Resisting or complying with neoliberal subjectification? Finnish and Portuguese non-traditional graduates and their educational ethoses

Sippola, Markku; Valadas, Sandra; Paulos, Liliana; Leal, Carolina

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/28107

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Resisting or complying with neoliberal subjectification Finnish and Portuguese non-traditional graduates and their educational ethoses.pdf		1.62 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Abstract(s)

The Bourdieusian view of higher education (HE) emphasises its inherited nature and function in maintaining social hierarches. This is in conflict with the egalitarian and meritocratic ideas prevailing in some welfare regimes, such as those organised around Social Democratic or Conservative precepts. Moreover, the Bologna Process that began in the 2000s instilled the idea of employability as a broader goal of HE within the EU. This study investigates the experiences of non-traditional graduates (NTGs) from Finland and Portugal in relation to the trends affecting welfare regimes and the historical trajectories of HE. In the analysis, the ethoses of ‘HE as a virtue’, ‘human capital’, and ‘employability’ were identified. The ethoses are accompanied by varying degrees of resisting or complying with commodification of HE and neoliberal subjectification. HE institutions can be regarded as providing distinctive ethoses of NTGs that can be traced back to the influence of their respective welfare regimes.