MANIFESTO neoliberal reform of the English university:
Bologna Accords as a pretext
the absence of public debate on the reform of the university, both in regard to planning and evaluation of higher education , and its relation to the needs needs of society can be defined in many ways and, without yielding to a single discourse, the university should be collected in its plurality, the undersigned expose:
Bologna Accords, followed by other resolutions in several European cities were taken in 1999. Countries, among whom was Spain, agreed to six points that are policy proposals, but not enforceable rules from a legal perspective. Despite the declarative nature, "Bologna" has been put forward and is wielded in our environment as an excuse to reduce or even eliminate the fundamental role of the university in all its scientific and humanistic aspects, the great linguist and philosopher Charles S. Peirce, the founder of pragmatism, defined as "space which exposes the living condition of thought."
We must remember here, so briefly, what these agreements, including subsequent amendments to the 1999:
1) adoption of a comparable system of degrees
2) that this system is preferably divided into two cycles
3) is evaluated by a common credit system, so-called European
4) to promote European cooperation to achieve comparable levels of quality and methodology
5) necessary to promote the European dimension of the curriculum and this will facilitate the occupancy levels of EU citizens
6) that also promote the mobility of all segments of the university community.
Under the guise of "Bologna", the English and Catalan university authorities began a transformation in which this set of proposals designed to facilitate validation, reduce bureaucracy and consolidate certain state of consciousness-European, which in turn promotes entry the student population at the workplace, has become the pretext for two types of modifications. Apparently they are both hygienic and is wielded as modernization movement, so their ideological background is often taken for indisputable, both in the exposure mode, more assertive than argumentative, and in the almost complete absence in their documents, and authorities invoke serious academic references.
The first modification involves the transport of the learning theories of childhood and adolescence to the world of adults who attend college, as evidenced by the "hand" used by the Ministry of Education and the university authorities Catalan plagued considerations and warnings own age prior to entry into adulthood. Given this trend minorization college students, we must remember that these are adults who vote, leading cars can be parents and are responsible for full, political and criminal, for their actions. Suddenly, from this translation, university life, or some of its members engaged in management tasks, has tended to support a surveillance model for students, who seem to become permanent wards whose psychological and social arrangements should be monitored and oriented toward the benefit of the group, be it whatever. That is not the only protection that is exerted on the university community, as a percentage of teachers in poor, in the case of Catalan universities reached outrageous levels, is limited due to the same precariousness, in its capacity rule openly about issues concerning the new assessment systems and curricula. It is symptomatic that the diversion of huge resources disingenuously to the management of "teaching innovation" and instead the non-tenured teacher is subject to conditions miserable wage and other labor of dubious legality, which require them to bear the same responsibilities The tenured. The quality of teaching, understood as a transfer would be complex and varied knowledge, is attained even though the university authorities, not because of them.
The second change has to do with a disturbing reduction in social perspective: our authorities wield the needs of "society" to celebrate the use of the vocabulary of the "skills" and "competence" and proclaim the withdrawal or relegation of the demanding world of "content." But "society" in this case, stands for "enterprise." A reduction in the grotesque, which we refuse, we owe the strong trend away from terms like "knowledge" and "study" between our university authorities.
Hence, they stress the "teaching innovation" as a mere "technical innovation" of the transmission. In
Indeed, the two changes its attachment are powerful instruments of control are advocated and put forward without any possibility of discussion. When it occurs the authorities or their spokespersons speak, so inquisitorial "resistance sneaky," "selfish", "suspicious", "less admissible" and also "double, individually or collectively, simultaneously or separately" ( sic): see brochure Universitat de Barcelona What is the European Higher Education Area? signed by José Antonio García Suárez.
Finally, note that the control has been joined in case of Catalonia, the granting or not teachers autonomic supplements, concession stands or can be left to foundations, corporations and private services and sometimes not subject to academic evaluation. This happens because the renewal of predoctoral fellowships from the Generalitat, the fellows are currently required to attend a three-day seminar organized by a private entity, or risk losing the renewal of scholarships.
The other instrument to bring the college is undertaking the reform of curricula, to offer reasons that job type, instead of ensuring the independence of universities regarding the development of their disciplines and modes access to special knowledge, subject to market demands. In the case of applied sciences with the natural complacency of the market itself.
For the humanities, without any urgent need, except a curious vocation imaginary submission to the "enterprise" that passes through lowering unnecessary content. Unnecessary, since the market usually comes to the humanities mediated by other social and educational agencies. In the latter case, one of the functions of the university should be directed to prepare graduates rigorous and reliable way to education and also to the activities of cultural management and editorial but without neglecting the proper scope of development in all areas and disciplines of the various resources of critical thinking and basic condition of citizenship in democracy.
This variety of functions is a crucial point that we can not abdicate in any case: to prepare graduates for work does not mean we give back to the "company", but, instead, offer tools to receive and incorporate the best, high and complex knowledge in specific industries. With these may be resolved, as free as possible, their relationship with society, a relationship that includes the inalienable right to work.
For all these reasons, the undersigned, maintain that to give a public commitment to the specific transfer of knowledge is dangerous slash fraud. First, because it cuts the right of students to receive and incorporate contrasting academic knowledge in each of the disciplines concerned.
Second, because it restricts academic freedom by reducing the importance of the content posted by the student, his know-how for the sake of a vague, unacceptable and totalitarian surveillance of his nature.
Signed
Nora Catelli (Universitat de Barcelona)
Monterde Antoni Martí (Universitat de Barcelona)
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