Neoliberalism, Human Capital and the Skills Agenda in Higher Education--The Irish Case

Autor/in	Holborow, Marnie
Titel	Neoliberalism, Human Capital and the Skills Agenda in Higher Education--The Irish Case
Quelle	In: Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 10 (2012) 1, S.93-111 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1740-2743
Schlagwörter	Higher Education; Human Capital; Educational Objectives; Labor Market; Ideology; Foreign Countries; Corporations; Politics of Education; Neoliberalism; Conflict; Competition; Criticism; Educational Attitudes; Economic Climate; Reports; Skill Development; Ireland + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Humankapital; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Labour market; Arbeitsmarkt; Ideologie; Ausland; Unternehmen; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Neo-liberalism; Neoliberalismus; Konflikt; Wettkampf; Kritik; Educational attitude; Bildungsverhalten; Erziehungseinstellung; Wirtschaftslage; Abschlussbericht; Berichten; Kompetenzentwicklung; Qualifikationsentwicklung; Irland
Abstract	The making of human capital is increasingly seen as a principal function of higher education. A keyword in neoliberal ideology, human capital represents a subtle masking of social conflict and expresses metaphorically the commodification of human abilities and an alienating notion of human potential, both of which sit ill with the goals of education. The recent National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 (the Hunt Report) which appeared in Ireland in January 2010, is a representative example of official articulation, on the part of government and corporations, of the human capital/skills agenda in post-crash Ireland. Human capital, now commonplace across official discourse in Ireland, is a complex ideological construct which, in the educational arena, gives voice to two specific interests of capital: the provision of a workforce ever more narrowly suited to the current needs of employers and the intensification of competition between individuals in the labour market. The construct subtly reinvents socio-economic processes as acts driven solely by individuals and reconstitutes higher education as an adjunct of the economy. However, this paper argues, a skills-driven higher education can neither deliver large numbers of high value jobs nor overcome the deeper causes of the present crisis. This raising of false expectations, alongside a crudely reductionist view of education, sets limits on the unchallenged hegemony of this particular strand of neoliberal ideology. In the current recession, during which the state is attempting to shift the burden of educational funding from public to corporate and individual contributions, those involved in higher education need to provide a robust political economy critique of human capital ideology in order to strengthen practical resistance to it. (Contains 8 footnotes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Institute for Education Policy Studies. University of Northampton, School of Education, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK. Tel: +44-1273-270943; e-mail: ieps@ieps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.jceps.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10