources to expand higher education and at the same time there will be a demand for graduates. Taiwan and the Republic of Korea, for example, can easily absorb univer- sity graduates as well as the expenditures needed for large and better-equipped universities. Yet, even where there is evidence that higher educa- tional growth should slow or even stop, it is un- likely that this will take place since popular de- m a n d for post-secondary education will remain high and political authorities will find it easier to provide access than to limit it. T h e situation in the Western industrialized nations is more difficult to predict. A variety of factors argues for a resumption of growth, alth- ough probably not at the levels of the 1960s. There is evidence of a modest upturn in pop- ulation in some age categories in some Western nations although demographers predict that this will be relatively short-lived. T h e large numbers of graduates trained in the 1960s and n o w occu- pying positions in schools and universities as well as in government and in industrial enter- prises will be retiring in large numbers in the coming years, triggering a significant demand for university-trained personnel. There is also a recognition that university-based research is an important ingredient for scientific and techno- logical strength in an increasingly competitive world economy. M u c h , however, will depend on broader economic trends. It is also difficult to predict whether resistance to governmental spending in general and for education in partic- ular will continue to be an important political factor in m a n y Western countries. Despite imponderables, it is likely that in general there will be increased support for high- er education spurred by demographic and mar- ket factors and continued demand for access by an ever-widening segment of the population. Whether there will be a resumption of the growth of access to wider segments of the pop- ulation - both of the traditional age-group and of 'non-traditional' students - remains to be seen.32 Change and reform: the legacy of the 1960s T h e demands placed on institutions of higher education to accommodate larger numbers of students and expanding functions resulted in significant reforms in higher education in m a n y countries. There was m u c h debate concerning higher education reform in the 1960s - and a significant amount of change did take place.33 It is possible to identify several important factors which contributed both to the debate and to the changes that took place. Without question, the unprecedented student unrest of the period con- tributed to a sense of disarray in higher educa- tion. Further, the unrest was in part precipitated by deteriorating academic conditions which re- sulted from rapid expansion. In a few instances, students demanded far-reaching reforms in higher education although, generally, they did not propose specific changes.34 Students fre- quently demanded an end to the rigidly hierar- chical organization of the traditional European university, and significant changes were m a d e in196 Philip G. Altbach this respect. T h e 'chair' system was weakened and the responsibility for academic decision- making, formerly a monopoly of the full profes- sors, was significantly expanded - in some coun- tries to include students. At the same time, the walls of the traditional academic disciplines were broken by various plans for interdisciplin- ary teaching and research. Reform was most dramatic in several very traditional Western European academic sys- tems. Sweden's universities were completely transformed in the most far-reaching of the re- form movements. S o m e of the changes effected in Sweden resulted in democratizing decision- making, decentralizing the universities, expand- ing higher education to previously under-served parts of the country, providing for interdisciplin- ary teaching and research and vocationalizing the curriculum.35 Significant changes also took place in France and in the Netherlands. R e - formers in both these countries stressed inter- disciplinarity and a democratization of academic decision-making. In Germany , the universities in areas dominated by the Social Democratic Party were also significantly altered, with the traditional structures of the university giving way to more democratic governance patterns. But in m a n y industrialized nations, structu- ral change was not dramatic, and in m a n y in- stances very limited. In the United States, for ex- ample, despite considerable debate during the 1960s, there was very limited change in higher education.36 Japan, the site of significant unrest and a large number of reports on university re- form, saw virtually no basic change in its higher education system although several ' n e w model ' interdisciplinary institutions were established, such as the science-oriented Tsukuba University near Tokyo. T h e United Kingdom , less affected by student protest and with an established plan for expansion in operation, also experienced few reforms during the 1960s.37 It is also the case that some of the changes implemented in the 1960s were criticized or abandoned. In G e r m a - ny, for example, reforms in governance that gave students and junior staff a dominant posi- tion in some university functions were ruled un- constitutional by the G e r m a n courts.38 Vocationalization has been an important trend in changes in higher education in the past two decades. Throughout the world, there has been a conviction that the university curriculum should provide relevant training for a variety of increasingly complex jobs. T h e traditional no- tions that higher education should consist of lib- eral, non-vocational studies for élites or that it should provide a broad but unfocused curricu- lum, have been widely criticized for lacking 're- levance' to the needs of contemporary students. Students, worried about obtaining remunerative employment, have pressed the universities to be more focused. Employers have also demanded that the curriculum be more directly relevant to their needs. Enrolments in the social sciences and humanities, at least in the industrialized na- tions, have declined because these fields are not considered vocationally relevant. Curricular vocationalism is linked to another major worldwide trend in higher education: the increasingly close relationship between univer- sities and industry.39 This relationship has im- plications for the curriculum, as industrial firms have sought to ensure that the skills that they need are incorporated into the curriculum. It al- so has significant implications for academic re- search, since m a n y university-industry relation- ships are focused largely on research. Industries have established formal linkages and research partnerships with universities in order to obtain help with research that they find important. In some countries, such as Sweden, representatives of industry have been added to the governing councils of higher education institutions. In the United States, formal contractual arrangements have been m a d e between universities and major corporations to share research results. In m a n y industrialized nations, corporations are increas- ingly providing focused educational pro- grammes for their employees, sometimes with the assistance of universities. University-industry relations have signifi- cant implications for higher education. Tech- nical arrangements with regard to patents, confi- dentiality of research findings and other fiscal matters have assumed importance. Critics also have pointed out that the nature of research inPatterns in higher education development: 197 towards the year 2000 higher education m a y be altered by these n e w relationships as industrial firms are not generally interested in basic research. University-based re- search, which has traditionally been significant- ly oriented toward basic research, m a y be in- creasingly skewed to applied and profit-making topics. There has also been some discussion of the orientation of research, for example in fields like biotechnology, where broader public policy matters m a y conflict with the needs of corpora- tions. Specific funding arrangements have also been questioned. Pressure on universities to serve the immediate needs of society and partic- ularly the training and research requirements of industry is currently a key concern for universi- ties and one which has implications for the or- ganization of the curriculum, the nature and scope of research and the traditional relation- ship between the university and society.40 D e - bates concerning the appropriate relationship between higher education and industry are like- ly to continue, as pressures grow even stronger on universities to provide direct service to the economy. Universities have traditionally claimed sig- nificant autonomy for themselves. T h e tradi- tional idea of academic governance stresses au- tonomy and universities have tried to insulate themselves from direct control by external agen- cies. However, with the increase in the size, scope, importance and cost of universities, there has been immense pressure by those providing funds for higher education - mainly govern- ments - to expect accountability from universi- ties. T h e conflict between autonomy and ac- countability is one of the flashpoints of controversy in recent years, with the result that there has been an increase in accountability from academic institutions, again with signif- icant implications for them.41 T h e issue takes on different implications in different parts of the world. In the Third World, traditions of autono- m y have not been strong and demands for ac- countability, which include both political and economic elements, are especially trouble- some.4 2 In the industrialized nations, accounta- bility pressures are more fiscal in nature. Despite the varied pressures on higher edu- cational institutions for change and the signif- icant reforms that have taken place in the past two decades, basic institutional patterns have re- mained and there have been few structural alter- ations in universities. O n e of the few has been in Sweden as part of the dramatic reform that has taken place there. Elsewhere, curricula have been altered, expansion has taken place, and there have been continuing debates concerning accountability and autonomy, but universities as institutions have not changed significantly. A s Edward Shils has argued, the 'academic ethic' has been under considerable strain, and in some ways it has been weakened, but it has survived.43 Towards the 1990s T h e university as an institution in modern socie- ty has shown considerable durability. It has maintained key elements of the historical m o - dels from which it evolved over m a n y centuries. At the same time, it has successfully evolved to serve the needs of societies.44 There has been a significant convergence of both ideas and insti- tutional patterns and practices in world higher education. This has been due in part to the im- plantation of European-style universities in the developing areas during and after the colonial era and because universities have been crucial in the development and then the internationaliza- tion of science and of research. Despite remarkable institutional stability over time, universities have significantly changed and have been subjected to immense pressures in the post-Second World W a r period. M a n y of the changes which have been chron- icled here have c o m e as the result of great ex- ternal pressure and despite considerable opposi- tion from within the institution. S o m e have argued that the university has lost it soul.45 Oth- ers have claimed that the university is irrespon- sible because it uses public funds and does not always conform to the direct needs of industry and government. Pressure from governmental authorities, militant students or external consti-198 Philip G. Altbach tuendes have all placed great strains on academ- ic institutions. T h e period since the Second World W a r has been one of unprecedented growth - and of the increasingly central role of higher education in virtually all modern societies. While growth m a y continue, the dramatic expansion of recent decades is at an end. It is unlikely that the place of the university as the most important institu- tion for training personnel for virtually all of the top-level occupations in modern society will be weakened. T h e role of the university in research will also continue, although as has been noted, there are significant pressures concerning the nature and focus of university-based research and perhaps a weakening of the commitment to basic research.46 Internationally, there m a y well be some further convergence as science becomes even more international and as the circulation of aca- demic élites continues through foreign study. While significant national variations will re- main, universities have increasingly similar roles throughout the world and research is in- creasingly communicated to an international au- dience. T h e challenges are, none the less, signif- icant. T h e issues discussed below, no doubt among others, will be of concern in the present decade and beyond. ACCESS AND ADAPTATION Although in a few countries, access to post-se- condary education has been provided to virtually all segments of the population, there is in most countries a continuing demand for higher edu- cation. Progress towards broadening the social class base of higher education has slowed and in m a n y industrialized countries stopped in the 1970s. With the emergence of democratic go- vernments in Eastern Europe, the possible re- emergence of demand in Western Europe and continuing pressure for expansion in the Third World, it is likely that there will be heightened demand for access and thus expansion of enrol- ments in m a n y countries. Limited funds and a desire for 'efficient' allocation of scarce post-se- condary resources will come into direct conflict with demands for access. These demands for ac- cess by previously disenfranchised groups will continue to place great pressure on higher edu- cation. In m a n y countries, racial, ethnic or reli- gious minorities play a role in shaping higher education policy. Issues of access will be a m o n g the most controversial in debates concerning higher education. This topic m a y be especially volatile since there is a widespread assumption that all segments of the population should be able to obtain a university education - yet, the realities of higher education in most countries do not permit this level of enrolment. ADMINISTRATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE As academic institutions become larger and more complex institutions, there will be increas- ing pressure for a greater degree of professional administration. At the same time, the traditional forms of academic governance will be under in- creasing pressure not only because they are unwieldy but because in large and bureaucratic institutions they are inefficient. T h e administra- tion of higher education will increasingly be- c o m e a profession, m u c h as it is in the United States. This means that there will be the growth of an 'administrative estate' in m a n y countries where it does not n o w exist. T h e demands for accountability will increase and will cause aca- demic institutions considerable difficulty. As academic budgets increase, there will be inevit- able demands to monitor and control expendi- tures. There is, at present, no general agreement concerning the appropriate level of governmen- tal involvement in higher education.The chal- lenge will be to ensure that the traditional - and valuable - patterns of faculty control of gover- nance and the basic academic decisions of un- iversities are maintained in an increasingly c o m - plex and bureaucratic environment.Patterns in higher education towards the year 21 K N O W L E D G E - C R E A T I O N A N D DISSEMINATION Research is an increasingly important part of the mission of m a n y universities and of the academ- ic system generally. Key decisions concerning the control and funding of research, the rela- tionship of research to broader curricular and teaching issues, the uses m a d e of university- based research and related issues will increas- ingly be in contention. Further, the system of knowledge dissemination, including journals and books and increasingly computer-based data systems, is rapidly changing and hotly debated. W h o should control the n e w data networks? H o w will traditional means of communication, such as the journals, survive in this n e w climate? H o w will the scientific system avoid being over- whelmed by the proliferation of data.?47 T h e needs of peripheral scientific systems, including both the Third World and smaller academic sys- tems in the industrialized world, are increasing- ly important.48 While the technological means for rapid knowledge dissemination are available, issues of control and ownership, the appropriate use of data bases, problems of maintaining quality stan- dards in data bases, and related questions are ve- ry important. It is possible that the n e w tech- nologies will lead to increased centralization rather than wider access. It is also possible that libraries and other users of knowledge will be overwhelmed by both the cost of obtaining n e w material and the flow of knowledge. At present, academic institutions in the United States and other English-speaking nations, along with pu- blishers and the owners of the communications networks stand to gain. T h e major Western knowledge producers currently constitute a kind of O P E C of information, dominating not only the creation of knowledge but also most of the major channels of distribution. Simply increas- ing the amount of research and creating n e w da- ta bases will not ensure a more equal and acces- sible knowledge system. Academic institutions are at the centre but publishers, copyright auth- orities, funders of research and others are also necessarily involved. THE ACADEMIC PROFESSION T h e professorate has found itself under increas- ing strain in recent years in most countries. D e - mands for accountability, increased bureaucrati- zation of institutions, fiscal constraints in m a n y countries, and an increasingly diverse student body have all challenged the professorate. In most industrialized nations, a combination of fis- cal problems and demographic factors led to a stagnating profession. N o w , demographic fac- tors and a modest upturn in enrolments are be- ginning to turn surpluses into shortages.49 In the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs), the pro- fessorate has significantly improved its status, re- muneration and working conditions in recent years. In the poorer nations, however, the sit- uation has, if anything, become more difficult with decreasing resources and ever-increasing enrolments. Overall, the professorate will face severe problems as academic institutions change in the coming period. Maintaining autonomy, academic freedom and a commitment to the tra- ditional goals of the university will prove a chal- lenge. In the West, there will be difficulties in lur- ing the 'best and brightest' into academe in a pe- riod w h e n positions will again be relatively plen- tiful: in m a n y fields, academic salaries have not kept pace and there has been a deterioration in the traditional academic life-style. T h e pressure on the professorate not only to teach and do re- search but also to attract external grants, do con- sulting and the like is significant. In the United K i n g d o m and Australia, for example, universi- ties have become 'cost centres', and accountabil- ity has been pushed to its logical extreme. Brit- ish academics entering the profession after 1989 will no longer have tenure, but will be period- ically evaluated. In the N I C s , the challenge will be to create a fully autonomous academic profes- sion where traditions of research and academic freedom are only n o w developing. T h e difficul- ties faced by the poorer Third World countries are perhaps the greatest: to maintain a viable academic culture in deteriorating conditions.!. Altbach PRIVATE RESOURCES AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY In almost every country, there has been a grow- ing emphasis on increasing the role of the priv- ate sector in higher education. O n e of the most direct manifestations of this trend is the growing role of the private sector in funding and, in m a n y cases, directing university research. In m a n y countries, there has been an expansion of priv- ate academic institutions. A n d there has been an emphasis on students paying an increasing share of the cost of their education, often through loan p rogrammes . Governments have tried to limit their expenditures o n post-secondary education while at the s a m e time recognizing that the functions of universities are important. Privati- zation has been the m e a n s of achieving this broad policy goal.50 There are, of course, impor- tant implications of these trends. Decisions con- cerning academic developments m a y m o v e in- creasingly to the private sector, with the possibility that broader public goals m a y be ig- nored. Whe the r private interests will support the traditional functions of universities, including academic freedom, fundamental research and a pattern of governance which leaves the professo- rate in control is unclear. S o m e of the most in- teresting developments in private higher educa- tion can be found in such countries as Viet N a m , China and Hungary , where private institutions have recently been established. Inevitably, priv- ate initiative in higher education will bring with it a change in values and orientations. It is not clear that these values will, in the long term, be in the best interests of the university. DIVERSIFICATION AND STRATIFICATION While diversification - the establishing of n e w post-secondary institutions to meet n e w needs - is by n o m e a n s an entirely n e w p h e n o m e n o n , it is a trend that has been of primary importance in recent years and will continue to reshape the academic system. In recent years, the establish- m e n t of research institutions, c o m m u n i t y col- leges, polytechnics and other academic institu- tions designed to m e e t specialized needs and serve specific populations has been a primary characteristic of growth. A t the s a m e time, the academic system has b e c o m e m o r e stratified: once individuals are within a segment of the sys- tem, it is difficult to m o v e to a different segment. A n d there is often a high correlation of social class and other variables with selection to a par- ticular segment of the system. T o s o m e extent, the reluctance of the traditional universities to change is responsible for s o m e of the diversifica- tion. Perhaps m o r e important has been the be- lief that it is efficient and probably less expensive to establish n e w limited-function institutions. A n element of diversification is the expansion of the student population to include larger n u m - bers of w o m e n and other previously disenfran- chised segments of the population. W o m e n n o w constitute 40 per cent of the student population worldwide and m o r e than half in fifteen coun- tries.51 In m a n y countries, students from lower socio-economic groups and racial and ethnic minorities are entering post-secondary institu- tions in significant numbers . This diversification will also be an important challenge for the c o m - ing decades. ECONOMIC DISPARITIES There are substantial inequalities a m o n g the world's universities and it is likely that these in- equalities will grow. T h e major universities in the industrialized nations generally have adeq- uate resources to play a leading role in scientific research - in a context where it is increasingly expensive to keep u p with the expansion of knowledge.5 2 At the s a m e time, universities in m u c h of the Third Wor ld simply cannot cope with the combined challenges of continuing pressure for increased enrolments and budgetary constraints and in s o m e cases fiscal disasters. For example, universities in m u c h of sub-Saharan Africa have seen dramatic budget cuts and find it difficult to function, let alone improve quality and compete in the international knowledge sys- tem.5 3 In the middle are academic institutions inPatterns in higher education development: 201 towards the year 2000 the Asian N I C s , where there has been signif- icant academic progress and it is likely that these institutions will continue to improve. Thus , the economic prospects for post-secondary educa- tion worldwide are mixed, with considerable challenges ahead. Universities worldwide share a c o m m o n culture and reality. In m a n y basic ways, there is a con- vergence of institutional models and norms. T h e key issues identified here are experienced worldwide. At the same time, there are signif- icant national differences which will continue to be felt. There is little chance that the basic struc- tures of academic institutions will significantly change, although some of the traditional aca- demic ideologies and practices are threatened and alterations are likely, for example concern- ing the continuing growth of an administrative cadre in universities. Unanticipated develop- ments are also possible. For example, while con- ditions for the emergence of significant student movements, at least in the industrialized na- tions, do not seem likely at the present time, cir- cumstances m a y change.54 In the Third World, student movements continue to be an important political and academic force. This article has pointed to some key factors that have affected academic institutions world- wide. T h e past decade has not been an especially favorable one for higher education, yet academ- ic institutions continue to be very important in- stitutions, if anything expanding their impact on both science and society. T h e future presents significant challenges but the very centrality of the university in modern society creates a degree of optimism. • Notes 1. For a historical perspective, see C . Haskins, The Rise of Universities, Ithaca, N . Y . , Cornell University Press, 1957. 2. P . G . Altbach, The Knowledge Context: Comparative Per- spectives on the Distribution of Knowledge, Albany, N . Y . , State University of N e w York Press, 1987. 3. For further discussion of this point, see A . B . Cobban, The Medieval Universities: Their Development and Organiza- tion, London, Methuen, 1975. 4. T h e history of British higher education expansion in In- dia and Africa is described in E . Ashby, Universities: Brit- ish, Indian, African, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard Univer- sity Press, 1966. 5. I. Gilbert, 'The Indian Academic Profession: The Origins of a Tradition of Subordination', Minerva, N o . 10, July 1972, pp. 384-411. 6. For a broader consideration of these themes, see L . Stone (ed.), The University in Society, Princeton, N.J. , Prince- ton University Press, 1974, 2 vols. 7. J. Ben-David, Centers of Learning: Britain, France, Ger- many, the United States, pp. 16-17, N e w York, M c G r a w - Hill, 1977. 8. F. Lilge, The Abuse of Learning: The Failure of the Ger- man University, N e w York, Macmillan, 1948. 9. C . E . McClelland, State, Society and University in Ger- many, 1700-1914, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1980. See also ] . Ben-David and A . Zloczower, 'Universities and Academic Systems in Modern Socie- ties', European Journal of Sociology, Vol. 3, N o . 1, 1962, pp. 45-84. 10. In the German-originated chair system, a single full pro- fessor was appointed in each discipline. All other academ- ic staff served under the direction of the chair-holder, w h o held a permanent appointment to the position. M a n y other countries, including Japan, Russia and most of Eastern Europe, adopted this system. In time, it was crit- icized as too rigid and hierarchical. 11. L . Veysey, The Emergence of the American University, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1965. For a so- mewhat different analysis, see E . T . Silva and S. A . Slaughter, Serving Power: The Making of the Academic Social Science Expert, Westport, Conn. , Greenwood, 1984. 12. In Egypt, the Al-Azhar University still offers Islamic higher education in the traditional manner. There are vir- tually no other universities which fundamentally diverge from the Western model. For a discussion of the contem- porary Islamic university, see H . H . Bilgrami and S. A . Ashraf, The Concept of an Islamic University, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1985. 13. P. G . Altbach, 'The American Academic Model in C o m - parative Perspective', in: P . G . Altbach (ed.), The Rele- vance of American Higher Education to Southeast Asia, pp. 15-36, Singapore, Regional Institute for Higher Educa- tion and Development, 1985.202 Philip G. Altbach 14. For a case-study of British higher education policy in In- dia, see D . Lelyveld, Aligarh's First Generation: Muslim Solidarity in British India, Princeton, N . J . , Princeton U n - iversity Press, 1978. 15. M . Nagai, Higher Education in Japan: Its Take-off and Crash, Tokyo , University of Tokyo Press, 1971. 16. For case-studies of a variety of Asian universities, see P . G . Altbach and V . Selvaratnam (eds.), From Dependence toAutonomy: The Development of Asian Universities, Dor - drecht (Netherlands), Kluwer, 1989. 17. For a full discussion of the issues relating to foreign study, see P . G . Altbach, D . Kelly and Y . Lulat, Research on Fo- reign Students and International Study: Bibliography and Analysis, N e w York, Praeger, 1985. 18. A telling example in this respect is that the number of American students going abroad is only a small propor- tion of foreigners coming to the United States - and the large majority of Americans w h o do study in other coun- tries go to Canada and Western Europe and not to the Third World. See also R . A m o v e , 'Foundations and the Transfer of Knowledge', in: R . A m o v e (ed.), Philanthropy and Cultural Imperialism, pp. 305-30, Boston, Mass., G . K . Hall, 1980. 19. For a discussion of higher education development in the N I C s , see P . G . Altbach et al., Scientific Development and Higher Education: The Case of Newly Industrializing Countries, N e w York, Praeger, 1989. 20. M . Trow, 'Problems in the Transition from Elite to Mass Higher Education'. Paper prepared for a conference on mass higher education held by the Organisation for Eco- nomic Co-operation and Development ( O E C D ) , Paris, 1975. 21. For documentation concerning African higher education, see World Bank, Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Pol- icies for Adjustment, Revitalization and Expansion, W a s h - ington, D . C . , World Bank, 1988, particularly Chapter 6. 22. Altbach et al., Scientific Development and Higher Educa- tion . . ., op. cit. 23. M . A . Echstein and H . J. N o a h , ' F o r m s and Functions of Secondary School Leaving Examinations', Comparative Education Review, N o . 33, August 1989, pp . 295-316. 24. It is also the case that academic institutions serve as im- portant 'sorting' institutions in modern society, some- times diverting students from highly competitive fields. See, for example, S. Brint and J. Karabel, The Diverted Dream: Community Colleges and the Promise of Educa- tional Opportunity in America, 1900-1985, N e w York, Oxford University Press, 1989. 25. R . L . Geiger, Private Sectors in Higher Education: Struc- ture, Function and Change in Eight Countries, A n n Arbor, Mich., University of Michigan Press, 1986. For a focus on Latin America, see D . C . Levy, Higher Education and the State in Latin America, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1986. 26. It is significant that private higher education institutions are being established in Viet N a m and in China. At the same time, Malaysia has rejected proposals for the es- tablishment of private universities. 27. D . B . Johnstone, Sharing the Costs of Higher Education: Student Financial Assistance in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Sweden and the Un- ited States, Washington, D . C . , T h e College Board, 1986. 28. It is worth noting that agencies such as the World Bank have strongly argued against continued expansion of higher education, feeling that scarce educational expen- ditures could be m u c h more effectively spent on prima- ryand secondary education. See Education in Sub-Sah- aran Africa: Policies for Adjustment, Revitalization and Expansion, Washington, D . C . , T h e World Bank, 1988. 29. T r o w , op. cit. 30. See L . Cerych and P . Sabatier, Great Expectations and Mixed Performance: The Implementation of Higher Educa- tion Reforms in Europe, Trentham (United Kingdom), Trentham Books, 1986. See, in particular, Part 2 for a consideration of access to higher education in Western Europe. 31. J. S. Singh, 'Malaysia', in: P . G . Altbach (ed.), Internation- al Encyclopedia of Comparative Higher Education, N e w York, Garland, 1990. 32. There will also be some significant national variations. For example, the United Kingdom, under Margaret Thatcher's leadership, consistently reduced expenditures for post-secondary education, with significant negative consequences for higher education. See, for example, Sir Claus Moser, ' T h e Robbins Report 25 Years After: and the Future of the Universities', Oxford Journal of Educa- tion, Vol. 14, N o . 1, 1988, pp. 5-20. 33. For broader considerations of the reforms of the 1960s, see L . Cerych and P . Sabatier, Great Patterns of the High- er Education System, London, J. Kingsley, 1989; P . G . Altbach (ed.), University Reform: Comparative Perspec- tives for the Seventies, Cambridge, Mass . , S c h e n k m a n , 1974; and P . G . Altbach, Perspectives on Comparative Higher Education: Essays on Faculty, Students and Re- form, Buffalo, N . Y . , Comparative Education Center, S U - NY-Buffalo, 1989. 34. For an example of an influential student proposal for higher education reform, see W . Nitsch et al., Hochschule in der Demokratie, Berlin, Luchterhand, 1965. 35. J. E . Lane and M . Murray, ' T h e Significance of Decen- tralization in Swedish Education', European Journal of Education, Vol. 20, N o . 2 /3 ,1985 , pp. 163-72. 36. See A . Astin et al., The Power of Protest (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1975) for an overview of the results of the fer- men t of the 1960s on American higher education. 37. ' T h e Legacy of Robbins', European Journal of Education, Vol. 14, N o . 1,1988, pp. 3-112. 38. For a critical viewpoint, see H . Daalder and E . Shils (eds.), Universities, Politicians and Bureaucrats: Europe and the United States, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982. 39. See, for example, 'Universities and Industry', European Journal of Education, Vol. 20, N o . 1,1985, pp. 5-66. 40. O f course, this is not a new concern for higher education. See T . Veblen, The Higher Learning in America: A M e m - orandum on the Conduct of Universities by Business Men, N e w York, Viking Press, 1918.Patterns in higher education development : 203 towards the year 2 0 0 0 41. See K . Hufner, 'Accountability', in: P . G . Altbach (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Comparative Higher Educa- tion, op. cit. 42. P . G . Altbach, 'Academic Freedom in Asia: Learning the Limitations', Far Eastern Economic Review, 26 June 1988, pp. 45-84. 43. E . Shils, The Academic Ethic, Chicago, University of Chi- cago Press, 1983. 44. A classic discussion of the development of the modern university is Ben-David and ZIoczower, op. cit. 45. See, for example, R . Nisbet, The Degradation of the Aca- demic Dogma: The University in America, 1945-1970, N e w York, Basic Books, 1971. A . Bloom, in his The Clos- ing of the American Mind ( N e w York, Simon & Schuster, 1987) echoes m a n y of Nisbet's sentiments. 46. It is significant to note that in those countries that have lo- cated m u c h of their research in non-university institu- tions, such as the Academies of Sciences in the Soviet U n - ion and some Eastern European nations, there has been some rethinking of this organizational model, as well as a feeling that universities m a y be more effective locations for the major research enterprise. See A . Vucinich, E m - pire of Knowledge: The Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1911-1970). 47. See T . W . Shaugnessy et al., 'Scholarly Communication: The Need for Action - A Symposium', Journal of Aca- demic Librarianship, Vol. 15, N o . 2,1989, pp. 68-78. See also Scholarly Communication: The Report of the National Commission, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979. 48. These issues are discussed in P . G . Altbach, The Know- ledge Context. . ., op. cit. See I. L . Horowitz, Commun- icating Ideas: The Crisis of Publishing in a Post-Industrial Society ( N e w York, Oxford University Press, 1986) for a different perspective. 49. For an American perspective, see H . B o w e n and J. Schus- ter, American Professors: A National Resource Imperiled, N e w York, Oxford University Press, 1986. 50. D . C . Levy, Higher Education and the Slate in Latin America: Private Challenges to Public Dominance, Chica- go, University of Chicago Press, 1986. See also R . L . Geiger, Private Sectors in Higher Education: Structure, Function and Change in Eight Countries, A n n Arbor, Mich. , University of Michigan Press, 1986. 51. G . P . Kelly, ' W o m e n in Higher Education', in: P . G . Alt- bach (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Comparative Higher Education, op. cit. 52. A possible exception to this situation are the universities in the United Kingdom, where a decade of financial cuts by the Thatcher government has sapped the morale of the universities and has m a d e it difficult for even such dis- tinguished institutions as Oxford and Cambridge to conti- nue top-quality research. See G . Watford, ' T h e Privatiza- tion of British Higher Education', European Journal of Education, Vol. 23, N o . 1/2,1988, pp. 47-64. 53. Education in Sub-Saharan Africa . . ., op. cit., pp. 68-81. 54. For a survey of student movements, see P . G . Altbach (ed.), Student Political Activism: An International Refe- rence Handbook, Westport, Conn . , Greenwood Press, 1989.Autonomy and accountability in higher education Orlando Albornoz T h e concepts of autonomy and accountability are closely linked. However, there would also ap- pear to be an additional relationship between these and other related concepts, such as eco- nomic and social development, academic free- d o m and the specific political role of the un- iversity, both within its o w n confines and in relation to the world outside. F r o m the stand- point of the concept of development, it would seem that as a country achieves a higher level of development, interest in the autonomy of the university diminishes and interest in its accoun- tability grows. Academic freedom for its part is indissolubly bound up with autonomy because of the fundamental criterion that academic free- d o m cannot exist without autonomy. University Orlando Albornoz (Venezuela). Professor at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and visiting pro- fessor at the Universidad de Oriente {Venezuela) and at the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales in Buenos Aries. President of the Committee of Educational Research in Sociology and the Inter- national Association of Sociology. Member of the Steering Committee of the International Association of Universities and consultant for a number of inter- national organizations. Among his recent works are: La educación en el Estado democrático; Juventud y educación en Venezuela; La educación bajo el signo de la crisis; and La reforma educativa. He is co-author (with Miguel A. EscotetJ o/Educación y desarrollo desde la perspectiva sociológica. autonomy seems in turn to depend on the pre- vailing political system, since democracy by its nature guarantees autonomy, while the author- itarian forms of political organization deny the concept of autonomy; under an authoritarian system, the activities of the state are centralized and the universities are treated as appendages of the government. O n the other hand, the same concept of autonomy is often used to support the claim that any form of accountability negates the principle that the university must manage its o w n affairs without external interference. A n y discussion of the concepts of autonomy and accountability is therefore bound to be ex- tremely complex, especially as the way in which these concepts are used and handled varies as a function of place and time. Hence it is unlikely that w e can consider these two concepts 'un- iversal', though, technically speaking, there can be no doubt of their conceptual characteristics in each case. If a chart were to be drawn up of the way in which each of these two concepts is applied in each university throughout the world, there would in all probability be total agreement on the concept of autonomy, but disagreement on the possibility of implementing norms of ac- countability in the universities. In a society like that of the United States, for example, the no- tion of accountability involves a reference to is- sues of public order, since higher education is not alone in being subject to this kind of accoun- tability; the same principle applies to the activ- Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 1991Autonomy and accountability in higher education 205 ities of politicians and to institutions in general. In a Third World society, on the other hand, ac- countability is not an issue of public order, but a subject that remains to all intents and purposes secret. T h e private lives of politicians are gener- ally preserved in this way without any need for details to be k n o w n to public opinion; it follows that m a n y institutions and activities are consi- dered to be exempt from public accountability, such as the payment of taxes and other matters; even the curriculum vitae of the persons w h o oc- cupy public functions is habitually treated as a 'confidential matter' and one that is kept out of the public domain. At all events, it is appropriate to analyse the concepts of autonomy and accountability sep- arately to begin with, before looking at the asso- ciations between them. That at least is the ap- proach that w e propose to follow in this study, faithful to the criterion indicated at the outset that these are closely related concepts, but ne- vertheless issues that must be dealt with sep- arately. Autonomy In the words of Perkins (1978): ' F r o m the ear- liest beginnings of the university in the Middle Ages, d o w n to the present century, autonomy or self-government has been a key ingredient in the ideology of institutions of higher learning'. H o - wever, it seems very likely that the notion of au- tonomy will be seriously called into question in the post-industrial world since society tends, as it progresses in that direction, to integrate its va- rious functions more closely; that being so, the university will no longer be able to claim that it lives confined in an ivory tower. In the contem- porary world, autonomy therefore seems to in- volve striking a delicate balance between the need to respond to the requirements of society, while at the same time satisfying the needs spec- ific to the institution itself, such as academic freedom. In that sense, the final decade of the twentieth century is clearly an excellent vantage point from which to observe the development of the concept of autonomy, with regard to the far- reaching political changes that w e have wit- nessed at the beginning of this decade, symbol- ized by the reunification of G e r m a n y and the re- surgence of democracy in the countries of Eastern Europe. This equilibrium of functions is highly un- stable. O n the one hand, the university is unable to adapt fully to the demands m a d e by society, namely the training of h u m a n resources or the generation and dissemination of knowledge; neither can it permit its m e m b e r s to work in complete and absolute independence from those needs of society. T h e literal meaning of the con- cept of autonomy is self-government. Different social groups, the nation as a whole and profes- sional or university associations, m a y thus be de- scribed as autonomous w h e n they are capable of controlling their o w n affairs. There is a general impression that institutions such as universities are excessively autonomous, but what is certain- ly implied by this is that they must be accoun- table to society at large, or to those affected by their decisions. T h e different dimensions of the concept of autonomy are apparent from the interpretation placed on it by Berlin (1958): I wish m y life and decisions to depend on myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be an instrument of m y o w n , not of other men ' s acts of will. I wish to be a subject, not an object; to be moved byreasons, by conscious purposes, which are m y o w n , not by causes that affect m e , as it were, from outside. . . . I wish, above all, to be conscious of myself as a thinking, willing, active being, bearing responsibility for m y choices and able to explain them by references to m y o w n ideas and purposes. It follows from the foregoing that autonomy pre- supposes a strong component of moral responsi- bility and a close relationship between autono- m y and liberty. T h e university must be autonomous, but it must equally assume a pro- found moral responsibility and apply the notion of liberty within the limits that m a y be imposed by this moral responsibility. Au tonomy, in other words, is not an abstract right, but a concrete ra- tionale. It is accordingly not neutral but rather a206 Orlando Albornoz concept related to a specific reality - in this in- stance, society and its demands and expecta- tions. T h e university naturally seeks to optimize and maximize the exercise of its autonomy, but society has the right to control that autonomy and so autonomy must inevitably be restricted w h e n conflicts arise between the rights of socie- ty and those of the university. Autonomy m a y thus be referred to as an unstable equilibrium. Experience of university autonomy enables us to define its different levels. It is a generally accepted fact that this concept involves, at the very least, the following categories, as suggested by D u r h a m (1989): autonomy of research, teach- ing autonomy, administrative autonomy and au- tonomy of financial expenditure. I should like to add one further category: that of physical or spa- tial autonomy. However, each of these particular categories must be analysed in relation to the type of university involved since, in the case of Venezuela, to quote the example with which I a m most familiar, there are at least four types of university and the concept of autonomy varies in practice as a function of the type of institution concerned. These types are as follows: the auto- nomous university in the strict sense of the term, and the governmental university, both of them being in the public sector, together with two other categories in the private sector that I might define as the private university with a pri- marily academic function and the private un- iversity with commercial objectives. T h e auto- nomous Latin American university is seeking to extend the forms of autonomy referred to above to include that of physical or spatial autonomy. At the end of 1990, a polemic developed in V e - nezuela on the subject of whether or not the pol- ice force should have access to the precincts of the university, especially if the members of the university community were facing a risk to their personal safety. T h e argument centred on the question as to whether the police force was entit- led to enter the grounds of the university or whether the autonomy of the university was such that this territory could not under any cir- cumstances be violated, the concept of autono- m y thus being extended to the university cam- pus itself. If autonomy implies self-control, it is clear- ly apparent that w h e n the university itself is unable to exercise that control, it must be im- posed by those w h o have the means of maintain- ing public order. A n y contrary claim would amount to a reductio ad absurdum, though the same criterion is acceptable in the case of a na- tion, according to the principle of territorial in- tegrity. Intervention by bodies external to the university is not justified in any other case, but it does occur under authoritarian and dictatorial forms of government, because university auto- n o m y then ceases to exist. Within a liberal de- mocracy, the prevailing principle is that of non- interference with university autonomy, but it is obvious that w h e n fundamental h u m a n rights, such as the right to life, are violated, university autonomy becomes a secondary concept as oth- erwise w e should have to interpret it as an abso- lute principle. In that sense, it would seem ap- propriate to consider the principle of equality of both individuals and institutions before the law as the only absolute. Mention should, however, be m a d e at this point of the issue of the integrity of the individual versus the integrity of the in- stitution. If a tyrannical administration is esta- blished in a university, in a democratic society the members ofthat society have the right to in- tervene, just as if a tyrannical government is es- tablished in a nation, the university is entitled to fight against it to defend its o w n autonomy. T h e question of autonomy of the university m a y therefore be approached by reference to the categories defined above. Scientific autonomy implies the fact that the originators of know- ledge must be able to deploy their efforts accord- ing to their o w n agenda, subject only to eval- uation by their peers and without external interference of any other type. Similarly, teach- ing autonomy implies that the university must have the capacity to decide within its o w n frame of reference which knowledge should be trans- mitted and which techniques should be used for that purpose. As to the question of administra- tive autonomy, the university must be in a posi- tion to control the admission of students and teaching and research staff, to draw up its o w n curricula, confer academic degrees and establishAutonomy and accountability in higher education 207 relations with other institutions within the country and abroad, while also encouraging the production and subsequent dissemination of knowledge on the scale which it deems appro- priate. Finally, the university must be free to manage its o w n budget within the limits of the funds available, and to collect n e w funds needed for its activities, though it must remain subject to institutional forms of administrative, academ- ic and financial control. T h e autonomy of the university must therefore not be allowed to bring it into conflict with such forms of accountability as m a y be defined. University autonomy m a y of course be considered relative, while academic freedom is an absolute. It follows that the un- iversity itself m a y be accountable, but not this freedom which transcends any possibility of measurement by concepts of accountability, such as efficiency and efficacy, output and per- formance . In that sense it deserves to be e m p h a - sized that university autonomy can only operate and function within the limits of political de- mocracy; otherwise w h e n 'authoritarian cul- tures' arise, this concept, like that of academic freedom, disappears (Brunner, 1981). Similarly, w h e n market forces dominate within democratic societies, the autonomy of the university will be diminished by the application of the laws of competition. T h e theme of autonomy might of course be approached in other ways. Berdahl (1971), cited by Lindly (1986), has done so by postulating two categories which enable the concept to be de- fined in more concrete terms. H e speaks of the two dimensions of autonomy - procedural and substantive. In the first case, the mechanism of control stems from decisions of an administra- tive nature while, in the second, fundamental academic matters are involved, whose control af- fects the academic dynamic of the university. T h e interesting feature of Berdahl's approach is that it teaches us that the concept of autonomy must be categorized to understand its full signif- icance, in his case as a dichotomy, or in D u r - h a m ' s approach, through a set of different cate- gories to which must be added the notion of the specific territory of the university, which is h o w autonomy is understood in Latin America in particular. In this sense, the concept of autono- m y has been associated with that of sovereignty in Latin America. This distinction has been pos- tulated in precise terms (Gabaldon, 1982, p . 155): Sovereignty is the supreme and independent pow- er of the public authorities as representatives of the state or, in other words, it is the characteristic fea- ture that the political power of one particular state is not subject to that of any other state. Autonomy is the authority that specific entities within a state and belonging to it m a y enjoy in order to regulate the particular interests of their internal affairs by means of norms and organs of government that have been granted to them and therefore belong to them. T o understand the full practical implications of the sovereign version of autonomy, it is interest- ing to analyse the political climate experienced by m a n y countries of the Third World in recent decades. In this broad process of the construc- tion of political democracy, the territory of the university has often been the scene of a struggle against dictatorship and authoritarianism so that the concept of autonomy has acquired a signif- icant political colouring and become an aspect of the struggle for power. However , the political powers always seek to control the academic authority, especially in or under forms of author- itarian government of which history has given us so m a n y examples - such as the rise to polit- ical power of National Socialism in G e r m a n y or of the C u b a n guérilleros in their country. Similar examples can be observed today in connection with the Palestinian universities or the universi- ties in the countries of the Third World in gen- eral where the academic authorities have no au- tonomy and certainly no sovereignty of their o w n . In the developed countries this is, of course, a debate that has little meaning and it might almost be maintained that a higher level of development and political stability is accom- panied by no discussion of the territorial sove- reignty of the university whatsoever because this is an issue that does not even arise, just as at a higher level of development and political stabil- ity the concept and actual implementation of university autonomy are more permanent and208 Orlando Albornoz better identified; at the same time, w h e n a high- er level of development and greater political sta- bility are achieved, the degree of accountability is also greater and the level of interference by the political power with the academic author- ities is correspondingly reduced. However, techniques have progressively been developed to regulate autonomy, as Volk- wein (1987) has m a d e clear with reference to the North American example. This would seem to be the consequence of a process of negotiation between the political and academic authorities, so that the state and the university are constantly engaged in the redefinition of their mutual rela- tions, but without either power imposing its o w n predetermined criteria on the other, except as a result of this process of negotiation. In other words, the pressure from society is reflected in action by the state to regulate the university in such a way that it becomes more efficient and ef- fective, in conformity with the demands m a d e by society and by the state. T h e regulatory tech- niques correspond in brief to the elaboration of a macro-policy that enables the political and aca- demic powers to define their fields of action and preserve their o w n institutional integrity. W h e n Volkwein suggests n e w areas of research into the topic of the relations between the state and the academic world, he asks two questions that I consider particularly relevant at this juncture: W h a t is the proper balance between the compet- ing interests of state accountability and campus autonomy? Is there an identifiable point at which state policies and control practices be- c o m e disincentives to effective management? A similar question might also be formulated in the light of the experience of the autonomous Vene- zuelan university, for example (the autonomous university is also sovereign to the extent that it is founded on the principle that the university in- cludes territoriality in the concept of its autono- m y ) : to what extent does the state impede the ef- ficient functioning of the university w h e n it applies absolute deregulatory procedures on the assumption that any other attitude would consti- tute an encroachment on the autonomy of the university? In the case of Venezuela, the state has cer- tainly been tending to limit the autonomy of the universities, but it has done so indirectly, with- out discussing negotiating procedures with the academy, by taking its o w n decisions. In the ex- ample mentioned above, the government took action affecting the autonomous university in 1970 w h e n it created mechanisms for the di- versification of higher education, thus enabling the role of the autonomous universities which had hitherto been essential in the Venezuelan system of higher education to be reduced. This educational policy proved successful and, at the time of writing (1990), nearly 20 per cent of stu- dents following courses of higher education in Venezuela attend non-university institutions, while some 30 per cent more attend universities that have been created without an autonomous statute - in other words they are under govern- mental control. As a result, enrolments in the autonomous universities have fallen to 50 per cent of the total; it should be noted that un- iversities separate from the autonomous esta- blishments were not created in Venezuela until 1953, the year in which two private universities were opened. However, to return to the central topic, the question of autonomy remains one of the most important issues affecting the university. Pope John Paul II, for example, issued a series of norms relating to the operation of Catholic un- iversities in 1990, but these standards still upheld the principle of autonomy, despite the expression of the hope that the Catholic un- iversities would respect 'the authority of the Church in matters of faith and morality'. T h e situation prevailing in the stable British democ- racy is equally interesting; here the managerial model of education, inspired by the Conserva- tive Government, maintains that 'higher educa- tion outcome should or ought to be determined and judged outside itself and in terms of social rather than intellectual criteria', thus endorsing Kogan (1989) in the belief that the universities had been treated 'like religious houses in the early sixteenth century, full of libidinous abbots and corrupt nuns and most in need of reform'. In any event, the words of Kerr (1990) hold true:Autonomy and accountability in higher education 209 Their autonomy [of the universities] to respond to the internationalization of learning, as to other in- itiatives they wish to carry out, is affected by their ownership: public or private or some combination; by their governance: external or internal or some combination; by their financing: single sources or multiple sources, and private or public funds dis- tributed as though they were private, for example, through grants or loans to students. H o w far na- tional purposes may impose their unwanted will on academic purposes depends substantially, country by country, on the long-run strategic sit- uation of institutions of higher education. In fact, as Levy (1986) has pointed out, this is the case in Latin America and the Caribbean area; in some countries of this region, institutional au- tonomy is greater in the case of private universi- ties created as a consequence of the growth of this sector in the last three decades. T h e crea- tion of private universities does admittedly re- quire statutory authorization from the state, but once they have been established they develop criteria of autonomy which are practically abso- lute. Moreover, some private universities in the region manage to function without statutory re- cognition, benefiting from the lack of rigorous standards of accreditation. This is the case of the Universidad de la Tercera Edad (University for Senior Citizens) in Venezuela which has been operating at various centres throughout the country since 1985 without legal recognition by the appropriate authority, at least up to the time of writing. However , therelationship between autonomy and the private university is delicate, since in the latter case the immediate interests are m u c h closer to the decision-making process, so that academic freedom can easily be infringed through interference by the proprietors of the universities in their internal affairs. It might be put forward as axiomatic that the autonomous university is alone in being able to achieve ac- ceptable levels of academic freedom, at least in Latin America, because private universities en- joy only a limited and restricted form of academ- ic freedom. O n e aspect to which little reference has been m a d e in literature on the autonomy of un- iversities in the strictly academic sense, is the extent to which internationalization of know- ledge in reality impinges on the intellectual so- vereignty of the universities. A s a consequence of technological advances and of the interna- tional policies of consensus which are develop- ing in the 1990s, the national academic space is becoming part of a global, universal context where the capacity of the individual universities for autonomy is tending ostensibly to diminish. It is true that the universities are institutions dedicated to universal knowledge, but until very recently that was no more than a rhetorical pro- position, a principle and an objective; today, in our global village, this n e w world dimension is giving rise to an interesting intellectual practice which permits the dissemination of knowledge on an authentic international scale. W h a t Alt- bach (1987, p. 186) has described as 'knowledge networks in the modern world' are becoming ex- tremely active entities in our contemporary world. H e suggests that a better understanding of the way in which knowledge networks func- tion might provide a stimulus for the attainment of autonomy: T h e knowledge network is complex. Those w h o currently dominate the network have considerable advantages. T o a considerable extent, they control the copyright system, existing distribution net- works and the major international languages. Yet there is room for manoeuvre. A careful under- standing of the nature of the network, the interre- lationship of its elements and the possibilities for independent action will yield not only understand- ing of one of the most important aspects of post- industrial society, but m a y also provide consider- able autonomy. However , this process m a y obviously engender the opposite effect, namely a loss of autonomy by the universities to the extent that they are caught up in these mechanisms for the interna- tional production and dissemination of k n o w - ledge that originate essentially in the metropol- itan academic centres and reach out to the academic centres of the Third World through the intermediary of rigorous procedures for the transfer of knowledge. In fact, inter-university communication continues to be a North-South2IO Orlando Albornoz relationship and South-South communication only occurs in exceptional cases. This is easy to observe in the statistics for international student movements from which it emerges that students from almost all the coun- tries of the Third World are present in the m e - tropolitan countries, but there are very few exchanges between Third World countries themselves; this situation is obviously explained by the keen desire to acquire the n e w technol- ogies which are produced in the industrialized world, but it is often forgotten that w h e n the need arises to solve c o m m o n problems, as is the case today in the Third World, it inevitably in- volves the acquisition of familiarity with new technologies as a specific means of resolving c o m m o n problems. But these issues of the international rela- tions of a university and its corresponding aca- demic autonomy are affected by the habitual mechanisms of industrial power. W e m a y speak of three levels of pressure on university autono- m y : the level of national society, the level in- ternal to the institution itself and this third level of international pressure that follows the pattern of relations between the developed metropolitan countries and the countries of the Third World; however, the latter is certainly not a homogene- ous entity since some Third World countries do try to maintain their university autonomy through control of these knowledge networks which are of such vital international impor- tance. Mention should be m a d e here of the fact that, in the case of Latin America at least, un- iversity autonomy is essentially a political con- quest, as is apparent from the principles underly- ing the creation of an autonomous university for the first time in Córdoba, Argentina, in 1918. In fact, the preservation or abolition of university autonomy has been a key indicator for any un- derstanding of the political mechanisms that govern the university. In practice the first action that de facto regimes take is to abolish university autonomy, which is always restored w h e n the country concerned reverts to a state of law. In the Third World countries, the concept of auto- n o m y is thus intimately bound up with the na- ture of the political regime and with the concept of freedom itself. There is a general impression that if a dis- tinction is drawn between research universities and teaching universities, the former are in grea- ter need than the latter of their institutional au- tonomy because in general, as Schwartzman (1989) points out 'the question of university au- tonomy is always associated with the prestige of science and its indissoluble ties with teaching and the dissemination of knowledge, the issue of democracy being m u c h less important here'. This endorses our point of view that the research universities (described by Parsons as cognitive complexes) are created at an advanced stage of development w h e n autonomy becomes binding in the context of intensive processes of moderni- zation; in that situation the university is, rela- tively speaking, less dependent on the forms of political government. Accountability T h e subject of accountability is closely bound up with that of autonomy, but m a y be said to have essentially practical implications. It is a relative- ly n e w concept in the modern academic world. However, viewed from the historical angle, un- iversity institutions have always been subject to some kind of control. W h e n Bernard de Clair- vaux visited Paris in 1139, he spoke in dramatic terms of the need for scholars to preserve their moral standards and good habits, thus giving them an indirect warning that if they did not themselves control their academic lives, others would do it for them (Ferruolo, 1985). Be that as it m a y , universities have undergone periodic re- forms and this procedure no doubt constitutes a form of accountability. Today, however, rather than saving souls, there is a real need for effi- cient use to be m a d e of public funds and also for the private universities to satisfy the demands of society rather than those of the groups that pro- mote them. Accountability thus becomes a con- cept involving evaluation and measurement ofAutonomy and accountability in higher education 211 performance, and monitoring of all the func- tions of a university. In the strictly technical sense, accountability means rendering accounts not only in the book-keeping sense of the term, but also with reference to the relationship bet- w e e n the objectives and the means , in conformi- ty with the needs of society and of the university itself. Mortimer (1972) draws a clear distinction between external and internal accountability, that is to say with reference to society at large and to the institution as such. In his view, the need for some form of control by society over the universities exists because this level of educa- tion has ceased to be a privilege and become in- stead an established right in our mass society. But the question then arises as to w h o in society is to exercise this controlling function in such a way that it effectively meets the abstract needs of society and not those of one particular power group in that society. In democratic societies with anadequate level of pluralism, the answer m a y take various forms since control m a y be ef- fected equally by the executive of the country and by professional associations, but in cases where the level of pluralism is less pronounced, society ends up by being synonymous with small power groups. In a pluralistic society, most of the controls are effected through forms of ac- creditation and institutional authorizations to enable the universities to function, together with general official recognition in particular of academic degrees and diplomas. But in a m o d - ern society ofthat kind, public opinion serves as a permanent factor of accountability, in such a way that the institutions fall into line with cer- tain trends and manifestations of social pressure, often of an innovative nature vis-à-vis the un- iversity; society itself has mechanisms for change that generally precede changes within the university, for example, changes that enable minority rights to be defended or changes in the representation and role of the sexes. Unfortunately, however, these mechanisms of public opinion do not exist in m a n y societies of the Third World and institutional control tends to take the form of political repression. This is the reason for the enormous resistance on the part of universities in this part of the world against accepting accountability to a body external to the university itself. This does not m e a n that the universities are unaware of their relative inefficiency or the need for forms of con- trol. In Brazil, for example, the Rector of Rio de Janeiro University points out that 'in an under- developed country like ours, universities end up doing everything, including services that are the state's responsibility. But lack of assessment and control allows m u c h inefficiency' (The Chron- icle, 11 July 1990). In Mexico, w h e n approval was obtained for mechanisms of control and eval- uation of the universities, the opinion was voiced that these were 'government mechan- isms to control us', just as the Rector of the N a - tional Autonomous University of Mexico stated in an interview that he agreed with the idea of a general evaluation of the Mexican universities, but was well aware that some university admi- nistrators viewed this evaluation as a kind of 'in- quisition' (The Chronicle, 1 August 1990). Simi- larly there is a trend, even in the developed countries, to reject any external evaluation of higher education. For example, in the United K i n g d o m a report by the House of C o m m o n s sought to establish strict forms of control which met with the disapproval of public opinion. A n editorial in The Times Higher Education Supple- ment (14 September 1990) argued two critical is- sues here: Universities are public institutions but they are not state institutions . . . the second is that such strict line-by-line financial accountability goes against the spirit certainly, and the letter arguably, of the Education Reform Act. This makes it clear that the Government's and Parliament's control is con- fined to the public funds given to universities. Their other income is their o w n business. At all events, as Mortimer rightly observes: It is clear that colleges and universities are held ac- countable to a variety of external interests and agencies: they are accountable to society for the functions they perform, they are accountable to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government for efficiency in their operations, for controlling excessively deviant faculty and student212 Orlando Albornoz behaviour, and for essential fairness and due pro- cess in their internal decision-making process. This view m a y of course be peculiar to North American society where such a network of con- trolling mechanisms does exist. It would be dif- ficult to envisage the concept of accountability in this form in any other type of society where the controls often lean towards political and so- cial repression. Mortimer refers in the second place to in- ternal forms of accountability. Although he does not refer directly to the following interpretation, it might be said that internal accountability is m u c h more necessary and has to do with the measurement of factors such as the performance and activities within the university of members of the teaching and research staff in relation to their actual function within the institution; the measurement of the academic and personal per- formance of students from the standpoint of the institution, and the performance of the admi- nistrative and manual personnel (these being the categories of staff in any university). Similarly, it m a y be appropriate to measure all the other functions of the university, especially scientific research, relations with industry and with the community, dissemination and coverage. In this internal sense, the university needs a definition of accountability, and w e are told that 'accounta- bility is the guarantee that all students, without respect to race, income or social class, will ac- quire the m i n i m u m school skills necessary to take full advantage of the choices that accrue upon successful completion of public schooling' (Porter, 1971). However, in societies where edu- cational inequality is relatively great, all the stu- dents in effect form part of the whole so that the first appropriate form of accountability is exter- nal in order to ensure that a majority of the per- sons needing to do so do in fact gain access to the system of higher education. Internal resistance to the procedures for the evaluation of academic performance is extreme- ly strong. In the case of the Venezuelan universi- ty for instance, internal evaluation is extremely difficult to implement because the members of the teaching and research staff are not an in- tegral part of the whole, but are members of the powerful teaching associations that define and regulate the role of such staff and the number of working hours that they are required to put in each week; any form of evaluation is refused un- less it can rely on the approval of the Association of University Teachers which in reality syste- matically rejects the notion of evaluation in any shape or form. T h e rector, w h o is the highest university authority in Venezuela, in fact has his hands tied. T h e Rector of the Central University of Venezuela governs but has no power in rela- tion to the academic community. Edward H o - lyoke, President of Harvard University, said on his deathbed in 1769: 'If any m a n wishes to be humbled and mortified, let h im become Presi- dent of Harvard College'; the rector of an auto- n o m o u s Venezuelan university might para- phrase Holyoke and say that there is no position of greater importance in Venezuela from which it is possible to do absolutely nothing than that of a rector. H e certainly has no authority to or- ganize any evaluation of the teaching and re- search staff, the students, employees and manual workers, because each of these groups is protect- ed by rigorous employment contracts which are to all intents and purposes inviolable. Suffice it to say that a m e m b e r of the teaching and re- search staff in the Venezuelan autonomous un- iversities has a job for life, and no authority ex- ists with the right to change this situation. So m u c h so that any evaluation tends to be seen as a restriction of acquired rights and a threat to the privileges w o n through m a n y years of struggle for power. Nothing short of an 'inquisition', to repeat the words of one Mexican academic. At the other end of the scale, in the private Vene- zuelan universities, the contracts of members of the teaching staff (few staff are engaged in scien- tific research which is in any case oriented al- most exclusively towards semi-professional ac- tivities) are renewed annually, so that there is in effect an internal process of accountability, al- beit strictly confined to teaching performance. Clark (1983) writes that 'almost any educated person could deliver a lecture entitled " T h e Goals of the University". Almost no one will lis-A u t o n o m y and accountability 213 ten to the lecture voluntarily.' T h e same adage holds good for the concept of autonomy, espe- cially in Latin America where it is a tenet of aca- demic faith. In effect, m u c h of the rhetorical thinking on the subject of the university in this part of the world turns on the concept of autono- m y , though it is not an exclusive feature of this region. In India, for example, the same principle is treated with some reverence in official docu- ments formulating the policy for higher educa- tion. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, discus- sion of university autonomy has become an important feature of educational debate in that country, while the universities of the former G e r m a n Democratic Republic were obliged, fol- lowing the unification of Germany, to espouse the concept of autonomy following the pattern that applied in the West. T h e concept of accountability is of enor- m o u s interest, especially because it presupposes that it will be accompanied by specific tech- niques to control and regulate the university, a matter in which governments take an excessive interest, though the universities do at the same time believe that suitable forms of accountability could increase their internal efficiency. M a n y kinds of resistance to accountability do exist and some have already been mentioned. In North America, this resistance stems from certain ac- tors in the educational process and more specif- ically from the members of the teaching and re- search staff as some teachers m a y not support the accountability concept because it implies that their work is being evaluated - and this is disconcerting to some in- dividuals. In addition, some teachers' associations may oppose the concept on the basis that it implies an evaluation of the entire teaching profession. Accountability as a principle thus involves in- novation, while autonomy is an inherent feature of the traditional concept of the university. D e - termining h o w these two issues can be recon- ciled for the greater benefit of the universities and of the vital process of national and interna- tional development, is an interesting challenge to the contemporary academic world. • References A L T B A C H , P . G . 1987. The Knowledge Context, Comparative Perspectives on the Distribution of Knowledge. Albany, State University of N e w York Press. B E R D H A L , R . 1971. Quoted by R . Lindly. 1986. Autonomy. At- lantic Highlands, N.J . , Humanities International Press Inc. B E R L I N , 1.1958. Quoted by R . Lindly. 1986. Autonomy, p. 7. Atlantic Highlands, N.J . , Humanities International Press Inc. B R U N N E R , J. J. 1981. La cultura autoritaria en Chile. Santiago de Chile, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. C L A R K , B . R . 1983. The Higher Education System. Academic Organization in Cross-national Perspective. Berkley, Calif., University of California Press. D U R H A M , E . R . 1989. A autonomía universitaria, O principio constitucional e suas implicaçôes, pp. 1-16. Säo Paulo, N ú - cleo de Pesquisas sobre Ensino Superior, Universidade de Sao Paulo. F E R R U O L O , S. C . 1985. The Origins of the University; The School of Paris and their Critics, 1100-1215. Stanford, Calif., Stanford University Press. G A B A L D O N , A . 1982. La enfermedad latinoamericana de la edu- cación superior. Caracas, Fondo Editorial para el Desarrollo de la Educación Superior. K E R R , C . 1990. T h e Internationalization of Learning and the Nationalization of the Purposes of Higher Education: T w o 'Laws of Motion' in Conflict? European Journal of Educa- tion, Vol. 25, N o . 1, pp 5-22. K O G A N , M . 1989. Managerialism in Higher Education. In: D e - nis Lawton (ed.), The Education Reform Act: Choice and Control, pp. 67-81. London, Hodder & Stoughton. L E V Y , D . C . 1986. Higher Education and the State in Latin America: Private Challenges to Public Dominance. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. L I N D L Y , R . 1986. Autonomy. Atlantic Highlands, N.J . , H u - manities International Press Inc. M O R T I M E R , K . P . 1972. Accountability in Higher Education. Washington, D . C . , American Association for Higher Edu- cation. P E R K I N S , J. A . 1978. Autonomy. The International Encyclope- dia of Higher Education, Vol. 2A , pp. 578-83. San Francis- co, Jossey-Bass. P O R T E R , J. W . 1971. Accountability in Education. In: L . M . Lessinger and R . W . Tyler (eds.), Accountability in Educa- tion, pp. 42-52. Worthington, Ohio, Charles A . Jones Pu- blishing C o . S C H W A R T Z M A N , S. 1989. Ciencia, profissöes e a questäo da auto- nomía, pp. 1-18. Sâo Paulo, Núcleo de Pesquisas sobre E n - sino Superior, Universidade de Sao Paulo. V O L K W E I N , J. F . 1987. State Regulations and Campus Autono- m y . In: J. C . Smart (ed.), Higher Education. Handbook of Theory and Research, Vol. Ill, pp 120-54. N e w York, Agathon Press.O p e n universities A comparative approach Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble This article is an analysis of the use of distance education methods for post-secondary educa- tion, written shortly after the fifteenth World Conference of the International Council for Dis- tance Education ( ICDE) , held in Caracas in N o - vember 1990. T h e proceedings (Croft et al., 1990; Villaroel and Pereira, 1990) of this meet- ing, attended by representatives from a very large number of distance teaching institutions and open learning projects throughout the world, demonstrate clearly the great diversity of pedagogies, resources, curricula, media, and or- ganizational structures which characterize the uses of distance education methods in post-se- condary education. It has become customary, since a review published by U N E S C O some six- teen years ago (MacKenzie et al., 1975), to group such diverse projects together under the banner of 'open learning'; since then a number of n e w institutions called 'open universities' have been Tony Kaye (United Kingdom). Senior Lecturer in the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology. He is currently involved in a number of distance education developments in Europe, and is particularly interested in the potential of new com- munications technologies for improving the quality of distance learning. Greville Rumble (United Kingdom). Directs the provision of student support services in the East Anglian Region of the Open University. He was pre- viously the university's Planning Officer, and has consulted widely on distance education, particularly in Third World countries, and written widely in the field. established (some following the lead of the Brit- ish O p e n University) to cater specifically for ex- ternal or distance students. This article reviews these developments, and makes some predic- tions about likely future trends. It also points out the limitations of trying to draw comparisons between educational projects which are, in real- ity, often very different from each other, even within a single country or region. W e do not develop lengthy definitions of the terms 'distance education' and 'open learn- ing' in this article. This has been done else- where (for recent reviews, see Kaye, 1988, and Rumble , 1989). It is sufficient to say that w e con- sider distance education as including any organ- ized forms of education in which attendance at a class, tutorial, lecture, or any other form of face- to-face interaction between students and teach- ers carried out at the same time and in the same place, is not the primary learning m o d e . Should this sound too negative, w e could turn it on its head and define distance education as encom- passing those forms of instruction in which in- dependent study of specially prepared learning materials is the primary learning m o d e , and in which the roles of 'teacher' are split between course developers, w h o design and prepare the learning materials, and tutors, w h o provide sup- port for the distance student, act as mediators between the institution and the student, and usually evaluate and grade students' work. Dis- tance education institutions can be described as more 'open' than m a n y traditional institutions for a number of reasons specifically arising from the emphasis on independent study: easier ac- cess for geographically remote students, flexibil- Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 1991Open universities: a comparative approach 215 ity of self-paced study, publicly available learn- ing materials, etc. However, they are not necessarily more 'open' in terms of entry re- quirements, registration fees, curricula, or any other policy-related matters. T h e main purpose of this article is to draw some comparisons between the different ways in which distance education methods have been used for post-secondary education (regardless of whether the words 'open' or 'university' appear in the title of the organizations concerned). W e do not attempt to compare the relative quality or effectiveness of distance education systems and campus-based systems. Quality and effectiveness are complex issues. Direct comparisons between traditional and distance teaching institutions are often hard to make : there are curricular diffe- rences; the nature of the student population is different; the teaching and learning methods and the conditions of study are different; mature students m a y be admitted with non-traditional or even no prior educational qualifications, and m a y have very different expectations as to their educational aims and the way in which they will satisfy them. Distance teaching methods have been used for over a century for post-secondary and higher education, and the I C D E has recently estimated that there are over 10 million students currently taking degree courses at a distance. There is no question that these methods can be effective, provided that the materials are of adequate qual- ity, the course developers and tutors are compe- tent, the students are motivated, and the neces- sary resources are m a d e available. In these respects, the picture is little different from that in the traditional education sector - essentially the same variables determine success or failure. The development of distance education T h e first generation of distance education (lar- gely based on correspondence tuition), saw a number of purpose-built distance teaching in- stitutions at the post-secondary level: an Insti- tute for Teaching by Correspondence was es- tablished in Russia as early as 1850, and a n u m - ber of correspondence-teaching polytechnical institutes came into existence in the Soviet U n - ion in the 1920s and early 1930s. Other early ex- amples of purpose-built providers of post-secon- dary distance education courses include the Toussaint and Langenscheidt Institute in Berlin (established in 1856, and a pioneer in language teaching by correspondence) and the Swedish Liber Hermods Institute, established in 1898, and at times enrolling over 150,000 students each year. In addition to institutions exclusively de- voted to distance teaching, for m a n y years un- iversities whose main task was to teach tradition- al students by traditional means, using lectures, seminars and tutorials, had sought to extend their boundaries to meet the needs of part-time adult students and those of normal entry age w h o for one reason or another - geographical, social, or personal - could not study on-campus. T h e first tentative steps were m a d e by the U n - iversity of London which from 1858 allowed qualified candidates to be admitted for degree studies without the necessity of following a course of instruction at one of its approved col- leges. This left it open for 'external students' (as they came to be called in 1898) to seek tuition from private correspondence colleges such as University Correspondence College and Wolsey Hall. T h e logical development was for the un- iversity itself to provide correspondence tuition to 'external' students. T h e first steps were taken not by the University of London but by universi- ties in the United States (Illinois State Universi- ty, 1874; University of Chicago, 1891; University of Wisconsin, 1906), Canada (Queen's Universi- ty, 1889), Australia (University of Queensland, 1911) and subsequently copied by m a n y hun- dreds of higher education institutions both in these and other countries (witness the develop- ment of Correspondence Directorates at Indian universities, external studies at Australian and anglophone African universities, universidades abiertas in Latin American universities, and in- dependent studies at universities in the United States.2l6 Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble A n e w pattern of distance education was first given visibility in the higher education world by the establishment of the British O p e n University over twenty years ago. Given the sub- sequent development of open universities in other countries, it is easy to forget h o w innova- tive the British O p e n University seemed at the time. As Cyril Houle, Professor of Education at the University of Chicago commented: 'For some not-easily-defined reason, the O p e n U n - iversity instantly became a worldwide topic of concern . . . among both educators and the gen- eral public' (Houle, 1974, p. 35). T h e originality of the British O p e n University lay in the fact that it gave prominence to a second generation of distance education for home-based students, based on the combination of correspondence tuition, face-to-face tutorials, and the use of broadcast media as well as print, within the fra- mework of a publicly funded institution offering its o w n degrees. In making general statements about dis- tance teaching at university level, one should bear in mind that there are major differences in scale, curricula, pedagogical approaches and re- source levels, between the m a n y different in- stitutions involved throughout the world (see Daniel (1987) for a recent 'world tour' of dis- tance education). O n e could even ask whether it makes sense to draw any comparisons at all bet- ween, say, the Chinese Central Radio and Tele- vision University (which teaches hundreds of thousands of students mainly through broadcast- ing T V recordings of lectures to viewing groups in factories and offices), the Soviet universities operating a 'consultation' model (with around 1.5 million students spending 30 per cent of their study time in face-to-face meetings), and the G e r m a n Fernuniversität (which uses print- based courses, some backed up with audio and video cassettes, for 37,000 home-based indepen- dent learners), simply on the grounds that they happen to be 'distance teaching' institutions. A n y generalizations m a d e in the remainder of this article should be understood in this context. S o m e achievements of distance higher education In m a n y ways institutions of the kind referred to by Rumble and Harry (1982) as 'distance teach- ing universities' (i.e. institutions mandated to teach by distance means, and often called 'open universities') have received a disproportionate amount of attention, compared to the far more c o m m o n 'mixed m o d e ' institutions which teach by both distance and traditional means, and thus reach both remote and campus-based students. Together, these very different kinds of institu- tions, operating in diverse social, cultural and economic environments, have achieved remar- kable successes. T h e use of distance teaching methods has enabled universities to teach far more students than they would otherwise have been able to do. Once courses have been written, they can over a number of years be used to teach m a n y thou- sands of students. Distance education methods thus open up opportunities. A quarter of all un- iversity and college graduates in the former Ger- m a n Democratic Republic had attained their qualifications through distance studies (Möhle, 1988, p. 325). In Asia, the late 1970s and 1980s were marked by the foundation of n e w distance teaching universities such as the Sukhothai Thammathirat O p e n University in Thailand, which has had an accumulated enrolment of ov- er 500,000 students, and produced over 78,000 graduates; the Allama Iqbal O p e n University in Pakistan, which had almost 120,000 students in 1986; and the Indira Gandhi O p e n University in India, which has a potential annual enrolment of 700,000 students (Taylor and Sharma, 1990). These and other similar institutions increased access to higher education. While distance teaching methods enable universities to teach students w h o live at a great distance from the institution, geographical re- moteness from students is not a necessary fea- ture of this kind of education. T h e main charac- teristic is that learning takes place in the absenceOpen universities: a comparative approach 217 of a teacher, so that teaching needs to be in some ways mediated. There is nothing intrinsically odd in a campus-based student studying by dis- tance means, i.e. the bulk of learning is from media and not from sitting in the presence of the teacher. If w e think in these terms, w e can see h o w distance education methods can greatly in- crease the number of students traditional institu- tions cater for. Nevertheless, distance education methods do enable institutions to overcome barriers to ac- cess, arising from geographical remoteness (e.g. the University of Queensland External Studies Division and the Universidad Nacional de Edu- cación a Distancia, Spain) and inability to attend traditional campus-based universities. T h e Brit- ish O p e n University, for example, has over 3,000 students with disabilities. M a n y would be unable to attend a traditional university. T h e Al- lama Iqbal O p e n University meets the needs of w o m e n in purdah. T h e Extension Course In- stitute of the Air University, Montgomery, Ala- bama (established in 1950) offered technical and professional correspondence courses to U S Air Force reservists and personnel on active duty. Above all, distance education systems, by utiliz- ing methods which allow students to study in a place and time of their o w n choosing, have en- abled m a n y millions of individuals w h o could not have attended a traditional day- or evening- based system to take higher education courses. Universities using distance teaching meth- ods have thus provided opportunities to qual- ified school-leavers w h o , for whatever reason, were unable to take traditional higher education courses at the normal time (ie. post-school), and w h o have welcomed the opportunity to have a 'second chance' at higher education. In China the establishment of the Central Radio and Television University was seen as a means of providing a way of educating the m a n y young people whose natural educational deve- lopment had been disrupted during the cultural revolution (Dieuzeide, 1985, p. 42), while the College of Adult and Distance Education at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, has as its primary objective the education of 'the large majority of adults w h o were denied higher education oppor- tunities during the colonial circumstances' (Otiende, 1988, p. 351). T h e commitment to openness m a y be linked to the removal of the normal m i n i m u m educational qualifications for entry to higher education, as in the case of the British O p e n U n - iversity, although, in fact most higher distance education throughout the world is not 'open learning' in this sense. However, distance teach- ing universities have often implemented innova- tive academic policies, including modular course structures, a choice of paced and un- paced courses, mixed assessment based on both continuous and final assessment, and consider- able freedom for students to choose courses of their o w n liking, rather than follow heavily pre- scribed curricula. Distance education has played a major part in the in-service training and professional up- grading of teachers. Particularly in Asian, Afri- can, and Latin American countries, the expan- sion of education in response to population growth and increasing participation rates has posed major problems for educational planners. T h e population of Kenya is expected to double in 18 years, that of the United Republic of Tan- zania in 20 years, that of Nigeria and the Philip- pines in 25 years. (In contrast, it will take 462 years for the population of the United Kingdom to double at its current rate of growth.) Distance education is one way of training untrained teachers - or upgrading existing teachers - with- out taking them out of the classroom, and m a n y countries have been quick to seize the opportun- ity presented them, with in-service teacher train- ing projects to be found, for example, in Bot- swana, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Pakistan, Swaziland, Thailand and the United Republic of Tanzania. In many , though not all, of these countries the responsibility for delivery of such projects rests with the universities. Similar in-service training courses are also to be found in m a n y of the wealthier countries. Universities also have a significant role to play in other areas of vocational training. For ex- ample, in the former G e r m a n Democratic R e - public 'the main factor influencing higher edu- cation . . . is its applicability to economic2l8 Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble activity' (Möhle, 1988, p. 326). In China current policy in regard to higher education at a distance is based on the principle that 'the only goal of higher correspondence education' is 'to serve economic reconstruction' (Jianshu, 1988, p. 451). In the United Republic of Tanzania the National Correspondence Institute was esta- blished inter alia to contribute to manpower de- velopment in the country, and to help accelerate national development (Kiyenze, 1988, p. 284). T h e National O p e n University, Taiwan, found- ed in 1986, has as one of its aims the provision of on-the-job training at university level (Chen, 1988, p. 164). Distance education is believed to be a means of reducing the costs of education and training. Although the establishment of distance teaching institutions and their infrastructure, and the investment in the development of course materials, can be very significant, these costs can be spread over very large numbers of students. T h e direct costs of teaching are, ho- wever, generally lower than those found in tradi- tional systems. As a result the high capital in- vestment can be offset by reduced expenditure on teachers (labour), with the result that, provid- ed student numbers are high enough, average costs are lower than (perhaps up to a third of the value of) those found in traditional institutions. A number of studies have shown that distance education can be cheaper than traditional meth- ods of higher education: for example, Wagner (1980) on the British O p e n University, Muta and Sakamoto (1989) on the Japanese University of the Air, G u a d a m u z Sandoval (1988) on the U n - iversidad Estatal a Distancia, Costa Rica, and Nielsen (1990) on the effectiveness of in-service teacher training projects in a number of coun- tries. However, these results should be interpret- ed with great care, for a wide range of reasons. Firstly, one is not always comparing like with like (distance learners m a y be older, or more highly motivated than campus-based students; curricula m a y be different; distance learning m a y be the only way of reaching certain groups such as practising teachers etc.). Secondly, it is not always clear h o w infrastructure costs for dis- tance learning should be allocated (the British O p e n University uses existing postal and broad- casting services, and the staff and facilities of other universities and polytechnics, at marginal cost to itself). Finally, of course, the cost of a dis- tance learning system - as of a conventional sys- tem - depends in large measure on the resources invested. T h e British O p e n University is m u c h better resourced, and hence more costly than, say, the Allama Iqbal O p e n University in Pakis- tan, even though both institutions cater for c o m - parable numbers of students. Even though the British O p e n University's unit costs per grad- uate are less than those for a traditional universi- ty student, they are probably not very m u c h less than those of a graduate taking a degree course at a polytechnic in the United K i n g d o m . T h e evidence on effectiveness is mixed. For years, correspondence education had a bad reputation. Drop-out rates were often higher than in traditional forms of education. T h e foundation of distance teaching universities was often greeted with considerable scepticism. O n the other hand, individual distance teaching un- iversities have produced m a n y thousands of graduates, notwithstanding the fact that, in some cases, a higher proportion of their students fail to graduate than is the case in traditional in- stitutions offering similar courses. However , amongst the factors determining completion or success rates, it is virtually impossible to isolate those which are specifically related to the form of education (distance or campus-based), even w h e n similar curricula and assessment proce- dures are being compared. Student characteris- tics (age, motivation, location, economic level) m a y differ, as m a y the level of involvement (campus-based students are often studying full- time, distance learners generally are part-time students). Drop-out and repeater rates can be high in both distance and campus-based institu- tions: the factors which influence their level are more likely to be associated with assessment pol- icies and the quality and extent of student sup- port than the teaching method per se. Clearly, a correspondence student getting no help from a tutor or other students is more likely to drop out than a student taking an equivalent course at aOpen universities: a comparative approach 219 well-staffed campus university; by the same to- ken, a distance learner working with good qual- ity self-study materials, with a tutor and other students available over the telephone and at reg- ular study centre meetings, m a y be less likely to drop out than a student whose sole source of education is attendance at overcrowded lectures. S o m e significant issues facing higher distance education A number of criticisms can be m a d e of current distance education methods, especially if one is comparing them to some idealized campus- based provision (small groups of students learn- ing from motivated and experienced teachers, with access to libraries, laboratories, computers, etc.). T h e strength or significance of these crit- icisms will vary from one culture or situation to another, but they can be summarized as follows: T h e limited opportunities for discussion, both between students and with tutors and other resource people: even w h e n opportunities for discussion with tutors are provided, the people filling the tutor roles are rarely the same as the people w h o prepared the dis- tance study materials, so opportunities for discussion with 'master teachers' are rare. T h e relative inflexibility of distance learning courses in catering for individual needs, in- terests and experiences: the distance lear- ner, once embarked on a course, has little or no opportunity to change its direction, or influence what is taught (this m a y also, in fact, be the case in m a n y conventionally taught courses, but in a distance system, it is a constraint of the teaching method per se, rather than of institutional policy or the teacher's inclination). T h e high cost of producing, modifying and up- dating mass-produced print and audio-vi- sual distance learning materials; the higher the quality of these materials, the more they cost to produce, and the greater is the temp- tation to enrol as m a n y students as possible on the same courses, and to re-use the m a - terials in the same form for m a n y years; in- deed, the entire cost structure of distance education is based on the resultant econo- mies of scale. T h e need to rely on infrastructure for c o m m u n i - cations (post, telephone, transport, etc.) and for some aspects of materials production (printing, broadcast production, etc.), which are outside the control of the institu- tion and of its teachers, and whose malfunc- tioning can jeopardize the quality and effec- tiveness of provision. T h e extent to which these factors - endemic to m a n y current distance teaching universities - are seen as disadvantages will vary from one con- text to another, and will depend very m u c h on the ultimate purpose of the distance education project. T h e second and third factors above might not be drawbacks for a country-wide in- service teacher training programme in a n e w na- tional curriculum, planned to run over a five- year period, although they would be in the con- text of, say, an information technology course for up-dating managers from different types of organizations and companies. A n d the impor- tance assigned to dialogue in formal educational systems varies significantly from one culture to another - as it does from one educational philo- sophy or discipline to another within the same culture. DIALOGUE AND INTERACTIVITY T h e limited provision for dialogue in m a n y dis- tance education systems is seen as a major disad- vantage by those with a humanistic vision of education, and is more difficult to remedy than in a traditional campus-based system where it is in principle possible to re-arrange teaching methods to allow for more seminars and other group activities, if the need arises. Harris (1987, p. 137) has argued that the 'conventions of "good writing" and "good broadcasting" found in dis- tance education systems pre-construct a largely passive student'. W h a t is important in higher220 Tony Kaye and Grevüle Rumble education 'is argument between people, uncon- strained discussions which raise "validity claims" of several types, and which settle these claims only by the force of the better argument'. For Harris, 'the most obvious m e d i u m for these discussions is face-to-face contact' - although he acknowledges that the mere presence of such discussion does not guarantee 'democratic dis- cussions' of the kind which he identifies 'as the kernel of the critical role of the university'. Distance education course developers can build in self-assessment questions which can en- courage students to enter into a discussion with themselves. Holmberg (1989, pp. 43-6) writes of the need to incorporate what he calls guided di- dactic conversation into distance teaching mate- rials. However, Harris (1987, p. 119), and Lock- wood (1989, pp. 210-14) have challenged the extent to which students do in fact m a k e use of self-assessment questions and student activities to engage in a 'discourse' with their materials. A n d in any event, such self-testing procedures, although possibly useful for checking on acqui- sition of skills and knowledge, are no substitute for interactive discussion with other students and teachers. In this context, the feedback provided by correspondence tuition gains considerable im- portance. Unfortunately, the quality and extent of such written feedback m a y not be very good, and it m a y arrive too long after the event for the student to be able to incorporate it into his un- derstandings. Research (Rekkedal, 1983) also shows that the longer the delay between the sub- mission of an assignment and receipt of c o m - ments on it the higher the drop-out rate. Recognition of the importance of more im- mediate forms of two-way communication than can be provided by the postal service has led m a - ny distance teaching institutions to incorporate some face-to-face teaching into their systems. This is often used as a means of ensuring that the students have understood the teaching mate- rials and are as prepared as can be for the exam- ination. A similar function is undertaken by te- lephone teaching (either one-to-one, or, using conference call systems, one-to-a number of stu- dents), and, in some instances, by computer-me- diated communication, through one-to-one electronic mail and group-based computer con- ferencing (Mason and Kaye, 1989). Unfortunately, the costs of interacting are high. As the amount of face-to-face and tech- nology-mediated tuition and interpersonal c o m - munication increases, so the direct cost per stu- dent increases. Ultimately this will undermine the potential cost advantage of distance educa- tion, which stems from the substitution of cap- ital (locked up in the development of course m a - terials and the technical infrastructure needed for production and distribution) for the labour of classroom teachers. MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE In countries where distance education is being used to meet high priority development needs, concern over the level of dialogue in the system, or the cost of updating material, or of tailoring it to individual needs, might seem at first sight a luxury, especially if there are not enough teach- ers available to meet educational needs through traditional methods. However, as Zahlan has pointed out, 'one of the difficulties faced by Third World countries is the weakness of the ac- tivities that digest, criticize, process, and market knowledge' (Zahlan, 1988, p. 83). T h e tempta- tions can be strong to import, often without adaptation, distance teaching material produced elsewhere. In some cases, where the courses are relevant to local needs, such an approach might be defensible (e.g. the O p e n Learning Institute of H o n g Kong) . In other cases, the course mate- rials m a y be irrelevant to these needs, the pro- cess of adapting them might be too complex, and they might not be accompanied by the stu- dent support services for which they were de- signed. Nevertheless, where local expertise and resources for producing multi-media distance teaching materials at university level do not ex- ist, the temptation to buy in and adapt material produced elsewhere can be great. But the origin or development of teaching materials is only one problem faced by m a n yOpen universities: a comparative approach 221 countries wishing to expand educational provi- sion through distance education methods. Speaking of distance education in Africa, Jen- kins (1989, p. 48) has indicated that 'few polit- icians and ministry of education officials have demonstrated any strong commitment to dis- tance education. Despite its intensive use, in most countries it has low status and remains on the periphery'. As a result, funding is often in- sufficient. As Jenkins comments elsewhere, 'the barriers to improvement in distance education in m a n y cases are to do with resources' (Jenkins, 1990, p . 38). Such poverty is reflected in the lack of printing capacity, the poor maintenance of printing machinery, and the problems posed by the high cost of paper referred to by Kiyenze (1988) in respect of distance education in the United Republic of Tanzania and the problems of understaffing referred to by Siaciwena (1988, p. 202) in respect of the distance teaching sys- tem at the University of Zambia. Further pro- blems m a y be engendered by the poor c o m m u - nications infrastructure within a country: in Zambia, for example, the majority of roads are not all-weather roads, and the telephone system cannot be relied upon to provide an effective stu- dent support system (Siaciwena, 1988, pp. 203, 204). Travel m a y be expensive and time-con- suming, as in Indonesia (Setijadi, 1988, p. 194). T h e recruitment and training of qualified staff m a y be difficult, as in Indonesia (Setijadi, 1988, p. 195) and Zambia (Siaciwena, 1988, p. 205). Fi- nally, not all systems are cost-effective, high quality, mass education systems. T h e number of students on the University of Papua N e w Gui- nea extension studies programme was so low that it 'operates like a handicraft industry rather than a mass production device' (Kaeley, 1978, p. 33). Nor are all systems necessarily cost-effec- tive, in comparison with traditional systems. Yet, despite such reservations, there is plenty of evidence that distance education has contribut- ed m u c h to the development of higher educa- tion. Daniel (1987, pp. 30-1) points out that 'both individual countries and international or- ganizations such as the World Bank appear satis- fied with the results of investment in higher dis- tance education' and the very fact that distance education projects have a commitment to forma- tive evaluation of their programmes means that 'most programmes have an impressive array of statistics about their operation and can often be shown to be self-improving systems'. Likely future trends It is, of course, difficult to look into the future, but in this final section w e shall attempt to iden- tify what w e see as some of the trends in the de- velopment of higher education at a distance over the next few years. A PHASE OF CONSOLIDATION AND LIMITED GROWTH Firstly, it seems likely that the well-established national open universities to be found in m a n y European, Asian and Latin American countries will continue to function in m u c h the same way as they have done in the past, with the addition of n e w programmes and target groups in res- ponse to social, economic, political and market needs. T h e same applies to the extension/cor- respondence studies departments of convention- al universities. In some cases, existing institu- tions m a y be merged with others (as has happened with the creation of the O p e n Learn- ing Agency in British Columbia - an amalgam of three pre-existent distance teaching organ- izations). In some countries, however, the esta- blished distance teaching universities will be competing for students with campus-based in- stitutions trying to increase their economic via- bility by widening access to part-time study, through evening classes, open learning courses, and various forms of distance education. C o m - petition for the part-time (paying) adult student has increased recently, as governments reduce funding for education. So institutions will have to decide whether to reduce their expenditure,222 Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble widen their student base, or increase their fees to compensate for loss of government support. T h e last course of action will undoubtedly reduce the ability of deprived sectors of the community to take advantage of a form of education which, above all others, seems to cater for their needs. More significantly, institutions will find them- selves offering those courses for which there is a ready commercial market. Examples might in- clude business studies, law and languages. T h e broad-based curriculum found in m a n y distance teaching universities m a y be threatened. T h e pressure to reduce costs m a y lead to changes in the range of media used for distance education, which will become apparent in diffe- rent ways. Precisely at the time w h e n the poten- tial range of media is increasing rapidly, w e al- ready see institutions in some poorer countries w h o cannot afford to m a k e use of the media n o w available in the wealthier countries, and for w h o m print and correspondence tuition, sup- ported by audio, is likely to remain the basic stra- tegy in the immediate future. In other cases, budgetary pressure is likely to lead to a reduction in the level and quality of student support servic- es such as tutorials, correspondence tuition and counselling, which in turn will lead to an in- crease in drop-out rates (Paul, 1988) and an over- all lowering of the effectiveness of the system. T h e generally depressed economic climate will, of course, have other effects. For some years n o w , educational budgets have been re- duced or have had to be spread further, with consequential falls in the unit of resource (the average amount of money provided for educa- tion per student). It seems unlikely that this will change. O n the face of it, this appears to make distance education, with its potential economies of scale, an attractive proposition. Yet there are financial reasons w h y this m a y not happen. Firstly, this would imply a switch in resources, from traditional to distance education sectors. Powerful vested interests will resist such moves. Unless more politicians begin to see distance education as a viable alternative to traditional forms of higher education, the change is un- likely to occur. Secondly, the high initial cost of setting up n e w institutions makes it likely that there will be further pressure on traditional un- iversities to engage in distance education - this will be seen as a cheaper and less risky alterna- tive. So, with a few isolated exceptions such as the Vietnamese Peoples' O p e n University (Arg- er and Tran, 1990), w e do not feel that there is likely to be, in the 1990s, the appearance of a se- cond wave of n e w 'open universities' compar- able to that of the last two decades. NETWORKING AND THE 'DISTRIBUTED CLASSROOM' MODEL T h e dominant pedagogy of m a n y distance teaching universities and institutions is based on independent study of print (and some multi-me- dia) materials, with fairly minimal levels of stu- dent support through correspondence tuition and occasional face-to-face meetings. Alongside the continuing (if economically restricted) activ- ities of the institutions based on this model, w e think it is likely there will be an increase over the next few years in the number of projects us- ing different pedagogical models of distance education - models which put more emphasis on learning in groups, on networking (in the broad sense), and in a more central role for the individual teacher. In this last respect, they con- trast strongly with the conventional 'open un- iversity' model, where the individual teachers are subsumed into the relative anonymity of the course team (the course developers w h o prepare the self-study materials), and local tutors play es- sentially a remedial and evaluative role. T h e growth of this n e w generation of pro- jects - most of which are appearing in the eco- nomically developed countries - can be related to a number of factors: Wider access to n e w technology for students (e.g. telephones, h o m e computers, m o - dems, facsimile machines) and for course developers and teachers (desk-top publish- ing, networking services, satellite broad- casting). Growing demand from industry and m a n y ser- vice organizations for continuing educa- tion, re-training and updating of their staff.Open universities: a comparative approach 223 Increasing competition for part-time adult stu- dents, which has encouraged m a n y tradi- tional universities to widen their target au- diences, often through the use of n e w technologies and/or through the establish- ment of consortia with industry and with training organizations. A m o v e towards a 'post-Fordist' society, in which products are produced in more limit- ed numbers aimed at increasingly segment- ed markets, and there is an increased con- sciousness of the need to respond to the individual consumer; for distance learning,1 this presupposes a greater commitment to addressing the needs of the individual lear- ner, as flexibly as possible (Rumble, 1990). W h a t m a n y of these projects are doing, effective- ly, is to use communications technology to 'dis- tribute' the classroom teacher, through radio, audio-conferencing, satellite T V transmissions of lectures, and, more recently, computer confe- rencing (see, for example, Bacsich et al., 1986). This is not new - the model of groups of learners coming together during a radio or T V broadcast, and then discussing the broadcast material amongst themselves under the guidance of a lo- cal animateur or tutor, is one that has been used for m a n y years at a variety of levels. Examples include the use of radio in Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Senegal and Kenya (Jamison et al., 1978), and in the Canary Islands (Cepeda, 1982); examples at the higher educa- tion level include the use of satellite television to broadcast lectures to groups distributed over a wide area, such as at the Chinese Central Radio and Television University and the China T V Teacher College (Fuwen G a o and Weiwei Li, 1990; Zhao Yuhui, 1988), or the National Technological University in the United States (Sarchet and Baldwin, 1990). T h e University of Wisconsin has been using audio-conferencing for nearly thirty years (recently supplemented with slow-scan T V ) through a state-wide Educa- tional Telephone Network to allow groups of up to 10 students to interact with teachers from 170 different learning sites. In the last few years, there has been a re- surgence of interest in 'technology-based' dis- tance education projects. Examples cited in a re- cent study (Open University, 1990) include: I B M ' s use of two-way video via satellite for in- house training and up-dating, both in the United States and in Europe. Rio Salado Communi ty College in Arizona, which has distance classes linked both through audio-conferencing and computer conferencing. T h e O p e n Learning Agency in Vancouver, which runs networks for both audio-confe- rencing and audio-graphic conferencing. T h e French Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, which uses school computer rooms for networked evening classes, ena- bling students to download teaching mate- rial from a central computer in Nantes, and to interact with their teacher through elec- tronic mail. A course for health care professionals in D e n - mark, run entirely through computer con- ferencing, with students and teachers con- necting to the system from personal computers in homes and offices. Other examples could be cited, especially in the domain of computer networking (see, for exam- ple, Mason, 1990). Computer conferencing has been heralded as 'third generation distance edu- cation', based on the active creation of n e w knowledge and understandings by groups learn- ing together (Nipper, 1989), or as representing a ' n e w domain' for education, qualitatively diffe- rent from both classroom instruction and tradi- tional distance education (Harasim, 1990). O n e of the attractions of such technology- based projects is that - assuming the students have access to the necessary equipment - it is possible for teachers in traditional institutions (or company training departments) to introduce and run n e w courses and programmes far more rapidly and flexibly than would otherwise be possible, either through traditional face-to-face teaching or through traditional distance educa- tion. This is a key factor for E u r o P A C E , for ex- ample, which (like the National Technological University) produces and transmits by satellite to reception sites throughout Europe up-to-date vi- deos of lectures and demonstrations by experts224 Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble in fields such as engineering, electronics and te- lecommunications. These transmissions are supported by desk-top published print materials and a computer conferencing network. M u c h less time and investment is required to film ex- perienced teachers in their classrooms, or to ask them to teach a group using computer confe- rencing or audio-conferencing, than is needed to assemble a course team to produce a package of self-study materials for independent learners. Distance educators from open universities wedded to the course-team approach - and the quality control that this can guarantee - might be sceptical about the pedagogical and academic quality of 'talking head' television programmes, of the often meandering discussions which are c o m m o n in computer conferences, or of the speed and ease with which individual teachers can n o w produce professional-looking print m a - terials with desk-top publishing packages on a personal computer. However, the fact that courses based on these technologies are general- ly for groups of learners, w h o can easily discuss the course amongst themselves and with a tutor, means that the same painstaking attention to de- tail that is required in self-study material for iso- lated learners is perhaps not so critical. Further- more, as in a classroom situation, adjustments can be m a d e relatively easily - something which is m u c h more problematic in the conventional mass distance education course. Conclusion Learn one-fourth from the teacher, One-fourth from self-study, One-fourth from fellow-pupils and One-fourth while applying knowledge from time to time. (Sanskrit verse quoted by Gomathi Mani, 1990, p. 129.) In general, w e believe that the existing distance teaching universities will continue to thrive wherever they fill a clear need which is not be- ing met by other institutions. M a n y of these in- stitutions will probably continue teaching suc- cessfully in the ways they have done in the past - whether the main emphasis in particular cases is on the use of print-based independent study m a - terials, or on group viewing of broadcast lec- tures, or on face-to-face meetings supplemented with private study. However, w e believe that there will be in- creasing pressure from conventional higher education institutions for a share of the adult, part-time student market - in fact it is the very success of distance education and open learning methods over the last two decades that has en- couraged other institutions to adopt them. It m a y well be the case that the increasing use of self-study and distance or open learning mate- rials in campus-based institutions illustrates a convergence of distance education and tradi- tional classroom-based pedagogies (Smith and Kelly, 1987). O n e thing is clear: m a n y conven- tional institutions are n o w embarking on dis- tance teaching, producing their o w n flexible open learning materials (print, audio-visual and computer-based), and using n e w technologies to provide 'distributed classrooms'. A n d a signif- icant number of traditional open universities in Europe and elsewhere have started using elec- tronic publishing, computer networking, and sa- tellite delivery technologies in ways which might eventually lead to major changes in the 'industrial' (mass production and delivery) m o - del of distance education. T h e convergence of these technologies means, for example, that it is possible to use the same electronic m e d i u m for teacher-produced text and graphics, conferenc- ing and information exchange between partici- pants in a course, and data-bases of reference in- formation. This is likely to have a major influence in the future on the cost structure of distance education, and on the potential for in- ter-institutional collaboration in course produc- tion and teaching. W e think it unlikely that a significant n u m - ber of n e w 'open universities' (on the model of those set up in the 1970s and 1980s) will appear in the current decade. It is more likely that some n e w distance teaching universities will be set up as networked consortia, which, in the econom-Open universities: a comparative ically advanced countries at least, will m a k e some use of computer networking and/or satel- lite technologies. In the European context, a number of such initiatives are already on the drawing board: these include a proposed French open university, and even a 'European Electron- ic University' (a pilot project of the Commission of the European Communities' D E L T A pro- gramme) . Whether such technological star-gaz- ing will also result in a truly global university (Utsumi and Urbanawicz, 1990) remains to be seen! But the challenge is there, and it is one which calls into question the economic basis of m a n y of the established distance teaching un- iversities, for n e w technology developments, with their emphasis on flexibility and increased responsiveness to student needs, are often likely to lead to increases in student-related costs. This implies a shift in funding from front-end course materials development and production to better and more comprehensive support services for students. If this results in greater flexibility and a more balanced mix of independent study, group interaction and student-teacher contact than is to be found in either the conventional lecture- based m o d e of higher education, or in the tradi- tional independent-study m o d e characteristic of m a n y 'open universities', then the overall qual- ity of students' learning experiences will be im- proved. T h e challenge in achieving this goal will be to maintain the best features of the 'in- dustrial' model of distance education (quality control, cost-effectiveness, attention to the needs of the independent learner) with the best fea- tures of the n e w technologies - particularly those of flexibility, interactivity, co-operation and immediacy. • Note 1. Distance education institutions on the Open University model, with their mass production and delivery systems, have been seen as 'Fordist' organizations - that is, 'eco- nomic organizations designed to exploit economies of scale in assembly-line factories making standardized goods for homogeneous mass markets' (Hirst, 1989, p. 18). References A R G E R , G . ; T R A N , D . T . 1990. ZIPOU Vietnamese People's Open University: The Evolution of an Ideal. In: M . Croft, I. Mugridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hershfield (eds.), Distance Education: Development and Access. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universi- dad Nacional Abierta. B A C S I C H , P.; K A Y E , A . ; L E F R E R E , P . 1986. An International Survey of Information Technologies for Education and Training. (Oxford Surveys in Information Technology, 3.) C E P E D A , L . 1982. Radio E C C A , Canary Islands. In: A . Kaye and K . Harry (eds.), Using the Media for Adult Basic Educa- tion. London, Croom Helm. C H E N , S . - M . 1988. Creating the National Open University in Taiwan: The Influence of Cultural and Educational Fac- tors. In: D . Sewart and J. S. Daniel (eds.), Developing Dis- tance Education. Oslo, International Council for Distance Education. C R O F T , M . ; M U G R I D G E , I.; DANIEL, J. S.; HERSHFIELD, A. (eds.). 1990. Distance Education: Development and Access. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Ed- itorial Universidad Nacional Abierta. D A N I E L , J. S. 1987. World Trends in Higher Distance Educa- tion and Opportunities for International Cooperation. In: U N E S C O , Higher Level Distance Education, pp. 17-42. Pa- ris/Victoria (Australia), U N E S C O / D e a k i n University. D I E U Z E I D E , H . 1985. Les enjeux politiques. In: F . Henri and A . Kaye (eds.), Le savoir à domicile. Pédagogie et probléma- tique de la formation à distance. Sainte-Foy (Canada), Press- es de l'Université du Québec/Télé-Université. F U W E N G A O A N D W E I W E I L I . 1990. Speeding U p the Develop- ment in China by Distance Education. In: M . Croft, I. M u - gridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hershfield (eds.), Distance Edu- cation: Development and Access, pp. 40-42. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Ed- itorial Universidad Nacional Abierta. GoMATHi M A N Í . 1990. Problems Unique to Distance Educa- tion. In: M . Croft, I. Mugridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hersh- field (eds.), Distance Education: Development and Access, pp. 127-9. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universidad Nacional Abierta. G U A D A M U Z S A N D O V A L , L . 1988. Universided Estatal a Dis- tancia. In: J. B . Oliveira and G . Rumble (eds.), Educación a Distancia en América Latina. Washington, D . C . , Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, 1991. H A R A S I M , L . (ed.). 1990. On-line Education - A New Domain. N e w York, Praeger. H A R R I S , D . 1987. Openness and Closure in Distance Education. Lewes (United Kingdom), Falmer. H I R S T , P . 1989. After Henry. New Statesman and Society, 21 July, pp. 18-19. H O L M B E R G , B . 1989. Theory and Practice of Distance Educa- tion. London, Routledge. H O U L E , C . O . 1974. The External Degree. San Francisco, Jos- sey-Bass.226 Tony Kaye and Greville Rumble J A M I S O N , D . T . ; K L E E S , S. J.; W E L L S , S. J. 1978. The Costs ofE- ducational Media: Guidelines for Planning and Evaluation. Beverly Hills/London, Sage. J E N K I N S , J. 1989. Some Trends in Distance Education in Afri- ca: A n Examination of the Past and Future Role of Dis- tance Education as a Tool for National Development. Dis- tance Education, Vol. 10, N o . 1, pp. 41-63. . 1990. A Response to the Article by Geoff Arger on 'Dis- tance Education in the Third World'. Open Learning, Vol. 5, N o . 3, pp. 37-9. J I A N S H U , Z . 1988. The Development of Higher Distance Edu- cation in China. In D . Sewart and J. S. Daniel (eds.), Deve- loping Distance Education. Oslo, International Council for Distance Education. K A E L E Y , G . S. 1978. The Impact of Distance Education in Pa- pua N e w Guinea. ICDE Bulletin, N o . 14, pp. 18-36. K A Y E , A . R . 1988. Distance Education: The State of the Art. Prospects, Vol. XVIII, N o . 1, pp. 43-54. K I Y E N Z E , B . K . S. 1988. Distance Education and National D e - velopment in Tanzania. In D . Sewart and J. S. Daniel (eds.), Developing Distance Education. Oslo, International Council for Distance Education. L O C K W O O D , F. 1989. A Course Developer in Action: A Reas- sessment of Activities in Texts. In: M . Parer, Development, Design, and Distance Education, pp. 205-16. Churchill (Australia), Centre for Distance Learning, Gippsland In- stitute. M A C K E N Z I E , N . ; POSTGATE, R.; S C U P H A M , J. (eds.). 1975. Open Learning: Systems and Problems in Post-secondary Educa- tion. Paris, U N E S C O . M A S O N , R . 1990. The Use of Computer Networks for Education and Training. Sheffield (United Kingdom), The Training Agency. M A S O N , R . ; K A Y E , A . (eds.). 1989. Mindweave: Communica- tion, Computers and Distance Education. Oxford, Pergamon Press. M Ö H L E , H . 1988. Social Development in the G D R : Conse- quences of Higher-level Distance Education. In: D . Sewart and J. S. Daniel (eds.), Developing Distance Education. Oslo, International Council for Distance Education. M U T A , H . ; S A K A M O T O , T . 1989. The Economics of the U n - iversity of the Air of Japan Revisited. Higher Education, N o . 18, pp. 585-611. N I E L S E N , H . D . 1990. Using Distance to Extend and Improve Teaching in Developing Countries. Paper presented to the World Conference of Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990. N I P P E R , S. 1989. Third Generation Distance Learning and Computer Conferencing. In: R . Mason and A . Kaye (eds.), Mindweave: Communication, Computers and Distance Edu- cation. Oxford, Pergamon Press. O P E N U N I V E R S I T Y (United Kingdom). 1990. State of the Art in Open and Distance Education. Report prepared for the P R E - CISE project of the D E L T A programme. Brussels, C o m - mission of the European Communities, Directorate-Gener- al XIII. O T I E N D E , J. E . 1988. Distance Education and National Deve- lopment: The Case of the External Degree Programme of the University of Nairobi, Kenya. In: D . Sewart and J. S. Daniel (eds.), Developing Distance Education. Oslo, Interna- tional Council for Distance Education. P A U L , R . 1988. If Student Services Are so Important, then W h y Are W e Cutting T h e m Back? In D . Sewart and J. S. Daniel (eds.), Developing Distance Education. Oslo, Interna- tional Council for Distance Education. R E K K E D A L , T . 1983. The Written Assignments in Correspon- dence Education. Effects of Reducing Turn-around Time. Distance Education, Vol. 4, N o . 2, pp. 231-52. R U M B L E , G . 1989. 'Open Learning', 'Distance Learning', and the Misuse of Language. Open Learning, Vol. 4, N o . 2, pp. 28-36. . 1990. Tomorrow's Education and Training: The Chal- lenge for Distance Education. In: M . Croft, I. Mugridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hershfield (eds.), Distance Education: De- velopment and Access. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universidad Nacional Abierta. R U M B L E , G . ; H A R R Y , K . (eds.). 1982. The Distance Teaching Universities. London, Croom Helm. S A R C H E T , B . ; B A L D W I N , L . 1990. The National Technological University Meets a World-wide Need. In: M . Croft, I. M u - gridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hershfield (eds.), Distance Edu- cation: Development and Access. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universi- dad Nacional Abierta. SETIJADI. 1988. Indonesia: Universitas Terbuka. Prospects, Vol. XVIII, N o . 2, pp. 189-97. S I A C I W E N A , R . M . C . 1988. The External Degree Programme at the University of Zambia. Prospects, Vol. XVIII, N o . 2, pp. 199-206. S M I T H , P. ; K E L L Y , M . 1987. Distance Education and the Main- stream. London, Croom Helm. T A Y L O R , J. C ; S H A R M A , K . 1990. Distance Education in South Asia: Towards Regional Cooperation. In: M . Croft, I. M u - gridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hershfield (eds.), Distance Edu- cation: Development and Access. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universi- dad Nacional Abierta. U T S U M I , P. ; U R B A N A W I C Z , C . F . 1990. Inexpensive Methods of Global Education for Third World Countries. In: M . Croft, I. Mugridge, J. S. Daniel and A . Hershfield (eds.), Distance Education: Development and Access. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universi- dad Nacional Abierta. V I L L A R O E L , A . ; P E R E I R A , F . (eds.). 1990. La educación a dis- tancia: desarollo y apertura. Caracas, International Council for Distance Education/Fondo Editorial Universidad N a - cional Abierta. W A G N E R , L . 1980. Costs and Effectiveness of Distance Learn- ing at the Post-secondary Level. In: U N E S C O , The Eco- nomics of New Educational Media. Vol. 2: Cost and Effective- ness, pp. 225-55. Paris, U N E S C O . Z A H L A N , A . 1988. Issues of Quality and Relevance in Dis- tance-teaching Materials. Prospects, Vol. XVIII, N o . 1, pp. 75-83. Z H A O Y U H U I , 1988. China: Its Distance Higher Education System. Prospects, Vol. XVIII, N o . 2 , pp. 217-28.T h e privatization of higher education Jandhyala B . G . Tilak The context Privatization of higher education is not a n e w phenomenon in the world economy. In m a n y countries of the world, the private sector has c o m e to play either a limited or predominant role in higher education. In some countries, the origin of privatization can be traced back a few centuries. But privatization has assumed greater significance as a policy strategy of the develop- ment of education in recent times, essentially, but not wholly, due to stagnating - and in some countries declining - public budgets for educa- tion, on the one hand, and on the other, in- creasing social demand for higher education, manifested in slogans like 'higher education for all' (Roderick and Stephens, 1979). There has been remarkable growth in priv- atization during the last two to three decades in several countries of the world, as shown in Table 1. T h e number of private colleges and universi- Jandhyala B . G . Tilak (India). Professor and Head of the Educational and Finance Unit at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administra- tion (New Delhi); previously with the World Bank. He has also taught at the University of Delhi, the Indian Institute of Education and the University of Virginia. His publications include: Economics of Inequality in Education; Educational Finances in South Asia; Education and Regional Develop- ment; Education, and its Relation to Economic Growth; Poverty and Income Distribution; and Political Economy of Education in India. ties has increased, and enrolments in private in- stitutions increased at a m u c h faster rate than in public institutions, enrolments in private institu- tions increased by several times in m a n y coun- tries - for example, in Colombia, by 1.7 times the rate of growth of public education and 2.03 times in Peru from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s (Brodersohn, 1978, p. 176). In a good number of countries the share of enrolments in private education and the number of private in- stitutions as a proportion of the total number of institutions are more than half of the total (see Tables 2 and 3).1 Private education has grown for several rea- sons, which can be s u m m e d up in two catego- ries: excess demand and differentiated demand for higher education (James, 1987). First, the so- cial demand for higher education exceeds the public supply, and the private market seeks to T A B L E I. Privatization trends in selected countries (percentage of enrolments in private higher education) Country Colombia Japan Republic of Korea Latin America Thailand Argentina United States Earlier Year 1953 1950 1955 1955 1967-71 1970 1950 33.6 57.0 55.2 14.2 1.9 14.6 49.7 Latest Year 1983 1980 1986 1975 1977-81 1987 1988 60.4 81.3 76.9 33.7 5.5 9.8 24.7 Change +26.8 +24.3 +21.7 +19.5 +3.6 -4.8 -25.0 Sources: Colombia: Patrinos, 1990, p. 163; Japan and United States: Kaneko, 1987, p. 27, Cohn and Geske, 1990, p. 73; Republic of Korea: Lee, 1987, p. 56; Latin America: Levy, 1985; Thailand: Malakul, 1985, p. 56; Argentina: Balan, 1990, p. 14. Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 1991228 Jandhyala B. G. Tilak T A B L E 2. Enrolments in public and private higher education (percentages) Country Philippines Year 1984/85 Republic of Korea 1986 Japan Indonesia Colombia Cyprus Burma Bangladesh India Pakistan Chile Brazil Malaysia United States Argentina Papua N e w Guinea Thailand Spain China Sri Lanka 1. In thousands. 2. Not available. 1989 1985/86 1983 1986/87 mid-1980s mid-1980s mid-1980s 1968 1986/87 1983 mid-1980s 1988 1987 mid-1980s mid-1980s 1981/82 mid-1980s mid-1980s Public 15.3 23.1 24.4 33.3 39.6 41.9 42.0 42.0 43.0 49.0 54.5 64.8 76.0 75.3 91.2 94.0 94.0 97.0 100.0 100.0 Private 84.7 76.9 72.6 66.7 60.4 58.1 58.0 58.0 57.0 51.0 45.5 35.2 24.0 24.7 9.8 6.0 6.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 Total' 1504 1262 2 067 900 356 3.5 _2 - _ 151 233 693 - 8 500 7531 - - - - - Sources: Philippines: Elequin, 1990, p. 312; Republic of Korea: Lee, 1987, p. 56; Japan: Nishihara, 1990, p. 26; Indonesia: Toisuta, 1987, p. 73; Colombia: Patrinos, 1990, p. 163; Cyprus: Koyzis, 1989; Pakistan: Jiménez and Tan, 19876, p. 178; Chile: Schiefelbein, 1990; Brazil: Schwartzman, 1988, p. 100; United States: C o n n and Geske, 1990, p. 73; Argentina: Balan, 1990; Spain: M c K e n n a , 1985, p. 461; other (Asian) countries: T a n and Mingat, 1989, p. 202. meet the unsatisfied demand. 2 Secondly, de- m a n d for different quality (presumably high quality) and content in education (such as, for T A B L E 3. Percentages of public and private sectors in higher education: institutions Country Public Private Republic of Korea Philippines Japan Brazil United States Pakistan 1. Actual numbers. 2. Not available. 1986 1985/86 1985 1983 1980 1976/77 Sources: Republic of Korea: Lee, 1987 1990, p. 340; Japan and United States: Schwartzman, 1988, p. 100; Pakistan: ] 19.6 27.6 28.8 83.9 84.5 96.1 80.4 72.4 71.2 16.1 15.5 3.9 p. 56; Philippines: Kaneko, 1987, p. 23 256 1158 1103 124 _2 433 ülequin, Brazil: iménez and Tan , 1987a, p. 178. example, religious education) also contributes to the growth of privatization. O n the supply side, private entrepreneurs are ready to provide high- er education either for philanthropic or other al- truistic motives, or for profit. T h e dividends could be social and political gains, or quick eco- nomic profits. Diversities in privatization Higher-education systems in the world present enormous diversity. T w o major categories of higher education can be found in this context: predominantly public higher-education sys- tems, where higher education is provided and funded by the state (as it is in socialist countries, for example), and mixed higher-education sys- tems with varying roles by both public and priv- ate sectors (as found in the rest of the world). Again under the latter category, there is signif- icant diversity from country to country. S o m e systems are dominated by the private sector, which can be termed as 'mass private and res- tricted public sectors' as in several market eco- nomies (e.g. Japan, Republic of Korea, Philip- pines, and Latin American countries such as Colombia). T h e n there are mixed systems d o m - inated by the state sector, as in several develop- ing countries of South Asia (including India), Africa, and Western Europe. These systems can be aptly described as 'parallel public and private sectors'. In some welfare states such as the Neth- erlands and Belgium, both coexist under state funding. Systems where the private sector has a very limited role, as in Sweden, the United K i n g d o m , France, Spain, Thailand, etc., can be described as 'peripheral private sector' (Geiger, 1987a). In practice, the public/private distinction of a higher-education institution is not very clear. If the criterion used to define it is its source of funding, a private university m a y be receiving substantial financial resources from the govern- ment; and a public university m a y generate largeThe privatization of higher education 229 amounts of resources from private sources. O n the other hand, if it is to be defined on the basis of management , a private institution m a y be ef- fectively controlled by the state, and m a y be ad- ministered according to government regula- tions. Alternatively w e m a y prefer to define institutions in terms of their character, that is, whether they be 'profit-making' or 'non-profit making'. All this shows h o w ambiguous the term 'privatization' can be. Several forms of 'privatization' of higher education m a y be noted and classified into four categories (Tilak, 1991). First, an extreme version of privatization implying total privatization of higher education, colleges and universities being managed and funded by the private sector, with little govern- ment intervention. These pure or 'unaided' priv- ate institutions do provide financial relief to the government in providing higher education, but at huge long-term economic and non-economic cost to the society. Second, there is 'strong' privatization, which means recovery of full costs of public higher education from users - students, their employers or both. D u e to the externalities asso- ciated with higher education, privatization of this type m a y not be desirable, and of course not empirically feasible. Third, there is a moderate form of priv- atization implying public provision of higher education but with a reasonable level of financ- ing from non-governmental sources. Since high- er education is a quasi-public good, 100 per cent public financing of education can be seen as eco- nomically unjustified. Since private individuals also benefit, it is reasonable that they share a proportion of the costs. So the state, students/ families and the general public pay for higher education. This will be discussed in more detail below. Lastly, there is what can be termed 'pseu- do-privatization', which cannot be really called privatization, higher-education institutions un- der this category are private but govern- ment-'aided'. They were originally created by private bodies, but receive nearly the whole of their expenditure from governments. T h u s these institutions are privately managed but pu- blicly funded. A substantial number of private higher-education institutions in several coun- tries belong to this category, and they receive go- vernment aid to meet almost all their recurrent expenditure. Hence strictly from the financial point of view, such private colleges do not play any significant role.3 Despite these diversities, a broad general- ized analysis of the role of the private sector in higher education can be m a d e . However, the generalizations m a d e below refer mostly to the first and the fourth categories of privatization, as described above. S o m e of the following general features m a y also fail to take account of certain particularities of some private institutions which are exceptions to the rule.4 Myths and facts about privatization T h e case for privatization of higher education exists mostly on the basis of financial consider- ations. Public budgets for higher education are at best stagnant, and are indeed declining in real terms, more particularly in relation to other sec- tors of the economy. Privatization is also fa- voured on the grounds that it would provide en- hanced levels of internal and external efficiency of higher education, and higher quality of edu- cation; and as the private sector would have to compete with the public sector, the competition would result in improvement in quality and effi- ciency not only of private education but also even public higher education. In the long run, due to economies of scale, private institutions provide better quality education at lower cost than public institutions, as in Japan. Further- more , by reducing public subsidies to higher education, the 'perverse effects' of public sub- sidization of higher education on income dis- tribution could be reduced, and, through priv- atization, inequities in funding education would be substantially reduced (see Psacharopoulos, 1986; Psacharopoulos and Woodhall, 1985; Roth, 1987; James, 1987).230 Jandhyala B. G. Tilak T A B L E 4. Expenditure per student in higher education (private/public) Country Year Ratio Thailand 1977-81 0:25 Republic of Korea 1985 0:71 Japan 1980 0:72 United States 1988 1:60 Sources: Thailand: Malakul, 1985, p. 59; Republic of Korea: Kim, 1990, p. 240; Japan: Kaneko, 1987, p. 29; United States: Cohn and Geske, 1990, p. 73. O n the other hand, privatization is opposed on at least three sets of grounds. T h e existing market system does not ensure o p t i m u m social investment in higher education, as externalities exist in the case of higher education, which is a 'quasi-public good' (Tilak, 1991). T h e market system also fails to keep consumers well in- formed of the costs and benefits of higher educa- tion. It is likely that the costs of private educa- tion are m u c h higher than public education as in the United States and the Republic of Korea. Finally, a private system of higher education is also insensitive to distributional considerations, and in fact contributes to socio-economic in- equalities. Accordingly, public education is not only superior to private education, but private institutions cannot even survive without state support. All these arguments for and against priv- atization, by its defenders as well as its oppo- nents, are open to empirical verification, with- out which they m a y be brushed aside by the opposing side as merely politico-ideological ar- guments. Sophisticated arguments based on hard core evidence are rarely m a d e in favour of privatization (Breneman and Finn, 1978, p. 6). Without empirical evidence, all the arguments, however well-formulated and articulated, re- m a i n as 'myths'. With this in m i n d , a few of these myths are empirically examined below, by examining the scanty evidence available, with examples drawn from diverse countries. THE FIRST M Y T H There is huge d e m a n d for private higher educa- tion, as private education is qualitatively supe- rior to public education. The facts T h e evidence shows that the higher quality of private education compared with public higher education is exaggerated. In Japan, public high- er education provides better facilities, which are significantly related to quality, than private un- iversities and colleges. T h e n u m b e r of pupils per teacher in public universities is only eight, c o m - pared with twenty-six in private universities (James and Benjamin, 1988). While m o r e than 75 per cent of students enrolled in higher educa- tion in the country are in the private sector, teachers in this sector constitute less than half the total. T h e pupil/teacher ratio in private in- stitutions is three times the ratio in state institu- tions in Indonesia and the Philippines, and m o r e than double in Thailand. T h e difference is not as high in Brazil, but the ratio clearly favours public higher education, the ratios being four- teen and ten respectively in private and public universities. Private universities are found to employ m o r e retired, part-time, and under-qual- ified teachers in Japan, Colombia, Brazil, Argen- tina, Indonesia and in several other countries. T h e teachers are also paid less. Only govern- m e n t subsidies could raise the salary levels of teachers in private universities in Japan. O n the whole, teachers in private institutions have less academic prestige. E v e n the availability of space per student and other facilities are reasonably higher in pu- blic universities than in private universities in Japan. In all, private universities spend less than half of what public universities spend per stu- dent (see Table 4). For example, in Japan, in 1980, expenditure per student was 1,982,000 yen in public universities, compared with 848,000 yen in private universities (Kaneko, 1987). It is only in the United States that the difference is in favour of private universities.5 All this should in-The privatization of higher education 231 dicate that quality differences are indeed more favourable to public than to private universities. Yet private universities m a y sometimes show better results in final examinations, as es- sentially they admit only the best prepared stu- dents. However , 'graduation of the "best" grad- uates is not by itself proof of the "best" education' (Levy, 1985, p. 454). Even if the quality of output is taken into consideration, that is, internal efficiency, m e a - sured in terms of academic achievement, suc- cess rates, drop-out rates, failure rates, etc., priv- ate education does not compare favourably with public education. T h e large body of evidence available on this issue refers to the school sector, and not to higher education. Even with respect to the school sector, recent studies (Willms, 1987) have found that the advantage of private schooling with respect to academic achievement for an average student is not significant, as re- ported earlier (Coleman et al., 1981). T h e limit- ed information available on higher education leads us to question the beliefs regarding the su- periority of private education, drop-out rates are higher in private colleges than in government colleges in Thailand ( N E C , 1989, p. 287), and in the Philippines (Árcelo and Sanyal, 1987, p. 154), and the rates of failure are high in Co lom- bia (Patrinos, 1990). T h e productivity of private universities in Indonesia is found to be m u c h lower than public universities (Pramoetadi, 1985, p. 33). In the Philippines, while the private sector increased accessibility to education to the pe- ople, it was found to have contributed to a dete- rioration in the quality and standards of higher education to such an extent that m a n y people ar- gued for a halt of the public laissez-faire policy in the growth of higher education and for the ex- pansion of state supported institutions (Tan and Alonzo, 1987, p. 159). In Brazil and Peru, the quality of private higher education was de- scribed as 'disgraceful' (Levy, 1985, p. 453). In India, except for those institutions re- cognized by the public sector, private colleges, which receive no aid from the government, have been increasing in number essentially due to the existence of excess demand for higher educa- tion, particularly from the upper classes and those w h o fail to gain admission to government colleges. Rarely is the quality of these institu- tions regarded as superior. Their growth also has to do with the fact that people tend to equate high fees with a high quality of education (Bre- n e m a n , 1988). Above all, m a n y non-élite private universities and colleges were created, as is the case in some Latin American countries, to pro- vide job-related training, rather than higher education per se. It is also argued that as the private sector has to compete with the public sector, the effi- ciency of the former and, equally important, the efficiency of all higher education, including pu- blic, improve significantly. But in countries where mass private sectors prevail, or in coun- tries where private sectors play a peripheral role, there is little scope for competition, and as a re- sult, the private sector m a y turn out to be very inefficient, and even economically corrupt.6 Thus the arguments on efficiency and quality of private higher education do not withstand close scrutiny. THE SECOND MYTH It is widely believed that graduates from private universities receive higher rewards on the la- bour market in the form of lower unemployment rates, better paid jobs and consequently higher earnings (Jimenez and T a n , 1987è; Patrinos, 1990). In short, the external efficiency of private higher education is argued to be greater than public higher education, which would explain the growth of privatization. The facts T h e empirical evidence does not support these assumptions. Unemployment rates a m o n g grad- uates from private universities are about 2.8 times higher than those from public universities in the Philippines (Árcelo and Sanyal, 1987, p. 190). This is also the case in Thailand where 27 per cent of graduates from private universities are unemployed during the first year after grad- uation, compared with 13.3 per cent of the grad-232 Jandhyala B. G. Tilak T A B L E 5. Percentage rates of return to private versus public higher education Private Public United States Private rates of return 15.0 18.0 Thailand Private rates of return 10.46 19.51 Social rates of return 9.75 9.48 Philippines 8.75 12.55 Japan Private rates of return Social sciences 7.5 9.0 Engineering 7.0 9.0 All higher' 6.7 7.1 Social rates of return Social sciences 7.8 7.6 Engineering 7.1 6.6 All higher1 6.9 5.4 1. Yano and Maruyama, 1985, p. 80. Sources: United States: Leslie and Brinkman, 1988, p. 64; Thailand: National Education Commission, 1989, p. 169; Philippines: Árcelo and Sanyal, 1987, p. 169; Japan: James and Benjamin, 1988, pp. 77,106. uates from national universities (Setapanich et al., 1990, p. 420). Private universities in Cyprus are found to be fuelling the diploma-inflation problem, leading to a serious problem of grad- uate unemployment (Koyzis, 1989, p. 18). Estimated rates of return, a summary statis- tic of the external or labour-market efficiency of education (presented in Table 5), show that pu- blic higher education pays better than private higher education, particularly from the point of view of individuals in several countries, includ- ing Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. Social rates of return for public and private university education are close in Thailand, showing little significant advantage for private higher educa- tion, even from the point of view of the society.7 THE THIRD MYTH Private institutions provide considerable relief from financial burden to the governments, as they are self-financing. The facts States such as Malaysia allocate huge invest- ments - more every year - to prop up dubious private institutions, while growth and expansion of public institutions are frozen. In Thailand, while 30 per cent of students attend private in- stitutions, the ratio of government expenditure to private expenditure on higher education is 97:3 (Malakul, 1985). Explicit appropriations m a y be not be very high; but implicit subsidies or indirect government support to the students to purchase higher education is an important source of funding for private universities in the United States. State scholarships have exposed the myth of the pure privateness of universities like Harvard, Columbia, Yale, etc. (Levy, 19866, p. 171).8 Around 85 to 90 per cent of scholarship m o n e y in California goes to students in private universities, while private enrolments form only 10-12 per cent of the state's total (Levy, 19866, p. 174). In Japan, 21.5 per cent of private higher- education expenditure is covered by state sub- sidies (this figure was nil in 1951). State sub- sidization of private institutions in Japan orig- inated due to the bankruptcy of private higher education. T h e resources of the private institu- tions are boosted 'through infusion of significant amounts of public funds' in several countries (Geiger, 19876, p. 18). In m a n y countries, state subsidies cover more than 90 per cent of the re- current expenditure of private institutions. In Sweden and Canada, the government provided the capital needs of the private institutions. M o r e than 77 per cent of the government budget on higher education in Uttar Pradesh in India goes as aid to private colleges (Muzamil, 1989, p. 247). Whatever the reasons, private and public universities in Belgium and the Netherlands re- ceive equal funding from the state (Geiger, 1988). All this leads us to conclude that most private institutions are not totally private, at least from a financial standpoint. THE FOURTH MYTH T h e private sector responds to the economic needs of the individual and society, and providesThe privatization of higher education 233 T A B L E 6. Percentage of specialization of private and public sectors in higher education in Latin America Bolivia Colombia Argentina 1 Commercial Private Public Humanities Private Public Law Private Public Medicine Private Public Exact Sciences Private Public Engineering Private Public 1. Balan, 1990, p. 16. 2. Not available. 58 10 12 2 0 8 0 21 0 15 0 23 37 10 5 7 16 4 4 9 4 12 17 26 23 18 9 6 6 6 1 11 3 5 8 17 35 20 1 2 6 9 20 20 1 4 17 24 47 23 7 0 5 4 1 7 6 4 8 29 Source: Levy, 1985, p. 456. relevant types of education. ' T h e major advan- tage of private universities has been in respond- ing more quickly or efficiently to market de- mands ' (Balan, 1990, p . 17). The facts In most countries, private higher-education in- stitutions offer mainly low capital-intense dis- ciplines of study. It is true that not only are there few private universities involved in research ac- tivities, but they are also involved in providing cheap commercial and vocational training as in the case of several Latin American countries, or in the case of 'parallel' colleges in Kerala in In- dia (Nair and Ajit, 1984). As can be seen in Table 6, no private institutions in Bolivia offer higher education in law, medicine, exact sciences, en- gineering; 58 per cent specialize in 'commercial' courses, and 12 per cent in the humanities. In Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, a negligible pro- portion of private institutions offer courses in medicine and exact sciences. However, w h e n the potential for economic profit is high, the private sector entered into professional fields and opened engineering and medical colleges, as in India (Kothari, 1986). O n the whole, re- search and broad educational needs of the eco- n o m y are barely served by the private sector. Private institutions tend to provide more perso- nal and fewer social benefits to students. T h e private sector responds to market demands, but only in the short term, while 'improvement of schools requires long-term planning - not the quick alteration of a commodity to meet chang- ing fashions' (Ping, 1987, p. 21). THE FIFTH MYTH It is generally believed that private enterprise has genuine philanthropic motives in opening private colleges and universities, which are by definition part of the 'non-profit sector'. They al- so m a k e huge investments in higher education. The facts Private institutions are largely funded either from students' tuition fees and charges or from234 Jandhyala B. G. Tilak public subsidies. Very few private institutions m a k e any investment from their o w n resources. These institutions are in fact operated in a kind of seller's market, recovering the full costs plus profits from some source or other. For instance, in Japan 70 per cent of the costs of higher educa- tion in private institutions are met from tuition fees, while the corresponding proportion is 82 per cent in the Republic of Korea. T h e role of private finances other than fees, such as dona- tions, endowments etc., is not at all significant. In the United States, however, tuition charges account for only slightly more than one-third of the total costs. Private institutions are involved in disguised profit-making operations in almost all countries, including Brazil and India. T h e private colleges that receive little pu- blic support in India expect huge donations and capitation fees, and charge abnormally high fees, ten to twenty times higher than those charged by government colleges. While univer- sities and colleges are, by definition, non-profit institutions, these private institutions do not merely cover their costs, they also m a k e huge 'quick profits', which are not necessarily rein- vested in education. Educational considerations hardly figure in this context (Tilak, 1990). A s a result, higher education is subject to vulgar commercialization. THE SIXTH MYTH It is generally noted that private education is el- itist, and caters to the needs of the wealthy. For example, I have hypothesized earlier (Tilak, 1986), largely based on evidence on the school sector, that the benefits of education in private institutions - costly and presumably of high quality - accrue largely to the élite (as the priv- ate sector caters mainly to the needs of the élites), while the benefits of education in public schools - which are generally compelled to choose quantity rather than quality and, accord- ingly, provide inexpensive education - mostly for the masses. The facts Private universities generally serve a privileged clientele. In Colombia private universities are dominated by high-income groups. Barely 2 per cent of the students are from the bottom quintile and 13 per cent from the bottom 40 per cent of the income group population. T h e picture is si- milar in Japan. In Thailand, students in private universities have parents with, on average, one and a half times the income of those of students in public universities. T h e democratization of public higher education has reduced consider- ably the elitist character of higher education. T h e social elitism attached to private higher education was found to be one of the most im- portant factors in the growth of an élite private sector in higher education in Latin American countries (Levy, 1985). T h e private institutions lent an elitist or secular-élitist character to high- er education. In countries characterized by 'mass private and restricted public sectors' such as Japan, the Philippines and Brazil, the evidence is not clear cut, as there are significant diversities within private universities. S o m e private universities are highly elitist and selective, while others are not. In these countries, there are a few élite priv- ate universities, and a large number of low-qual- ity, low-cost private universities and colleges - for example, in Colombia and Brazil. O n the whole, however, as fees in private universities are very high compared with public universities, only the relatively well-to-do opt for private higher education. In the United States and Thailand, for example, fees per student in private universities are five times those in public institutions; the corresponding ratio in Japan is 2.5:1. But as access to public higher education is restricted, students from the upper and profes- sional classes are more or less forced to go to private universities. However , 'public universi- ties continue to be the first choice for m a n y ' for educational and financial reasons (Levy, 1985, p. 454).of higher education 235 THE SEVENTH MYTH Most public higher-educational institutions are politicized. Only private institutions are apolit- ical. The facts Basically the inadequacy of public policies re- sults in the growth of the private sector. In some Latin American countries, as public policies fa- voured leftist political activism in public univer- sities, private universities have grown to counter these forces. But to argue that private institu- tions are free of political forces is not true. Priv- ate education has been found to strengthen a gi- ven political ideology and to help in reproduction of class structure (Salter and Tap- per, 1985). In several countries, state support to private universities is based on political and ide- ological factors, which can be called 'political- economic' factors. In India, for example, more than half the private engineering colleges in Maharashtra are owned by politicians, and used for political purposes. Motives of profit, in- fluence and political power explain the growth of these private colleges (Rudolph and Rudolph, 1987, p. 296; Kothari, 1986). THE EIGHTH MYTH Privatization of higher education improves in- c o m e distribution, as public funding of higher education, with all its 'perverse effects' is gener- ally found to be regressive (Psacharopoulos, 1977; Blaug, 1982). The facts A s evidence from Japan - one of the few coun- tries to have carried out elaborate investigations on this issue - shows, public universities seem to have slightly higher redistributive effects than private universities in transferring resources from the top income quintile to the others. T h e advantage enjoyed by public institutions is grea- ter in the school sector (James and Benjamin, 1988, p . 127). In the case of India, it has been found that the private education system con- tained forces that contribute to disparities, and that the state sector was not adequate enough to counteract these forces. A s a result, the whole education system was found to be a contributing factor towards accentuating income inequalities (Dasgupta, 1979). A n assessment of pros and cons Previously, I classified privatization into four ca- tegories: (a) extreme privatization (total or pure private institutions); (b) strong privatization (full cost recovery); (c) moderate privatization (partial cost recovery); and (d) pseudo-privatization (go- vernment-aided private sector). T h e above ana- lysis largely refers to the first and last forms of privatization only. Based on available evidence on a few major countries of the world, this analy- sis has exploded some of the myths. In m a n y countries, the growth of privatiza- tion can be attributed largely to the failure of pu- blic universities, while private universities have certainly m a d e positive contributions. Private universities in some countries, such as the U n - ited States, have contributed in important and unique ways to diversity, independence, quality, efficiency and innovation (Breneman and Finn, 1978, p. 6). In countries like Japan, each private university has its o w n identity, tradition, culture, etc. In contrast, public universities hardly offer any diversity or individual choice. In this sense, privatization increases the possibilities for indi- vidual choice in the type and quality of higher education. But 'the stress upon individualism - upon individual preference - at the expense of social responsibility and cohesiveness must be a matter of concern' (Ping, 1987, p. 291). In m a n y countries private higher education eases the impending financial burden faced by the public authorities. O n e noteworthy example is Chile, where total public expenditure on higher education was reduced from $171 million in 1981 to $115 million 1988 (Schiefelbein, 1990)236 Jandhyala B. G. Tilak as private education grew. Without this, govern- ments would either have to suppress the huge demand for higher education, or find them- selves in deeper financial deficit. In fact, polit- ical and economic stability would have been threatened in some Latin American countries, if it were not for the role of private sector (Levy, 1985, p. 451). In most cases, however, resources c o m e from students, not from other private sources. Private institutions supplied manpower not only to the private but to the public sector of the economy as well. Private universities are also believed to reduce the number of students going to foreign universities, as in the case of Greece (Psacharopoulos, 1988). But the goals and strategies of the private sector in higher education are on the whole highly injurious to the public interest. First, the private sector has turned the 'non-profit sector' into a high-profit-making sector not only in terms of social and political power, but also in terms of financial returns, and as profits are not allowed in educational enterprises in several countries, private educational enterprises have resorted to illegal activities in education. W h e n governments attempted to regulate profits by al- lowing state subsidies and restricting fee levels, all the private institutions found they had one thing in c o m m o n - a demand for subsidies. In the first instance, state subsidies eased the fi- nancial crisis of the private universities, as in Brazil, and in the long run contributed to 'priv- ate enrichment at public expense'. A s a result of all this, m a n y countries today have 'bastard' private-sector colleges, either illegally set up to do legal business, or legally created to do illegal work (Singh, 1983). Secondly, by concentrating on profit-yield- ing, cheap, career-related commercial studies, the market-oriented private universities provide vocational training under the n a m e of 'higher education' and ignore 'broader higher educa- tion'. Private universities also totally ignore re- search, which is essential for sustained develop- ment of higher education. Thirdly, by charging high fees, private in- stitutions create irreparable socio-economic in- equities between the poor and rich income groups of the population. As a World Bank study noted, private education turns out to be 'socially and economically divisive' (Psacharopoulos and Woodhall, 1985, p. 144). Access to higher educa- tion by lower income groups is negatively affect- ed by the rapid growth of privatization. It is generally felt that 'even if one assumes that the private sector is generally superior to the public sector, it does not logically follow that proportional expansion of the private sector would m a k e for a better system' (Levy, 1985, p. 458). In short, private education is not found to be economically efficient, qualitatively superior, and socially equitable. Accordingly, it is feared that increased privatization of higher education would present more problems than solutions, as in case of Colombia (Patrinos, 1990, p. 169). T h u s the inappropriateness of the market m e - taphor in higher education is abundantly clear. Towards a desirable pattern of privatization Privatization of the second and third categories mentioned above m a y not be characterized by so m a n y problems. A s higher education is a quasi- public good, 100 per cent cost recovery m a y not be desirable. In other words, the second type is neither desirable nor practically feasible. At the same time, since individuals do benefit from higher education, it is natural that they are re- quired to pay for their education (Tilak, 1991). T h e dwindling economic abilities of govern- ments also m a k e it necessary. Hence the notion of choice relates only to the third category. Under this category, privatization implies provision of public education, but with reason- able levels of costs recovered from the users. In other words, it means private purchase of public education at less than full cost. In this context, there are a few major proposals being discussed in several countries, such as increase in fees, stu- dent loans, graduate tax, etc. (World Bank, 1986). S o m e of these are being tried out in a fewT h e privatization of higher education 237 countries. T h e experience of those countries makes it clear that each of these alternatives has its o w n strengths and weaknesses (see, for ex- ample, Tilak and Varghese, 1991). A tax on grad- uates would be efficient if there were a strong re- lationship between education, occupation and productivity, and a low degree of substitution between different layers and types of higher edu- cation, so that those with higher education do not find themselves unemployed. Student loans transfer the burden from the present to the fu- ture, and for the loan schemes to work effective- ly, well spread credit markets to float education- al loans are required, without which the recovery of loans would be a serious problem. O f these three measures, fees seem to be the most effective. T h e experience of the Republic of K o - rea is encouraging in this regard: nearly half the costs of public higher education are met by stu- dents in the form of fees (Table 7). However, in- stead of a uniform increase in fees, selective pricing (Tilak and Varghese, 1985; Jimenez, 1987; Tilak, 1990) m a y be more efficient and equitable. T A B L E 7 . Fees as percentage of total expenditure on higher education Country Year Public Private Total Colombia mid-1980s 5.0 85.0 Republic of Korea 1985 49.6 82.3 73.4 Japan 1980 13.3 70.4 54.0 United States 1986/87 14.5 38.7 22.4 Sources: Colombia: Jimenez and Tan, 19876, p. 134; Republic of Korea: Lee, 1987, p. 61; Japan: Kaneko, 1987, p. 24; United States: Williams, 1990, p. 9. Under selective pricing, students belonging to different socio-economic groups would be re- quired to pay different rates of fees, which would be related to the ability of the students to pay and the costs of courses. Privatization of this type would be more efficient, generating additional private resources for higher education, and also more equitable, as it would not create dual struc- tures of higher education, as do the other forms described above - one for the élite and another for the masses. As Ping (1987, p. 291) noted, 'All children matter, not just those whose parents have learnt to play the market effectively.' In fact, privatization of this form will be free from most of the evils of other forms discussed above, and m a y assimilate the diverse strengths of priv- atization. • Notes 1. However , even though the private market mechanism is, in general, strong, the share of the private sector in higher education in enrolments in the United States decreased from about half in 1950 to a quarter in 1988. 2. For example, in 1988 the rapid growth of demand , in- cluding overseas demand , for higher education in Austra- lia, led to privatization of hitherto public higher education (Stone, 1990). 3. Other types of classification have been proposed. (See, for example, Khadira, 1990.) 4. Universities, colleges and other higher-education institu- tions, either public or private, vary in size and other charac- teristics. Here they are referred to as if they were h o m o g e - neous. 5. T h e private higher-education system in the United States seems to be distinct from others with respect to several oth- er characteristics. 6. While Latin American countries m a y present an excellent example of the first kind, countries like India provide ex- amples for the second category. 7. 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Financing of Education in Developing Countries, An Exploration of Policy Options. Washington, D . C . , World Bank. Y A N O , M . ; M A R U Y A M A , J. 1985. Prospects and Problems in Ja- panese Higher Education. In: R I H E , Higher Education Ex- pansion in Asia, pp. 68-84. Hiroshima, Hiroshima Univer- sity.University, research development Abdallah Laroui In this article I shall not deal with the general problem of scientific research and development, and the role of universities in these areas. Rath- er, I shall confine myself to giving an account of the problem as I have experienced it during m y university career over the past twenty years. Although this is m y personal experience, which m a y or m a y not bear generalization, it is still, in m y opinion, not without significance if w e look seriously at the problem under discussion: h o w can scientific research - and academic research in particular - support economic development? University research: supporting development? At first, it used to be thought that development was an inevitable consequence of research which, in turn, was a natural adjunct of higher Abdallah Laroui (Morocco). Professor of history at the Faculty of Letters, Mohamad V University, Rabat. Member of the Royal Academy of Morocco. Author of numerous works, including: L'idéologie arabe contemporaine {Modern Arab Ideology); T h e History of the Maghreb: A n Interpretive Essay; T h e Crisis of the Arab Intellectual: Tradi- tionalism or Historicism; Islam et modernité (Islam and Modernity). Also author of many articles and studies, among them 'Europe et non Europe' (Europe and non-Europe) in the Encyclo- pedia Universalis. education, and that what had happened in a number of developed countries would automat- ically happen in those that were not, whatever the intention of governments. If there were m a - ny university graduates, some of them would in- evitably be engaged in research in laboratories and university institutes, either following their natural inclinations or as a way of earning a liv- ing. If research culminated in success, then, for sure, some or all of the results would find their way into production. However, what actually came to pass was the very opposite of these ex- pectations. W e are all aware of what happened and there is no need for m e to dwell on it here. I shall discuss only what is relevant to the topic at hand: just as with primary and secondary schools, the vast increase in student numbers turned the universities into inward-looking and inbred institutions. As a result, they formulated their o w n concept of scientific research, criticiz- ing and negating the notion of economic deve- lopment. All this came about not through oppo- sition to research, as w e might imagine, but through research itself. T h e ineffectiveness of research H o w did this strange turn of events unfold? Let m e illustrate with an example. Suppose that a country pioneered something called 'production development science'. People saw its benefits and wondered h o w and w h y it had arisen in that particular country and at that time. They then Prospects, Vol. XXI, No. 2,1991University, research, development 241 agreed to devote enormous resources to study this cosmic event so that all humanity might be- nefit thereby. O f course, they asked the country in question to undertake all necessary studies with help from the international community. T h e topics were defined, special teams were as- signed to each one, ways and means were stu- died, and so on. For a long time, the country de- voted its energies to nothing but this project: it was done as well as it could be done and every- body benefited. But what about the country it- self? Without a doubt, it would find itself sliding d o w n the league table of the developed and in- novative countries. A n d why? Because the so- phisticated equipment it needed for the task was supplied free by other countries, which thus gained experience they were subsequently able to use in their o w n industrial production. W a s the study undertaken a scientific one? Were the methods adopted scientific? Were the people in charge scientists? Were the results scientific and applicable in the economic field? T h e answer to all these questions is 'yes'. A n d yet it is clear that the effort involved, though it indirectly helped other countries, did not help to develop the potential of the country undertaking the project. It is highly likely that the study re- sulted in the invention of n e w methods for lab- oratory and administrative organization; n e w forms of recreation were provided, giving indivi- duals a psychological stability never expe- rienced before; unemployment levels were re- duced and so on. While all these things m a y benefit individuals and society in general, they do not, however, increase material wealth. If, in our search for the origins of scientific research per se, w e assigned to the task scientists relying on their tried and tested equipment and meth- ods, h o w is it that their intellectual effort and its attendant psychological and social benefits could not be translated into economic develop- ment - n e w material wealth - despite the fact that everything was done within a scientific fra- mework , that is, one that is modern, empirical, objective, purposeful and planned? T h e reason is clear. T h e focus of the study had shifted from the object being studied to the act of studying itself and from future probabil- ities to past certainties. T h e conclusion is equal- ly clear: research with objectives other than the discovery of the laws of nature - the search for 'hiyaT (devices and contrivances) as they were called, in Arabic, in times of old - to save time and effort, does not directly and immediately contribute to visible development, that is, to the increase in consumable wealth. This type of re- search m a y be honourable, valuable, worthy, ap- propriate. However, it cannot be expected or se- riously be claimed to increase wealth except by chance and at the cost of additional time, effort and expense. This conclusion is self-evident; it does not even need to be demonstrated. Never- theless, it is this very conclusion that the un- iversities refuse to accept, not deliberately or by design but as a result of a natural progression im- posing its negative results without encountering any opposition. Some examples I shall n o w illustrate the problem with a number of examples but without going into great detail or presenting a huge number of arguments. HISTORY It is hardly surprising that history dominates the humanities and even the social sciences. I perso- nally have defended and continue to defend the adoption of an historical approach to the un- derstanding of the past in all their various as- pects against the fallacies constantly put forward by pseudo-philosophers of the intuitive-aesthet- ic school. W h a t , however, are w e to say about the dominance of history over the science of production and development - and the natural sciences associated with it? It is for this reason that I prefaced m y argu- ment with an example relating to the same top- ic. T h e history of science is a science but it is not science itself! There are good reasons for study- ing it - and benefits as well - even in paving the242 Abdallah Laroui way for genuine inventions, an argument usual- ly put forward by its practitioners. However, it is evident that it does not contribute directly - in the shortest possible time and at the least ex- pense - to the development of wealth. LINGUISTICS A n e w linguistic theory (or an old one in modern dress) emerges from an institute of technology (that it should emerge from such an establish- ment rather than one of the ancient universities is in itself significant) as a result of advances in informatics intended to provide a framework for research into problems involving language ac- quisition and competence, and code-switching. T h e study is essentially empirical and proced- ural both in its concerns and its orientation. So- m e h o w or other, it was expected that this theory could be uprooted and transplanted elsewhere for application in educational research to solve problems specific to our societies. However, what happened, was that it was transformed into a philosophical issue, into the burrowing of bookworms into obscure roots and precedents concealed in the works of ancient grammarians. F r o m the realm of the empirical, a domain that m a y , in the long run, contribute to the develop- ment process, w e shift to comparative transla- tion, interpretation, etc., and thus are drawn into labyrinths of futile argument. EPISTEMOLOGY Scientists isolated in their laboratories scorn any reference to the logic of science. In the Anglo- Saxon world, however, it can be observed that there are epistemologists w h o are experts in cer- tain sciences and not just parasitic concerning them. Their concern is to draw attention to the dangers of enshrining theory in stone. W h e n this happens, researchers are so preoccupied with the prevailing theory that they are blind to all the natural phenomena contradicting it. T h e epistemologist would argue that the apparatus used in experiments devised in accordance with the logic of such a theory observes, registers and measures only those phenomena that fit. T h e role of epistemologists is, essentially, to free re- searchers from blind loyalty to any one view. They criticize theories in order to free research from any limitations and constraints. However, w h e n criticism is divorced from its underlying motivation and concerns, experimental science is reduced to blind-man's buff, no different from the groping in the dark of other disciplines. It is then dismissed as rhetoric myth. At the level of principle, an analogy m a y be drawn between yo- ga and the language used by some modern epis- temologists; this analogy m a y help us to evolve important scientific theories. However, the anal- ogy can only be seen w h e n minds are freed from the weight and role of the modern laboratories, for it is they, rather than any associated theories, that contribute to the development of resources. T h e significant relationship (one that, in the case of the comparisons w e referred to, is delib- erately obscured) is the link between concept and invention, between the logic of science and the laboratory structure. T h e fact that w e have a glut of epistemologists does not necessarily her- ald the dawn of a scientific research which will ensure economic development. ECONOMICS Nowadays, historical analysis of the main eco- nomic sectors tends to be based on statistics for production, investment and savings. This trend has c o m e to be known as economic aggregation, that is, the study of the cultural influences passed on through methods of work and chan- nels of exchange. There is no doubt that this de- velopment is symptomatic of a deep concern in economic circles about the chronic crises expe- rienced not only by Third World countries but also by others, each according to its means and as a function of its wealth. T h e significant point, however, is that the ideas prevailing in the 1960s were themselves based on 'economic criticism' and the introduction of social and political con- cerns, with emphasis being placed on the role of the state and state institutions. Economic aggre-University, research, development 243 gation, therefore, is nothing n e w and excess ac- tivity in this direction is perhaps one of the rea- sons for the crisis. T h e current development is not so m u c h an inclination towards but an ex- tension ofthat very trend which denies that eco- nomics, the science of wealth production and distribution, is even relatively independent of social systems and the laws governing their co- hesion. So far has this idea been pushed that w e are n o w in the strange position of seeing the fun- damental link between production and savings - a principle established since the fifth century B.C. - either forgotten or neglected while a prin- ciple as basic as the connection between produc- tion and distribution has been altered to such an extent as to become meaningless or negative. ELECTRONICS Let us suppose that a department is established for the study of the electronics industry and the application of electronics in the field of data pro- cessing. If those graduating from the depart- ment confine their research to the field of nu- mismatics or devising better methods to catalogue the treasures of the national heritage, what role will they have to play in development in its currently accepted sense? I do not deny the fact that they have some role; but what I a m say- ing is that this role has to be judged in cost- benefit terms. MATHEMATICS It has been observed that m a n y science grad- uates are slow to adapt to changes in the eco- nomic environment and end up as teachers, w h o then impart what they themselves have learned, both in form and content, to students w h o will in turn teach it to others in exactly the same way. This is what I referred to w h e n I spoke of the un- iversity as a closed institution. Faced with this problem, w e look for the causes and blame it on pedagogy, language, the poor quality of practical work, the sorry state of university laboratories, and so on. However, if w e turn our attention to the experience of other countries, w e find that: (a) criticism is expressed with regard to the cur- rent rage for so-called modern maths (a highly abstract discipline closely linked to formal log- ic); (b) a strong case is m a d e for the sciences of observation; (c) there are calls for a revival of mechanics ('hiyal'); and (d) from within mathe- matics itself, there is demand for a doubling of geometry courses at the expense of algebra. Thus , w e find that the problem is deeper and more widespread than w e had thought and that the root of the problem lies perhaps in our nat- ural inclination to favour the subjective over the objective, which confirms the observations I m a d e about the hypothetical example given at the beginning of this article. At this point, I would like to m a k e an obser- vation of a general nature, namely that the adop- tion of a theoretical approach, even if pushed to its limits, is not usually detrimental in countries where an experimental science establishment already exists. O n the contrary, it increases their power. For this very reason, although the A m e r - ican model is often held up as an example to fol- low, it seems to m e that it is an inappropriate one because, in m y view, the United States today is more in need of philosophers than scientists. T h e theoretical approach, however, is harmful in countries that lack experience in the field of natural science and laboratory experi- mentation. This is because they are held captive by their o w n subjectivism, under the influence of ideas which, though outwardly scientific and modern, are in fact other-worldly and antiquat- ed. It is no surprise that there are Indians and Arabs w h o excel in modern algebra, however re- mote this discipline might n o w be from its older form. Neither is it surprising to see them dis- cover hidden truths in new-found schemes of numbers and letters. However, within the con- text of wealth creation, what they need is prac- tice in trigonometry and the like, that is, to tran- slate numbers of all kinds into geometrical shapes. Rather than mere verbal expression, the- refore, what is required to achieve this result is comprehensive and balanced training of the mind, the eye and the hand.244 Abdallah Laroui T h e logic of teaching and the logic of research I a m quoting, in the 'counter-bibliography' at the end of this article, the article by Llibouty on the teaching of physical mechanics. According to the author, this discipline has been aban- doned because it no longer offers 'good subjects' for research. Does it follow then that there are two kinds of logic in research - one for universi- ties and the other for non-university laborato- ries? Let us begin with some observations. In the universities themselves, the scientif- ic disciplines are not organized in the same way everywhere; an American physics book for first- year students is different from a French book written for an equivalent level. European c o m - petitive examinations in mathematics have shown that the English are stronger in geometry and the French in analysis - more attention to precision in the first case, more creativity in the other. T h e classification of the sciences is also different: based on theoretical principles in one instance, on subject of study in the other. In- terdisciplinarity is difficult to implement in a Comtian-type classification system. This has two major consequences: on the one hand, basic contradictions pass unnoticed - a concept pro- pounded by I. Prigogine and I. Stengers, authors of Order out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue with Nature (London, Bantam Books, 1984) - on the other hand, ad hoc solutions, so important to re- search, are played d o w n , if not rejected, on prin- ciple. In the rational system of classification, any solution that is not directly deduced from the original theory is called empirical. These are, strictly speaking, academic ob- servations. But let us take a look at the results. T h e training of an engineer or a researcher does not begin at the age of 20, but very m u c h earlier. W e could go so far as to say that it is virtually a method of thinking that stems directly from gen- eral culture and from the teaching and learning system. It is natural that in certain cases - through force of habit and intellectual discipline - the ad hoc solutions are not immediately apparent: w h o in fact teaches in engineering schools if not lecturers whose only thought is of joining a un- iversity? O f course, w e should be careful w h e n m a k - ing generalizations about trends, especially w h e n w e are not referring to specific cases. It m a y be deduced, however, that such antitheses as basic versus applied research and university versus industrial research conceal a m u c h more significant contradiction, one that separates technologists from epistemologists, even though this antimony (Galileo versus Descartes) has been brought to light in recent years chiefly through studies of the history of science. Let us say that the university is shifting nat- urally in the direction of theoretical science, which just as naturally becomes philosophical. Let us also say that ad hoc solutions are born in laboratories, and that, in the universities, theo- ries of reorganization prevail. W h e n the latter are cut off from laboratories and industry, then science truly becomes a philosophy. Therefore, the next step is scientism, which can certainly play a positive cultural role, but can also be the source of a paralysing ideological conflict. In these circumstances, science is only pre- served from scientism by an influence coming from outside the university (the state, transna- tional economic groupings, large companies). If the university chooses to withdraw behind its privileges of autonomy where the state cannot reach it, the latter will turn towards other specif- ic institutions, which it creates or expands, or it m a y prefer to operate through military research. Every day w e can witness examples of one or another of these options. But they too are only ad hoc solutions; there can be no real progress until technologists and epistemologists are brought face to face, un- til the latter are forced to reexamine their expla- natory systems and the classification of the sciences is completely overhauled. In this way, and only in this way, can university scholars be fully liberated and recover the ability to observe and innovate and to solve problems instead of being content just to back up established results.University, research. Reform of teaching, education and information is therefore a matter of urgency. A n u m b e r of studies on the logic, on the history of science and on educational methods lead to similar results: the university, whether it is public or private - long considered the temple of the spirit of research, a place where critical abilities are developed and dialogue encouraged - has become a temple of d o g m a , of perpet- uation of the status quo, of the defence and il- lustration of established scientific theory. A s a result, the university restricts innovation and in- hibit the motivation to solve problems. This helps us to understand the statements about w h y the university is on the decline or at a standstill. It is certainly no accident that the re- search w e have mentioned was carried out in the United States, which is concerned about aggres- sive Japanese competitiveness. T h e university is by its very nature dogmatic, simply because it systematizes and reorganizes results obtained el- sewhere; it finds itself somewhat at a disadvan- tage w h e n compared with other institutions less preoccupied with standards of accuracy. Basic research, in this perspective, is not what it is usually thought to be: it seeks to unify a branch of knowledge; it need not have any practical ap- plication and m a y not even be in a position to offer concrete solutions. T h e logic of research, where it flourishes, is different. It is essentially open, empirical, oppor- tunistic, even anarchistic according to some, that is to say, without guiding rules. That is w h y the terms 'revolution' and 'breakthrough' are frequently applied to it; but it is only in excep- tional cases that w e can m a k e such generaliza- tions about these terms and apply them to un- iversity science. Surely it is no coincidence that from Aristotle to Descartes and C o m t e 'scientif- ic' has been synonymous with 'systematic'? Distortion of the aims of university research? With the examples and observations discussed thus far, I will rest m y case. Although, as I have said, the illustrations are particular and m a y not apply to m a n y industrially advanced countries, the general conclusion to be drawn is that, by its very nature, the orientation of the university does not necessarily promote research designed to develop material wealth. T h e fact that un - iversities are not confined to a single role is de- monstrated by the current debate over the divi- sion of research between industrial institutions and universities. Over the past twenty years, I have observed h o w the concepts of research and development have been transformed in university education. Research has m o v e d from the objective to the subjective, from examination of nature to analy- sis of the self behind the study. T h e concept of development, meanwhile, has been pushed beyond its usual sense of increasing material wealth to m e a n developing talent. T h u s , e m p h a - sis has shifted from production to consumption, from supply to demand , from meeting needs to examining their origin. Despite the impression that m a y be given by some of the terms used, I should like to stress that I a m not making any value judgement here, nor a m I saying that the present state of affairs is right or wrong. I a m merely stating the most ob- vious of conclusions, namely that university re- search, in its present conception and practice, cannot directly contribute to the development of wealth because that is not its role, even if it so- metimes happens. I would not deny that re- search into the self, in all its aspects, m a y lead to an increase in production, whether in the short or the long term. This is because the self in question is the producer, because producers content with themselves and their environment and in control of their instincts and needs m a y become responsible agents. T h o u g h positive, this role of the university is expensive and open to question.Abdallah Laroui Reorienting university research and culture Having said all this, I find myself in a somewhat difficult situation w h e n it comes to putting for- ward practical proposals that might remedy the state of affairs described above. T h e problem is that the ideas upon which m y argument has been based are nowadays branded as outmoded and belonging to the nineteenth century - cu- riously enough by critics w h o normally speak in praise of authentic cultural traditions. T h e twin pillars of m y case are, first, that development means, above all, the increase of consumable material wealth and, secondly, that scientific re- search conducive to development means discov- ery of the riddles of nature. I a m well aware of all the arguments that m a y be m a d e against these simplified definitions. However, w h e n the ob- vious is denied, w e are forced to go back to basics and rejection of m y twin pillars only makes the problem worse. W h a t is the point at issue? T h e problem is not that the university does no re- search but that the research it does do, from all the evidence, fails to contribute sufficiently to development. A n d what w e are discussing here is not the development of talent and personality - this is an accepted fact or it should be. W e are saying that there is a crisis, because although the university helps to develop personality, it does not sufficiently prepare graduates to participate effectively in the field of material production, through intellectual work. T h e issue, therefore, is one of orientation rather than of material means and numbers. There is no point in increasing the number of teachers, building laboratories, organizing sab- baticals, improving communications and so on unless someone teaches the teachers. If univer- sity education remains as it is, without any change in orientation, all this effort will be counter-productive. As long as research costs have no yield in terms of wealth production, they are not a useful investment. Although the results m a y raise a smile from those w h o ad- vocate self-fulfilment, they will bring tears to the eyes of whoever is responsible for the balance sheet. Comparisons of figures for funds allocated to research in terms of G N P ignore the diffe- rences in education, especially at university le- vel, even though this point is a m o n g the find- ings of the subjective research which I discussed above. If only such findings were put to good use! There are those w h o argue that no good can c o m e of trying to reform university educa- tion. Justifying their position with long lists of examples, they suggest that research should be organized outside the university and even out- side government control altogether. M a n y old- established universities have rejected or imped- ed research aimed at industrial exploitation, claiming that such action is intended to preserve their independence and freedom. This is only natural since the university - as its very n a m e suggests - aims to provide a general education, to impart knowledge rather than specialization and professional training. T h e example of the United States, which is sometimes used in coun- ter-argument, does not apply here because American public education has always been technical and practical. It originated as one of the means that created a nation, a fact observed by various nineteenth-century visitors to that country and, foremost among them, Alexis de Tocqueville. Although those in charge are loud in their praise of the role of the university, the truth of the matter is that this - whether openly or tacitly - is their real position. There are others w h o would like to save the university from the fate which threatens to trans- form it into a substitute for general secondary education and to m a k e it the bastion of national heritage and traditions. They must surely con- clude that the university has no role in promot- ing genuine research (in its obvious sense) and supporting development without a review of its academic components and an educational revo- lution to change its focus from subjective to ob- jective, to put the past behind it and to lead it in- to the future. This reverse transformation back to its original nature cannot be applied to or un- dertaken by the university on its o w n . T h e in-University, research, development 247 volvement of the state is necessary, not in plan- ning research programmes but in creating a general educational curriculum which would begin by reformulating educational methods and subjects at the primary and secondary levels and which, with proper orientation of the mass media, would end by systematizing relationships between university institutes and private sector laboratories and industrial establishments. Such a programme will not succeed unless it is the concern of the nation as a whole, without reser- vation and without one side competing against another. Although some m a y fear that any spir- itual aspiration will be strangled by the tentacles of materialism and the grip of the scientific c o m - munity, should w e be swayed by this prospect of a putative danger w h e n there is a real one at hand? T h e argument might be stronger if w e had already set out upon this road and the nega- tive effects were beginning to show. However, as w e have not even begun to conceive h o w w e might tread such a road, scaremongering about the likely outcome is nonsense. Indeed, it in- dicates a deep-rooted scepticism as to people's ability to realize the error of their ways and to sa- feguard their beliefs and the things they hold sacred. For such pessimism, there is no justifica- tion. Neither I nor anyone else is claming that a philosophy of development alone is enough to bring about development: there is an abundance of examples, both old and new, to refute any such claim. Development is linked to material and financial factors, with the ability to organize and plan, with the selection of objectives and priorities. However, even if all these factors are present, they will be to no avail unless they are embodied in such a philosophy. H o w can deve- lopment come about unless it proceeds from a will - in the ordinary everyday meaning of the word - to that end? • Counter-bibliography BOUGHALI, M . La représentation de l'espace chez le Marocain il- létré. Paris, Anthropos, 1974. F E R G U S O N , E . S. The Mind's Eye: Non-verbal Thought in Technology. Science, 1977, pp. 827-36. F E Y E R A B E N D , P . Contre la méthode, Paris, Seuil, 1979. H I L L , D . R . Article on 'Hiyal', Encyclopédie de l'Islam, 2nd ed., supp., pp. 371-4. L L I B O U T Y , L . La mécanique physique: une grave lacune de notre enseignement. La Recherche, N o . 208, March 1988, pp. 391-2. S H E A K A W A T , V . Alternative Models of Scientific Rationality: Theorisation in Classical Indian Science. Diogenes, N o . 144,1989, pp. 32-51. S C H Ä F E R , P . The N e w World Order: A Contribution to the World Decade for Cultural Development. Paris, U N E S C O , 1989. (Studies and Documents, 41.) Y A C H I R , F . La nouvelle problématique du développement. Paris, U N E S C O , 1989. (Études et Documents, 43.)Universities and national development Issues and problems in developing countries Lawrence J. Saha If the relationship between education and na- tional development is complex, the contribution of various levels of education to development, that is, primary, secondary and tertiary, is even more perplexing. Each level has to be seen in the context of the target population relevant to its function, the curriculum, the expectations of its products, the recruitment and training of its teachers, and the costs and funding of its oper- ations. During the past decade, there has been disagreement among planners and researchers about the appropriate priorities for the educa- tional strategies of countries wishing to promote development. T h e difficulty increases w h e n questions about development are addressed, such as: Wha t kind of development? For w h o m ? For what purpose? H o w ? This article will not attempt to discuss Lawrence J. Saha (United States). Reader in the Department of Sociology, the Australian National University, Canberra. Co-author with Ingemar Fägerlind of Education and National Develop- ment: A Comparative Perspective (2nd ed., 1989), and co-editor with John P. Keeves of Schooling and Society in Australia: Sociological Perspectives (1990). these questions for all levels of education, but will focus specifically on one, the tertiary level and, to be more precise, on universities. T h e re- lationship between universities and national de- velopment will be addressed in the context of a multidimensional concept of national develop- ment. Although the term 'development' is often used with a taken-for-granted meaning (most of- ten as economic development), Fägerlind and Saha (1989) argue that greater precision is need- ed to isolate the various paths of development, paths which are often contradictory, each with its o w n determinants and consequences. These three dimensions are the economic, the socio- cultural and the political. Following this dis- tinction, it can be shown that universities play distinct roles for each dimension of national de- velopment. Furthermore, as will become clear, it is possible that in given country contexts, it will be impossible for all three dimensions to be pursued simultaneously. Thus in the following pages w e will exa- mine the relevance and contribution of universi- ties for national development for each of the three dimensions. Within each of these dimen- sions specific issues will be addressed as appro- priate - for example, rates of return, employ- ment and unemployment, vocational and academic curricula, equality and ideology. Prospects, Vol. XXI, N o . 2, 1991national development: 249 s in developing countries Universities and economic development In so far as the economic growth m o d e l has tended to dominate mos t research and debate about development, m u c h of the assessment of the contribution of universities to development has been in this context. T h u s ultimately the contribution of universities has been evaluated in the context of increases in per capita i n c o m e , shifts in the base and structure of economic sys- tems (for example , from agricultural to indus- trial and service-based economies) , and rates of return to society and to individuals. Al though these indicators of economic growth are gener- ally accepted by all countries, their relevance and character will differ be tween the developed and less developed countries. T h e y will also diff- er between regions such as Africa, South-East Asia and Latin Amer ica (Hallak, 1990). T h e disparity between countries in prim- ary, secondary and tertiary enrolments is taken for granted: in all countries, primary enrolments are highest while tertiary enrolments are lowest. Furthermore, these enrolments (at all levels) are lowest for the least developed countries and highest for the m o s t highly developed countries. For example , in 1985 the average enrolments for low- income economies at the primary level w a s 6 7 per cent, at secondary level 2 2 per cent and at the tertiary level 5 per cent. Conversely, in the industrial market economies , there w a s 100 per cent enrolment at the primary level, 93 per cent at the secondary level, and 39 per cent at the ter- tiary level (World B a n k , 19886). T h e increase in enrolments at all levels from 1965 to 1985 is also revealing (see Table 1). L o w - i n c o m e countries increased primary enrol- men t s by 52 per cent, secondary by 144 per cent and tertiary by 4 0 0 per cent. For the industrial market economies , the increases were 0 per cent (100 per cent primary enrolments had already been reached by 1965), 4 8 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively. For countries at all levels of development , the increases at the tertiary level were the highest. T A B L E I. Percentage increase of enrolments by levels of education and of development, 1965-85 Level of education Country classification Primary Secondary Higher L o w income 52 144 400 Lower middle income 37 163 225 Upper middle income 8 97 128 Industrial 0 48 86 Source: World Bank, 1988*. Although it stands to reason that expansion will be the greatest where there is room for it, there are other considerations which are equally relevant. First, in the less developed countries, expansion at the tertiary level has increased ra- pidly, and well before universal primary and se- condary education have been attained. This would suggest that tertiary-level education is both highly valued and m u c h in demand in the less developed countries, and that the rapid ex- pansion might be indicative of attempts to e m - ulate the prestige of universities in the industrial societies. At the same time it has been argued that tertiary education, at least in sub-Saharan Africa, might be over-expanded (World Bank, 1988a). O n e interpretation of this 'higher-edu- cation paradox' is that the expansion has lo- wered the quality of output, with the result that there has been an actual increase in the shortage of highly skilled graduates. A second, and m u c h more important, con- sequence of rapid growth in the tertiary sector is cost. O f the three levels of education, the unit cost of higher education exceeds by m a n y times the unit cost of primary and secondary educa- tion. For example, in 1981 the unit cost of secon- dary education for African countries was seven times that of primary education, while the unit cost of higher education was fifty-seven times higher (Coceo and Nascimento, 1986, p. 257). In French-speaking Africa the unit cost of un- iversities in 1983 was nine times the cost of a se- condary pupil and forty times that of a primary pupil (Diambomba, 1989). Furthermore, the relative cost of higher250 Lawrence J. Saha T A B L E 2. Returns to education for selected countries: rates of return by educational level Country Survey year Private returns Social returns Primary Secondary Higher Primary Secondary Higher Ethiopia Kenya Nigeria Mexico Greece Yugoslavia Canada Sweden United Kingdom United States 1972 1971 1966 1963 1977 1969 1961 1967 1977 1969 35.0 28.0 30.0 32.0 20.0 7.6 1. Figures not available. Source: Psacharopouios and Woodhall, 1985, pp. 56-7. 22.8 33.0 14.0 23.0 6.0 15.3 16.3 11.7 18.8 27.4 31.0 34.0 29.0 5.5 2.6 19.7 10.3 9.6 15.4 20.3 21.7 23.0 25.0 16.5 9.3 18.7 19.2 12.8 17.0 5.5 15.4 11.7 10.5 3.6 10.9 9.7 8.8 17.0 23.0 4.5 2.8 14.0 9.2 8.2 10.9 education for the less developed countries is higher than for the industrialized countries. In the early 1970s the per cent G N P per capita for a unit cost of higher education in less developed countries was 1,405, compared with 55 for the O E C D countries (Fägerlind and Saha, 1989). These relatively high costs of higher educa- tion pose serious problems for the less developed countries of the world, particularly during times of diminishing revenue and declining econo- mies. In setting priorities regarding the mainte- nance of these education systems, one consider- ation must be the social and individual returns to investment in education for each of these le- vels. T h e individual costs of education include fees, books and, most importantly, forgone earn- ings. For society the costs include 'the costs of teachers and other staff, books, other goods and services such as heating and lighting, and the value of buildings and equipment' (Psacharo- pouios and Woodhall, 1985). T h e benefits to the individual are almost exclusively calculated in terms of higher income as a result of educational attainment, whereas for society the benefits are in terms of the increase in productivity due to education credentials. Although the calcula- tions of rates of return are complex and subject to a number of assumptions (see Psacharopou- ios, 1985), the general patterns appear clear. A selection of rates of individual and social rates of return for the less developed and advanced countries are given in Table 2 . O n the basis of these figures, Psacharopou- ios and Woodhall (1985, p. 58) conclude that the private rates of return are higher than the social rates of return, that both social and private rates of return are higher for primary education, and that the rate of return is higher in the developing countries than the developed countries. Fur- thermore, in the developing countries the social rates of return to higher education are lower than the returns to primary and secondary edu- cation (27,16 and 13 per cent, respectively). These figures clearly indicate that the so- cial rates of return to education are the lowest for the most expensive level of education, at least for the developing countries. Therefore, at least in terms of economic development, it would ap- pear that universities and other forms of higher education should have the lowest priority for educational planning and expansion. Further- more, because the private rates of return for higher education are greater than the returns to society, the financing of higher education be- comes problematic. For example, w h y should a government subsidize universities and other forms of higher education w h e n the main benef- iciaries are the individuals and not the rest of so- ciety? This is precisely w h y recent policy recom-Universities and national development: 251 issues and problems in developing countries mendations have argued that the consumers of higher education should be the ones w h o pay, rather than the government. T h e consequences of reverting to user-pays or cost-recovery policies are not completely k n o w n , and in any event are highly complex. For example, would universities and other forms of higher education be underfunded (and under-invested)? Would the demand for univer- sities decline? Would universities become acces- sible only to the wealthy and the élite? Ultimately, these questions bear directly on issues of equality and efficiency. If governments continue to fund universities at a level needed to maintain quality and meet the social demand, will the main beneficiaries be those w h o are al- ready advantaged, or will those from less privi- leged backgrounds also gain access? Although the wealthy usually choose to send their chil- dren to private primary and secondary schools (Schiefelbein, 1983), this is less likely to be the case for universities, even if private universities were available alternatives, which in m a n y countries they are not. A s D i a m b o m b a (1989) observes, entry to universities, in Africa at least, has served only to produce graduates w h o later receive high salaries, therefore not only repro- ducing privilege in society, but also imposing extremely high costs on society as a whole. Although a number of mechanisms have been suggested to equalize opportunities for un- iversity and higher education attendance (for ex- ample, vouchers and loan systems), none that would equitably transfer the high costs of un- iversities to the user has been adopted. Efficiency and national development Carnoy et al. (1982) note that one explanation for the apparent decline in relative spending per student in higher education has been economies of scale and the ability to increase enrolments at less cost per student. For those countries that have reduced their costs per student, increases in enrolments have been possible. Although the reduction in government expenditure on un- iversities and higher education might be seen as more equitable because the user and main be- neficiaries carry most of the cost, the 'privatiza- tion' of universities m a y turn out to be ineffi- cient. In this respect efficiency is evaluated in terms of the provision and delivery of higher education in those areas, in those fields, and for a wide range of able students w h o are seen as be- neficial for society as a whole. A privatized un- iversity system is more likely to respond to mar- ket forces rather than the benefit of society (unless the two are defined as the same). This could m e a n that universities will be found main- ly in urban areas, in pleasing climates, and will recruit from the affluent and able students (Schiefelbein, 1983, p. 15). D i a m b o m b a (1989) suggests that the key factors for the inefficiency of higher education in Africa have been the inadequate links bet- ween universities and job markets, the imba- lance between enrolments in specific disci- plines, and finally the lack of appropriate training for the skills needed in the labour mar- ket. In other words, by following too closely the demands of students, the African universities have not produced the kinds of graduates need- ed by society. In particular, the aspirations of un- iversity graduates are not only inordinately high, a pattern consistent with findings related to the education systems in less developed countries as a whole (Saha, 1991), but graduates' attitudes to- ward work make them unable to seek out, or take on other kinds of occupation, such as entrepre- neurial activities. Overall, then, because of the high cost of universities, their inequity and inefficiency, and low rate of return compared with primary- and secondary-level education, it could be said that higher education in general and universities in particular are obstacles rather than agents for economic development. Unless universities and other forms of higher education can be m a d e less costly to society (as compared with costs to individuals), and unless they can be better in- tegrated to the needs of their countries, at the252 Lawrence J. Saha risk of becoming more marginal to the interna- tional university community, and unless the so- cial rate of return can be increased through a combination of reduced costs and cost-recovery mechanisms, then universities in developing countries will have a lower priority in education- al planning policies. As stated at the outset, economic develop- ment is only one dimension according to which w e can assess issues related to universities and national development. While economic consid- erations are certainly essential, particularly in the context of diminishing economic resources, there are other dimensions which m a y be less tangible and less amenable to quantitative analy- sis, but nevertheless provide alternative bases for the evaluation of the contribution of universities to the national development of society. O n e of these is the social and cultural dimension. Universities and social aspects of national development Although it would be erroneous to suggest that concerns with economic aspects of development are motivated only by investment in h u m a n cap- ital considerations, it has been said that since Schultz's 1960 address there has occurred a 'hu- m a n investment revolution in economic thought' (Sobel, 1978). Yet a preoccupation with economic development runs the risk of over- looking and neglecting other important dimen- sions in the development process. Furthermore, there are limits to the economic development perspective with respect to education (Klees, 1986), and it would seem that this is particularly true with respect to universities. Therefore, following the three dimensions outlined above, it is appropriate to consider the extent to which universities are related to the so- cial and cultural development of a society, and thus to national development and nation-build- ing. In other words, the contribution of universi- ties to national development must be evaluated according to criteria in addition to cost-benefits, rates of return or increases in productivity, all of which regard education as a form of investment in h u m a n capital. A focus on higher education and the social and cultural dimensions of national develop- ment include, first, an examination of the m o - dernizing effects of universities, that is, changes in values, attitudes and life-styles. Second, w e will examine the extent to which universities in developing countries represent the interests of their o w n country, or conversely represent colo- nial or international interests, which are mostly Western in tradition. UNIVERSITIES, VALUES, ATTITUDES AND LIFE-STYLES O n e of the best documented research findings is that, compared with those with no higher educa- tion, persons w h o have attended some form of higher education tend to be less traditional, less family-oriented, more secular and more change- oriented in attitudes, values and behaviour. Although it is debated whether or not atten- dance at university 'causes' these modernizing effects, or whether a self-selection is the cause, the association is nevertheless clear. T h e modernizing impact of universities on students, in some respects, is nothing more than an extension of the effects of education general- ly. Higher education in general, and universities in particular, exercise impacts on society as well as on individuals. With respect to society, the impact affects the mobilization and the use of h u m a n resources, and also the way that society is stratified (Bergendal, 1985). Although the m o - bilization of h u m a n resources is more closely linked to questions of economic development and work productivity, there is also an impact on the values, attitudes and life-styles of individuals in society. Because those persons w h o attend universi- ties are more likely to c o m e from higher-status and higher-income family backgrounds, the graduates of universities are more likely to attain social and occupational levels comparable toUniversities and ns issues and problems i their origins. T o this extent, universities serve to reproduce social structures, not only in the sense that the occupational and income distribution in a given society is likely to remain the same, but because the inequalities will be inherited from one generation to the next. However, this effect of universities is likely to be greater in countries where a larger proportion of an age cohort, such as 25 or 30 per cent, attends university, as c o m - pared with countries where only 5 per cent do (Bergendal, 1985). Thus this particular impact is likely to be greater in Western advanced coun- tries rather than the developing countries, which have small proportions of age cohorts at- tending university. A further way that universities have an ef- fect on values, attitudes and life-styles is through the inculcation of a body of legitimate know- ledge to students. T h e cognitive impact of un- iversity attendance on students has been well documented: students w h o take courses in cer- tain subjects, at least in a factual sense, k n o w more about those subjects compared with those w h o have not taken them (Dahlgren, 1985, p. 2224). However, the long-term effects of these cognitive gains suggests that over time, the dete- rioration of this factual knowledge is 'dramatic'. A n additional problem with respect to the acquisition of knowledge by university students is the question of what knowledge is learned. Although there has been considerable concern about the legitimation of knowledge by school and university curricula in all societies, both de- veloped and the less developed, the legitimation of knowledge poses more serious issues for the developing countries. M u c h of what is valued and taught in the universities of developing countries is imported from the developed countries. This is particular- ly the case with science and technological know- ledge, 95 per cent of which is produced in the industrial countries (Ahmed , 1985). A major dif- ficulty of most developing countries is that while science and technological knowledge is seen as important for solving a country's problems, such as poverty, disease and illiteracy, its importation from the industrial countries poses difficulties of adaptation and use. T h e reason is that this onal development: 253 developing countries knowledge is not neutral but Western in value- orientation and application. As A h m e d (1985) notes, the Western version of science and tech- nology has been largely irrelevant for solving the problems of developing countries, and Third World universities that use books, curricula and materials from the industrial countries succeed only in producing graduates suited for employ- ment in those industrial countries. T h e type of inappropriate science and tech- nology education in developing countries results in experts w h o do not understand, do not appre- ciate or are not committed to the solution of pro- blems in their o w n countries. Because they look to scientists and technologists in the developed countries as their reference group, they choose inappropriate research topics, publish in over- seas journals, and where possible, take higher- paid and possibly more prestigious jobs overseas. Their o w n countries lose the very talent that it has inappropriately educated and trained. A h m e d (1985, p. 4476) argues that universities in developing countries can counter this ten- dency by introducing courses 'where the learner is engaged in tasks of creative and divergent thinking as well as in constructive actions to im- plement scientific and technological ideas in the surrounding society'. Research opportunities and facilities in the universities of developing countries must be improved, and research pro- ductivity rewarded. Only then will universities in developing countries produce graduates w h o are committed to the solution of their o w n coun- tries' problems and not join the brain drain which has been so characteristic of m a n y grad- uates of Third World universities. Altbach (1990) develops these same obser- vations further, and perhaps more optimistical- ly, in his analysis of universities and scientific development in four countries: Malaysia, Singa- pore, Republic of Korea and Taiwan. Because science represents an 'international' knowledge system, Altbach shows h o w the dominance of English and the frequency and prestige of over- seas university training and degrees serve as im- portant links between Third World scientists and 'mainstream' science in the industrialized world. There are both advantages and disadvan-254 Lawrence J. Saha tages in these pressures on the universities and scientists in the developing countries to emulate and keep up with the mainstream. Nevertheless, with respect to the four countries under consid- eration, a sufficiently indigenous scientific base was developed so that science and technology as taught and researched in local universities have m a d e important contributions to the national development of these four countries. H o w did this indigenous scientific base come about? First, by sacrificing the desire to have the national language dominate through- out the education system and in science teach- ing and research, these countries to a greater or lesser extent allowed English to dominate. Thus the commitment to the international scientific community has meant the development of a strong international scientific community, but at the cost of furthering the decline in the impor- tance of indigenous languages and cultures. A s Altbach notes, Singapore has taken the most ex- treme commitment to the internationalization of local science by using English throughout the educational and professional scientific c o m - munity. O n the other hand, while supporting an indigenous scientific community, the Republic of Korea nevertheless has used English as the m e d i u m for the most advanced work. In other words, although population size and the en- trenchment of local and national cultures make possible a commitment to an indigenous science, the most advanced scientific teaching and research is invariably done in English. This is a hard fact that cannot be ignored in decisions about science and technology teaching and re- search in the universities of the developing countries. A further issue in this context concerns both the proportion of academics w h o have re- ceived their training in overseas universities in the industrialized countries, and also the n u m - ber w h o migrate to the industrialized countries to pursue their professional careers, that is, the brain drain. Although the brain drain from the developing to the developed countries is often interpreted in a negative way, Altbach takes a more optimistic perspective and identifies sever- al dimensions whereby the process m a y in fact be beneficial for the h o m e country. For exam- ple, m a n y emigrants do maintain contact with their h o m e country and serve as a source of con- tact for indigenous scientists. Furthermore, m a - ny of those w h o have allegedly migrated, do in fact return to m a k e an important contribution to their h o m e country. T h e brain drain, however, should not be seen as a concern only for the developing coun- tries. There is considerable movement between universities in all countries of the world, both developing and developed. T h e academic pro- fession is, more than any other, an international profession. Apart from political and language considerations, it is often thought that academ- ics should be free to pursue their careers in w h a - tever locale they think appropriate and possible. Thus the brain drain occurs between the deve- loped countries and between the developed and the developing countries. Although the pre- sence of large numbers of expatriate academics are seen as detrimental to Third World universi- ties, the pattern exists in some of the countries of the developed world as well. For example, a stu- dy of Australian universities between 1961 and 1974 found that a steady rate of about 40 per cent of academics were appointed from overseas, although about half of them were returning Aus- tralians (Saha and Klovdahl, 1979). Similar pat- terns occurred in Canada during the same pe- riod. Thus the presence of expatriate academics, and the brain drain itself, are not phenomena unique to the developing countries. Neverthe- less the departure of trained academics from the developing countries to the developed repre- sents a loss of h u m a n resources which could im- pede the maintenance of a relevant local un- iversity system and the attainment of national development objectives. ASPIRATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS It has been argued that the process of moderni- zation has brought about an individualistic orientation as compared with the collectivist orientation commonly found in traditional cul-Universities and national development: 255 issues and problems in developing countries tures. In so far as universities represent an end point in the educational process, they are also responsible for modernizing and individualizing the orientations of students such that individual ambitions take priority over collective ones. There is considerable empirical evidence to sup- port the notion that higher levels of educational attainment in the less developed countries result in inordinately high levels of both educational and occupational aspirations and expectations. For example, Biraimah (1987, p. 575) found in her study of 500 students at the University of Ife, Nigeria, that 57 per cent of the males and 33 per cent of the females expected to obtain docto- rates, expectations which she regarded as 'in- flated and unrealistic'. This tendency, which has been observed in m a n y Third World countries, has been even more dramatically shown in an analysis of the study of science knowledge in eighteen coun- tries conducted by the International Association for the Study of Academic Achievement (IEA). Using a pooled sample from all eighteen coun- tries, Saha (1991) found an inverse relationship between the level of socio-economic develop- ment of country and the level of educational and occupational aspirations of students. In other words, with h o m e background and science knowledge controlled, students from the less de- veloped countries had higher levels of educa- tional and occupational aspirations than those from the developed countries. There are a number of persuasive explana- tions for this pattern, for example the 'revolution of rising expectations' or the existence of strong links between educational credentials and occu- pational positions. Nevertheless the implica- tions for universities in the developing coun- tries, as agents for the promotion of national development, is important. In so far as inflated and blocked ambitions can be a source of frustra- tion, political discontent and emigration (see Sa- ha, 1991), the contribution of universities to na- tional development in any country, but particularly the developing countries, has to be seen as problematic. Whether the solution lies in the dampening of inflated ambitions, the tol- erance of the negative consequences, or the con- scious loosening of the links between education- al credentials and occupations, is a matter for educational and political policy-makers to con- sider. Universities and national political development O n e of the neglected areas of research on educa- tion generally has been its relationship to the political development of a country. By political development, Coleman (1965) means the insti- tutionalization of political integration and parti- cipation. T o the extent that an education system produces citizens w h o are politically aware, and w h o have a strong sense of national identity, and w h o are interested and participate in the polit- ical processes of their country, education can be said to contribute to its political development. T h e processes of political integration and participation can take m a n y forms, ranging from saluting the flag to voting, from a psychological sense of 'we-ness' to reading newspapers. F r o m the point of view of education, however, these processes of integration and participation are re- flected in the tasks of political socialization, the training of political élites and the promotion of a national political consciousness (Fägerlind and Saha, 1989). Although universities clearly contribute to these processes of political development, with the exception of student political activism, little research attention has been directed to their un- ique political impact. This m a y in part be due to the smaller proportions of students in universi- ties in the developing countries. However the role of universities in developing countries for political development, in m a n y respects, is un- ique and crucial for a number of reasons. First, the political systems in m a n y deve- loping countries are fragile and often not well established. Universities, because they expose students to a wider range of ideas and know- ledge, are often seen as potential threats to the256 Lawrence J. Saha official political ideology of the government. T h e potential for university-based political ac- tivity is reflected in the frequency with which universities are closed by governments w h e n their political security is threatened. It takes a se- cure regime to tolerate the articulate and sophis- ticated levels of criticism which often emanate from universities. Because of the small proportions of the population enrolled in Third World universities, and the way that they are selected for entry, the students are already by definition members of an élite. Often they become members of a political élite as well, but it can happen that the universi- ty-educated élite can clash with the traditional élite, as in Papua N e w Guinea (Latukefu, 1988), resulting in tensions and conflict. Therefore, rather than promote political in- tegration, universities in some Third World countries m a y appear to threaten it. Third World universities, particularly those removed and de- tached from the indigenous culture of their so- cieties, can therefore be divisive. However, it is important to keep in mind that in the case of to- talitarian regimes, the role of dissent played by universities and their students m a y represent a contribution to national political development, if the dissent results in a m o v e towards a more democratic and politically stable government. Finally, the contribution of universities to the development of national political conscious- ness in Third World countries is equally proble- matic. O n the one hand universities might be expected to inculcate political consciousness simply as an extension of political socialization generally. However, if universities in developing countries represent cultural outposts of the in- dustrial societies, then it could happen that the opposite effect might occur. Universities would, in these circumstances, produce graduates whose orientations and political loyalties lie out- side their o w n countries. T h e brain drain of graduates becomes, in part, the result of a dis- placed national political consciousness. T h u s the contribution of universities to na- tional political development is problematic for all countries, but particularly for the developing countries. T h e latters' universities, by trying to emulate and compete with universities in the in- dustrialized countries often become out of step with their o w n culture and insensitive to their o w n society's needs. In these circumstances the contribution to political development m a y be counter-productive. Furthermore, because m a - ny universities adopt a critical stance toward their o w n societies, conflicts occur between un- iversities and governments, particularly w h e n those governments are totalitarian, insecure and intolerant of dissent. This political dimension of universities with respect to national develop- ment is clearly one of the most sensitive, proble- matic and perhaps the most important of the three dimensions considered in this article. T h e relationship between universities and the national development of societies is multidi- mensional and complex. However, irrespective of which dimension of national development one considers, the ambivalence of universities stems largely from the fact that in structure and history, they are both international and national institutions. Universities and their members have their feet in two worlds - that of their o w n country and that of the international university community. This dual membership does not pose the same problems for the universities of the industrial societies as it does for the universi- ties of developing countries. There is greater di- vergence between the two in the developing- country context, and the contribution of these universities to the national development of their o w n countries must be balanced by their simul- taneous participation in an international univer- sity community. Herein lies the major source of the issues and problems which they must con- tinuously confront. • References A H M E D , R . 1985. Scientific and Technological Education in Developing Countries. In: T . Husén and T . N . Postleth- waite (eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 8. Oxford, Pergamon Press.Universities and national development: 257 issues and problems in developing countries A L T B A C H , P. G . 1990. Higher Education and Scientific Deve- lopment. New Education, Vol. XII, N o . 1. B E R G E N D A L , G . 1985. Higher Education: Impact on Society. In: T . Husén and T . N . Postlethwaite (eds.), The Interna- tional Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 4, Oxford, Pergamon Press. B I R A I M A H , K . L . 1987. Class, Gender and Life Chances: A Ni- gerian University Case Study. Comparative Education Re- view, Vol. 31, N o . 4. C A R N O Y , M . ; LEVIN, H . ; N U G E N T , R.; S U M R A , S.; TORRES, C ; UNSIKER, J. 1982. The Political Economy of Financing Education in Developing Countries. Financing Educational Development. Ottawa, International Development Research Council. Coceo, I.; N A S C I M E N T O , G . 1986. Trends in Public Expendi- ture on Education: 1975-83. Prospects, Vol. X V I , N o . 2, pp. 253-8. C O L E M A N , J. S. 1965. Education and Political Development. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press. D A H L G R E N , L . O . 1985. Higher Education: Impact on Stu- dents. In: T . Husén and T . N . Postlethwaite (eds.), The In- ternational Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 4, Oxford, Per- gamon Press. D I A M B O M B A , M . 1989. Universities and Development in Afri- ca: Problems and Challenges for Planning. In: F. Caillods (ed.), The Prospects for Educational Planning. Paris, U N - ESCO/International Institute for Educational Planning. F A G E R L I N D , I.; S A H A , L . J. 1989. Education and National Deve- lopment: A Comparative Perspective. 2nd ed. Oxford, Perga- m o n Press. H A L L A R , J. 1990. Investing in the Future. Paris, U N E S C O / International Institute for Educational Planning. K L E E S , S. 1986. Planning and Policy Analysis in Education- :What Can Economics Tell Us? Comparative Education Re- view, Vol. 28, N o . 3. L A T U K E F U , S. 1988. The Modern Elite in Papua N e w Guinea. In: M . Bray and P. Smith (eds.), Education and Social Strat- ification in Papua New Guinea. Melbourne, Longman Cheshire. P S A C H A R O P O U L O S , G . 1985. Cost-Benefit Analysis in Educa- tion. In: T . Husén and T . N . Postlethwaite. The Interna- tional Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 2, Oxford, Pergamon Press. P S A C H A R O P O U L O S , G . ; W O O D H A L L , M . 1985. Education for De- velopment: An Analysis of Investment Choices. N e w York, Oxford University Press. S A H A , L . J. 1991. The Effects of Socio-Economic Develop- ment on Student Academic Performance and Life Plans: A Cross-National Analysis. (Unpublished M S . ) S A H A , L . J.; K L O V D A H L , A . S. 1979. International Networks and Flows of Academic Talent: Overseas Recruitment in Australian Universities. Higher Education, Vol. 8. SCHIEFELBEIN, E . 1983. Educational Financing in Developing Countries. Ottawa, International Development Research Centre. S O B E L , 1.1978. The H u m a n Capital Revolution in Economic Development: Its Current History and Status. Comparative Education Review, Vol. 22, N o . 2. W O R L D B A N K , 1988a. Education in Sub-Sahara Africa: Policies for Adjustment, Revitalization and Expansion. Washington, D . C . , World Bank. . 19886. World Development Report 1988. Oxford, Oxford University Press.Rethinking the financing of post-compulsory education* Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier pulsory systems of education is no longer a luxu- ry, but a necessity for industrialization and eco- nomic development. Properly trained engineers, managers, professionals, and high level techni- cal and administrative support personnel are crucial to the establishment of efficient indus- tries and government services, and thereby to the generation of employment for those with on- ly compulsory schooling. This is not to say that top financial priority should be given n o w and in all countries to the higher levels of the school system. Basic educa- tion is still far from being universal in m a n y less developed countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and, in m a n y instances, its quality has been deteriorating, sometimes drastically. Where this is the case, basic education remains a priority and its share of the education budget should, if anything, increase. But expansion and improvement of post- compulsory education (PCE) is considered as crucial in industrialized and semi-industrialized countries and is, in the long run, a condition for the development of the poorest countries, espe- cially if w e remember that P C E takes m a n y forms, including not only university-level edu- cation but also, in m a n y countries, upper-secon- * This study resulted from the work of a task-force set up by the International Academy of Education on 'Rethinking the Finance of Post-compulsory Education' in the framework of a project financed by the Volkswagen Stiftung. Prospects, Vol. XXI, N o . 2, 1991 Throughout the world, the finance of education is in serious crisis. T h e crisis of educational fi- nance is not limited to the problem of meeting the obligations of societies to provide some m i - n i m u m amount of compulsory education for their students. This m i n i m u m does not assure the preparation of an appropriately trained la- bour force in a world that is increasingly techn- ological and in which a competitive economy re- quires the replacement of traditional production processes with others based on sophisticated la- bour and capital. T h e rapid growth of post-com- Jean-Claude Eicher (France). Director of the Insti- tut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres (Insti- tute of Teacher Training) of Burgundy (Dijon); founder of the Institut de Recherche sur l'Économie de l'Éducation (Research Institute on the Economies of Education) (IREDU) and its Director until 1987. Author of several studies on economics and the economics of education. Co-author of the three- volume work, Économique de l'éducation; l'économie des nouveaux moyens d'enseigne- ment. Thierry Chevaillier (France). Lecturer in econo- mics at the Université de Bourgogne (Dijon), where he is also Vice-president, in charge of budgetary and personnel management; member of the Conseil d'Orientation de l'Observatoire des Coûts de l'Enseignement Supérieur (Advisory Board on Monitoring the Financing of Higher Education).Rethinking the financing of post-compulsory education 259 dary-level education and post-secondary options such as short-course technological institutes, community colleges as well as training pro- grammes run by industries or trade unions. At all levels of education, the financing of post-secondary education can be considered as particularly problematic. This is because the funding crisis, m u c h broader and deeper n o w than in the late 1960s w h e n it was first an- nounced by Philip C o o m b s , is m a d e even more acute by a growing crisis of confidence that makes m a n y governments less and less willing to subsidize education as generously as in the past. These crises have already led to m a n y changes in the finance and administration of schools and especially of higher education institutions. T h e handful of models of institutional arrangements that could be observed in the 1960s are m u c h less clear-cut today. A tendency towards a more mixed financing is apparent. Although most in- novations have been implemented individually as emergency measures, there are m a n y inge- nious alternatives that are worth evaluating and considering as a starting point towards more comprehensive reforms. T h e funding crisis Since the 1950s in developed countries, and a lit- tle later in most developing countries, the de- m a n d for education has increased tremendously, often explosively. Both demographic factors and rising expectations of families have played im- portant roles in the expansion of post-compulso- ry education especially in the Third World. Sup- ply responded to this n e w situation and enrolments experienced a spectacular growth. In higher education they reached levels never seen before. Growth was explosive in most developing countries. For instance, in the thirty years between 1955 and 1986, enrolments m u l - tiplied by a factor of 36 in Indonesia, 33 in Thai- land, 63 in Venezuela, 60 in Congo, 87 in M a d a - gascar, 103 in Kenya and 112 in Nigeria. T h e increase was also very rapid in most de- veloped countries, at least until 1980. Enrol- ments multiplied by 15 in Spain between 1955 and 1986, 9.7 in Sweden, 9.4 in Austria and 6.7 in France. But growth has been slowing d o w n every- where since the late 1970s, with the exception of developing countries that created 'open univer- sities', such as Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and Thailand. This tremendous expansion implied for- midable financial support for education. At first, public budgets for education were sharply in- creased. T h e share of gross domestic product ( G D P ) spent publicly on education increased very rapidly during the 1960s: on average, ex- penditure increased twice as fast as G D P during the first part of the decade and, albeit relatively a little more slowly, still more than half as fast again until 1970. Although a movement towards stabilization of the ratio was visible in the 1970s, it still increased in a majority of countries in ev- ery region of the world until around 1980. Since then, there has been a marked reversal of the trend so that today a large number of countries, both in the developed and in the developing world, have either stabilized or, more often, re- duced their public support for education. Beyond the general upward trend apparent- ly slowing d o w n and in m a n y cases reversing it- self towards the end of the period, six phenome- na should be pointed out. Although developing countries seem to be spending a smaller proportion of their resources on education, they are catching up with deve- loped countries, which means that their effort has been more intense in the past and therefore will be more difficult to sustain in the long term. A tendency towards stabilizing the effort was more noticeable in the former than in the latter group in the early 1970s (the average moved only from 3.63 to 3.69 per cent against 4.86 to 5.24 per cent in developed countries) which m a y reveal that, as foreseen by Philip C o o m b s in 1968, the financial crisis struck m a n y of the developing countries sooner. T h e economic difficulties that affected market economies after the first oil crisis of2Ö0 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier 1973, induced a sharp apparent increase in pu- blic support for education in both developed and developing countries. But it is difficult to con- clude that it reveals the high priority given to it at a time of dwindling resources, because a more detailed analysis shows that it is mostly the result of inertia: it is due to the low income elasticity of education expenditure in the short run, m a d e up as it is of wages and salaries in a larger propor- tion than most other public budgets. T h e trend reversal was more visible in the late 1970s in countries where education was less strongly subsidized by the state. This was a con- sequence of both a greater flexibility in financ- ing and of a quicker change of attitudes towards education. In developing countries at all levels and in developed countries mostly at the tertiary level, stabilization of effort means less expenditure per student as enrolments increase faster than G D P and/or public budgets. T h e willingness to spend public m o n e y for post-compulsory (and even more for post-secon- dary education) decreased more sharply than for compulsory education. It is clear that the reversal of the upward trend, in some cases sharp enough to lead to a reduction, not only in the support for education but also in the amount spent was not caused by a lessening of the demand for education. In deve- loped countries it is true that the decline of fer- tility since the mid-1960s has led to a decrease in the number of pupils, first in primary school, then in the whole compulsory cycle. But in post- compulsory education, this decline has been felt only recently and demand is still increasing. Sta- tistical studies of youth unemployment show that the probability of unemployment is nega- tively correlated with the level of schooling. Y o u n g people are aware of this fact and try to continue their studies as long as they can. In developing countries, with the notable exception of China, the slowdown of d e m o - graphic growth is nowhere near important enough to lead to a decrease in the absolute number of school-age children. In Africa, the demographic revolution is still in its expansive phase and the number of potential students still increases in most countries by 3 per cent a year. Present and expected future benefits of educa- tion, together with the low private cost involved, especially in periods of very high unemploy- ment, induced large numbers of the secondary school-leavers to enrol at university. At the same time, in all countries, the pres- sure on public budgets increased. O n the one hand, the slowdown of economic activity had an unfavourable influence on tax revenues; on the other hand, competing expenditure like u n e m - ployment compensation, agriculture, health, fo- reign-debt servicing and sometimes military spending, tended to take precedence over educa- tion. T h e conclusion is clear: there is a financial crisis in education in most countries; that crisis is m u c h deeper than macrostatistics reveal and it is not going to disappear soon, especially in de- veloping countries, if n e w solutions are not found. But the crisis has also been intensified by the fact that education is no longer considered as a panacea: there is a doctrinal crisis as well. T h e doctrinal crisis T h e tremendous expansion of education in the 1960s was made possible by the fact that most governments put more public resources into that sector. They reacted so positively and so quickly because the then dominant economic theory presented education as a highly profitable in- vestment. But by the mid-1970s this excessive opti- m i s m and the strong urge to give first priority to education in public budgets subsided substan- tially w h e n , with the rise of graduate unemploy- ment, the capacity of the education system to produce graduates geared to the needs of the la- bour market was questioned, especially in deve- loping countries where m a n y accused the exist- ing school system of imitating the programmes of the former colonial power. T h e capacity and the willingness of public decision-makers to al-Rethinking the financing of post-compulsory education 261 locate resources according to social preferences was also challenged by n e w economic theories. All these n e w trends converged towards a more critical view of education and a reduced willing- ness to increase the public financial contribution to its development, thereby making the financial crisis more acute. Thus , pressed by the urgency of the situation, most countries have been expe- rimenting with, or at least studying, n e w ways to finance education and n e w types of relationship between the state and the school system, espe- cially at the post-secondary level. A s these countries started from quite diffe- rent, and sometimes opposing, institutional and financial backgrounds, a clear tendency away from extreme solutions can be observed: coun- tries with public financing and control are look- ing towards more private financing and more au- tonomy, at least at the higher levels of the system; countries, like Japan, where private in- stitutions, unsubsidized by the state, were domi- nant, have tended to introduce or to increase pu- blic subsidies and public control of the private sector. Although most of the measures implement- ed in the last twenty years, especially in higher education, have been more in the nature of emergency actions than of fully thought-out re- forms, economic analysis unambiguously con- cludes that they should be supported so long as they lead to more mixed solutions in financing education. But constraints are strong and manifold. History has moulded the various national school systems in different ways so that there is no un- ique optimal 'scientific' solution to the problem of the finance of post-compulsory education. W e must be aware that it would be a dangerous mis- take to impose radical changes without taking into account the practical and social constraints and the political process of each given society. Taking these constraints into account, ho- wever, it is still possible to find solutions suitable to each given situation, so long as priorities and objectives are clear. Although each country has its o w n peculiarities and must find its o w n opti- mal set of rules, it is possible to m a k e recom- mendations which are broadly valid for groups of countries sharing the same problems of m a n - agement and funding. It is necessary, however, to distinguish bet- ween the problems and the solutions applicable to higher education and those to post-compulso- ry secondary education because, in the latter case, public financing is likely to remain domi- nant and public control tight. Nevertheless, the same broad set of questions need to be answered in all cases. The main questions T h e first and the broadest of these questions is: W h o should pay for education? Most innova- tions involving a broadening of the resource base through the contribution of a n e w group (or a larger contribution of an existing supporter) have actually been forced upon the system and/ or its institutions by circumstances. There is no evidence that those moves were towards the op- t imum. W e must therefore try to build upon what economics can tell us about the opt imum financing of education. A s w e shall see, one broad conclusion is that mixed financing is better than either pure public or pure private financing. This, in turn, raises a second question: Should mixed financing imply a dual system of schools, public schools being financed through public monies while private schools receive their support solely from private sources? Our conclusion is that mixed financing is advisable for both public and private institutions. T h e next three questions relate more spec- ifically to the financing of the educational ser- vices offered by schools. First, assuming that these services should be subsidized by the state, should the m o n e y be given to the institutions or to the students w h o attend them? Second, as other sources of finance - firms, philanthropy and, in L D C s , foreign aid - m a y be tapped, what should their respective contri- butions be and h o w should they be given and re- ceived? Choices are still more open but, at least2Ó2 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier as far as financing by firms is concerned, two conclusions seem warranted: (a) it could and should increase in m a n y countries; (b) it should be provided according to varied contractual ar- rangements. Third, is it possible to use resources in a more efficient way, thereby lowering unit cost? This question concerns the cost of education to students, including living expenses while study- ing. Assuming that the students should not be charged the total cost, h o w should they be helped? Should they receive grants or loans or a combination of both? W H O SHOULD PAY FOR WHAT IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION? Education is a process that changes the charac- teristics of those w h o go through it, thereby ena- bling them to benefit personally either i m m e - diately or later on. But education is also valued by society as a whole, which, for various reasons feels that it should not be bought and sold in the market on a purely commercial basis. In other words, a case can be m a d e in favour of both pu- blic and private financing of education. The case for public funding of education In market economies, competition a m o n g buyers and sellers and between the two groups is supposed to lead to the best possible use of avail- able resources. But economics textbooks also teach us that several conditions have to be met in order for this optimum result to be achieved. S o m e of them are not fulfilled in the case of edu- cation. First, certain goods can be used by several people in a non-competitive way, that is, entirely and simultaneously consumed by each indivi- dual. Such goods will not be voluntarily pur- chased on a market if it is not technically or eco- nomically feasible to prevent anyone in particular from using them, since they are avail- able to everyone as soon as they are produced. This difficulty, referred as the 'free-rider' pro- blem, dissuades private firms from incurring the cost of producing them. If the goods in question are considered important by society, they will then have to be financed through non-market devices such as by taxation or philanthropy and offered to all. Strictly speaking, education does not belong to that category of 'a pure public good' as it is always possible to forbid a potential student to sit in a classroom. It is however often argued that it combines the characteristics of both a public and a private good, the quality of education being indivisible, at least for a given institution. W h e n more and more students are crowded into the same classroom, quality de- creases, not just for the newcomers but also for those w h o were already there. This creates a case for public funding to produce or maintain quality in education. T h e students and their fa- milies have no way to evaluate accurately the quality of teaching. Private suppliers could the- refore be tempted to increase the quantity, that is, the number of seats they offer, even though this has an adverse effect on quality. Information available to students is imper- fect in another way. T h e ultimate outcome of education is spread over time and could be af- fected by m a n y events, most of which cannot be foreseen. It is often argued that this uncertainty leads m a n y young people to underestimate the true future benefits of education and therefore to underinvest in their education if they have to pay the full cost of their studies. Along the same lines, it can be stated that uncertainty about the future earnings of graduates m a k e lenders un- willing to finance education at the going market rate. This increases the cost of education for those w h o cannot finance it with their o w n re- sources and further reduces the demand for edu- cation. Another point in favour of public financing of education is the existence of what economists call positive externalities. Most goods provide satisfaction or other advantages only to those w h o acquire them. S o m e entail benefits to other groups or to society at large, over the s u m of in- dividual benefits they bestow on their owners. These extra social benefits are attributed to ex- ternal effects or externalities. Education is supposed to produce such pos- itive externalities both economic and non-eco-Rethinking the financing of post-compulsory education 263 nomic. They range from the contribution to eco- nomic growth of the advance of knowledge and the increase in the flexibility of the labour mar- kets to the transmission of literacy, aesthetic and cultural values and more efficient political parti- cipation. This wide consensus has led to the generally accepted conclusion that these posi- tive externalities justify substantial government intervention. Finally, public financing m a y be justified from quite a different point of view - that of the state. If w e consider government not only as the representative of the whole community but as an institution trying to maximize its revenue, the influence of education on the graduates' ability to pay taxes out of the extra income they will earn has to be taken into account. If the govern- ment reckons that it will get more out of the fu- ture incomes and outlays of graduates than it is currently spending in order to expand or im- prove education, it is justified in maintaining a budget for education. But w e should note that if all the arguments examined above are in favour of some public contribution to the funding of education, they do not lead us to conclude that it should cover the whole cost. The case for private financing of education T h e main arguments for individuals (or their fa- milies) paying for the education they receive, at least beyond the compulsory level, are well known . Students acquire private benefits through higher income and social status, in- creased consumption, better health, higher pol- itical efficacy and greater access to, and better understanding of, culture, science and technol- ogy. Other arguments in favour of the payment of fees by students can be found on the supply side. First, there is the well-known 'token user charge' argument. People are inclined not to ap- preciate what they receive free of charge and consume goods indiscriminately and wastefully. W h e n a fee, however modest, is collected, ra- tionality tends to increase. Second, w h e n the customer pays for what he gets, he is entitled to pass judgement on the product. W h e n schools charge fees, they have to take into account students' preferences and or- ganize the curriculum accordingly. This pro- motes 'internal efficiency' of educational institu- tions. Third, fees represent extra revenue for pu- blicly funded schools, thereby enabling them to maintain quality in time of budgetary squeeze. But benefits from education are also gained by private enterprises: general education reduc- es the need for training and the cost of retraining w h e n shifting to n e w products and technologies, while specific training and research pro- grammes m a y increase productivity.There is no obvious reason w h y they should not pay for what will benefit them. Finally, if philanthropists receive satisfac- tion from the development of education, they can be expected to provide funds towards it. T h e above arguments show quite clearly that a convincing case can be m a d e in favour of both public and private funding of education. The optimal solution appears to be a mixed sys- tem. But this leaves untouched a very important question: W h a t should be the proportion paid by each participant? O n principle, the answer is simple: each participant should pay for education according to the benefits received. But m a n y of those bene- fits are difficult or impossible to measure. In- dividual students do not k n o w with a reasonable certainty what they will earn throughout their active life; neither are they able to quantify the non-monetary benefits they expect from going to school beyond the compulsory period. Firms tend to discount the advantages they get from graduates. Philanthropists have to choose bet- ween various competing uses for their money. They are interested in the cost-effectiveness of the funds they intend to donate but have no ob- jective criteria to guide them in their choice. All things considered, the choice of the precise mix depends more on the practical and social constraints of a given society and the polit- ical process than on the rational views of re- searchers and evaluators. But this does not m e a n that nothing can be said about the consequences of a given choice.264 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier PRIVATE VERSUS PUBLIC EDUCATION Different countries m a k e widely different choic- es about the public/private division of responsi- bility for P C E , especially at the higher level. Moreover, there are good reasons to r ecommend both public and private financing of it. Does that m e a n that the optimal solution is a dual system comprising public institutions fully supported through public apportionment and private in- stitutions charging full cost covering fees? E m - pirical observations show that this extreme solu- tion is very seldom adopted and logic militates in favour of more mixed solutions. There are several arguments in favour of public subsidies to private schools. Such sub- sidies could be a prerequisite for a large expan- sion of private education. T h e costs of P C E and still more of higher education are high. F e w stu- dents (or their families) can afford to pay them in full. Private institutions can only hope to attract large numbers of students if they charge below cost fees. Subsidies m a y generate savings in pu- blic budgets if they divert more students from public schools than would unsubsidized private schools. It m a y at the same time help to meet cultu- ral and economic goals and to ensure political stability if it allows minorities to attend schools of their choice at a reasonable cost. Further- more , it m a y help shift part of the financial bur- den to households w h e n law or tradition pre- vents or hinders the levying of fees by public institutions. Finally, it m a y allow the state to im- pose controls on private schools in return for the subsidy, thereby making sure they do not dis- seminate subversive ideas or, more generally that they offer education of at least a minimal quality. There are also strong arguments in favour of some private financing of public institutions: (a) the token-user-charge argument quoted above; (b) the rate-of-return argument, which questions students getting their education free w h e n they will earn more after graduation; and (c) the autonomy argument to be developed be- low. T h e conclusion is that the distinction bet- ween public and private education is not always as clear-cut as it seems. Private management does not always m e a n purely private financing. Letting a publicly subsidized private sector grow can alleviate budgetary strains; encouraging pu- blic institutions to seek other (private) sources of income will reach the same goal. PUBLIC FINANCE OF EDUCATION: SUBSIDIES TO INSTITUTIONS OR STUDENTS If there is a broad agreement that post-compul- sory education should be subsidized by the state, institutional ways by which those subsidies are channeled differ widely from country to country (and from state to state in federal countries). These arrangements have differential effects on the working of the system which have to be clearly understood in order to guide public choices. Broadly speaking, there are two 'pure' (po- lar) solutions. Either the support is offered to the institutions or it is given to the students. In the latter (pure) case the institution charges a fee co- vering the full cost of the services it offers and the student gets a grant or subsidized loan from the state. In the former, the institution deter- mines the range and the quality of its services ac- cording to the state subsidy and the other re- sources it is able to gather (student fees, grants from firms, etc.). Institutional support This can take two forms - general and specific. In the first case, public funds are used to support the general educational functions of the institu- tions in the form of annual budgets calculated on the basis of a more or less complicated fund- ing formula and provided through the normal budgetary allocations by the appropriate govern- ment bodies. In contrast, specific grants repre- sent those that are given to institutions for spec- ified purposes. Traditionally, public m o n e y was given to institutions mainly in the form of specific or res- tricted grants. Staff wages and salaries were paidRethinking the financing of post-compulsory education 265 either directly by the state or, on a national scale, by each institution out of a state grant. This type of institutional arrangement tended not to in- duce innovation but rather bound the hands of the payer as well as those of the recipient. Apparently, unrestricted block grants, w h e n they existed, were generally so low that they offered no choice to the institutions. There was an exception in the United K i n g d o m where, for a long time, generous unrestricted grants were used to finance universities and left them a great deal of freedom. But it is generally consi- dered that this arrangement did not promote more innovation and competition than restrict- ed grants that were allocated to the other higher education institutions of the country, the poly- technics and colleges. Neither solution leads to optimal results: unrestricted block grants do not provide incen- tives and tend to shrink through time. Specific grants do not ensure the long-term stability that institutions need and m a y be given more in ac- cordance with the passing priorities and fancies of elected bodies than with a thought-out pat- tern of development. T h e stimulus needed to urge institutions to innovate could be provided by a combination of a basic allocation with a funding formula linked to objective criteria like the number of students and specific grants towards development pro- grammes agreed jointly by the institution and the funding body on a contractual basis and sub- ject to evaluation. Such procedures are being tested or implemented in a few European coun- tries and seem to give good results. This combination m a y also increase total funding in two ways: first, by resulting in larger grants to the innovative institutions; and, se- cond, by matching the specific grants with addi- tional resources obtained from other public or private sources. O n e condition that has to be fulfilled for these n e w procedures to yield the expected pos- itive results is that leeway be given to institutions in their use of public money . Student support Student-oriented support can take the form of grants (such as scholarships or maintenance grants) or loans. Obviously, if the public author- ities were to substitute student-oriented ap- proaches for institutionally oriented ones, the budgetary subsidies to institutions would de- cline so that they would have to raise student charges. Students would pay higher tuition fees with the funds that they receive from the state. State institutions would still receive state sup- port indirectly through the public funds provid- ed to students for their education as well as any direct institutional funding that m a y exist. This solution is supposed to increase stu- dents' range of choice, especially where private institutions are eligible to participate. It m a y also promote equity, as the amount of the subsidy can be tailored to students' economic circum- stances and background. It creates competition for students between institutions. But this is not necessarily a good thing as it will not only in- crease diversity and in some sense productivity but also probably favour short-term strategy at the expense of long-range planning, and some- times encourage faddism and poor-quality alter- natives in order to attract students. Furthermore, it will probably induce a reduction of the pro- grammes whose benefits accrue to society at large rather than to individual students. Considering the mixed results of each 'pure' solution, it seems reasonable to recom- m e n d a combination of institutional and student support. T o be more specific, so long as post- secondary educational institutions provide so- cial benefits to the state besides to those received by students and their families, there is a ration- ale for some institutional support. Benefits that depend on student choices and participation should be funded through student support. But, on the whole, one thing is clear: There is a strong case in favour of shifting to more student- oriented subsidies in m a n y countries, especially in Europe, where public support is overwhelm- ingly given to institutions. This of course leaves open the question of the type of support to be provided to students (grants or loans) and of h o w266 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier it should be administered, which will be exa- mined below. OTHER SOURCES OF FINANCE Educational institutions do not have to rely ex- clusively on public subsidies and/or on student fees. It is generally considered that business at large has a legitimate interest in P C E which ar- gues the case for firms to bear a proportion of its cost. But institutions, especially universities, m a y also derive income from their o w n assets. Philanthropists m a y be induced to provide addi- tional resources. Lastly, international assistance should sometimes be solicited in developing countries. Financing by business Firms contribute to public funding of institu- tions or students through general taxation. But there are also specific ways in which they can be induced or forced to share the burden, like taxes earmarked for education and levied on turnover or on payroll or tax exemption on gifts. A n in- teresting example is the French taxe d'apprentis- sage, a payroll tax of 0.6 per cent, which is waived if firms m a k e a donation of the same amount to vocational- and technical-education institutions of their choice, either directly or through business associations. They sometimes neither need incentive nor compulsion to contribute to the financing of education w h e n they find a way of solving their o w n problems by contracting with educational institutions for specific services. Business contributions related to teaching and training In a rapidly changing technological environ- ment firms need to provide their work-force with more training than before. On-the-job training is still important, especially in order to adapt newly employed workers to their jobs. But it is even more important to teach n e w skills, to adapt the work-force to n e w processes and to a n e w organ- ization of labour. Firms are not able to perform all these tasks themselves; they have to contract with training institutions. Technical schools and universities can provide part of this training but most of the courses they offer are not adapted to this n e w de- m a n d . They have to set up continuing education departments, financed by fees paid by firms for their trainees. However , their teaching staff m a y be reluctant to enter these n e w and often more exacting teaching activities unless they receive some financial reward on top of their statutory salary. A s far as the institution as such is con- cerned, there is an incentive to develop such de- partments only if some of the extra resources are likely to spill over to traditional teaching and re- search or if they help to develop links with busi- ness, thereby facilitating in-firm placement and eventually jobs for their students. A s a matter of fact, firms can also contribute to education by providing opportunities for stu- dents to bridge the gap between the abstract knowledge acquired in education and operation- al skills w h e n they offer them practical work ex- perience during their period of study. These contributions are real but they must not be seen as a diversification of financial re- sources of higher education institutions but rather as a consequence of a diversification of their purposes and activities. Research services to business 'Pure' research is conducted and financed either within the education system or independently with specific funding by the state or by philan- thropists. Applied research bridges the gap bet- ween 'pure' research and production of goods and services. It is directly linked to the produc- tion process and can be considered as a specific type of productive investment by firms and pu- blic organizations. Training and applied re- search are closely linked and therefore firms and educational institutions can enter into mutually fruitful co-operation agreements that will only be efficient so long as they remain specific and limited in scope. Applied research could generate extra re- sources if universities were to exploit their in- tellectual property rights by patenting or licens- ing to industry the fruits of their researchRethinking the financing of post-compulsory education 267 laboratories, thus participating in the so-called transfer of technology. This is a very promising but difficult path to take. O n the one hand, the tradition of academic research, free dissemina- tion of n e w knowledge, is hardly consistent with the secrecy required w h e n developing a n e w product in a competitive environment; publica- tion of results is often considered as the ultimate aim of scientific activity. O n the other hand, m a - ny universities lack the professionalism protect and market their ideas. But inventions hatched in university laboratories cannot go on making the fortune of private firms; despite the difficul- ties, higher education institutions should strive to turn their intellectual property rights into an additional source of finance. Income from property, industrial or financial assets E n d o w m e n t of schools and universities with land or property has long been a simple way of securing their financial independence but can no longer be considered as the main funding method for all P C E institutions, for they would have to o w n a considerable share of the land, buildings and businesses of the country to be able to get enough resources to cover most of their current expenditure. S o m e donors, however, prefer to m a k e en- dowments for a specific purpose (like endowed chairs) and universities, even though they would prefer to spend the proceeds of donations i m m e - diately, sometimes have to set up and manage endowment funds. In the latter half of the twentieth century, endowments have been increasingly turned into financial assets with a higher yield than property but more risky. Managing these assets requires costly expertise and m a y create problems for in- stitutions designed for a different purpose. B e - cause of the peculiar way they are governed, aca- demic institutions m a y be tempted to exert pressure on enterprises in which they o w n stock to redirect their activities towards nobler or higher goals (for example, the campaigns against military research, nuclear power, pollu- tion or apartheid in South Africa). T h e y m a y al- so indulge in speculative or 'creative' finance by using practices designed to increase revenue through tax-subsidy financing or legal devices that permit participation in equity growth from commercial enterprises (by creating subsidiaries or foundations for the sole purpose of benefiting from business tax provisions). Setting up a foun- dation could allow institutions to benefit from endowments without having to meddle in mat- ters so distant from their original purpose. However, universities should not hesitate to create or help to create various enterprises whenever they are related to their teaching or research activity: consultancy firms, run either by staff or students, science parks, incubators and joint ventures for developing university-pro- duced inventions, service agencies for exploit- ing their unused facilities by organizing confe- rences, etc. Philanthropists, benefactors and sponsors Individual and business philanthropy flourishes in a specific environment m a d e up of a favour- able tax system and a national tradition of soli- darity in the local community, as opposed to re- liance on a central authority. Without these, even the best organized fund raising campaigns will not succeed in providing a sustained flow of resources to P C E institutions. Provided they meet certain conditions of financial soundness and accountability, post-compulsory education institutions should be treated as tax-exempt foundations and charities and be allowed to re- ceive tax deductible donations from firms as well as from individuals. Each institution would then be able to appeal to one or several constituencies (alumni, business sponsors, etc.) according to the type of project it intends to finance from the proceeds of such donations. International assistance T h e financial situation of some developing countries is such that, in the short and middle term they will most probably not be able to maintain a m i n i m u m level of quality and accom- modate demographic expansion without outside help. But in the past, disinterested international assistance has not always been forthcoming.268 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier T A B L E r. Evaluation of different methods of funding education Method Efficiency Equity Resource broadening Administra- tion cost Specific grants to institutions Vouchers to students Tuition fees Token fees Substantial uniform fees Substantial variable fees Full-cost fees Financing by business Contribution to teaching Research services Educational payroll tax E n d o w m e n t s and gifts + + + + + + + + + + + = = = = - - - - - = or - = = or - ? = or + + + + + + + + + + + + + + These facts, by n o w well known , lead to the following conclusion: international assistance should increase, at least for some developing countries; but it should also be reorganized - fewer teachers on loan, fewer 'gifts', but more as- sistance to local programmes, and more subsi- dies to help cover the recurring expenses of key institutions (textbook printing presses, for in- stance). Effects of financial innovations All things considered, diversification of the sources of funding of P C E institutions is a dis- tinct possibility, but it is not without conse- quences on their organization. It generally strengthens their autonomy but it also supposes a stronger management as diversification makes it more difficult to achieve consensus. But it should be emphasized that changing the source of funds also strongly affects the working of the system as a whole or that of each m e m b e r institution. T h e effects of various in- novations introduced in a given system can be assessed according to four criteria: efficiency and equity, the two traditional criteria of welfare eco- nomics; resource broadening potential, that is, the capacity to generate n e w resources by bring- ing in n e w categories of fund providers or by in- ducing existing contributors to increase their funding; but n e w modes of financing m a y entail administrative costs which m a y lower the net in- take. If w e consider, for instance, a system fi- nanced mainly through public unrestricted grants to institutions, the average effects of the main financial innovations can be summarized in Table 1. In some case, the outcome cannot be foreseen without knowing more details about the way changes are implemented. N o single source scores high according to each one of the four criteria. T h e same conclu- sion would be reached if w e started from a diffe- rent inital arrangement. This means two things: first, the final choice depends on the weight the final decision-maker gives to each criterion; se- cond, a combination of different sources is in most cases to be preferred to a single source of income. CUTTING COSTS OR SHIFTING TO NEW OPERATING METHODS T h e problem for schools and universities in a crisis situation is to manage to increase or, at least, to maintain their output. Looking for n e w resources is not the only solution. Finding ways to use existing resources in a more efficient way should also be recommended. T w o types of changes in financial arrangements m a y lead to an increase in efficiency (or at least in effective- ness). First a tightening of public subsidies. If the amount of the public grant (and/or the numberRethinking the finance of post-compulsory education 269 of posts) decreases sharply, institutions are strongly induced to curtail all expenditure non- essential to the day-to-day working of the in- stitution and if they are allowed to do so, to real- locate staff members . But there is generally no close correlation between anticipated effects of restrictive financial policies and their effective consequences. Evaluations of the consequences of policies of retrenchment in various European countries show that the effects of government policies were linked with the extent of the consultation between the ministry of education and the in- stitutions, and with the degree of autonomy of the latter. It can generally be observed that the results were more in keeping with expectations where the universities benefited from a real degree of autonomy and were closely associated in devis- ing the reallocation plan (the case of the Nether- lands) than where the rules were set up by a mi - nistry or central agency without consultation (the case of the United Kingdom) and still more where the universities had very little autonomy, and therefore shortages of resources were often induced by the m a n y structural rigidities of the system (the case of France). Also, w e must be aware of the fact that the increase in the efficiency of teaching and re- search cannot in most cases be documented as, in most instances, no reliable performance in- dicators have been developed. Cost effectiveness can also be increased through changes in the way educational services are delivered. Traditional education is organized in such a way that its unit costs have a tendency to increase over time as its main input is highly qualified labour whose relative price goes up. But economic history has shown that it is pos- sible to lower unit costs by substituting capital for labour. For a long time, technological in- novations were of little use in education, owing to the characteristics of its 'product'. But, with the communication revolution, there are bound to be changes: what is generally considered to be the main objective of education, that is, to trans- mit knowledge, should be strongly affected by the availability of n e w media of communication, which should also help research, another main objective of education. Great expectations were placed on the first generation of those communication technolo- gies - radio, television and, more generally, all types of audio-visual aids. T h e disappointment with the results was at least as strong. O n the whole, these instruments were shown by eval- uators to be costly, underutilized and often hav- ing no significant effect on learning. But most of these evaluations concerned projects developed within the system of compulsory education and taking place inside schools. T h e balance sheet is m u c h more positive w h e n w e look at post-secondary education and distance teaching. Evaluations m a d e in deve- loped countries in the late 1970s gave quite a sizeable advantage to open institutions. For in- stance, Israel's Everyman's University cost only 60 per cent of what regular universities in the country did, and the cost per student in the Brit- ish O p e n University was estimated to be only 70 per cent ofthat in a comparable British universi- ty, at a time w h e n the former had only 34,000 students, that is, at a time w h e n it had not yet reaped the full benefit of the economies of scale connected with distance teaching. Part of the difference is, of course, due to the fact that a m u c h higher proportion of dis- tance education students take up courses in the humanities or law where the cost per student is relatively low, but it remains true that the cost is m u c h lower in every field. T h e second generation of n e w communica- tion technologies (microcomputers, videodiscs, cable T V , etc.) has a m u c h greater potential than ever and will progressively transform high- er education. Potentially, the n e w technologies of infor- mation and communication (NTICs) have three effects which affect, directly or indirectly, the fi- nancing of post-compulsory education. First, they allow students to receive high- quality teaching without leaving their place of residence. T h e best specialists in each field can be used to elabourate the courseware so that each student can attend, so to speak, lectures by the best teachers in the country. Furthermore,270 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier the student can choose to study according to his or her o w n schedule, in the evenings or at week- ends, for instance. Besides being more conve- nient to the student, this contributes to the fol- lowing. Second, N T I C s m a y contribute to lowering the cost of education. By allowing students to choose their schedule and study load, they avoid or reduce cases where adults must forgo earn- ings, as they can thereby study without giving up their regular occupation. Furthermore, if each recorded course is used by a large number of stu- dents, teacher costs per student will be very low compared with traditional education where there is a teacher in each classroom or, at best, for a small number of classrooms. O f course, the gain will be more important in school pro- grammes where the same curriculum is fol- lowed by m a n y students than in adult education where demand is m u c h more diversified and in higher education where the students are m u c h more autonomous than in secondary education where frequent contacts between teacher and students are still needed. It should also be re- membered that extra costs are added, those of hardware, courseware, transmission, etc., but these tend to decrease through time. Third, distance teaching using N T I C s m a y be an opportunity to shift the financial burden of education, at least partially, onto the students. They will have to buy the hardware (microcom- puters, peripherals, interfaces, etc.). They m a y be more willing to pay for the courses them- selves, that is, to buy the courseware, for three reasons. If they are adults already engaged in professional activities, the fact that they do not forgo m u c h or any of their earnings allows them to enjoy a higher disposable income. If they anti- cipate a rise in salary once they have obtained the degree or diploma they seek, their willing- ness to pay for their studies is still greater. They m a y , in some cases, receive financial help from their employer w h o m a y be prepared to buy the courseware. If they have not yet entered into ac- tive life, they m a y feel that this is the only oppor- tunity they have of studying further if they do not have enough academic credentials to be ad- mitted to regular courses, or if they are not will- ing or able to m o v e to the place where those courses are offered. T h e new technologies m a y therefore, for all these reasons, be a way to lower the cost of P C E and/or to shift part of the financial burden onto students in countries where there are very low fees or none at all. T w o caveats are in order, however. First, evaluations show that there is still a wide gap between the potential and the practical effective- ness of N T I C s , so that w e m a y expect them to catch on m u c h more slowly than anticipated by some. Second, these instruments are sophisticat- ed, some of them highly so, and they m a y only function in an adequate environment. T h e hard- ware must be protected against climatic ex- tremes and power surges, and must be main- tained and repaired. If minimal environmental conditions are usually met in developed coun- tries, this is not always the case in developing countries, especially in rural areas. This is w h y w e m a y confidently forecast a strong development of distance higher educa- tion, to the extent that, twenty years hence, a majority of the teaching will no longer be resi- dential in most universities. This will allow these institutions to obtain an important part of their resources by charging higher prices for the courseware than for regular curricula. In the de- veloping world, w e can forecast the same evolu- tion in semi-industrialized countries as can be seen in Asia. But those changes will come more slowly in the less developed countries, especially in Africa where distance teaching should prefer- ably make use of the communication technology of the first generation rather than of the N T I C s . Everywhere, however, the need will remain to extend some public support to the students themselves. STUDENT AID Students m a y contribute to the financing of their o w n studies, especially at the college level, from income earned from vacation and campus jobs. T h e latter should be provided and subsidized by institutions and government agencies responsi-Rethinking the finance of post-compulsory education 271 ble for student aid on the model of that which exists in the United States and should be m a d e easier by the development of part-time study. T h e burden on students and their families m a y also be spread over time through various education finance schemes. But students (or their families) should not be expected to finance the full cost of going to school. This statement leaves us with three fundamental problems: First, should only the price of the educational services offered by the school system (the cost of schooling) be subsidized or should the total cost of obtaining an education, in- cluding living expenses while studying, be supported by the state (or other sources)? Second, should students be helped through grants or through loans or some combina- tion of both? Third, should the aid be manipulated in order to orientate candidates towards certain disci- plines? Cost of educational services and living expenses There are reasons for not separating completely the problem of subsidizing the cost of education- al services and the living expenses of students. As students have to renounce gainful employ- ment (at least full time) in order to go to school, they cannot support themselves; so long as un- iversity students w h o are above the legal adult age are officially classified as independent, their family should normally not be expected to pro- vide for their needs. But, w e should not lump the two questions together. T h e reasons w h y education should be subsidized are not exactly the same as those in favour of helping the stu- dents cover their living expenses. Grants or loans? Should students be helped through grants or loans? T h e aim of both types of support is two- fold. F r o m the standpoint of social efficiency, it is to maximize the enrolment of able students in order to maximize h u m a n capital formation. F r o m the standpoint of equity, it is to m a k e it possible for every able student to attend school whatever his or her economic circumstances. T h e case for each type of aid should therefore be m a d e keeping in mind these two aims. Grants T h e precise effects of grants also depend upon the way they are distributed and managed and upon their aim: covering all or part of the schooling cost (fee subsidies) or subsidizing liv- ing expenses (maintenance grants). Fee subsidies are necessary so long as there is a shortage of skilled manpower , as few stu- dents (and/or their families) are able to pay the the cost of full tuition. Such grants can be paid to students or they can take the form of vouchers. A n educational voucher is a coupon of pre- scribed purchasing power that can be cashed at any educational institution. T h e issuing of such coupons is supposed to reach two objectives si- multaneously: enforcement of the right to edu- cation for all and freedom of choice. This could be achieved with a m u c h lower administration cost by subsidizing institutions according to the number of students enrolled in order for them to charge no fee or very low uniform fees provided that students can freely choose between institu- tions. Maintenance grants can be given either in kind (subsidized accommodation, food and tran- sport) or in cash. In the former case, it is obvious that they can only be given to the institutions that offer those services. In the latter case, it is better that they be given to the student rather than to his parents as it is difficult to make sure that the parents will actually spend, the whole amount to cover the living expenses of their children. Uniform grants clearly increase parti- cipation rates but they can be considered as in- equitable as they help the rich as m u c h as the poor. They m a y even amount to a regressive dis- tribution of income if the tax structure is not ve- ry progressive and if participation rates are m u c h higher for the children of well-to-do families. Furthermore, they are less efficient in boosting participation rates than income-related subsi- dies. Criteria-bound grants m a y be of two kinds. Income-related grants are clearly meant to in- crease equality of opportunity. They should be272 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier chosen if equity is the main criterion. Ability- bound subsidies are given according to academ- ic performance; they increase efficiency in that they maximize h u m a n capital formation but their effect on equity is probably nil and m a y even be negative. It is still considered important to promote equity in education though few people still be- lieve that educational expansion fosters a more equal income distribution. Equality of opportun- ity in education means that all students with a minimal level of competence should be able to participate beyond the compulsory level regard- less of their other characteristics. Need-based student financial aid is meant to remove at least the financial barrier, often considered as the most potent one. Student aid has clearly increased the rate of participation of poor students in higher educa- tion, allowed more of them to attend relatively costly and prestigious institutions and to stay at school longer. But it is also clear that it has not succeeded in eradicating the effects of social en- vironment. Its effectiveness in promoting equity is linked with the way in which it is offered. W e must keep that in mind w h e n considering stu- dent loans. Loans T h e most striking and extensive recent changes in the pattern of financial sources for post-secon- dary education have involved private sources. In most countries with a tradition of 'free' post- compulsory education, users - that is, students and their families - have been increasingly asked to contribute to the cost of education. First, support towards living expenses has gradually shifted from the state to students: aid- in-kind, through provision or subsidization of food, lodging, transportation and welfare, did not follow the pace of enrolments, leaving the students to foot a larger share of the cost of these services. In m a n y countries, these services are largely self-financing, students-in-need being increasingly supported directly through grants or subsidized loans. Second, some of the educational costs of P C E have been transferred to the students by re- sorting to specific fees for additional equipment or services (laboratory, computer, library fee) which, being easily identified, were more accep- table to students and their families. In a number of countries (Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland), general tuition fees have been in- creased to levels that are no longer nominal (ranging from $200 to $800). T h e ever-increasing costs of P C E could not be met by families out of their pockets or by the state out of its budget, so there appeared a need for another major source of funds which was found in the development of student loans which were increasingly advocated for the fol- lowing reasons. Since education is a profitable investment for most students even in countries where a high proportion of each age-group goes beyond c o m - pulsory education, there is no reason w h y socie- ty should bear its total cost. If graduates earn more than non-graduates, they should be able to devote part of their extra income to repay a loan. Furthermore, students w h o borrow to pay for their studies are more inclined to choose wisely their field of study and to try to go through the curriculum as fast as possible in or- der to minimize the amount they have to bor- row. Contrary to income contingent grants that leave students from well-to-do families depen- dent upon the goodwill of their parents, loans enable all students to make their o w n choices, according to their capacity and their o w n prefe- rences. Broadly, three main types of loans should be distinguished. Commercial loans. These are organized like a mortgage or an ordinary bank loan. T h e interest rate is that of the market, the repayment period is fixed. Such a method has several drawbacks, however. As a way of financing education it is more risky for both the borrower and the lender than most other loans. Not only does a student w h o borrows not know with any degree of accu- racy what will be the eventual return on his de- gree since it depends upon future labour market conditions and other unpredictable factors, but he cannot be even sure that he will graduate.Rethinking the finance of post-compulsory education 273 Contrary to those w h o borrow to buy a house, he cannot offer collateral. T h e result is that banks are very reluctant to offer such loans without a government guarantee, and hence tend to charge high interest rates. For the same reasons, they will tend to offer only relatively short term loans which raises the amount to be repaid at each period. Public student-loan programmes. Public involve- ment in student loans can take the form of a pu- blic subsidy, allowing the lender to offer lower interest rates and deferred repayments (grace pe- riod). But it can also consist of a guarantee against default. Owing to the great uncertainty about the fu- ture, commercial lenders tend to charge a pre- m i u m to protect themselves from default on the part of a fraction of the borrowers w h o , having wrongly anticipated their future income, will be unable to pay back. This makes the cost of stu- dies m u c h higher for those w h o have to borrow than for those w h o can count on financial sup- port from their family. A public guarantee or a subsidy high enough to eliminate this cost diffe- rence would, so to speak, re-create a 'perfect market' situation and correct the distortion in re- source allocation. Such a guarantee or such a subsidy obviously creates a burden on the public budget, but it is likely to be a lighter one than is the case with outright grants. But loans are actually often m u c h more sub- sidized than is necessary to correct market im- perfections. These large subsidies are justified by arguments of efficiency and equity. If there are positive externalities, that is, if education has positive effects on society at large, over and above the benefits it confers to each graduate, students should not be m a d e to pay the full cost of tuition. T o offer them subsidized loans would be a way to shift part of the cost of tuition. But if teaching institutions are already subsidized by the state in order to charge lower tuition fees, subsidizing the loans above that re- quired to correct market imperfections would amount to subsidizing the same good twice, which seems to complicate the administration of the system without improving efficiency. O n the side of equity, the high subsidy can be justified only if it is limited to 'poor' students. Besides the fact that it is difficult in most coun- tries to measure the true ability to pay, it seems more logical to try to reach the same goal through a third type of loan: income-related re- payment loans. In any case, subsidized loans have obvious drawbacks. First, as they represent recurrent costs for the public budget, they tend to be ra- tioned in periods of financial constraint, thus limiting access to education, as shown recently by the heavily subsidized G e r m a n scheme (BA- F ö G ) . Second, they do not help solve the pro- blem of the so-called 'negative dowries', that is, the transfer to spouses of the repayment of loans contracted by non-working married graduates. This latter problem disappears with the third type of loan. Loans with income-related repayments. Uncer- tainty about the return to the educational in- vestment m a y deter prospective students from continuing their studies even w h e n the invest- ment would turn out to be profitable. This un- certainty leads to inefficient decisions and there- fore to misallocation of resources. This can be prevented by setting up some sort of insurance against the risk of an individual not reaching a level of income that makes his investment in education profitable. Insurance of this sort can be achieved by a loan scheme where repayment is related to the actual income of the borrower. There are two possible kinds of relations bet- ween repayment and income. First, repayment could be increased or re- duced according to the income level reached. This procedure provides each individual bor- rower with an insurance against the risk of in- c o m e fluctuations. If his or her income goes d o w n due to unfortunate or unforeseen circum- stances, he or she will automatically see repay ment instalments decrease. It also makes the 'rich' pay back more than the poor and possibly m u c h more than they borrowed. There are two drawbacks to such loans with income-related re- payment, well k n o w n to insurance specialists.274 Jean-Claude Eicher and Thierry Chevaillier T h e first one is called 'moral hazard' and in- volves the conscious or unconscious behaviour of insured individuals to increase the occurrence of the events against which they are insured, to the extent that they have control of them. If more students having borrowed under such a scheme drop out or choose to live on a small in- come , the scheme will incur losses that will have to be borne by the public purse. T h e other draw- back is referred to as 'adverse selection'. If it is possible to 'opt out' of a loan scheme with in- come-related repayment, those students w h o have higher income expectations will choose to finance their education by borrowing from banks or with the help of their family and the source for potential excess repayments will dry up. Only those w h o expect to do less well will borrow under the scheme, which is bound to create another source of imbalance that would have to be m a d e up by budgetary appropriations. Second, the loan could be repaid more or less rapidly according to the income level of the borrower. 'Rich' individuals would repay more per year than 'poor' individuals, but repayment would stop for everyone w h e n the full amount of the loan had been paid back with interest. This would considerably reduce the risk of adverse se- lection but probably would not eliminate moral hazard. Unemployed and other non-working pe- ople would not have to repay, unless they se- cured unearned income, and those in very low income brackets might repay only part of the loan before retirement. But, of course, the lon- ger the period of repayment, the more interest will have to be paid, so that the poor would pay more interest than the rich. If loans replaced grants, pure income-con- tingent loans would reduce the public budget by the amount of the grants except for two pro- blems. First, the initial loans, before repayments start coming in, should probably be financed out of public money or at least subsidized in order for the scheme to get off the ground. Second, even after the launching period, such a system is bound regularly to bring about a deficit, whatev- er the solution chosen, as shown above. In any case, a 'forgiveness clause' that waives repayment of a loan, can be used by go- vernments as an incentive to attract students to specific jobs that are in particular need of m a n - power (as an alternative method to bonding, that is, financing students with the obligation to serve the government for a certain period after graduation). Other objectives can also be aimed at through such clauses as rewarding academ- ically outstanding students or encouraging rapid completion of degrees. In sum, there is a strong case to m a k e in fa- vour of loans. W h e n local circumstances make them feasible, these loans should be of the in- come-related repayment type so as to provide mutual insurance. T h e amount to be repaid should not exceed - or at least not by m u c h - the amount borrowed plus interest and service charges. Richer graduates should repay faster than their less successful colleagues and an in- c o m e threshold should be set below which re- payment could be suspended. Subsidization of the scheme by the state, although inevitable, should be as small as pos- sible in order not to distort the free choice of stu- dents. It should mainly consist of a public gua- rantee of the loans (which lowers the cost of borrowing by eliminating the risk component of the interest rate) rather than directly subsidizing the interest rate. But a sudden switch from maintenance grants to loans is not acceptable. It would cer- tainly meet with strong resistance from students or their unions, and is it objectively unsatisfacto- ry. In particular, it would affect equity negative- ly, as the poorest would never be able to borrow enough to see themselves through long courses of study, and, more generally, it would discour- age a growing number of students to enrol, espe- cially for long courses. T h e conclusion is that a combination of guaranteed loans for all students and means test- ed maintenance grants for the poorer would be the optimal solution. In order to make students more responsible and to lessen the financial bur den on the public budget, extending mainte- nance grants only to students w h o take a loan of a m i n i m u m amount could be envisaged. T o s u m up, the optimal financial setting forRethinking the finance of post-compulsory education 275 higher education, which could be extended with s o m e important qualifications to upper secon- dary education, seem to be the following: Public financing, which should be predominant and should consist of a mixture of: (a) a bas- ic unrestricted block grant to institutions ensuring a m i n i m u m of security and conti- nuity; (b) specific grants negotiated bet- w e e n each institution and one or several public bodies, phased over a period of sev- eral years, subject to interim evaluation and renegotiation; (c) income-related grants to students, helping covering both tuition fees and maintenance; and (d) guarantee to stu- dent loans. Private financing, in the shape of: (a) fees (basic tuition fees, uniform and substantial) and additional specific fees for special services, freely set u p by institutions, within limits; (b) business contributions, which should be limited, in the public and publicly subsi- dized sector, to the financing of continuing education and training, practical training included in the curriculum of regular de- grees and applied research, and which could be m a d e compulsory in part through a payroll tax earmarked for education; and (c) gifts and e n d o w m e n t s , which could be m a d e easier by changes in tax regulations (but are likely to remain nominal in the short run for countries where they are not rooted in tradition). For most Western European countries and for other countries with a similar higher education funding system this would m e a n : (a) in most cases, a drastic rethinking of the relationship between public authorities and institutions; (b) a progressive phasing out of the various subsidies to students services; (c) the phasing out of tax re- lief for dependent students; (d) a substantial in- crease in tuition fees; (e) the setting u p of a gua- ranteed student loan system; and (f) increased participation by business. O f course, each of these countries will have to m a k e its o w n choice according to its o w n con- straints and political stance, but the logic of the present situation should lead t h e m all to broadly similar choices. • Bibliography B L A U G , M . 1970. An Introduction to the Economics of Educa- tion. Harmondsworth, Penguin. C O O M B S , P. 1985. The World Education Crisis: The View from the 1980s. N e w York, Oxford University Press. G E I G E R , R . L . 1988. Privatization of Higher Education: In- ternational Trends and Issues. N e w York, I C E D . H U S E N , T . 1979. The School in Question. Oxford, Oxford U n - iversity Press. LESLIE, L . L . ; B R I N K M A N , P. T . 1988. The Economic Value of Higher Education. N e w York, American Council on Educa- tion/Macmillan. M O N K D . H . 1990. Educational Finance. N e w York, M c G r a w - Hill. PSACHAROPOULOS G . ; W O O D H A L L , M . 1985. Education for De- velopment. N e w York, Oxford University Press. W O O D H A L L , M . 1990. Student Loans in Higher Education. H E P Dissemination Programme. Paris, H E P . (Educational Forum, Series 1.)TRENDS/CASESResearch in educational inequality issues and policy trends in Kenya Daniel N . Sifuna T h e growth of educational research in Kenya is mainly a post-independence feature. Colonial research tended to be anthropological in nature, focusing on the culture of certain ethnic groups. With the achievement of independence in 1963, such issues as the inherited racial education structure with limited opportunities for Africans and a highly Western content, did not need to await research to point to the required direction of change. Further, in the face of the task of pre- paring teachers, equipment and books for the ra- pidly expanding system, the development of re- search was not an official priority area. Research in education therefore was largely an individual activity dealing with issues of classroom efficien- cy, child psychology, curricula and teacher edu- cation. These research activities were concen- trated in the Department of Education at the University of Nairobi, which was responsible for the preparation of graduate teachers, and the In- Daniel N . Sifuna (Kenya). Professor at the School of Education, Kenyatta University. Author o/Revolu- tion in Primary Education: T h e N e w Approach in Kenya and a number of articles on education and development in East Africa. stitute of Education which dealt with curricu- lum development. T h e growth of interest in research was a product of m a n y factors, among them the pro- blems of rapid expansion in education. It was not long after independence before problems be- gan to surface which seemed to be related to the character of the education system. These in- cluded issues such as access and equity, school strikes, and, more spectacularly, the spectre of primary school unemployment. Increased inter- est in research seemed to coincide with the growing importance of international aid to edu- cation and the concern of the donor agencies in having more information than was usually avail- able about the performance of the education sys- tem (Court, 1983, p. 168). Allied with the evolution of interest in edu- cational research has been the development of the research community. Research in education has been located mainly in the universities, the Ministry of Education and the various non-go- vernmental organizations. T h e Department (la- ter Faculty) of Education of the University of Nairobi and the Institute of African Studies (IDS) were the first to make education a priority research area. Mention should be m a d e of one department in the Faculty of Education - the Prospects, Vol. X X I , N o . 2, 199128o Daniel N. Sifuna T A B L E I. The number and percentage of educational research studies undertaken in Kenya 1963-80 Issue Administration and educational development Access to education Education and economic development Student evaluation Teaching Communications Political education and social politics Source: Eshiwani, 1980, p. 3. Studies 59 39 52 104 132 36 126 % 10.7 7.2 7.2 19.0 24.1 6.6 23.0 Bureau of Educational Research - which has the explicit task of conducting and promoting educational research. T h e Bureau, which start- ed as a child-development unit, provides leader- ship to research activity in the faculty and to K e - nyatta University as a whole. Government institutions conducting edu- cational research include the Kenya Institute of Education, whose function, among others, is to conduct research and prepare teaching and eval- uation materials to support school syllabuses. O f particular importance is the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) which gathers a wide array of in- formation on the school system as a whole. T h e Research Unit of the National Examinations Council concentrates on the analysis of exam- inations, aiming both at improvements in their content as well as in their use in monitoring the T A B L E 2. Research studies in the area of access to education Issue Educational demand Educational opportunities, selection and admission Family-school relationship Cost (limitation to parents and students) W o m e n ' s education Source: Eshiwani, 1980, p. 6. N u m b e r of studies 9 16 8 4 2 % 23.1 41.0 20.5 10.3 5.1 quality of the education system. T h e National Council for Science and Technology ( N C S T ) , which was established in 1977, as one of its func- tions advises on suitable organisational arrange- ments for planning, managing and co-ordinat- ing scientific activities and research at various levels ( N C S T , 1977, p. 3). It also funds a sizeable amount of educational research. Research has assumed an important place in national educational development. At the pol- icy level, it has become a widely accepted tool for bringing about educational innovation. A n important factor that has tended to call for in- creased research in education has been the very high national expenditure. In terms of scale and scope, the most pop- ular kind of work has been that which considers the education system as a whole. In terms of the specific parts of the system, attention has spread relatively evenly across the three main levels of the formal system: namely primary, secondary and tertiary education. Changing patterns of educational research concentration have fo- cused on n e w areas of interest. Topics that have emerged strongly include issues of access and opportunity, which embraced aspects such as re- gional and social disparities in educational pro- vision and demand. Other topics that seem to have emerged have been academic perfor- mance, education and employment and the na- ture of the teaching profession (Court, 1983, p. 169). Table 1 gives an idea of major areas of edu- cational research between 1963 and 1980. Educational access has been one of the re- curring areas of educational research in Kenya over the past few years. T h e most c o m m o n re- search topics have included educational de- m a n d , educational opportunities, selection and admission, family-school relationship, cost lim- itations to parents and students' and w o m e n ' s education. Table 2 gives the number and the percentage of the studies done in this area: edu- cational opportunities, selection and admission (41 per cent); educational demand (23.1 per cent); family-school relationship (20.5 per cent); cost-limitation to parents and students (10.3 per cent); and w o m e n ' s education (5.1 per cent). It should be noted however that the register wasResearch in educí and policy compiled before the 1985 W o m e n ' s Decade, w h e n there was a concentration of research stu- dies on w o m e n ' s issues. Before w e examine the impact of research in educational access on policy formulation it is important to examine some of the features high- lighted in these studies. O n e of the major con- siderations in educational inequality has been the issue of regional imbalance in the distribu- tion of educational facilities and opportunities. A s early as the late 1960s studies were indicating provinces registering 100 per cent of the eligible age-cohort in primary school and, at the other extreme, the province registering only 5 per cent of the pupils. Even where school places were available the quality of instruction and facilities varied enormously. For example, one of the pro- vinces had as m u c h as 26 per cent of all trained teachers while an equally populous province had only 13 per cent of the trained teachers (Pre- witt, 1974, p. 205). Studies have also shown a sharp disparity in the distribution of educational resources bet- w e e n urban and rural areas. Several studies car- ried out in the early 1970s showed that urban areas were clearly favoured over rural areas in the distribution of qualified teachers. T h e urban areas of Nairobi, M o m b a s a , K i s u m u and N a k u - ru had a professionally qualified teaching force of over 94 per cent as compared with 75 per cent in the rural districts. It was noted that a further advantage of the urban areas was that over 65 per cent of the teaching force had secondary educa- tion or above. Most of the rural schools were staffed by teachers with no more than primary education and two years' training. It was ob- served that the significance of this fact in terms of the quality of education provided in urban and rural areas was tremendous, especially w h e n it was realized that the number of pupils w h o passed the Certificate of Primary Education ex- amination mainly depended on the calibre of the teaching staff in the school (Kinyanjui, 1974, p . 14). T h e regional distribution of teachers had fi- nancial implications. It was noted that regional distribution of funds for teachers' salaries de- pended on the distribution of teachers and their inequality issues 28l in Kenya qualifications and experience. It thus followed that the urban areas with a concentration of well-trained teachers and certain rural districts which had more highly qualified and expe- rienced teachers also received more funds for teachers' salaries (Kinyanjui, 1974, p. 14). Subsequent studies on regional imbalance in pupil enrolment and the distribution of edu- cational resources have tended to reflect this pic- ture. S o m e parts of the country are well en- dowed with schools, facilities and trained teachers, while others have few or none at all. A m o n g the official publications that have docu- mented the situation are the annual reports of the Ministry of Education, and a particularly useful statistical compilation published by the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Planning and C o m m u n i t y Affairs, entitled Educational Trends 1973-1977. In discussing regional disparity, special mention is m a d e about education and pastoral areas. People living in pastoral areas have always had special needs requiring special measures. Regional and district enrolment statistics show that these areas are grossly under-represented at the various levels of the education system. S o m e studies have provided a basis of knowledge about pastoral conditions and needs, while oth- ers have tended to emphasize the importance of considering w h y it is that people in these areas continue to resist formal education (Nkinyangi, 1980, p . 183). Educational opportunities are not only af- fected by regional imbalance. Equal opportun- ities are linked to the family situation. T h e h o m e environment is especially significant w h e n schooling is organized around formal ter- minal examinations, which can be formidable. Wealthier, educated parents w h o purchase books and educational toys, w h o speak English in the h o m e , w h o utilize private nursery schools, and w h o otherwise deploy resources in a manner creating pre-school conditions conducive to suc- cessful performance, provide initial advantages that are difficult to match in poor, uneducated rural families. A survey of well-educated K e - nyans in their thirties and forties showed educa- tional advantages provided in the h o m e s , as282 Daniel N. Sifuna T A B L E 3. Percentage of well-educated Kenyans w h o provide educational advantages for their children Speak English in the home 61 Provide special tutoring or lessons 62 Read to the children 73 Send children to private nursery schools 74 Purchase books and educational toys 90 Source: Prewitt, 1974, p. 206. shown in Table 3. T h e survey also reported that respondents w h o themselves were well educated came from m u c h better educated families than the uneducated workers. Those w h o had c o m - pleted twelve years of education had fathers whose average education was 5.6 years; those w h o had completed less than two years of educa- tion had fathers whose average formal schooling was 0.2 years (Prewitt, 1974, p . 206). Several studies have tried to demonstrate h o w class differentiation is related to the struc- ture and patterns of access to primary schools. T w o important factors are said to determine the m o d e of allocation of educational opportunities. First is the financial ability of families to pay for high-cost pre-school education and then high- quality primary education. Second, competency in English, which is tied closely to the income and educational backgrounds of the parents. In this situation, pre-school education assumes an added importance and becomes an instrument for allocating the scarce opportunities for entry into high-quality public primary schools (Ki- nyanjui, 1979). Class differentiation relates closely to per- formance on the terminal examination, espe- cially at the primary school level. M a n y studies have established that the examination is found- ed on a vision of the primary school system that is only realized with any consistency in the high- cost schools. In these schools, pupils have at least been exposed to the material needed to cope with the examination questions. T h e ablest pupils assimilate the material successfully, the less able pupils less successfully. By contrast, in the low-cost schools there are only a certain number of questions in which the intelligent pu- pils can demonstrate their ability. Because it re- quires mastery of a vast volume of knowledge in anticipation of secondary-school requirements, examinations have generally been considered to be a test of the quality of teachers in a given school. T h e obvious effect of this is to reinforce the regional and class disparities that w e have al- ready noted. Further, to a large extent the exam- ination has been a test of proficiency in English, with high-cost schools performing relatively bet- ter than low-cost schools (Somerset, 1974, p. 169; Gakuru, 1979). It is important to mention that a similar hierarchy in school structure pre- vails at the secondary level, with the national catchment, locally maintained and harambee (self-help) schools. T h e under-representation of w o m e n at the various levels of the school system in relation to their proportion in the national population has been researched and documented. A variety of surveys and censuses in Kenya have shown that the educational attainment of the female pop- ulation tends to be considerably lower than for males - both adults and schoolchildren ( W o m e n in Kenya, 1978; C B S , 1978). Data indicates that the increase in enrolments has not tended to eliminate sex disparities in the pattern of school attendance. It also indicates that sex differences in enrolment generally vary with the level of educational development in given regions. In general however, the expansion of the education system does not appear to be an efficient means of increasing the proportion of female enrol- ment. T h e abolition of school fees, while it has benefited females in some areas of the country, does not seem to have had as significant an im- pact on female school attendance as might have been expected (Republic of Kenya, 1978, pp. 14- 16). Research in educational inequality is sub- stantial, but assessing its precise impact, or that of educational research in general, in practice can be a difficult and subjective task. As Nki- nyangi (1983, p. 207) has aptly stated: Recent Kenya history, however, is littered with many examples of key decisions that were taken without the benefit of research or despite contraryResearch in educational inequality issues 283 and policy trends in Kenya recommendations from actual research findings. A m o n g the indications from the educational sec- tor are the abolition of the 'old' mathematics and the introduction of 'new' mathematics, followed by the abolition of the new mathematics and the re-introduction of the old; teaching English by ra- dio; abolition of primary school fees; introduction of boarding schools for pastoralists; introduction of 9-year primary education. S o m e of these decisions reflected government perception of public demand rather than c o m - pelling research evidence. Other major develop- ments, such as the establishment of a media centre, were ideas that originated outside the country. Most n e w policies did not arise out of a careful process of weighing research-based op- tions, but out of more immediate political con- siderations (Court, n.d., p. 177). M a n y decisions have been taken without the analysis of any careful appraisal of the likely benefits and costs of proposals, or of some eval- uation of the consequences of the decisions. Certainly some of the decisions have been taken as a matter of expediency and in good faith, but expedience and good faith are no substitute for hard evidence and it seems n o w to be recognized that major decisions require detailed investiga- tion, both before and after such decisions are m a d e and implemented. In some areas of education, however, it is possible to point to the occasional instance where research findings have been the explicit basis for the n e w practice. T h e outstanding ex- ample of this has been the research on exam- inations that has for over more than a decade analysed the relationship of examination con- tent to purposes of relevance, efficiency and equity in the education system. This is one of the rare examples in Kenya of a long-term re- search programme in which added understand- ing each year is incorporated into practice and modifications of the examination as well as the research itself (Makau and Somerset, 1978). Analysis suggests that in certain subjects it is possible to devise items that, by eliminating cul- tural bias and emphasising inference rather than abstract content, serve to reduce the present wide margin of discrimination resulting simply from the content of the examination. There are however limits to h o w m u c h the examination can be manipulated as a device to improve equi- ty. T h e extent to which good performance is a product of training implies that those from bet- ter-quality schools will be able to outperform their compatriots in less-privileged schools w h a - tever the content (Court, n.d., p. 231). It is also difficult to determine the extent to which m a - nipulating school-based factors, as opposed to socio-economic and environmental background factors, which are outside the influence of the school, is likely to promote equity. It is difficult to ascertain h o w some of the educational policies intended to reduce social inequality are an outcome of research or of polit- ical considerations. T h e Report of the National Committee on Educational Objectives and Pol- icy listed the removal of social and regional in- equalities as the second overall objective of the educational policy for the decade of the 1980s. This is the rationale behind the 8:4:4 education system. T h e report (Republic of Kenya, 1984) states: T h e 8:4:4 system will ensure that there are equal opportunities for all students regardless of their place of origin, creed, or race by providing equit- able distribution of educational resources. T h e objective has been clearly stated but the means to its attainment and the particular role of education in this task are less clear. S o m e m e a - sures have however been taken to reduce social inequality. For a long time it has been thought that the expansion of education would itself lead to both a fairer distribution of economic and social be- nefits as well as individual opportunity. T h e out- standing characteristic of the educational scene since independence has been the expansion of the formal education system, especially at the se- condary-school level. In the beginning, the pol- icy was seen as a way of meeting urgent m a n - power needs. But as more harambee self-help schools opened and expanded, the policy was in- terpreted as reflecting a philosophy of expanded opportunity. In this regard, hardly a day goes by without a major public official exhorting parents284 Daniel N. Sifuna to send their children to school as a way of giv- ing them a chance to benefit from the opportun- ities of independence (Court, n.d., p. 227). It is quite clear that the Kenyan Govern- ment has m a d e substantial efforts to achieve a wider distribution of educational opportunity. Since the mid-1960s it pledged to intensify a programme of building primary and secondary schools in the districts of low-average enrolment to enable pupils in these areas to attend school. A programme of school-fee remission was launched in these areas, and in 1971 a presiden- tial decree abolished fees for all districts with unfavourable geographical conditions, which was said to impoverish the populations in these areas. T h e decree of 1973 provided free educa- tion for children in Standards I-IV in all the dis- tricts of the country. In the semi-arid districts, the government tried to provide boarding facil- ities to encourage higher school attendance (Si- funa, 1986). T h e removal of school fees, the partial allo- cation of resources on a regional basis, and spe- cial additional provision to previously deprived parts of the country are all evidence of the go- vernment's attempt to increase access to school facilities. At the provincial level, the number of state-aided secondary schools increased and the regional quota system of access to government secondary schools have contributed to an expan- sion of access to education. Regarding oppor- tunities for w o m e n , it is noted that at the prim- ary-school level, sex differences have been reduced as the education system has expanded, especially in the economically advanced re- gions. At the secondary level, the proportion of girls has increased at a comparatively lower rate than in primary schools because of their poor performance in the K C P E examination, fewer government-aided schools available for girls and high drop-out rates among girls largely due to early pregnancy and parental reluctance to edu- cate girls beyond a certain level. At the universi- ty there are consistent and considerable sex dif- ferences in enrolment, academic performance, wastage and subject specialisation which disad- vantages females (Keino, 1985, pp. 3-6). T h e growth of the education system and the economy have brought on a corresponding expansion of educational opportunity, measured in terms of the numbers of people attending school. However, in terms of alleviating eco- nomic inequalities, there is n o w increasing evi- dence that the education system m a y actually be perpetuating and increasing such inequalities. Factors accounting for this situation seem for the most part not to lie in the school system itself but in the social and economic structure to which it relates. For example, the marginal im- provements in the pattern of distribution of go- vernment-aided schools have tended to be coun- teracted by the provision of self-help facilities; the wealthy and politically influential areas have been able to maintain their lead by the establish- ment of more self-help harambee schools (Ki- nyanjui, 1974, p. 30). Similarly, attempts to re- distribute educational resources, especially for the communities in the semi-arid districts, have not been accompanied by strict ethnic quotas; they instead have served to intensify ethnic im- balance by providing additional opportunities to outsiders from areas that are already well-en- dowed with educational facilities. It is noted that the Government of Kenya rejected the quota system proposed by the study by the Internation- al Labour Office in 1972 as a way of alleviating regional and ethnic inequalities of access (Re- public of Kenya, 1973). Following government efforts to provide more educational opportunities, enrolments at all levels have grown rapidly since indepen- dence. Despite its commitment to reduce in- equalities through such measures, the current management and financing policies tend to rein- force rather than alleviate disparities with the re- sult that education is still beyond the reach of the poorest strata of society. In primary education there are wide dis- parities between districts in enrolments, the quality of teachers, examination results, facil- ities and other resources. National measures in- troduced between 1973 and 1979 to improve ac- cess to primary education tended to have the effect of widening rather than narrowing the dis- parities between districts. Even its programme to provide boarding schools in remote areas haveResearch in educ; and policy not had the desired effect of significantly in- creasing enrolments, since parents still cannot afford their share of the costs. A large proportion of the places in these schools are taken up by pu- pils from better-off districts w h o are attracted by the low fees and better opportunities for entry into secondary school. At the secondary-school level, regional dis- parities noted with respect to primary education are no less pronounced. T h e distribution of maintained secondary schools in relation to pop- ulation is very uneven and harambee and private schools have increased rather than alleviated these disparities, since the better-off c o m m u n - ities could better afford them. There is also great disparity in quality a m o n g maintained, assisted and unaided schools, reflecting access to public financing. T h e buildings, facilities, supplies and qualifications of teachers of unaided harambee schools are vastly inferior to those of maintained schools even though they charge m u c h higher fees (Loubser, 1983, p. 29). Secondary-school opportunities for w o m e n have improved, rising from 33 per cent of enrol- ments in 1963 to 40 per cent in 1982, but they still constituted only 34 per cent of enrolments in maintained schools by the mid-1980s. At the upper secondary level, they represented 23 per cent of enrolments in 1963 and still only 27 per cent by the early 1980s. While there are about the same number of maintained boarding schools for girls as for boys, there are five times as m a n y day schools for boys as for girls. Since fees at boarding schools are m u c h higher than at day schools, the sex disparity in day schools res- tricts the secondary school opportunities for girls of lower socio-economic status severely and, by itself, m a y go a long way in accounting for the lower rate of enrolment a m o n g girls (Loubser, 1983, p . 29). There are also equity issues with respect to university education. First, the disparities at the primary and secondary levels systematically fa- vour those from better socio-economic back- grounds, and improve their chances of getting into university. This is evident from the fact that access to university is highly distorted in favour of a relatively small number of schools, mostly inequality issues 285 in Kenya maintained secondary schools. The geograph- ical distribution of these schools is well k n o w n . In terms of sex representation, although the number of w o m e n students has increased appre- ciably, they are under-represented in m a n y of the technical faculties and at the graduate level. Educational policies launched to alleviate inequality, though wide ranging, have not achieved the desired effect. A s already dis- cussed, some have tended to intensify regional and class inequality. S o m e have been m a d e without the benefit of research or despite con- trary recommendations from actual research findings. This is perhaps not surprising, because change in the field of education tends to arise as a result of small incremental advances in un- derstanding rather than from a sudden discov- ery. For this reason, as Kabiru Kinyanjui has put it, 'the most important impact of educational re- search in Kenya has probably been the climate of educational opinion in the country' (Court, n.d., p . 177). T h e contribution of educational re- search is rarely to provide definite answers to particular problems, but rather to offer a better understanding of them through the provision of information that can improve the quality of the debate in which policy arises. Its contribution to policy relevance is through the building of a bo- dy of knowledge and the definition of alternative options. It is however important that policy- makers pay special attention to research find- ings. It is recognized that major decisions re- quire detailed investigation, both before and af- ter such decisions are m a d e and implemented. It is possible for some decisions to draw on a sub- stantial body of information that would allow for a careful appraisal of the probable consequences to be undertaken. In this context, some policy decisions taken to provide more educational op- portunities could have had more impact than originally envisaged. •286 Daniel N. Sifuna References C B S ( C E N T R A L B U R E A U O F STATISTICS). 1978. Women in Ke- nya. July. C O U R T , D . 1983. Educational Research Environment in K e - nya. In: S. Shaeffer and J. A . Nkinyangi (eds), Educational Research Environments in the Developing World. Ottawa, International Development Research Centre. . n.d. T h e Education System as a Response to Inequality. In: J. D . Barkan and J. O k u m u (eds.), Politics and Public Policy in Kenya and Tanzania. Nairobi, Heinemann Edu- cational. E S H I W A N I , G . S. 1980. Research in Education: The Kenya Re- gister. Nairobi, Bureau of Educational Research, Kenyatta University College. (Occasional Paper, 3050.) G A K U R U , O . N . 1979. Pre-school Education and Access to Educational Opportunities in Nairobi. University of Nairo- bi. (Unpublished M . A . thesis.) K E I N O , E . 1985. Opportunities for Females in Technical Training in Kenya: A Focus on the Primary, Secondary and Post-secondary Levels of Training. Kenya Journal of Edu- cation, Vol. 2, N o . 1. K I N Y A N J U I , K . 1974. The Distribution of Educational Re- sources and Opportunities in Kenya. Institute for Develop- ment Studies, University of Nairobi. (Discussion Paper, 208.) . 1979. Education and Inequality in Kenya: Some Re- search Experience and Issues. Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi. L O U B S E R , J. J. 1983. H u m a n Resource Development in K e - nya: A n Overview. Canadian International Development Agency. (Unpublished report.) M A K A U , M . B . ; S O M E R S E T , H . C . A . 1978. Primary School Leaving Examination; Basic Intellectual Skills and Equity: Some Evidence from Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya Ministry of Education. N C S T (NATIONAL C O U N C I L FOR SCIENCE A N D T E C H N O L O G Y ) . 1977. NCST General Information. N K I N Y A N G I , J. A . 1983. W h o Conducts Research in Kenya? In: S. Shaeffer and J. A . Nkinyangi (eds), Educational Re- search Environments in the Developing World. Ottawa, In- ternational Development Research Centre. N K I N Y A N G I , N . 1980. Education for Nomadic Pastoralists; Development Planning by Trial and Error. The Future of Pastoral Peoples, Proceedings of a Conference held in Nairobi, 4-8 August 1980. Ottawa, International Development Re- search Centre. P R E W I T T , K . 1974. Education and Social Equality in Kenya. In: D . Court and D . P . Ghai (eds.), Education, Society and Development: New Perspectives from Kenya. Nairobi, O x - ford University Press. R E P U B L I C O F K E N Y A . 1973. Sessional Paper on Employment. Nairobi, Government Printer. . 1978. Educational Trends 1973-1977. Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Economic Planning and Community Affairs. . MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE A N D T E C H N O L O G Y . 1984. 8:4:4 Education System. Nairobi, Government Prin- ter. SIFUNA, D . N . 1986. Universal Education and Social Class Formation in Kenya. Ufahamu, Journal of the African Acti- vist Association, Vol. X V , N o . 1/2. S O M E R S E T , H . C . A . 1974. W h o Goes to Secondary School? Re- levance, Reliability and Equity in Secondary School Selec- tion. In: D . Court and D . P . Ghai (eds.), Education, Society and Development: New Perspectives from Kenya. Nairobi, Oxford University Press. W o m e n in Kenya. 1978. Social Perspectives, 3 April.Profiles of educators Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) Shunsaku Nishikawa riety of readers. T h e great attraction of these writings was not only that the topics were new, but that the style was revolutionary in its sim- plicity. T h e Japanese people were able to learn m u c h about the coming civilization from the so- called 'Fukuzawa books'. Fukuzawa also wrote m a n y books and arti- cles for scholars. These were mostly published by the university press or through the newspap- er, Jiji-shimpo, that he started in 1882. F r o m that time on Fukuzawa wrote numerous articles and lampoons on various contemporary issues, such as politics, international relations, econom- ic and financial problems, educational policy, w o m e n ' s equality and a moral code. His main theme m a y be summarized in one word - 'independence' - as he believed that per- sonal and national independence was the real basis of modern society in the West. In order to achieve this self-independence, Fukuzawa ad- vocated Western, or practical and scientific, learning, instead of the traditional studies of the Chinese classics. T h e more educated the people became, the better their national independence could be maintained, with correspondingly in- creased public virtue and social morality. Although Fukuzawa apparently learned m u c h from Western thinkers, he was not blindly attached to Western civilization. H e was well aware of its flaws, but he realized that Western civilization was technologically superior to Japa- nese civilization, and he concluded that the Ja- panese people could use it as a temporal model. H e seemed, however, to have anticipated th dif- ficulties in revolutionizing the minds of his countrymen. Prospects, Vol. XXI, No. 2, 1991 In Japan, one can see a portrait of Fukuzawa Yukichi1 on every 10,000-yen note. It is an offi- cial recognition of his devotion to introducing Western institutions and thought into Japan. S o m e people, however, m a y wonder w h y such a m a n wears traditional Japanese costume. Alth- ough w e have a number of pictures of Fukuza- w a , only a few are in Western attire. It seems that this reflects his basic stance: he always empha- sized the spiritual revolution rather than the spurious imitation of Western things. Fukuzawa first learned Dutch and later changed to English studies; he visited the U n - ited States twice and travelled through Europe almost a year before the Meiji Restoration (1868). O n these journeys he was able to per- ceive the basic 'stones and pillars' of the modern society developing in the West. H e also con- ceived his manifest destiny - education and journalism. Soon after his second voyage he be- gan to develop his school, Keio-gijuku, which produced m a n y talented graduates in business, industry and politics. Fukuzawa published m a n y pamphlets and textbooks which were used in the emerging modern schools and were also welcomed by a va- Shunsaku Nishikawa (Japan). Professor of Econo- mics at the Fukuzawa Memorial Centre for Modern Japanese Studies, Keio University, and at the Faculty of Business and Commerce. Author of Growth History of Japanese Economy (1985J, Fukuzawa Yukichi and the Three Successors {Tokyo, 1985, in Japanese) and of several articles on the history of the Japanese economy.288 Shunsaku Nishikawa Boyhood and student days Fukuzawa was born in Osaka in 1835. It was a period preceded by two centuries of seclusion from the world and followed nineteen years later by the opening up of Japan. T h e governing bo- dies of the Shogunate and the 260 domains which had held power for so long had not ad- justed to the underlying changes in society. They were desperately trying through politico- economic changes to ease the chronic suffering caused by the budget deficit. Fukuzawa's family lived in Osaka, at that time the trading centre of Japan. His father worked as a low-level treasury officer represent- ing his h o m e domain of Nakatsu (a province in the northern part of the island of Kyushu). His class in society was that of samurai, but of a low rank with a meagre hereditary position. T h e job did not appeal to Fukuzawa's father, but he re- mained loyally in service until his sudden death at the age of 44, barely eighteen months after the birth of Fukuzawa. T h e widowed mother returned to Nakatsu to bring up her two sons and three daughters. Their stipend was so small that they lived in po- verty, subsidizing their income with occasional paid work in the h o m e . Fukuzawa himself re- paired sandals and did other miscellaneous jobs. There were no funds to send him to school until he was 14, ten years after the usual age for start- ing school. Elementary education at the time was di- vided: there was one for male children of sam- urai, and another for children of commoners.2 Sons of samurai, aged 5-7, learned the Chinese classics from either their father or some relative and masters of neo-Confucian learning w h o of- ten ran private classes or schools. Secondary and/or higher education was provided in either private schools or in the domanial school. Since the mid-eighteenth century, most of the large domains had inaugurated domanial schools. T h e domain of Nakatsu had it o w n school, but entry was restricted. T h e rank of the student's fa- mily was an important factor. T h e son of a low- ranking samurai, even if he were the eldest, did not qualify for enrolment in the domanial school. T h e learning available inside isolated Japan was limited by government decree, but to ima- gine Japan totally isolated would be too simpli- fied. Since the sixteenth century, Westerners had visited Japan, but in the early 1640s were barred entry. O n the small m a n - m a d e island of Dejima, only Dutch traders were allowed to stay. This contact with the outside world was tightly controlled by the Shogun and special permission was required for merchants, interpreters, and servicemen to go to Dejima. N o n e the less, Western knowledge, especially medical and nat- ural science, somehow filtered through the Sho- gun's barriers and was diffused throughout the country. Eighty years before Fukuzawa's time, several Japanese physicians pioneered the tran- slation of the Dutch version of J. A . Kulumus ' Tabulae anatomicae {Ontleedkundige Tafeleri)} T h e commodity of Western learning was limit- ed, controlled, and sometimes dangerous for stu- dents, but it none the less existed. W h e n Fukuzawa attended school he soon revealed his competence. Inside the classroom he excelled, but outside, his low rank left him at a disadvantage. W h e n playing with his upper- samurai classmates, the lower-ranking Fukuza- w a was the brunt of their arrogance. Class divi- sions were strict enough to prohibit marriages between the two groups. Even in his early days Fukuzawa was aware of and deeply resented the inequality of the system.4 T h e arrival of the United States fleet in the summer of 1853 sent a profound shock through- out the country - to samurai and commoner alike. For Fukuzawa it meant that he was asked by his brother (who had inherited his father's position) to go to Nagasaki, to learn Dutch in or- der to master Western gunnery. T h e elder broth- er wished to give Fukuzawa a job opportunity and expected him to render his services to his lord in the future. Fukuzawa accepted his sug- gestion with no real understanding of what Dutch was or the threat from the outside: he was more anxious to leave his h o m e town. They left for Nagasaki one month beforeProfiles of educators: Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) 289 the Treaty of Peace and Amity between Japan and the United States. Fukuzawa became a ser- vant/student to the councillor of Nakatsu's heir, w h o was there for the same purpose. As he was hardly able to learn the alphabet there, he was transferred to the 'master' of gunnery w h o really did not understand Dutch very well. Although there was no vast progress in Dutch studies in Nagasaki, the councillor's son was jealous of Fukuzawa. H e fabricated a story that Fukuzawa's mother was ill in Nakatsu, showed him a falsified letter, and suggested that Fukuzawa return h o m e . Fukuzawa discovered the falsehood and prepared to leave Nagasaki. Having no money he forged the signature of an official and charged his expenses to the doma- nial warehouse in Osaka. Instead of heading for h o m e , he went to Edo (now Tokyo), 1,000 kilo- metres to the north, to continue his studies. T h e trip across the Inland Sea took two weeks owing to the many stops. E n route, Fuku- zawa disembarked and walked through the night to reach the Osaka domanial warehouse where his brother, Sannosuke, was stationed, w h o per- suaded him to stay and enrol in a school of Dutch at Tekijuku, which was run by a phys- ician, Ogata Koan (1810-63). T h e school did not emphasize medicine; rather Ogata was success- ful in distributing vaccines in Japan and educat- ing many young m e n like Fukuzawa w h o would later participate in the building of the modern nation.5 During Fukuzawa's three-year stay at Teki- juku, both he and his older brother fell ill and were sent back to Nakatsu to recover. But San- nosuke died and Fukuzawa was to succeed him by doing guard duty at the castle, since he had no experience as a treasurer to take over the he- reditary job. H e begged his mother to agree to his going again to study at Tekijuku and sub- sequently received official permission to leave. Fukuzawa became the top student in school in the next year, and he recalls fond memories of his school life in his autobiography.6 It is note- worthy here to mention that, together with his colleagues, he read mainly physics, chemistry and physiology, and copied and translated a Dutch book on the art of fort-building. The move to the capital and the world In the autumn of 1858, Fukuzawa was appointed teacher of Dutch to the vassals of the domain of Nakatsu. T h e course was to be held in the se- cond domanial house of Edo. This time Fukuza- w a travelled on foot to Edo with 'money ' and a servant. This 'servant' was actually his colleague w h o wished to go to Edo and w h o later complet- ed the translation of a statistical table of all na- tions.7 July 1859 marked the opening of three ports in Japan according to the Treaty of Amity and C o m m e r c e , signed in the previous year with the United States and the European nations. Soon after the opening, Fukuzawa went to visit Kanagawa (now Yokohama) and was disappoint- ed to find that he could not read the signs or un- derstand anyone. English was the language of the port city. H e was determined then to learn English, but his progress was slow as he could find neither a good teacher nor even a good dic- tionary. T h e Shogunate decided to dispatch envoys within the terms of the Treaty to the United States. Fukuzawa immediately volunteered his services to Admiral Kimura Yoshitake (1830- 1901). After thirty-seven days and a voyage of consecutive storms, they reached San Francisco in the spring of 1860. During his one-month stay, Fukuzawa's most significant acquisitions were a Webster's dictionary and a photograph of himself with the photographer's daughter. T h e dictionary, recommended by the interpreter, John Manjiro,8 is deemed to have been Fukuza- wa's intellectual weapon in understanding m o d - ern civilization. After his return, Fukuzawa was employed in the foreign-affairs office of the Shogunate to translate diplomatic documents. T h e next year he married Okin, the daughter of an upper-rank samurai from his h o m e domain. Again in 1867, Fukuzawa was able to visit the United States. This time the mission went to Washington and N e w York to negotiate an unsettled purchase of290 Shunsaku Nishikawa a warship from the United States Government. Fukuzawa's real aim was to purchase textbooks for students w h o were forced to copy their texts by hand. H e bought as m a n y books as possible within his budget. Fukuzawa's most important voyage was with the mission to Europe, whose assignment was the negotiation of a postponement of addi- tional port openings and an adjustment of the exchange rate. It failed on both accounts but was able to travel through France, Great Britain, Holland, Germany, Russia and Portugal. Fuku- zawa, acting as translator, observed m a n y n e w things and institutions such as hospitals, arse- nals, mines and schools. F r o m what he saw and read in the year-long tour, Fukuzawa published the first volume of Seiyo jijo {Things Western, or The Conditions of the West),9 which gave a de- scription of his immedidate findings. It became a national best-seller. Fukuzawa realized that technical progress was a contributory factor to the prosperity that he had seen in Europe. H e began to believe that revolutionary changes in people's knowledge and thinking were a necessary requirement. W h e n he was in London he sent a letter to his friend, in his h o m e domain, stating that the most urgent thing to do was to educate the young talent rather than to purchase machinery and armaments. H e decided to postpone the writing of the second volume of Things Western and instead translated J. H . Burton's Political Economy. In this book, entitled the Outside Vol- ume, which appeared in 1867, the 'corner-stones and main pillars', the intangible social network constituting civilized society, was discussed.10 It was indeed an introduction to The Conditions of the West. After his return to Japan, Fukuzawa began to develop his o w n school. T h e number of stu- dents grew rapidly to 100 in 1867. His duties with the Shogunate were only six days a month, so he was apparently able to use the other days for reading, writing and teaching. T h e popular- ity of his accounts of Western life indicated an interest and tolerance of the outside world. Oth- er groups, however, wanted to expel the 'barbar- ians' and scholars of Western studies. T h e fanat- ic 701 ronin (breakaway groups of samurai w h o wanted to expel the foreigners) were murdering those w h o represented Western ideals. People like Fukuzawa were at risk. In fact, O m u r a was killed by them in 1869. The encouragement of learning A m i d the sounds of gunfire from a battle only a few kilometres from Keio-gijuku" Fukuzawa continued his lectures on political economy as usual.12 It was 4 July 1868 and the Restoration forces were challenging the tottering Tokugawa regime. Fukuzawa told his students, reduced from 100 to 18 on that day, 'Whatever happens in the country, whatever warfare harasses our land, w e have never relinquished our hold on Western learning. As long as this school of ours stands, Japan remains a civilized nation of the world'.13 These words explain clearly what Fukuza- w a had in mind - Western learning and educa- tion. Soon after the defeat of the Tokugawa forc- es in Edo , the n e w government asked Fukuzawa to join the government service. H e declined the offer and never became a partisan of the new go- vernment, which gave him m u c h freedom in judging and writing about the course of both parties. In the several years that followed, he de- voted himself exclusively to either teaching at Keio or helping initiate modern schools elsewh- ere. H e also translated and/or wrote pamphlets on the West and elementary textbooks on a sur- prisingly wide variety of subjects such as physics, geography, military arts, the British Parliament and international relations. A m o n g his books, Gakumon no susume {An Encouragement of Learning)1* is the most cele- brated. It was originally a series of essays written and published from 1872 to 1876. T h e first essay, which was an enormous bestseller, was the m a - nifestation of Fukuzawa's theme to the general public. T h e first line reads: 'It is said that heaven does not create one m a n above or below another m a n . A n y existing distinction between the wiseProfiles of educators: Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) 291 and the stupid, between the rich and the poor, came d o w n to a matter of education.'15 O f importance was Fukuzawa's concept of 'education' - the 'practical learning that is closer to ordinary h u m a n needs'16 or in a word, jit- sugaku. In his opinion it consisted first of learn- ing the forty-seven Japanese kana letters, meth- ods of accounting and the abacus, the way to use weights and scales, and then, such subjects as geography, physics, history, economics and eth- ics. T h e subjects in the first group had been gi- ven in the terakoya, which literally means 'the temple school'. Its connection with Buddhism had been gradually lost since the seventeenth century, and in the next century it became a primary school for commoners ' children and daughters of samurai, particularly those of low rank. T h e teachers were either poor samurai, village headman, Shinto priests, or others. Buddhist teachers were rather scarce in the eighteenth century. T h e terakoya mushroomed in the first half of the nineteenth century. Fuku- zawa was aware of this, so apparently put more stress on the subjects in the second group which could be taught in a modern school.17 H e felt that these areas had been well developed in the West but not in the East. H e bitterly criticized the traditional Japa- nese school curriculum, which emphasized an- cient texts and the enjoyment and writing of poetry, as impractical pursuits. H e argued that Western education was necessary and urged boys and girls w h o had just learned kana letters to consult with translated textbooks and at a more advanced stage to read a Western lan- guage. In his school he relied on Western auth- ors, and by 1890 had hired foreign teachers. Fukuzawa felt that jitsugaku could contri- bute to personal independence, but that 'free- d o m and independence refer not only to the private self, but to the nation as well'.18 Fukuza- w a also believed that these elements were a hu- m a n right and concluded: Each individual m a n and each individual country, according to the principles of natural reason, is free from bondage. Consequently, if there is some threat which might infringe upon a country's free- d o m , then that country should not hesitate even to take up arms against all the countries of the world.19 It can be understood w h y he even translated mil- itary manuals for soldiers. Fukuzawa's style in An Encouragement of Learning and in other textbooks and manuals was completely new in Japan. In the past, books were written in a Chinese style with difficult characters. T h e n e w style was colloquial and ea- sy for even the less educated to understand. Against the general opinion that the Japanese language did not lend itself to oratory, he started public speaking and open debates. H e himself demonstrated beautifully the art of public speak- ing in the presence of sceptics and built a public speaking hall at Keio where he, his fellows and students, held m a n y gatherings and speaking contests. This small hall, the Enzetsukan, is still maintained on the campus at Mita.20 T h e theory of civilization In a letter to one of his friends, dated 23 Febru- ary 1874, Fukuzawa wrote: I don't think I'll take on any more translations. This year I 'm going to read and work without wor- rying about the hundreds of miscellaneous things. M y health is getting better, and m y knowledge will be exhausted unless I study more. I shall spend about a year on m y studies.21 This was in anticipation of reading the referenc- es22 and drafting his magnum opus, Bunmeiron no gairyaku {An Outline of a Theory of Civil- ization), which appeared the following year.23 Unlike the other works by Fukuzawa, which were mainly for public enlightenment, this book was intended for Japanese intellec- tuals. At that time they were divided into several camps - some were very enthusiastic about in- troducing an ideal Western model while others were reluctant or even reacted against modern values and principles. Presumably Fukuzawa292 Shunsaku Nishikawa wanted to clarify the argument and to persuade them to join an integrated front for civilization. Fukuzawa was a prolific writer and able to produce an enormous amount of work, but it took an exceptional amount of time and toil to finish this book. T h e manuscripts, which are preserved today, show that they were revised again and again. T h e style was scholarly, hence not easy to read, eloquent and many-sided. N o n e the less, his main theme is crystal clear: self-sufficiency and national independence. 'Ci- vilization' was both the outcome and the means to independence. W h a t then was 'civilization'? In its broad sense, civilization means not only comfort in daily necessities but also the refining of knowledge and the cultivation of virtue so as to elevate h u m a n life to a higher plane. . . . [Thus] it refers to the attainment of both material-being and the elevation of the h u m a n spirit, [but] since what produces man's well-being and refinement is knowledge and virtue, civilization ultimately means the progress of man's knowledge and vir- tue.24 Fukuzawa took great care to explain the distinc- tion between knowledge and virtue. H e defined virtue as morality, and knowledge as intelli- gence, and deliberately adds that in English they are termed respectively 'morals' and 'intellect'. These definitions were m a d e to avoid associa- tion with neo-Confucian concepts. T h e con- cepts held by Fukuzawa represent a break with traditional thinking. Traditional Japanese teaching appreciated both private virtue and benevolent rule on the basis of the Chinese classics. Here the philo- sophy was concerned mainly with governing - the m a n of virtue, usually the king or emperor w h o rules benevolently over his people and land through his personal capacity and virtue. T h e people, on the other hand, were uneducated and depended on the ruler. Most Japanese scholars in both official and private academies taught young people h o w to read, but they did not en- courage any original thought or novel ideas. T h e courses had nothing to do with political economy: such subjects were considered either 'vulgar' or inappropriate for the young. Teach- ing in terakoya was assuredly practical, but not very scientific. Knowledge gained there at best only contributed to personal intellect and profit. Buddhism in Japan had lost its authority and function in the previous centuries. Budd- hists had become mere subjects of the political authority, namely the Tokugawa Shogunate. Thus not only neo-Confucian scholars and Buddhists but also commoners and samurai re- lied on their customary positions. Most of them were indifferent to public matters. They were ruled, credulous and blindly faithful to the ruler upon w h o m all the power was concentrated. F u - kazawa remarked that this was the most out- standing negative feature of Japanese civiliza- tion. In Fukuzawa's thinking, virtue and know- ledge could each be divided into two parts, priv- ate and public. H e was convinced that m a n had an innate probity and potential talent. While it was quite possible to acquire knowledge in school, it was impossible to m a k e a person use his private virtue publicly. Looking at history he saw that the ruled had their virtue caged up in themselves and that it could rarely surface - at best within the family unit. Private knowledge, on the other hand, could be diffused into society more easily and then transformed into public wisdom. People had begun to recognize empir- ical laws and science, not only natural but also moral (or social) science. 'In Western civiliza- tion,' Fukuzawa wrote, 'the social fabric includ- ed various theories that developed side by side, drew closer to one another, and finally united in- to one civilization, in the process giving birth to freedom and independence.'25 While Japanese thinking had been concentrating on the impos- sible task of creating public virtue, the West had expanded public wisdom, which is w h y he ce- lebrated Western learning and criticized neo- Confucian teaching in his country. In this regard, Japanese civilization appa- rently lagged behind the West. According to the stage theory of h u m a n development, Japan (along with China) was placed in the semi-civil- ized stage.26 Although 'advanced' and 'back- ward' are after all relative terms, the distanceProfiles of educators: Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) 293 between East and West was assuredly great. It was impossible, in Fukuzawa's thinking, to be able to catch up to the forerunners by simply purchasing modern arms, machinery and exter- nal structures, since civilization meant the deve- lopment of the spirit, namely virtue and know- ledge, of the entire nation. Thus it follows, 'Civilization [is] Our Goal'.27 In the final chapter of An Outline of a Theo- ry of Civilization, Fukuzawa turns again to the problem of 'national independence' which was the serious concern of all Japanese intellectuals. Japan, he believed, was in reality only a small country in the Far East at the time, and hence should not be supported by the means of greater military power.28 H e concludes: Moreover, the argument for national polity, for Christianity, and for Confucianism . . . are also in- sufficient to bolster people's hearts. What, then, will? I say there is one thing: namely, to establish our goal and advance toward civilization. . . . The way in which to preserve this independence can- not be sought anywhere except in civilization.29 Hard years, 1877-81 T h e number of students at Keio-gijuku, which had recovered to more than 300 in 1871-76, again began to decline in part because of the un- settled domestic scene. As most of the students were samurai, a decision by the government in 1871 to abolish the domains and reduce the he- reditary privilege and stipend of the lords and vassals also affected the amount of money that could be spent on education. In five years this confiscation was finished. T h e shizoku (former samurai and their families) were given a c o m - pensating debenture, the amount of which was nominal compared with that given to the kazoku (aristocrats) and the highest ranking shizoku. T h e majority of shizoku - the m e d i u m and low- er ranks - were not satisfied with the arrange- ment. Only Fukuzawa was pleased to declare himself a commoner (heimin) and declined the compensation. During this period, Fukuzawa's students, most of w h o m were samurai, left the school be- cause of their lost privileges, the war and further poverty due to inflation. Those w h o came from Satsuma returned to join the rebellion there and were either killed or wounded. In dire financial straits, Fukuzawa both supplemented the school budget with his personal income and asked for loans from the government and private sources. N o one, however, was willing to lend the Keio- gijuku any money and some suggested that the corporation be dissolved. His fellow teachers responded with a voluntary reduction of their salary by two-thirds. Afterwards, the number of students gradually grew from a low of 200 in 1878 to as many as 500 in 1881. Interestingly, the ratio of commoners enrolled grew from a third to more than a half in 1875. Fukuzawa later con- jectured that this was due to the post-war in- flation which raised the wealthy farmers' in- come sufficiently to send their sons to Keio-gijuku.30 As the government was heavily dependent on fixed land taxes for its revenue, it also suf- fered financial deficits. Wanting to reduce ex- penditure, it decided to sell government facto- ries and enterprises. W h e n it was announced that these properties had been sold off at in- credibly low prices, civil-rights leaders criticized the government severely. A rumour appeared in the press that Fukuzawa, with the financial help of Iwasaki Yátaro (1835-85) of the Mitsubishi Corporation, was urging a coup d'état by O k u m a . In a counter plot, Ito Hirobumi (1841-1901) purged O k u m a from the de facto cabinet. T h e real reason for this political drama was a struggle for the control of the input of the future legisla- tion of the constitution. T h e m a n w h o was able to exercise this control was expected to be the de facto prime minister. Several Keio graduates w h o had worked under O k u m a had suggested a constitutional monarchy on the British model, while the Ito group preferred the Prussian type. This group was responding to, and was afraid of, Fukuzawa and the Keio school, as Fukuzawa himself often expressed support for O k u m a ' s ac- tive policies.Nishikawa Criticisms and appreciation After the political victory, Ito postponed the constitution and the opening of the diet for ten years, and cancelled the sale of government pro- perties. Before their split, Ito, O k u m a and other members of the government had arranged with Fukuzawa to start a newspaper to help promote the early opening of the diet, but this too was shelved. Fukuzawa decided to proceed alone and launched Jiji-shimpo (The Times) on 1 March 1882. In the inauguration article he de- clared that this quality paper would remain im- partial and independent. F rom that time onward most of Fukuzawa's writings appeared in Jiji-shimpo, not only se- rious articles but also lampoons. H e addressed all the issues of the times - politics, domestic and international issues, political economy, edu- cation and educational policy, and the moral code, particularly w o m e n ' s rights, and so forth. These articles and lampoons fill nearly half of the twenty-two volumes of his Collected Works}1 In a broad overview of his works it can be seen that Fukuzawa was proceeding in a straight line towards individual and national indepen- dence. Yet, even in the 1870s, there was some controversy over his discussions on moral issues, such as loyalty, money and so forth.32 Moreover, serious criticisms and comments have recently been made about his articles from the 1880s and afterwards. Such criticism has placed serious doubt as to the real intention of Fukuzawa or his real personality. So strong has been the reaction against his articles on Asia that it has nearly wiped out the impact of his less controversial ar- ticles - for instance, the ones about w o m e n ' s equality - and placed Fukuzawa in a category that he supposedly fought against. O n e such article, and perhaps the most dis- puted, is 'Datsu-a-ron' ( 'On Departure from Asia'), written in 1885. Fukuzawa states: Our immediate policy, therefore, should be to lose no time in waiting for the enlightenment of our neighbouring countries (Korea and China) in or- der to join them in developing Asia, but rather to depart from their rank and cast our lot with the ci- vilized countries of the West. . . . W e should deal with them exactly as the Westerners do.'33 Readers today react strongly against this pas- sage. Yet such a statement can be more fully un- derstood if it is seen in its proper context. Fuku- zawa's seemingly aggressive stance reflects the changing international relations in East Asia during those years. Moreover, Fukuzawa's con- cern with Korea had its o w n history. Fukuzawa had been acquainted with the Korean reformists, Pak Yong-hyo and K i m O k - kyun, since 1881. K i m had particularly close contacts with Fukuzawa34 as he came to Japan three times from 1882 to 1884 and received m u c h advice and every assistance from Fukuza- w a during his stay (each one extending over sev- eral months). Fukuzawa recommended the education of young m e n of talent, the enlighten- ment of the people through a 'newspaper', e m - phasized Korean sovereignty and independence from China. K i m first sent a group of young students to Keio-gijuku, the military academy and other Ja- panese schools. Secondly, the newspaper, or more properly speaking, a governmental bulle- tin, was published, three times a month, begin- ning in November 1883, through the efforts of Inoue Kakugoro (1859-1938), w h o was dis- patched by Fukuzawa in December 1882 and ap- pointed project adviser by the King. T h e third task, however, was extremely difficult to achieve, because since the 1882 anti-Japanese revolt by the Korean army, China had declared her suzerainty and held a firm grip over the K o - rean court. Fukuzawa's expectation for Korean pro- gress faded as Korean dependence upon China grew. 'Traditions' were obviously the life-long enemy of Fukuzawa; in such hopelessness he saw a parting of the ways - Japan choosing change, with Korea and China resisting it. A more sympathetic view of Fukuzawa's departure from Asia can be supported with the knowledge of his several years of effort in aiding enlighten- ment and reform in Korea. Fukuzawa's articles on Korea since 1881 were numerous but alwaysProfiles of educators: F u k u z a w a Yukichi (1835-1901) 295 emphasized its sovereignty and national inde- pendence. Rather, in ' O n Departure from Asia', he criticized Chinese imperialism and decided not to give China special consideration simply because they were neighbours. Fukuzawa's concern for w o m e n is apparent in his main writings, n o w collected in Fukuza- wa Yukichi on Japanese Women.35 F r o m today's perspective his position on w o m e n ' s rights seems somewhat restrained. N o one can deny that he was the only Meiji thinker w h o tirelessly argued for w o m e n ' s equality. In addition to sev- eral earlier articles, he wrote m u c h in the late 1880s on the subject.36 His focus was directed to where the biggest problem lay in Japan: w o - m e n ' s rights in the h o m e , the growth of their in- dependence there, and the removal of subjection of w o m e n to m e n in society. Fukuzawa criticized the customary ill con- duct of m e n towards w o m e n , and condemned the remaining polygamy. Both, he argued, were the most uncivilized customs of Japanese socie- ty. H e claimed basic equality of w o m e n and equal partnership of family property. H e wrote: Therefore, to teach them [women] at least an out- line of economics and law is the first requirement after giving them a general education. Figurative- ly speaking, it will be like providing the w o m e n of civilization with a pocket dagger for self-protec- tion.37 S o m e recent comments concerning his argu- ments on w o m e n suggests that Fukuzawa held too narrow a view. For example, he never sug- gested public activism for w o m e n , he encour- aged mainly the position of middle-class w o m e n and not those of the lower classes, he did not touch on the issue of w o m e n in labour (most of w h o m worked in poor conditions) and, lastly, he did not condemn the prostitution of poor girls or their overseas migration, as he regarded it as preferable to starvation. Despite the limitations of Fukuzawa's definition of equality of w o m e n , considering their position, his arguments were appreciated by w o m e n at the time as shown by the following letter brought anonymously by a lady to M r s Fukuzawa before his funeral: Every time I read Sensei's articles on Japanese w o - m e n in Jiji-shimpo, I thankfully feel that he is our real friend. Indeed, it is our deep sorrow to lose Sensei now. . . . With m y tears, I sincerely hope that Sensei's desires shall penetrate our country for ever. In summary, Fukuzawa was a 'teacher' of not only boys and girls in schools but also of Japa- nese m e n and w o m e n in his time, and m a y still be considered so. • Notes 1. In the text, Japanese personal names are written in the conventional Japanese order: the family name is put first and the given name second. 2. The education of commoners is discussed in the later sec- tion 'The encouragement of learning'. R . P. Dore, Educa- tion in Tokugawa Japan (London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965) is an excellent study of the education for both samurai and commoners at that time. 3. J. A . Kulumus, Ontleedkundige Tafelen [Anatomical Charts] (translated by G . Dicten), Amsterdam, D e Jan- soons van Waesberg, 1734. 4. Fukuzawa gave a first-hand account of the rank structure of samurai society in 'Kyuhanjo' [Conditions in an Old Feudal Clan] (translated by Carmen Blacker), Monumen- to Nipponica (Tokyo, Sophia University), Vol. IX, N o . 1, 1953. The terms 'feudal' and 'clan' seem inappropriate - the Tokugawa regime was in very many ways different from European feudalism. Fukuzawa emphasized in 1890 that the term 'feudal(-ism)' is a poor translation to de- scribe the ancien régime in Japan. In the field of contem- porary Japanese studies, the term 'domain' is used for 'clan'. In the text, this terminology is followed. 5. For example, Omura Masujiro (1828-69), the son of a commoner physician, learned Dutch at Tekijuku, then mastered military studies, and became the first Minister of the Army after the Restoration. 6. The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa (Fukuo jiden), Chapter IV, translated by E . Kiyooka, N e w York, Colum- bia University, 1966 (an enlarged version is n o w available from Hokuseido Press, Tokyo). 7. P . A . de Jong, Statistische Tafel van alle Landen der Aarde, Arnhem, 1854. 8. A Japanese fisherman (1827-98), rescued by añ American whaling boat, w h o returned h o m e after working on the boat for nine years. 9. American and British scholars, Blacker, Craig and others, prefer the translation Conditions in the West to Things Western. 10. More exactly the first part discussing 'social economy' was translated. T h e original (anonymous) book was pu- blished in the series of popular books entitled 'Chambers'296 Shunsaku Nishikawa Educational Course' (Edinburgh, 1852). I suppose Fuku- zawa purchased it in London in 1862. T h e author, a fa- m o u s Scottish writer (1809-81), was identified by Albert M . Craig several years ago. T h e quotation in the text comes from the Foreword of the Outside Volume. 11. B y April 1868, the school, located at nearby Mita, had no n a m e . T h e convention at the time was to pick some fa- vourite characters out of Chinese classics but Fukuzawa simply utilized the n a m e of the current era, Keio. It is ironic, however, that the n a m e of the era is, even today, taken traditionally from the Chinese classics. 'Gijuku' m a y imply 'public' school or 'college', and the whole pro- perty was transferred from Fukuzawa to a corporation. T h e school m o v e d to the Mita campus in 1871. 12. T h e textbook was Elements of Political Economy (Boston, 1837), m a n y copies of which Fukuzawa had purchased in N e w York or Washington in 1867. T h e author of the book was an American clergyman, F . Wayland (1796- 1865), w h o was President of Brown University. H e pu- blished another college textbook on moral science that Fukuzawa used in the following year (1869). 13. The Autobiography . . ., op. cit., p. 211. 14. D . A . Dilworth and U . Hirano (trans.), An Encouragement of Learning, Tokyo, Sophia University, 1969. 15. Ibid., p. 1. 16. Ibid., p. 2. 17. In fact, he referred to Jitsugo-kyo, a famous beginners' textbook in terakoya, on the opening page of the first essay oiAn Encouragement of Learning. For more information on terakoya, see Dore, op. cit. 18. Dilworth and Hirano, op. cit., p. 3. 19. Ibid., p. 5. 20. His selected speeches and addresses are translated in W . H . Oxford, The Speeches of Fukuzawa, Tokyo, Hokuseido Press, 1973; pictures of Enzetsukan are included in the book. 21. Letter to Shoda Heigoro, Collected Works, Vol. 17, p . 163 (in Japanese). 22. H e read Buckle and Guizot on European civilization, J. S. Mill, Consideration on Representative Government and other writings, as well as notable Japanese historians. A s far as Chinese history is concerned, he had learned enough in spite of his short schooling (see The Autobiog- raphy . . ., op. cit., p. 8). 23. D . A . Dilworth and G . C . Hurst (trans.), An Outline of a Theory of Civilization, Tokyo, Sophia University, 1973. 24. Ibid., p. 35. 25. Ibid., pp. 37, 135. 26. Fukuzawa had already read the stage theory in J. H . Bur- ton's Political Economy, pp. 6 - 7 , in which three stages are called 'barbarous and/or primitive', 'half civilized' and 'ci- vilized'. 27. T h e title of Chapter 2 . 28. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization, p . 193. 29. Ibid., p. 193. These arguments are critically examined in the chapter. Three arguments listed have not m u c h rele- vance to religion but m a y be called reactionary national- istic, Westernized and conservative neo-Confucian, res- pectively. 30. 'Keio-gijuku kiji' (A Short History of Keio-gijuku), writ- ten by him, and published in a bulletin for raising funds. N o Keio fellow other than Fukuzawa noticed such a change in the composition of students. 31. Fukuzawa Yukichi zenshu, Tokyo, Iwanami shoten, 1958-64 (in Japanese, 22 vols.). 32. For example the sixth and seventh essays caused a heated controversy. Fukuzawa's rejoinder is given in the Appen- dix to An Encouragement of Learning. 33. T h e article was published in Jiji-shimpo, 16 March 1885. T h e translation by Sinh Vinh is given in Fukuzawa Yuk- ichi nenkan [Annals], Vol. 11, Mita, Tokyo, Fukuzawa Yukichi kyokai, 1984. 34. Fore more details about K i m Ok-kyun and his close rela- tionship with Fukuzawa, see K . K w a n g , The Korean Re- form Movement of the 1880s, pp. 78-92, Cambridge, Mass., Schenkman, 1978. 35. E . Kiyooka (ed. and trans.), Fukuzawa Yukichi on Japa- nese Women, University of Tokyo Press, 1988. Kiyooka al- so edited and translated Fukuzawa Yukichi on Education, also published by the University of Tokyo Press, 1985. 36. Fukuzawa had been very m u c h concerned with w o m e n ' s rights since the mid-1870s - see Kiyooka, Fukuzawa Yukichi on Japanese Women, op. cit., p. 174. About that time he also read J. S. 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Original research article, examining gender issues in education: exploring confounding experiences on three female educators’ professional knowledge landscapes.

1 Department of Art and Design, Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH, United States
2 Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
3 Asian American Studies Center, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States

Business sources report that it will take 124 years for females to achieve parity in the workforce. Parity relates to compensation but also includes working conditions. The latter topic is taken up in this article using narrative inquiry as our method of investigation. Narrative inquiry—inquiring into narratives—employs three research tools: broadening, burrowing and storying/re-storying. To these tools, fictionalization, a fourth tool, is added. This is because the interwoven cases involve easily identifiable others and precautions need to be taken. This article discusses gender matters lived and told, and re-lived and re-told, over the career continuum of three women who have worked in public school and university settings. As females, they periodically encountered situations where they were perceived, interpreted, and responded to differently than males. The article looks at early, mid, and recent career challenges experienced in the female educators’ places of work. This research using narrative methods looks backward, forward, inside, and out through processes of individual and group reflection. It begins with bio-sketches, which were prepared individually. After that, the aforementioned research tools are used to unpack early, middle, and current career happenings. Reflective unpacking of the three females’ experiences within a community of critical friendship allowed for greater understanding and meaning-making to occur. The underlying intent of this work is to understand the shaping forces of gender on women’s professional lives—not to name and shame those who got away with acting the ways in which they did. The significance of the work lies in its use of narrative exemplars that are transparent, have a ring of authenticity to them, and promote trustworthiness and relatability when shared with others.

Introduction

When part of Carol Gilligan’s (1977) In a different voice was listed as a required reading in a research methods course a few years back, one female student immediately divulged that she had never experienced gender issues in the workplace or felt that males made sense of their experiences differently than females. A hush fell over the classroom. Some females looked like they might literally jump out of their skin; other males and females lowered their gazes so as not to affirm the existence of the phenomenon. The female student continued: “Perhaps we are discussing a past generation of women?”

As women representing different age groups of female scholars (with first author, Michaelann Kelley, being younger than Cheryl Craig and Gayle Curtis), we wondered whether this was the case. While we, as authors, agree in principle that successive generations of women have paved the way to paper statements of gender equality, which we currently enjoy, we are also acutely aware that some gender matters—such as microaggressions—remain unresolved. This is not unusual, given that a popular conception is that the field of education is a last stronghold of male privilege ( Belenky et al., 1986 ; Asadi and Ali, 2021 ; Monroy et al., 2021 ).

In this article, each of us as members of our three author team takes up an early career experience when we first became aware that different privileges were afforded men. We then follow our early experience with a middle career experience and ending with a recent lived experience in our current places of work. We follow these narratives of experience ( Connelly and Clandinin, 1988 ) with our interim reflective analysis and unpacking. We close with overarching themes that traverse our narrative exemplars and implications for the future. After that, we discuss our conclusions. For now, we launch this article with our literature review and research method.

Literature review

Six bodies of literature are germane to the inquiry at hand: (1) status of women in education; (2) education, experience, and life; (3) professional knowledge landscapes; (4) identity; (5) gendered self; and (6) context.

Status of women in education

The Harvard Business Review calculated that it will take 124 years for females to achieve parity in the workforce ( Gallop and Chomorro-Premuzic, 2022 ). Parity has to do with compensation but it also includes working conditions. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) (2018) reported that women make up the majority of non-tenure-track lecturers and instructors across all American institutions of higher learning, but only 44% of tenure-track faculty and 36% of full professors. Women of color are especially underrepresented in college faculty and staff, which escalates diversity, equity and inclusion issues in teaching practices and curriculum as well as the availability of role models and support systems for females ( Hopkins et al., 2019 ). About 30% of college presidents are women, with more than 50% of department head positions being filled by women ( Bichsel and McChesney, 2017 ). Females only make up approximately 30% of college boards of directors ( American Council of Education, 2017 ). AAUP stated that women are still paid less than men at every faculty rank and in most positions within institutional leadership ( Hopkins et al., 2019 ; Colby and Fowler, 2020 ), with higher education administrators experiencing around a 20% gender pay gap and college presidents having a pay gap under 10% [ American Association of University Women, (n.d.) ]. Where science and innovation awards are concerned, females are catching up, but the awards they achieve are neither equivalent to their share of tenure-track positions ( Watson, 2021 ) nor at the level of prestige of males, which may contribute to their dropping out of the STEM disciplines ( Uzi, 2019 ). Overall, women, while achieving similar article and citation counts, need to increase their awards by 50% in order “to achieve parity” with men ( Meho, 2021 ). Most recently, females in academia have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, with their research and funding falling behind presumably due to their added caregiving responsibilities. Also, more women are not accepting leadership positions and some have chosen to leave academia altogether ( Newman, 2022 ) becoming part of what is now being called the “great resignation” ( Lodewick, 2022 ). At the very least, OECD has concluded that there is an urgent, ongoing need to review equity policies to ensure that society is not accommodating itself to the detriment of women ( Vincent-Lancrin, 2008 ).

Education, experience and life

Dewey (1938) connected education, experience and life in profound ways. For him, human experience—and most especially memories of said experiences ( Ben-Peretz, 1995 )—is what sets human beings apart from animals. For Connelly (1995) , “memory [works to] connect meaning to experience for events, chronicles, stories, and narratives” ( Connelly, 1995 , p. vxi). Two kinds of experience exist: (1) educative—experiences that enhance one’s education—and (2) miseducative—experiences that detract from the quality of one’s education. Cumulatively, educational experiences constitute formal and informal education. Taken together, education, fueled by ongoing experiences and memories of past experiences, become interwoven to form human life as we know it. It follows that lives are not fixed. Lives are always in motion because experience unceasingly unfolds and education, particularly informal education, continues to take place. And, as Conle (2001) points out,

This seems appropriate if one considers good teaching not primarily as an accomplishment in appropriate planning, excellent techniques, and thoughtful pedagogical moves, but as a lived accomplishment that is intimately linked to the way one lives one’s life and relates to people and deals with patterns of teaching and learning that were acquired earlier in life (p. 22).

Professional knowledge landscapes

Educators’ lives unfold on a professional knowledge landscape. This landscape consists of both in-classroom and out-of-classroom places ( Clandinin and Connelly, 1995 ). In-classroom places are the places where teachers may live out secret stories of teaching with students as these places are relatively unmonitored. However, in the out-of-classroom place, that is where all the prescriptions and mandates come to teachers via a metaphorical conduit ( Clandinin and Connelly, 1995 ; Craig and Olson, 2002 ), which tells them what they can and cannot do. These places on the professional knowledge landscape are not impermeable. Teachers may share stories from their in-classroom places in out-of-classroom places. Alternatively, people from out-of-classroom places may be welcomed into in-classroom places at a teacher’s discretion.

Identity, in narrative terms, is “stories to live by” Clandinin and Connelly (1998) and Connelly and Clandinin (1999) . “Stories to live by” are narratives that are not fixed. They shift with ongoing experience as people re-story their pasts and lean into their futures. Three kinds of identity shifting stories have been identified: (1) “stories of staying” ( Craig, 2014 ), (2) “stories of leaving” ( Craig, 2014 ) and (3) “stories to start over again” ( Craig, 2017 ). Humans can have more than one narrative unfolding at one time in their lives—for example, stories of staying and stories of leaving—followed by stories to begin again by. However, when a tipping point is reached, the favored narrative becomes assumed in one’s “stories to live by.”

Gendered selves

Gender Studies and Women’s Studies are fields all their own in addition to being broadly a part of psychology. Where education is concerned, gender became a hot topic when psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg posited six stages of moral development based on universal principles, using only male subjects in his investigation. His student, Gilligan (1977 , 1993) , challenged his theory, building on her work with women, which suggested that morality was contextual and relational. Belenky et al. (1986) went on to advance William Perry’s work in cognitive development and Gilligan’s research on the moral/personal development of women. Belenky et al. examined epistemology—that is, “ways of knowing”—of a diverse group of women through focusing on their identities and their intellectual development in a range of contexts that included, but was not limited to, their formal education settings. Gilligan et al. (1990) also studied the relationships between and among adolescent girls at Emma Willard School in New York State. We especially include this latter work because Nona Lyons, Carol Gilligan’s student, is best known to those of us in teaching and teacher education for her work on portfolio development (we are members of the Portfolio Group) ( Lyons, 1998 ), reflective inquiry (we published chapters in her edited handbook) ( Craig, 2010 ; Kelley et al., 2010 ; Lyons, 2010 ) and narrative inquiry ( Lyons and LaBoskey, 2002 ) [ Craig (2002) wrote a chapter in this volume and also had Nona Lyons as her external examiner for her final Ph.D. defense ( Craig, 1992 )].

Context, otherwise known as milieu, is one of education’s commonplaces. Schwab (1973 , p. 72) established that all educational situations have four commonplaces, that is—“bodies of experience”—to which attention must be paid: teacher, learner, subject matter and milieu. Commonplaces such as milieu (context) are near irrefutable ( Goodson, 2009 ). Milieu can be as small as the backdrop of a conversation that has taken place or as large as geopolitics and differing ramifications on different nations. For Schwab, “knowledge of a context of discourses [Note: multiple discourses; not one discourse] gives us…a fuller knowledge of the scope and meaning of the conclusions.” This led Schwab to declare that “To the question, how big a context? There is no clear answer. There is yet more to know or more to know about” ( Schwab, 1956/1978 , p. 153). The phrases, to know and to know about, imply that, for Schwab, there would be infinitely more to do and think about doing. This disciplined approach to knowing and doing eventually led to Schwab declaring that “the problems of education arise from exceedingly complex actions, reactions, and transactions...these doings constitute a skein of myriad threads which know no boundaries” ( Schwab, 1971 , p. 329).

These six bodies of literature are the foundation to our perspective in our work as educators and researchers. We are bound by who we are and live our lives in accordance with our beliefs and values. The literature review gives you a window into our work and the narratives will give you a path to walk alongside us on our journey.

Research methods

Overview of narrative inquiry.

Narrative inquiry focuses on human lives through the concept of experience ( Clandinin and Connelly, 2000 ; Caine et al., 2021 ) and spans the disciplines. Because narrative inquiry attends to lives, it necessarily makes sense of a plethora of human experiences, including those involving gender. This works particularly well for females who are highly adept at communicating their sense of knowing through story ( Belenky et al., 1986 ).

Research tools

Narrative inquiry–or inquiring into narratives–has three original research tools: broadening, burrowing and storying-restorying ( Clandinin and Connelly, 1990 , 2000 ). Broadening captures the context within which a three-dimensional experience (time, place, and interaction) ( Dewey, 1938 ) takes place. Burrowing digs deeply into the fine-grained details of the experience, including one’s memories of it, and foregrounds specific interactions for analysis purposes. Meanwhile, storying-restorying is what happens as a narrative is told and re-told, lived and re-lived over time. Memory distinguishes empirical texts from fictional ones ( Connelly, 1995 ). Storying and restorying of experience animates subtle shifts that take place over time.To these three tools, a fourth tool—fictionalization—is added. Fictionalization masks the identities of others in the shared stories of experience but not their words or emotions. This article reveals subtle and not-so-subtle experiences of three females over their career continua—experiences that would unlikely happen to males in the same positions and at similar levels of achievement.

Sources of evidence

As authors, we use our personal journals as our main sources as evidence as well as conversations we have had with one another as knowledge community members, our critical friends, and Portfolio Group members. Knowledge communities ( Craig, 1995a , b ) are those individuals to whom we take our stories of experience for feedback and further interpretation. It follows that different knowledge communities provide different instruction. As foreshadowed, the Portfolio Group is a group of teacher researchers that have worked in relationship with one another since 1998.

Truth claims

The experiential narratives shared in this chapter resonate with each of us as authors and with one another as knowledge community members who also have shared memories of Portfolio Group conversations. Ultimately, the verisimilitude of the accounts we share will extend to readers who we imagine will lay their stories across time and in place alongside our own.

Interim summary

This article looks backward, forward, inside and out through processes of individual and group reflection. Drawing on our research topic supported by our review of the literature, our data presentation begins with our three introductory bio-sketches. Narrative inquiry’s analytical tools, along with fictionalization, are then utilized to unpack an early, middle, and more recent scenario in each of their careers that show shifts and changes in the “multiple worlds [we] inhabit” ( Caine et al., 2021 , p. 37).

Stories of experience

Michaelann Kelley, Ed.D. is Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of Art & Design at Mount St. Joseph University founded by the Sisters of Charity, and has had seven presidents, the last few of which have been male. Before joining academia, Kelley worked as an art teacher for 23 years and then served as the district’s Director of Visual Arts for almost 6 years in Northwest ISD. The district situated in the 4th largest city in the US was also the 10th largest school district (almost 80,000 students) in the state. The district, closing in its 87th year anniversary, since 1958 has had six superintendents of which the last three, since 2001, have been women. Kelley has received numerous awards including being named Eagle High School’s Teacher of the Year, 1999, the 2013 Stanford University Outstanding Teaching Award, 2020 National Art Education Association Western Region Supervision & Administration Art Educator, and 2021 Texas Art Education Association Distinguished Fellows honor.

Early career experience

Michaelann’s career could have been so different if not for her childhood experiences and her first principal. She was raised, as was her mother, to get an university education which during the 1950s was not the norm. Her mother went to university and received her bachelors in chemistry. Michaelann’s parents valued a ‘good’ education as did her grandparents. Michaelann attributed that to her grandmother’s father dying in 1918 when she was 15, leaving his wife and five girls to provide for the family during the depression. Michaelann’s parents, just like her maternal grandparents, chose to send their girls to a private all-girl Catholic high school. In fact, she went to the same high school as her mother, even had some of the same teachers. As she reflected back, this decision and the experiences of her family greatly influenced her thinking and beliefs on the roles and responsibilities of a woman. Michaelann described the experience as, “When you attend an all-girl school, the class officers are girls, the president and the secretary are women, the sports activities are centered on girls’ sports, and the theater plays are female-oriented.” This was her world for some very formative years in her life. This foundational time in high school, supported by family expectations and their lived stories provided her with what Michaelann recognizes now as a non-traditional perspective on stereotypical gender roles for women. After graduating with her masters and teaching degree, she could not find a teaching position in the state where she grew up. “The world was changing in the early 90s and women no longer quit working when they got married and started having children,” was how Michaelann talked about that time in her life. Therefore, the turnover in the female-dominated field of education was not happening. Luckily, through the networks that she had forged, Michaelann received a call from a school district in Texas.

Michaelann took a position in a large diverse city with little knowledge of the school, district, or even the city. As it turned out, she was very fortunate that Henry Richards was her principal. He was an innovator and a wonderful mentor. He could see the potential in his teachers and knew how to bring out the best in everyone. Michaaelann stated,

Henry saw in me more than I even saw in myself; he was the one that gave me the responsibility for the large school reform grant. He saw my straight forward direct attitude as an asset, rather than what some people might see as bossy and pushy in a woman.

Michaelann thought he understood her attitude more as a trait of a leader. He encouraged her to take advantage of all the opportunities afforded during the large school reform grant, but his most endearing quality was that he listened. She described it as, “He was masterful at asking the “right” questions to open a space for you to reflect and learn for yourself.” He never tried to “fix” the problem for you. He knew how to support his teachers and their future as leaders.

Middle career experience

As a new district administrator (Director of Visual Arts) in the 4th largest city in the US, Michaelann was surprised to learn that her ‘true’ peers in the surrounding school districts’ hierarchy and in terms of responsibility were not those who initially reached out to her. The first to welcome Michaelann were the Visual Arts Coordinators, a predominantly female group representing over 10 area districts. As she began attending cross-district education meetings and engaging in committee work, Michaelann discovered that she was the only district director participating in the group. She learned that the directors for the other districts were men and that the women that Michaelann had been working with reported to these male supervisors who were mostly former band directors. Upon further investigation, she learned that the women she was working with were not given access to budgets and strategic planning for their content area. In addition, their duties and daily agendas were assigned by their male supervisors. Michaelann’s job description, on the other hand, included budgeting, strategic planning, and curriculum and instruction development, as it seemed she was the only woman in the area with those responsibilities.

When Michaelann worked as the district arts administrator in the 10th largest public school district in Texas, it was under the leadership of its third female superintendent. In the context of her work, the majority of visual arts district coordinators were women, yet the positions of power in the budgeting, strategic planning, and curriculum and instruction were held mostly by men. Consequently, the voices of leadership and future direction for the visual arts were still male dominant.

Recent career experience

After 28 years in public education as a visual arts teacher then a district administrator, Michaelann moved into higher education. She returned to the university from which she had graduated, a once all-women Catholic college established in 1920 which was designed and founded to counter the inequities in society for women at the time and which continues to enable women to crack the professional glass ceiling today. Now a coeducational university, Michaelann finds it interesting, thought provoking, and at times challenging to work in a context that in some ways is still in transition after making the shift to co-ed 20 years ago. Founded by the Sisters of Charity, the university had a 100-year history of strong female leadership and well-prepared female graduates. While university enrollment in 2020 showed a close balance of females to males to (57 and 43% respectively), active recruitment of male students is a strategic priority of the university. Whereas women have held a long history of leadership in the university, females must now compete with males for those same leadership roles on campus. University-wide, faculty positions are 62% female and 38% male, and the leadership positions (president, provost, dean) 62% female and 38% male. In her department (Art and Design), however, female students greatly outnumber males. The constant push in recruiting efforts for more male students is there, but as she is the chair of the department and responsible for recruiting efforts, it seems that interested high school seniors are still mostly female. Michaelann stated, “I am glad that our department has strong female role models to guide and mentor our art and design students.” While the university is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in promoting a sense of belonging for all students, Michaelann is constantly aware of the need to continue chipping away at the professional, social, and economic barriers that women face in the fields of art, design, and education.

Cheryl Craig, Ph.D. is a Professor and Endowed Chair in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture in the School of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. She was employed in the public school system in Alberta, Canada for 15 years as well as taught courses at Canadian universities for 14 of those years. For two of those years, she was also employed by an American university to teach graduate courses on Canada’s west coast. Since immigrating to the US, Cheryl has worked at three research-intensive universities–for a grand total of six universities in all. She is an AERA Fellow and a recipient of the Division B (Curriculum) and Division K (Teacher Education) lifetime achievement/legacy awards. She has also received AERA’s Michael Huberman Award for her outstanding contributions to understanding the lives of teachers.

Cheryl often shares the story of being told earlier in her career that she was too young for this position and too young for that one. She never seemed to be the right age either in the school district or at the universities where she worked. Either she appeared more youthful or her employers were seeking candidates older than her whose turns had not yet come up. Cheryl even wore dark suits and matte makeup to make herself appear older. Nothing she tried interrupted the “too young” plotline. It seemed like the “too young” story was one with which she was saddled. That narrative appeared to be fixed and unchanging, regardless of the university or school positions for which she applied. However, as she reflects back on these early career scenarios connected to age (with decisions based on age currently being against the law), Cheryl now sees—with the benefit of hindsight—that the search committees who interviewed her could easily attribute her lack of selection to her youth and her having a long and successful career ahead of her where she could assume advanced positions. However, in retrospect, she now thinks this was most likely a cover story ( Clandinin and Connelly, 1995 ; Olson and Craig, 2005 ). In reality, Canada was transitioning to becoming a bilingual, multicultural country. This meant fewer White candidates would be hired into leadership positions so that diverse others could be given equal opportunities and representation. So, during the early period of her career, Cheryl repeatedly ‘lost’ job competitions in school districts and universities to strong women of color: women who could satisfy two diversity boxes (female, non-White) as gender equality was simultaneously being sought. Then, when White males applied for similar positions, they were more likely to be appointed because White females like Cheryl and other women like her had made bilingualism, multiculturalism, and other forms of diversity possible. It can be said that society made huge strides forward where diversity and multiculturalism were concerned, arguably thanks to women (among others). Had Cheryl not run into this brick wall time-and-time again in Canada, she probably would not have immigrated to the U.S. for employment reasons. As an interesting aside, she never encountered this barrier when she moved to the American South where universities and school districts were already highly diverse with visible minoritized populations. Also, she was older by that time and had earned her Ph.D. from a research-intensive university and had been named a Postdoctoral Fellow at a world university, which, along with her other school and university experiences, substituted for her ever being a tenure-track Assistant Professor, a position that she “skipped” due to the longer periods of time she spent in other positions when she was younger.

Some years later, when Cheryl met with her university department chair to discuss her promotion from associate professor to full professor, he said Cheryl had probably amassed sufficient scholarship to be advanced in her position. However, he added that ‘the men’ in administration would not like her research. His mention of ‘the men’ hit Cheryl the wrong way. In all fairness, this was not the first time she had bristled when the authority of males drove a wedge between her desires and her. As a child, her mother, in performing her gender-based role in the family, always made certain that everything was done for ‘the men’—Cheryl’s father and older brother—before anything involving her and/or Cheryl could be entertained. Cheryl had learned early about white male superiority/entitlement. But the women’s movement had happened in the interim and Cheryl, as a female going up for full professor, expected—at least on paper—non gender-biased, workplace treatment. So why were ‘the men,’ albeit different ones, decades later, in a different country nonetheless, still playing powerful determining roles in her career? ‘The men’ comment created a tension between Cheryl’s chair and her that would last his entire tenure and beyond that because Cheryl ironically was in charge of the program area to which he returned in his post-chair years. When Cheryl asserted that it was ‘not about “the men” but about the scholarly community,’ a near-holy war broke out between them. To begin, he did not give her the opportunity to contribute names for the evaluation of her promotion file, despite that courtesy being stated in policy. On his own, he chose all the possible reviewers. Also, whenever Cheryl passed through the department office, he would inform (bully?) her that her file was not progressing. But, on one such occasion, he could not resist. “Dr. Craig,” he bellowed, “you should be very happy today.” Cheryl shrugged, not wanting to trigger new issues. After he repeated himself, Cheryl admitted to not knowing anything about the promotion procedures and turned to exit the office. He could no longer remain silent. He divulged that he had received a letter from the editor of a top journal in Cheryl’s area of expertise. He then added, “And he has written you a letter better than your mother could have written.” Cheryl smiled sweetly (as females are inclined to do) and truthfully, but pointedly, replied, “That’s excellent because my mother does not like to write letters.” In the end, Cheryl learned that four scholars evaluated her promotion materials: (1) the SSCI journal editor (already mentioned), (2) a famous Stanford University professor, (3) a renowned national teacher educator, and (4) a well-known quantitative researcher who was a dean. The journal editor knew of her through her advisors’ work and her own published articles; the Stanford professor had attended presentations and interacted with her at national and international conferences; the teacher educator had used one of her chapters as a reading in his/her teacher education classes; and the quantitative researcher/dean was her chair’s friend who neither knew about her research, nor about her. Cheryl suspected her chair entered him into the mix, possibly thinking (hoping?) the senior male would write a scathing review. However, her chair’s friend did nothing of the sort. He, like the others, said that Cheryl’s research record was impeccable and that any research-intensive university would employ her. Since Cheryl’s promotion to full professor, she has marveled at the letter that the quantitative researcher/dean submitted ( Craig, 2020 ). It helped her, as a female scholar, to become a full professor in 10 years, despite the systemic issues of gender that perpetually swirled around her as she moved through the academic ranks in two countries.

Currently, a full professor, an Endowed Chair, a teacher education program lead, and an AERA Fellow in a different American university, Cheryl experiences new iterations of gender issues. Recently, it was implied that she was “greedy” where awards and grants were concerned. Cheryl’s response was that awards and grants are honors conferred on her through a rigorous selection process, not something she excessively demands ( Craig and Ratnam, 2021 ; Ratnam and Craig, 2021 ). When this exchange unfurled, it stopped Cheryl dead in her tracks. She immediately thought that a distinguished male professor would not be told the story that had just been given back to her. She thought that straw dog man would be congratulated for how strong a scholar he is, the abundance of honors and fame he has brought to the institution, and how he will be nominated for many more such awards in the future. Cheryl knew on the spot that what she had been told slighted her achievements and shamed her for being accomplished. The comment suggested that she was demanding awards and grants rather than earning them competitively through merit and ongoing excellence. However, because this has been such a fresh experience, it is notably shorter because it has not had the benefit of being reflected on over time. It is an experience that remains in the midst of unfurling and in the throws of unknotting.

Gayle Curtis, Ed.D. is Program Director with Asian American Studies at University of Houston and Postdoctoral Research Associate at Texas A&M University. Looking to give more back to the community after an extensive career in the oil and gas industry and service to the Latino community, Curtis returned to university to obtain her certification in bilingual education and supervision. After 15 years in public education as a bilingual teacher and school administrator, she followed her passion for learning to university where she received her doctorate in curriculum and instruction. She received the 2014 AERA Narrative Research SIG Outstanding Dissertation Award for her dissertation, Harmonic Convergence: Parallel Stories of a Novice Teacher and a Novice Researcher and the 2019 American Education Research Association (AERA) Narrative SIG Outstanding Publication Award for the co-authored article “The Embodied Nature of Narrative Knowledge: A Cross-Study Analysis of Embodied Knowledge in Teaching, Learning, and Life.”

After working in industry where all the mentors supporting her professional growth and development were male, it was quite a transition for Gayle to move into the female-dominated field of education. Before she even began her career as a bilingual, white female in education, two situations seemed to indicate from whence would come her support in her new career pathway. Both occurred in her search for a bilingual teaching position as she familiarized herself with area schools by substitute teaching part-time during her last semester for a bachelor’s degree in bilingual education.

The first situation happened after substituting for several days at Baker Elementary in what teachers described as a “hard to handle class.” The team level teachers shared their appreciation for how Gayle worked with students, then encouraged her to apply for an open position in their level and even arranged for an interview with the school principal. Having not previously met the school’s male Latino principal, she was eager to discuss the possibility of joining the team. At the interview, however, Gayle had barely sat down when the principal began challenging her decision to be a bilingual educator. “What makes you think that you can teach Hispanic children? You are not Hispanic and have no business teaching Hispanic children.” Taken aback, she assured him of her qualifications, thanked him for his time, and informed him that she would look elsewhere for a position. At the time, it bothered her that the principal made no inquiries into her background (she was a longtime member of the local Latino community) nor made any effort to determine her abilities (he had not observed her teaching). She turned to her university advisor, Dr. D.—also a white female bilingual educator fluent in Spanish—for advice and reassurance. Dr. D. encouraged Gayle to not take the principal’s comments personally and to hold to her convictions where bilingual education, teaching, and the needs of Latino students were concerned. According to Gayle, “Dr. D.’s words were an affirmation that I had chosen the right path for me personally and professionally. She also reinforced my confidence in finding a teaching position.”

Somewhat of a counter story occurred during Gayle’s long-term substitute assignment at Fairmont Elementary, a highly sought after school with no teacher openings. One afternoon, she sat with a group of teachers eager to give her advice on which schools to look at for potential employment. When Gayle shared her upcoming interview at Panther Elementary, several teachers suggested that it might be a difficult school for a first-year teacher because of its location in one of the city’s lowest-economic and high crime areas. Gayle explained, “I was unaware that Fairmont’s principal (a Latina) had entered the room behind me and had been listening to our conversation. She stepped up to the group, turned to me, and said, ‘Those students need good teachers, too.’ Her words really resonated with me. I interpreted them to mean that more important than the school’s location were the needs of the students.” As it turned out, Gayle had three offers of employment but chose Panther as the school in which to begin her career in education…never regretting her decision. According to Gayle, these two female educators—her advisor and Fairmont’s principal—were the first of many women to support her journey in education.

In Gayle’s middle career as a school administrator—long before the “Me Too” movement—she had a number of interactions with females who shared past experiences of inappropriate behavior on the part of male supervisors but were reluctant to say anything at the time for fear of retribution in the workplace. Consequently, most of the incidents had occurred several years before they were shared with Gayle. One female colleague shared that one of the male administrators would sometimes come up behind her while she was typing at her computer and put his hands on her shoulders. She explained that felt she could not express her discomfort because he was her supervisor. When the same thing happened to Gayle, she immediately responded by telling her colleague to remove his hands and to not touch her in that way again. She explained, “Because I felt this person did not understand personal boundaries, I thought it necessary to then explain why what some might consider casual or friendly touching might also be interpreted as overly familiar and unwanted.” Another situation shared with Gayle, this time by a group of female teachers, occurred at a hotel during a conference. As the group readied themselves to go to bed, their male supervisor—on the pretext of needing to relay information—demanded entry into their hotel room, going so far as to state emphatically that they “had to” let him in because he was their supervisor. As in the previous story, this group of women explained to Gayle that they were afraid not to comply with “the request,” for fear that it would be reflected negatively on their evaluations. Gayle explained, “Even though these incidents occurred prior to my becoming a lead administrator, I was compelled and felt obligated to have what were some very, very difficult conversations with my male colleagues.”

After many years in public education—first as a bilingual teacher, then program coordinator, then school administrator, a deteriorating work environment, politically-charged system, and the accumulation of a series of “spoken/unspoken broken promises” ( Craig et al., 2020 ; Kelley et al., 2021 ) became Gayle’s “story of leaving” ( Craig, 2014 ). While transitioning into “retirement,” her passion for teaching and learning led her to fulfill a long-term dream of obtaining her doctorate in education. During her doctoral studies, Gayle worked in higher education as both a research assistant and as a clinical instructor, giving her a “taste” of academia. Upon graduation, however, she decided to continue her career along a non-tenure pathway. She explained,

After years of climbing the professional ladder and navigating the choppy waters of public education, I was fortunate to be in a financial position that enabled me to choose a career pathway that enabled me to focus on research and teaching minus the entanglements that often accompany tenure-track positions.

For Gayle, the decision has allowed her to live her best-loved self as an education researcher and teacher educator.

Since moving to higher education, however, she has frequently been asked, “Why are you not a professor?” Interestingly, this question has come most often from men who are either doctoral students she taught or junior faculty working alongside her. In somewhat of a counter narrative, female doctoral students and faculty most often inquire into how Gayle acquired her knowledge and expertise in research and teaching. For Gayle, this dichotomy has raised questions about perspectives on personal goals in that one group of individuals (males) have seemed more focused on end-results of career attainment and the other group (females) more focused on the process of developing into an educator/researcher.

Unpacking our experiential narratives

As heterosexual females, we recognize that our interpretation and analysis of gendered experiences are often shaped by our binary lenses leading us to consider such situations in terms of female and male. We understand that others who have an LGBTQ+ lens bring different perspectives, experiences, and interpretations to similar situations. Despite these varied lenses, at the core of gendered experiences—such as those shared here—is the role that power plays in the education landscape.

Unpacking Michaelann’s stories of experience

Michaelann’s early career story reflects a counter narrative ( Clandinin and Connelly, 2004 ) to the ‘traditional’ story of women and their expected roles in society. Even though her upbringing was sheltered from some of the harsh realities of society’s limiting view of women, she chose a career that is a very traditionally woman-dominated venue—education. Michaelann found a home and a place to flourish as a teacher leader through the guidance of a male principal, Henry Richards. He encouraged all teachers, both male and female, to take on leadership roles and supported their development as teacher leaders. While Henry’s innovative shared leadership approach stood in stark contrast to the micro-management approach to school administration that was common at the time, it created a generative space in which female teachers like Michaelann could flourish.

The middle career story of Michaelann illustrates how one must not rely solely on titles as a gauge of gender parity, showing the need to look closely at job descriptions and assigned responsibilities to determine if parity is indeed accomplished. The discrepancies in titles and responsibilities that Michaelann observed brought to reality the glass ceiling that is still present in many careers, including a female-dominated profession like education.

In Michaelann’s last narrative of experience, she poses questions that she has been contemplating on how changes, shifts, and transitions at her new institution are reflective of what is occurring throughout academia. In light of the recent uproar around Title IX, she wonders how the change from a college established for women to a university that is striving for diversity will affect the institution? While some groups celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX in 2022; as in the artwork ( Figure 1 ) created by one of Michaelann’s students fulfilling a social justice studio assignment; it is under fire from other factions. The students were given a choice on the social justice topic that they were passionate about. Kerigan chose Title IX as she has found that being a female soccer player the opportunities are much different than her male counterparts, especially at the collegiate level. Elsesser (2022) reported that, “Women’s scholarships, leadership programs, awards, and even gym hours are being eliminated or canceled by universities because they discriminate against men. Complaints are being filed with the Department of Education (DOE) about programs and funding for women at universities across the country, and the DOE is taking action (para. 1). Furthermore,

Figure 1 . Student art work illustrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

Last year, Biden signed an executive order stating, ‘It is the policy of my Administration that all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex.’ It’s unlikely he was referring to eliminating scholarships and awards for women, but that seems to be an unintended effect of enforcing these codes ( Elsesser, 2022 , para. 11).

This is a very new and beginning story with the ending yet to unfold.

Unpacking Cheryl’s stories of experience

Cheryl’s early career story naturally brings to the fore the idea of society accommodating itself on the backs of those most present to be taken advantage of–with one of many of these groups being women. It furthermore shows how simultaneously advancing women and those who are minoritized advantaged some females to the disadvantage of other females–with all females ultimately being trumped by males who fell in only one category. This realization reminded Cheryl of her early research in Alberta schools. The principal with whom she worked spoke of principals like himself as “kingmakers” ( Craig, 1999 ), which meant they prepared (male) assistant principals to be principals of other campuses. Cheryl never heard a parallel story of female principals being “queenmakers.” Cheryl’s first principal was male but the other five leaders she had were females. Perhaps it is safe to say that males’ kingmaking on their campuses had more effect in decision making processes than strong female principals and principal candidates who were not into a queenmaking secret story ( Clandinin and Connelly, 1995 ), although they probably intuited male’s kingmaking efforts? Furthermore, cover stories were also at work as well. Cheryl’s age was used as a ruse for a systemic change happening in every sector of Canada. Only in retrospect could she locate what was happening personally to her to larger societal phenomena (gender equality, multiculturalism, bilingualism) unfurling throughout the educational system and around that nation.

Cheryl’s middle career narrative specifically relates to gender and how Cheryl’s award-winning research program could be judged by males in power in such a way that she could be denied entry into the scholarly community despite her strong eligibility (She had held the only fully funded Canadian post-doctoral fellowship in the country). At first, Cheryl bristled and resisted but then she fell silent, not wanting to fan the flames of gender inequity and controversy. She eventually learned that her chair had sent her file to some of the most influential figures in the field and that each of them—even her chair’s dean friend who conducted quantitative research—wrote eloquently in her favor. However, Cheryl remains awake to the fact that others whom her chair knew likely would not have been as generous in their evaluations.

In Cheryl’s recent story, she is a leading professor in the field of education nationally and internationally. Yet, she still faces challenges. When she shows initiative and applies for grants and/or is nominated by other women for awards, her achievements are likened to a display of excessive entitlement on her part. Rather than Cheryl receiving the same kind of respect as males leading the fields of education or the sciences would receive, she is accused of gaming the system through demanding awards and grants be given to her. Her hard work and cumulative academic record–in short, her merit–does not hold the same weight as males and those in the sciences.

Unpacking Gayle’s stories of experience

Gayle’s initial take on her early career experience with the male Latino principal who stated she had “no business teaching Hispanic children” was that the principal perhaps held a bias against white’s in the field, perhaps thinking that whites in bilingual education would look down on or be condescending toward Hispanic youth. Reflecting back and restorying the incident from a gender lens, however, yields a different perspective. The idea that the principal immediately challenged Gayle rather than engage her in conversation about the position and her experience seems to indicate that the principal had already determined that he would not hire Gayle, even before granting an interview. Whether the principal’s response was culturally, racially, and/or gender motivated is unclear. What is clear, however, is that he took what some would consider a stereotypical position of power and dominance, expressing himself in ways that he more than likely would not have done with a male teacher candidate, regardless of that male’s cultural or ethnic background.

The stories shared in Gayle’s middle career experiences illustrate the interplay between gendered experiences and perceived power of males over females in the workplace preceding the “Me, Too” Movement. Although these incidents might be viewed as microaggressions by some, the women’s reactions suggest situations that lead to poor and potentially intolerable workplace environments. The fact that none of the women in these incidents stepped forward at the time to make a formal complaint gives us insights into their fear of retaliation, both visible (loss of job, non-voluntary transfer to another school, poor evaluation) and invisible (being ignored, passed over for recognitions, supply requests delayed). In consulting with her male colleagues about concerning behaviors, it seemed to indicate the importance of women speaking up for themselves and for other women.

We now turn to Gayle’s recent career experiences in which she shares reactions of students and colleagues to her decision not to follow a tenure track position in higher education. Her personal choice indicates that she does not hold a “need” for power, perhaps because she has held positions of authority in the past. She has “been there,” and “done that.” At the same time, her current career pathway has removed or at least minimized perceived competition from male counterparts.

Implications for breaking the “glass ceiling”

Our stories of experience have deeper implications in the way women face inequities in the educational workplace and in academia as a whole. As published on May 9, 2023, “In a recording by a Galveston County Daily News reporter, [Galveston Independent School District] Superintendent Gibson allegedly called women ‘worker bees,’ who take care of the details of the project, but, ‘we need a man to push this through’ ( Rose, 2023 ). This statement is a clear indication that gender stereotypes still exist in the education landscape. Although the author narratives presented here reflect progress in how women are perceived in the workplace, under the surface are long held perceptions of women and their place in society that remain to be grappled with.

The prospect of all women having the opportunity to break the glass ceiling in the near future is grim, yet every now and then a crack can be found and a colleague, friend, and/or acquaintance pushes through. We as an affinity group must celebrate these successes. And if we are lucky enough to be the one to break through, we must reach out to others and help them meet their challenges and dismantle barriers. Mentoring could be the key to crashing down the barriers that hold us hostage. Through a collaborative known as the Portfolio Group, Michaelann, Cheryl, and Gayle have been colleagues and friends for over 25 years, working together as critical friends. As each has communicated gendered experiences, their trusting relationships have allowed them to not only talk openly and transparently about their experiences but, importantly, to also mentor one another in the midst of challenging situations such as those shared here.

Arguably, society advances on the backs of those with the least power/those who are most available to be taken advantage of. Where education is concerned, females (among others) have frequently paid the price of progress. As the statistics in this article illustrate, women have been inequitably represented and treated over time. While there is strong evidence that this trend is still continuing, there also is evidence that the tide is starting to turn in academia. We catch glimpses of this in Cheryl’s middle career experience and Michaelann’s recent career experience. Cheryl reported how one male reviewer of her full professor tenure file acted in a way contrary to her department chair who expected his dean friend to act on the same prejudices as he did. Michaelann told of how structures put in place at universities around the country to help women achieve parity are being challenged. Currently teaching at a former women’s college which is now working to become a more diverse university, she seems to have more questions than answers now about gender and achieving equity than before. And Gayle was not able to intervene in her former male supervisor’s shenanigans. However, she was positioned strongly enough to take him to task for his actions. She also informed the female teachers that such behaviors were unacceptable and that they need not comply.

Another strong theme is that all three authors dealt with more easily identifiable gender issues as their careers advanced than they did in their early years when the issues were harder to pinpoint. One might surmise from this that as females rise in the ranks, they pose more of a threat to males who may see female advancements and rewards in school districts and universities as affronts to their dominance and superiority. As we contemplate this theme, we also consider the effects of societal changes on our profession, in some cases leading individuals to be more mindful of gender and age issues and in other cases leading individuals to be extremely subtle in their microaggressions–which are more easily identified due to our broader and deeper career experiences in the field of education.

While certain males in education are excessively entitled, it may very well be that many females and some males need to act more entitled. In short, they do not claim what should be part of their reputations (their entitlements) because they avoid issues with excessively entitled males (and females modeling those males) and ignore the amount of space they take up in their work milieus. Also, women like us, appear to be more invested in doing our work well than about how our accomplishments are storied. Furthermore, because males fill more leadership positions, female news and breakthroughs may not be made public in their places of work because others (certain males/females) may get jealous, which is how the failure to mention female accomplishments was explained by a male leader in a face-to-face discussion with one of us. In sum, progress has been made over the span of our careers. Still, finer-tune points remain in dire need of attention as our cumulative experiences successively show.

Data availability statement

The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because narratives were developed from personal journals and not intended for public dissemination. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to [email protected] .

Ethics statement

Ethical approval was not required for the study involving human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent to participate in this study was not required from the participants in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

Author contributions

MK, CC, and GC contributed to conception and design of the study, as well as data analysis and writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: narrative inquiry, gender issues in education, identity, gendered selves, cover stories, experiential narrative

Citation: Kelley M, Craig CJ and Curtis GA (2023) Examining gender issues in education: exploring confounding experiences on three female educators’ professional knowledge landscapes. Front. Educ . 8:1162523. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1162523

Received: 09 February 2023; Accepted: 26 May 2023; Published: 14 June 2023.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2023 Kelley, Craig and Curtis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Gayle A. Curtis, [email protected]

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