ABSTRACT

The institutional form and conception of Higher Education have changed through the growth of mass higher education, which in many national systems now operates on market logics. Drawing on theories of credentialism, this article provides a critical analysis of the inter-relationship between massification and marketization and examines a range of consequences this has for institutional relations and dynamics. A central feature of credential inflation in mass systems has been the growing competition for scarce status goods and the reproduction of structural inequalities in accessing sought-after occupational outcomes. The policy context of marketization has concurrently reinforced the pressures on institutions to fulfil the promise held by governments, employers and graduates of enhancing human capital and Higher Education institutions’ economic value. Accompanying New Public Management policy levers have further established institutional conditions based on competitive accountability and performative evaluation. We show how these pressures are manifested in new forms of instrumental rationality that valorize the commodification of academic credentials, and relatedly, studentship and academic scholarship. We finally consider the possible ways forward in appraising the goals of HE beyond credential inflation.

摘要

随着大众高等教育的发展，高等教育的制度形式和观念发生了变化，在许多国家体系中，大众高等教育现在是按照市场逻辑运作的。本文借鉴凭证主义理论，对大众化和市场化之间的相互关系进行了批判性分析，并研究了这对制度关系和动态产生的一系列后果。大众系统中证书膨胀的一个核心特征是对稀缺地位商品的竞争日益激烈，以及在获得广受欢迎的职业成果方面结构性不平等的再现。市场化的政策背景同时强化了机构履行政府承诺的压力，提高人力资本和高等教育机构经济价值的雇主和毕业生。伴随着新的公共管理政策杠杆，进一步建立了基于竞争性问责和绩效评估的制度条件。我们展示了这些压力如何体现在新形式的工具理性中，这些工具理性对学历的商品化以及相关的学生和学术奖学金进行了估价。我们最终考虑了评估 HE 目标超越凭证膨胀的可能方式。我们展示了这些压力如何体现在新形式的工具理性中，这些工具理性对学历的商品化以及相关的学生和学术奖学金进行了估价。我们最终考虑了评估 HE 目标超越凭证膨胀的可能方式。我们展示了这些压力如何体现在新形式的工具理性中，这些工具理性对学历的商品化以及相关的学生和学术奖学金进行了估价。我们最终考虑了评估 HE 目标超越凭证膨胀的可能方式。