Review of The Meanings of Mass Higher Education

Abstract

This book analyzes the transformation of British higher education from a closed, elite university system into an open, mass post-secondary education system. It sees the changes in British higher education as stemming from: (1) the rapid expansion in the number of students that created pressures for a shift to a mass, open post-secondary education system; (2) the resulting erosion of the distinctive qualities of British higher education, with less rigid institutional boundaries and hierarchies; and (3) post-industrial social, political, and economic changes. Separate chapters of the book trace the evolution of British higher education, the development of a national system, and the changes in institutional systems and structures; explore the political, social, and economic contexts that created the mass higher education systems; and examine the effects of intellectual and scientific culture the interdependence of the university, science, and culture, the university's changing role in scientific training and technology innovation, and the shift from subject-based teaching to student-centered learning. While the book speaks generally to the British system, it notes that open mass education is a worldwide phenomenon and relates the British experiences to similar transformations in Europe, Australia, and the United States. (Individual chapters contain reference notes.) (CH)