Government policy and postsecondary education in alberta: A 'Field Theory' analysis

Abstract

While the landscape of postsecondary education in Alberta continues to expand and diversify, there seems to be very little written about the organization of postsecondary education in the province over the past 15 to 20 years (Wimmer & Schmaus, 2010). This paper provides an analysis of postsecondary education in Alberta over the past 15 to 20 years using social theory, specifically "thinking tools" (Grenfell & James, 2004) provided in Bourdieu's Field Theory to reveal power struggles in the system. Government policies that drive postsecondary institutions to struggle for position in market-like conditions while tightly controlling the parameters of that market are explored. We discuss the role government policy plays in the reproduction of power structures and their distribution of capital in the province of Alberta. © 2013 The Governors of the University of Alberta.