Differentiation, distinction and equality - or diversity? The language of the marketised university

An England, New Zealand comparison

Bibliographic Data

ID4098785
AuthorsMarion Bowl (University of Birmingham, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume43
Issue4
Pages671-688
Publication date2018-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075079.2016.1190961
OpenAlexW2437053033
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited39

This paper examines how, in a marketised environment, universities seek to project themselves as successful global competitors while at the same time responding to national policy expectations, particularly around promoting equal access. Through a comparison of publicly available documents from universities in England and New Zealand, the paper analyses the language universities employ to convey differential status. While discourse of business and the competition is apparent across the board, there are differences in the extent to which differently-ranked universities signify their preparedness fully to embrace economic priorities. There is, however, convergence in the use the language of ‘distinctiveness’ by means of which institutions signify difference as well as superiority. Most notable, though, is the side-lining of equality and its replacement by a discourse of ‘diversity’ which is more compatible with elitism than with social justice. The use of ‘diversity’, it is argued, supports a logic of accumulation – for both institutions and students – in which the rich are likely to reap the greatest rewards

Competitor analysis · Discourse analysis · Economics · Elitism · Excellence · Hierarchy · Higher education · Linguistics · Management · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Political science · Preparedness · Public relations · Sociology · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development · Law · Public Administration · Social Psychology

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