Dawkins Revolution
Encyclopedia
The Dawkins Revolution was a series of Australia
n tertiary education reforms instituted by the then Labor
Education Minister (1987–92) John Dawkins
.
The reforms were proposed in Higher education: a policy discussion paper ('the green paper') which was published in December 1987 and announced in Higher education: a policy statement ('the white paper') published in July 1988.
. These reforms included the introduction of HECS, the conversion of all Colleges of Advanced Education
(CAEs) into universities, and a series of provisions for universities to provide plans, profiles, statistics etc. to justify courses and research. As a result, undergraduate student numbers increased dramatically as universities were given economies of scale
. There were also many mergers between universities and CAEs, with some successful (University of Queensland
Gatton Campus), and others not so (the University of New England and the then Northern Rivers CAE which subsequently spilt acrimoniously to become Southern Cross University), and others didn't proceed (Australian National University
and the Canberra CAE, now the University of Canberra
).
The reforms have led to a culture of "corporate managerialism" in universities, and have been related to a rise in bullying tactics among university management, a decline in the freedom of academic speech and inquiry, and a loss of academic collegiality.
Among the Dawkins reforms are the encouragement of the use of various metrics to assess and rate research output. These measures have been subjected to intense criticism. For example, the pressure placed on academics to seek external research grants, and be rated on their ability to do so, has been criticised on the basis that different fields of research require different levels of funding, and external grants may not even be necessary. University managements are accused of shifting the responsibility for acquiring funding onto academics. Academics are also critical of allegedly objective ratings of the "quality" of research output, often determined by looking at the "impact factor" of journals in which they publish (the 'impact factor' is the ratio of papers cited from a journal to papers published in that journal) - considered an inappropriate measure of research quality, as the impact factor of a journal is not necessarily related to the relevance of that journal to a given field.
Other critics, especially those among the Group of Eight
, saw these reforms as "dumbing down" higher education, as college diploma students became university graduates overnight. The traditional universities were forced to compete for research funds with the newly designated and amalgamated universities, although they still continue to dominate competitive research funding.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n tertiary education reforms instituted by the then Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Education Minister (1987–92) John Dawkins
John Dawkins
John Sydney "Joe" Dawkins, AO , Australian politician, was Treasurer in the Keating Labor government from December 1991 to December 1993...
.
The reforms were proposed in Higher education: a policy discussion paper ('the green paper') which was published in December 1987 and announced in Higher education: a policy statement ('the white paper') published in July 1988.
Aims and outcomes
The reforms were aimed at improving the "efficiency" and "international competitiveness" of Australian universities, as well as a solution for the perceived brain drainBrain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
. These reforms included the introduction of HECS, the conversion of all Colleges of Advanced Education
College of Advanced Education
The College of Advanced Education was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education which offer trade qualification...
(CAEs) into universities, and a series of provisions for universities to provide plans, profiles, statistics etc. to justify courses and research. As a result, undergraduate student numbers increased dramatically as universities were given economies of scale
Economies of scale
Economies of scale, in microeconomics, refers to the cost advantages that an enterprise obtains due to expansion. There are factors that cause a producer’s average cost per unit to fall as the scale of output is increased. "Economies of scale" is a long run concept and refers to reductions in unit...
. There were also many mergers between universities and CAEs, with some successful (University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
Gatton Campus), and others not so (the University of New England and the then Northern Rivers CAE which subsequently spilt acrimoniously to become Southern Cross University), and others didn't proceed (Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
and the Canberra CAE, now the University of Canberra
University of Canberra
Over the years the Stone Day program has gradually become larger and larger, taking up a whole week and now Stonefest is one of Australia's most popular music festivals. The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded...
).
Criticisms
There has been extensive criticism of the Dawkins reforms, which have been described as the application of neo-liberal ideology to universities. Critics regard the Dawkins reforms as an attempt to reduce public funding of universities, 'commercialise' university education, and expose research to 'subjective' market pressures.The reforms have led to a culture of "corporate managerialism" in universities, and have been related to a rise in bullying tactics among university management, a decline in the freedom of academic speech and inquiry, and a loss of academic collegiality.
Among the Dawkins reforms are the encouragement of the use of various metrics to assess and rate research output. These measures have been subjected to intense criticism. For example, the pressure placed on academics to seek external research grants, and be rated on their ability to do so, has been criticised on the basis that different fields of research require different levels of funding, and external grants may not even be necessary. University managements are accused of shifting the responsibility for acquiring funding onto academics. Academics are also critical of allegedly objective ratings of the "quality" of research output, often determined by looking at the "impact factor" of journals in which they publish (the 'impact factor' is the ratio of papers cited from a journal to papers published in that journal) - considered an inappropriate measure of research quality, as the impact factor of a journal is not necessarily related to the relevance of that journal to a given field.
Other critics, especially those among the Group of Eight
Group of Eight (Australian universities)
The Group of Eight is a coalition of leading Australian tertiary institutions, intensive in research and comprehensive in general and professional education...
, saw these reforms as "dumbing down" higher education, as college diploma students became university graduates overnight. The traditional universities were forced to compete for research funds with the newly designated and amalgamated universities, although they still continue to dominate competitive research funding.