The Anti-Ecological University

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The article aims at critiquing the current competitive framing which is shaping higher education policies and discourse at an international level. The argument initially takes an historical and genealogical approach to trace the roots of this framing to ideological mis-interpretations of evolutionary theory and ecology, and to the influence of eugenics in the framing of educational policy. The article then uses a systems theory lens to articulate the negative impact of competitive dynamics in global education on an eco-systemic level, focusing on a “de-ecologisation” of the two dimensions of time and space in the lives of university students and staff. Finally, the article concludes suggesting the necessity of an imaginative re-ecologisation of thought as a pre-condition for any sustainable change in Higher Education philosophy and policy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)45-66
Number of pages22
JournalPhilosophy and Theory of Higher Education
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2020

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