Robbins Remembered and Dismembered, Contextualising the Anniversary

This polemical paper was motivated by its author's concern that the United Kingdom Coalition higher education minister, Willetts, should claim at recent quinquageniary commemorations of the publication of the 1963 Robbins Report to be preserving its legacy for higher education. By contrast, thi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inHigher education quarterly Vol. 68; no. 2; pp. 225 - 240
Main Author Ainley, Patrick
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2014
Subjects
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Loading…
More Information
Summary:This polemical paper was motivated by its author's concern that the United Kingdom Coalition higher education minister, Willetts, should claim at recent quinquageniary commemorations of the publication of the 1963 Robbins Report to be preserving its legacy for higher education. By contrast, this paper argues that the period of reform aimed at changing society through education marked by Robbins has been closed by the Coalition government's acceptance of the 2010 Browne Review recommendations. The paper is therefore little concerned with the contents of the report but places it in a wider context ending in the current attempted reversal towards a minority higher education with academic schooling dominant throughout the system. In a still greater reversal, the expansion of state over private provision characteristic of the 50‐year period of reform of education, is also being reversed towards a state‐subsidised privatisation at all levels of learning. In conclusion some alternatives are suggested.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-SQCBDBC3-2
istex:D8F707FE34BA419CB5562069F5534C25B8B2905D
ArticleID:HEQU12038
ISSN:0951-5224
1468-2273
DOI:10.1111/hequ.12038