Privatising the public university : the case of law / / Margaret Thornton

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910461488403321
• Autore: Thornton Margaret
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; ; New York, N.Y. : , : Routledge, , 2012
• ISBN: 1-283-45979-5; 9786613459794; 1-136-64130-0; 0-203-80453-8
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (290 p.)
• Disciplina: 340.071/11712411
• Soggetti: Law schools - Commonwealth countries; Law - Study and teaching - Commonwealth countries; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: "A GlassHouse book."
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front Cover; Privatising the Public University; Copyright Page; Contents; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. The political economy of higher education; The neoliberal turn; The New Knowledge Economy; The legacy of Hayek and Friedman; The privatising imperative; The corporate university; Risky business; Conclusion: Kerr's folly; 2. The market comes to law school; From élite to mass; The market embrace; Sameness and difference; Student/customers; Graduate destinations; Looking a gift horse in the mouth; Conclusion: throwing good money after bad; 3. Jettisoning the criticalTowards new knowledge; Sloughing off the social; Vocationalising the curriculum; Wrestling with theory; Feminism and diversity; Adding in skills; Pedagogical practices; Transmitting frozen knowledge; Flexible delivery; Intensive mode; Online; Assessment; 'Dumbing down'; A culture of complaint; Conclusion: back to the future; 4. Governance and academic life; Managerialism; Mega-faculties; Law deans as subalterns; The corrosion of collegiality; The new contractualism; Appointments; Promotions; Precarious work; Workloads; Re-gendering the academy; Conclusion: seeking a balanced life5. Research in the corporatised ; university; Contested knowledge; The new environment; Research entrepreneurialism; Publish or perish; Applied research; Auditing performance; Academic freedom; Higher degrees; By research; By coursework; Conclusion: teaching or research?; 6. Conclusion; The market metanarrative; Doughnuts in the legal academy; Academic morale; Aspirations; Law school futures; Appendix: approach; Bibliography; Index
• Sommario/riassunto: "Privatising the Public University: The Case of Law is the first full-length critical study examining the impact of the dramatic reforms that have swept through universities over the last two decades. Drawing on extensive research and interviews in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, Margaret Thornton considers the impact of the market on students, academics and law schools, documenting how both the curriculum and pedagogical methods have changed. If the passing of the idea of the university is rued, concern usually focuses on the humanities and the natural sciences. In this respect, law has been regarded as privileged because of the virtually unstoppable demand for law places and the willingness of students to pay high fees. And, as this book shows, it is commercial and instrumental forms of legal training that are now favoured, whilst the humanistic, critical, theoretical and social justice aspects of legal knowledge have now been corroded. Privatising the Public University will be of considerable interest to legal academics; but it will also be invaluable work for anyone interested in the future of higher education"--