Description
Largely critical of recent attacks on the state of American higher education coming from advocates of privatization, reinventing government, total quality improvement, and so on, the eighteen contributions in this collection are presented by Altbach (higher education, Boston College), Berdahl (emeritus, higher education, U. of Maryland at College Park), and Gumport (education, Stanford U.) as an attempt to situate American higher education in broad social context in order to evaluate the legitimacy of the arguments of its critics. Papers explore the roles of external constituencies such as the federal government, state governments, the courts, and nongovernmental entities; as well as internal constituencies such as the faculty, the students, and administration. Others examine particular issues, including autonomy and accountability, academic freedom, finance, technology, graduate education, the curriculum, race, and the commercialization of higher education. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read More
This new edition of American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century explores current issues of central importance to the academy: leadership, accountability, access, finance, technology, academic freedom, the canon, governance, and race. Chapters also deal with key constituencies-students and faculty-in the context of a changing academic environment.While the contributors agree with critics who argue for ongoing reassessment of public institutions, they provide a more balanced perspective. They take issue with the "crisis" culture that has emerged among critics of current higher education practices, pointing out that higher education has faced challenges through its history. By illuminating the complex interplay between institutions and external forces, the book provides a key to guide the endeavors of faculty, students, and administrative leaders. Fully revised and updated, the second edition includes a new chapter on higher education markets. Contributors include Philip G. Altbach, Michael J. Bastedo, Robert O. Berdahl, Robert Birnbaum, Mitchell J. Chang, Marc Chun, Melanie E. Corrigan, Eric L. Dey, Judith S. Eaton, Peter D. Eckel, Roger L. Geiger, Lawrence E. Gladieux, Patricia J. Gumport, Fred. F. Harcleroad, Sylvia Hurtado, D. Bruce Johnstone, Jacqueline E. King, Kofi Lomotey, Aims C. McGuinness Jr., Michael A. Olivas, Robert M. O'Neil, Gary Rhoades, Frank A. Schmidtlein, Sheila Slaughter, and Ami Zusman.
Read Less