Tackling knowledge ‘like a business’? Rethinking the modernisation of higher education in Poland

Bates, Agnieszka ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5138-5623 and Godoń, Rafał (2017) Tackling knowledge ‘like a business’? Rethinking the modernisation of higher education in Poland. Compare, 47 (4). pp. 454-467. ISSN 0305-7925

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Abstract

The year 1989 marked the official end of communist rule in Poland and the replacement of 'Gosplan' by new instruments for liberal democratic governance. In terms of the economy this heralded a departure from Gosplan’s five-year planning cycles, performance targets and the ‘propaganda of success’. Paradoxically, however, twenty-seven years later, the marketisation of higher education in Poland has been accompanied by a continuation of Gosplan thinking. This is manifested in a neoliberal vision of the modern, ‘corporate’ university as a largely utilitarian enterprise, but subject to a style of performance management strongly resonant of the Soviet era. This article analyses the thinking, ideas and ideologies that have shaped contemporary higher education in Poland. It is contended that the rise of the ‘corporate university’ signals the twilight of the Humboldtian tradition and raises questions about what the corporate ideal of ‘excellence’ may mean for the future of the university.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: modernisation,humboldtian tradition,gosplan thinking,bologna process,corporate university
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Research in Higher Education and Society
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 10 Oct 2016 09:03
Last Modified: 20 Jun 2023 23:59
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/60790
DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2016.1234931

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