What does higher education achieve beyond the provision of pecuniary benefits for individuals, meaning superior opportunities for work, earnings, career and social position?
How do we understand the public or common good in this sector, including effects of higher education experienced collectively as well as severally?
These are not easy questions. Research by the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) finds that the answers vary by country, according to political culture and policy history. This article reports the findings concerning higher education and public good in England.
We reviewed successive policy reports to trace the evolution of thinking about higher education and public good. We also interviewed a varied group of 24 people, engaged in policy making and regulation, in national education organisations and media, in contrasting universities (a large global player and a primarily regional provider), and in academic study of higher education. The interviewees all believed that the question of higher education and public good was important. However, they struggled to find a language for discussing it.
