Turbulent times appear to be altering the landscape of higher education, writes York education Professor Paul Axelrod in his introduction to a new anthology, Making Policy in Turbulent Times: Challenges and Prospects for Higher Education.
“Universities have scarcely been insulated from the economic turmoil rippling across the globe since 2008,” notes Axelrod. Though perceived as engines of the emerging knowledge economy, postsecondary educational institutions throughout the world face reduced funding, increasing demands for accessibility, shifting government policy and more oversight.
How is policy being forged in this context? Are universities grappling in common ways with issues of access and equity? Can higher education policy-making be imaginatively theorized? These and other questions are explored in this anthology, the product of an international workshop held at York in 2012 that brought together distinguished scholars and administrators from across the globe.
This book identifies challenges and pressures facing universities everywhere in troubling economic times. It compares policy developments in numerous jurisdictions. It demonstrates the ways in which networks and lobbyists achieve results. It provides historically informed and nuanced analyses of policy making. It contributes significantly to new research and will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners alike, writes Axelrod.
He and three other York faculty members edited this book, published by the McGill-Queen’s University Press. The others are education Professors Roopa Desai Trilokekar and Theresa Shanahan, and social science Professor Richard Wellen.