TY - JOUR
T1 - Political discourse on higher education in Denmark
T2 - from enlightened citizen to homo economicus
AU - Vingaard Johansen, Ulrik
AU - Knudsen, Frederik B.
AU - Engelbrecht Kristoffersen, Christian
AU - Rasmussen, Joakim Stellfeld
AU - Saaby Steffen, Emil
AU - Sund, Kristian J.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - The literature on higher education policy points to changes in the dominant discourse over the years. In particular, the ascendance of a discourse marked by concepts of new public management, using language inspired by neoclassical economic theory which characterizes education as a marketplace where students are customers, has led scholars to critically question the foundations of modern higher education policy. This paper uses critical discourse analysis to trace the development of higher education policy discourse in Denmark from the late 1970s until today. The authors find that the discourse has moved from a pluralistic one embracing not only the economic benefits of education, but also emphasizing on democracy, citizenship, and equality, towards a predominantly economic one, focused squarely on notions of globalization and competitiveness in a knowledge society.
AB - The literature on higher education policy points to changes in the dominant discourse over the years. In particular, the ascendance of a discourse marked by concepts of new public management, using language inspired by neoclassical economic theory which characterizes education as a marketplace where students are customers, has led scholars to critically question the foundations of modern higher education policy. This paper uses critical discourse analysis to trace the development of higher education policy discourse in Denmark from the late 1970s until today. The authors find that the discourse has moved from a pluralistic one embracing not only the economic benefits of education, but also emphasizing on democracy, citizenship, and equality, towards a predominantly economic one, focused squarely on notions of globalization and competitiveness in a knowledge society.
KW - Discourse Analysis
KW - Education policy
KW - Higher Education
U2 - 10.1080/03075079.2015.1045477
DO - 10.1080/03075079.2015.1045477
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0307-5079
VL - 42
SP - 264
EP - 277
JO - Studies in Higher Education
JF - Studies in Higher Education
IS - 2
ER -