Overview

What happens to the liberal arts and science education when universities attempt to sell it as a form of job training? In Lowering Higher Education, a follow-up to their provocative 2007 book Ivory Tower Blues, James E. Cte and Anton L. Allahar explore the subverted 'idea of the university' and the forces that have set adrift the mission of these institutions. Cte and Allahar connect the corporatization of universities to a range of contentious issues within higher education, from lowered standards and inflated grades to the overall decline of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences instruction. also offers recommendations that have the potential to reinvigorate liberal education.

Full Product Details

Author:   James Cote ,  Anton L. Allahar
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.400kg
ISBN:  

9781442611214

ISBN 10:   1442611219
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   15 January 2011
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART I: The Rise of Pseudo-Vocationalism A History of a Mission Adrift: The Idea of a University Subverted The University in Historical Perspective: The First Millennium The Drift Associated with Massification The Drift toward Vocationalism The Drift toward Corporatization The Drift Associated with Social Engineering The Spoils of the Culture Wars Re-engaging the University Conclusion: Into the Second Millennium of the University Stakeholder Relations: The Educational Forum Conflict and Complicity: Case Studies Conflicts in the Arena Complicity in the Grandstands: The Scourge of Human Conclusion: Whither Free Enquiry? PART II: Issues Associated with the Drift to Pseudo-Vocationalism Standards: Schools without Scholarship? The Student Side of the Disengagement Compact The Teacher / Learning Environment Side of the Disengagement Compact The Two-Tiered System: The Spread of the BA-lite in the Credentialist Era Conclusion: Preserving Scholarship Universities: Crisis, What Crisis? Defining the University's Crisis Shooting the Messenger Conclusion: 'Captain, we are off course!' 'Nonsense, you are imagining things.' Students: Is Disengagement Inevitable? Get Used to It! It Is Unrealistic to Expect More Students Have Busy Lives It's Always Been Like This: Historical Considerations There Are No Disengagement Problems Students Are Smarter Now and Just Bored Professor Are Bad Teachers: It's Their Fault Variation in Disengagement: New Empirical Evidence Conclusion: Enough Excuses Technologies: Will They Save the Day? Claims Regarding New Technologies The Evidence Conclusions: Mixed Support and Moral Entrepreneurs PART III: The Way Forward into the New Millennium Recommendations and Conclusions: Our Stewardship of the System What to Do What Not to Do: Managing the Line between Mass and Élite Universities Conclusion Notes Index

Reviews

Lowering Higher Education will be widely read and discussed thanks to itsinsightful, controversial analysis of the major issues facing higher educationtoday. James E. Côté and Anton L. Allahar put forth excellent arguments onwhy the liberal arts education is being lost in the university environment, andwhat implications this will have in the long run for students, professors, andsociety. By detailing positive examples from around the world and suggestionsfor improvement, Côté and Allahar have made a serious advance with LoweringHigher Education.--Gerald Adams, Department of Family Relations, University of Guelph 'In Lowering Higher Education, Professors Côté and Allahar continue their bold critique of the Canadian university system. The sequel to Ivory Tower Blues provides a wide range of new evidence to support the authors' contention that corporatization, credentialism, and dubious edu-technologies are undermining liberal education at the post-secondary level. Public school educators as well as parents will be particularly interested in the book's discussion of how similar trends are affecting Canada's secondary schools, and how teachers are challenging the dysfunctional policies of out-of-touch administrators.'--Jon Cowans, secondary school teacher and education writer 'From the misappropriation of the baccalaureate degree to confer status on vocational training programs to the collapse of educational standards driven by misguided government policies, Côté and Allahar systematically explode the self-serving myths propagated by professors, university presidents, and politicians in their increasingly desperate attempts to conserve a post-secondary education system that is failing both our students and the public interest.'--David J. Helfand, Columbia University and Quest University Canada We academics love to expose problems in other institutions, but are more reluctant to do so in our own backyard. Lowering Higher Education offers an unflinching and detailed analysis of grade inflation and student disengagement in Canadian universities. Responding to critics of Ivory Tower Blues, Côté and Allahar elaborate their ideas with new takes on educational technologies, vocational programs, student engagement, and prescriptions for change. Today's universities are not suffering from mere growing pains, they fear, but are drifting from their central mission. This sequel reaffirms liberal ideals in an era of change, and promises to spark a new round of debate on the future of the university.--Scott Davies, Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Students, McMaster University

Lowering Higher Education will be widely read and discussed thanks to itsinsightful, controversial analysis of the major issues facing higher educationtoday. James E. C�t� and Anton L. Allahar put forth excellent arguments onwhy the liberal arts education is being lost in the university environment, andwhat implications this will have in the long run for students, professors, andsociety. By detailing positive examples from around the world and suggestionsfor improvement, C�t� and Allahar have made a serious advance with LoweringHigher Education.--Gerald Adams, Department of Family Relations, University of Guelph 'In Lowering Higher Education, Professors C�t� and Allahar continue their bold critique of the Canadian university system. The sequel to Ivory Tower Blues provides a wide range of new evidence to support the authors' contention that corporatization, credentialism, and dubious edu-technologies are undermining liberal education at the post-secondary level. Public school educators as well as parents will be particularly interested in the book's discussion of how similar trends are affecting Canada's secondary schools, and how teachers are challenging the dysfunctional policies of out-of-touch administrators.'--Jon Cowans, secondary school teacher and education writer 'From the misappropriation of the baccalaureate degree to confer status on vocational training programs to the collapse of educational standards driven by misguided government policies, C�t� and Allahar systematically explode the self-serving myths propagated by professors, university presidents, and politicians in their increasingly desperate attempts to conserve a post-secondary education system that is failing both our students and the public interest.'--David J. Helfand, Columbia University and Quest University Canada We academics love to expose problems in other institutions, but are more reluctant to do so in our own backyard. Lowering Higher Education offers an unflinching and detailed analysis of grade inflation and student disengagement in Canadian universities. Responding to critics of Ivory Tower Blues, C�t� and Allahar elaborate their ideas with new takes on educational technologies, vocational programs, student engagement, and prescriptions for change. Today's universities are not suffering from mere growing pains, they fear, but are drifting from their central mission. This sequel reaffirms liberal ideals in an era of change, and promises to spark a new round of debate on the future of the university.--Scott Davies, Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Students, McMaster University

We academics love to expose problems in other institutions, but are more reluctant to do so in our own backyard. Lowering Higher Education offers an unflinching and detailed analysis of grade inflation and student disengagement in Canadian universities. Responding to critics of Ivory Tower Blues, Cote and Allahar elaborate their ideas with new takes on educational technologies, vocational programs, student engagement, and prescriptions for change. Today's universities are not suffering from mere growing pains, they fear, but are drifting from their central mission. This sequel reaffirms liberal ideals in an era of change, and promises to spark a new round of debate on the future of the university. - Scott Davies, Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Students, McMaster University

Author Information

James E. Côté is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario. Anton L. Allahar is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario.

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