New Public Management in the Swedish Higher Education

• The focus of this study is to find out about the neoliberal New Public Management entry into the Swedish higher education institutions, its effect and the possible alternative to it. The study is based on articles in academic journals, policy documents and government sponsored reports. The result of the study shows that the Swedish higher education institutions are influenced by New Public Management. This is visible as market characters such as efficiency, competition, quality control, customer satisfaction is highly valued at present in the higher education. There is also emphasis on manpower training for the labour market. Easily measurable knowledge for immediate use of economic growth are prioritized at the expense of critical and analytical knowledge. Higher education’s autonomy is to some extent violated, collegial leadership is replaced by appointee leadership, staff are under pressure to follow instructions instead of exercising their academic freedom. Based on these findings I will argue against these trends and emphasis on the importance of all partners in higher education to review the present condition in order to facilitate the possibility for keeping higher education (universities) as public autonomous institution, to keep academic freedom intact, to assure that higher education should have both professional and democratic contents, and that higher education should continue to undertake basic long term and short term research for immediate use.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Keywords: Higher education; Neoliberalism; New Public Management; Sweden

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)