Higher education and the public good in Finland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21324849 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elisa Brewis (0000-0003-2617-8539, American University in London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 89 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 205-222 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-1560 • E-ISSN: 1573-174X |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10734-024-01291-1 |
| OpenAlex | W4403754330 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 14 |
This paper discusses understandings of higher education and the public good in the context of Finland. A lexical-based comparison of public goods terminology reveals that the Finnish translation of public good— julkishyödyke —is used in comparatively recent (post-1970s) scholarship, mainly limited to the fields of economics, forestry and agriculture. It is notably absent in discussions of higher education. Instead, universities’ contribution to the public good is expressed as sivistys , service, social impact and national development. The second half of the paper discusses findings from a qualitative study of university staff and policymaker understandings of public good(s) ( n = 21). Participants framed the contribution of universities to the public good as sivistys , service and social impact and also highlighted the dimension of social equality. These goods were viewed as applicable to local, national and global levels, flowing both out of and into Finland, thus benefiting everyone. As such, responses were closely aligned with the UNESCO (2015) definition of higher education as a global common good. Recent higher education policies that are based on the logic of higher education as a private good (education export, tuition fees for international students) threaten this model, revealing a conflict in the role of the state as protector of the public good at the national level and promoter of higher education as a private good at the global level
Context (archaeology) · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Global public good · Higher education · Political science · Private good · Public good · Public policy · Public relations · Public service · Scholarship · Sociology · Terminology · Public Administration · Public health and occupational medicine
Rethinking education
Knowledge as a Global Public Good
The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure
Diagrammatic Exposition of a Theory of Public Expenditure
Individual and collective outcomes of higher education
The Nordic Welfare State in Finland
Sivistys and the public good role of universities in Finland
Public good in French universities
Trust in Finnish Education
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |