Political economy of Australian and Canadian higher education

This session of three papers will compare the political and economic contexts of higher education in Australia and Canada and report findings from case studies of universities in the two countries. Both countries have experienced a tightening of their fiscal budgets and reduced funding for higher education at the same time as enrolments in universities have increased dramatically. The research focuses on the changing nature of academic work in this context. It analyses the ways in which universities have moved to ever increasing corporatism and managerialism in both countries. The session will begin with an overview of the research by A/Prof Jan Currie, followed by The Political Economy of Higher Education in Canada by Professor Donald Fisher, then a case study of a Canadian University by Professor Janice Newson and a comparison of three universities in Australia, focusing on accountability, by Ms Lesley Vidovich. The session will analyse globalisation trends which are affecting the two countries. The speakers would like the session to end by focusing on the ways in which academics can resist current trends which have intensified the work of academics and led to less collegiality in the workplace.

Authors: Associate Professor Jan Currie, School of Education, Murdoch University Professor Donald Fisher, Centre for Study of Higher Education, University of British Colombia Professor Janice Newson, School of Social Sciences, York University Ms Lesley Vidovich, School of Education, Murdoch University Please cite as: Currie, J., Fisher, D., Newson, J. and Vidovich, L. (1996). Political economy of Australian and Canadian higher education. Different Approaches: Theory and Practice in Higher Education. Proceedings HERDSA Conference 1996. Perth, Western Australia, 8-12 July. http://www.herdsa.org.au/confs/1996/currie1.html