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Education Policy Analysis Archives
Volume 6 Number 9
April 27, 1998
ISSN 1068-2341
A peer-reviewed scholarly electronic journal. Editor: Gene V Glass Glass@ASU.EDU. College of Education Arizona State University,Tempe AZ 85287-2411 Copyright 1998, the EDUCATION POLICY ANALYSIS ARCHIVES.Permission is hereby granted to copy any article provided that EDUCATION POLICY ANALYSIS ARCHIVES is credited and copies are not sold.
Abstract SOCRATES Invades Central Europe
Joseph Slowinski
Indiana University
The objective of this article is to explore the current reality faced by higher education students in Central and Eastern Europe and to draw out the implications of this current reality for policy makers in the future. In the article, I explore the influence of transnational corporations' training programs on education as it currently pertains to Central and Eastern European higher education and employment. In addition, multinational corporate entities exercise influence on European Union policy through the role of lobby organizations and activities. I explore the influence of these practices on education with an emphasis on the emerging importance of Western language skills. In addition, I focus on the European Union and its efforts to expand into Central and Eastern Europe in order to provide a focal point for analysis.
Introduction
"If there ever was an all-European house, it had an upstairs and a downstairs.... There was the industrialized West, and then there was another, underdeveloped Europe to provide meals and servants--raw materials, food and cheap migrant labour. ...Europe in 2018 will consist of a Western superstate whose floors are scrubbed by Romanians or Poles, and a periphery of beggarly Bantustans (Ascherson, 1988:12)The nineties are also witnessing the continuation of important social, cultural, economic and political developments that affect higher education. Prominent among them are the globalization of the economy, the decline of the welfare state, and the commodification of knowledge. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, there has been a deepening of the shift from Keynesianism to neoliberalism, and with it a wave of privatization and an increasing presence of market dynamics in social exchanges."(Schugurensky, 1997, p. 1)
At no other time in our history has the global proliferation of consumer markets been so pervasive. Global corporations produce and disseminate products throughout the world with ever increasing speed and scale. Since the fall of communism, these international corporations have expanded their markets into the post-communist nations. With this expansion of economic markets ensues a simultaneous global influence in economic, cultural and political arenas. In regard to education, particularly higher education, transnational corporations influence curriculum choices through training practices as well as language utilization. As we approach the twenty-first century, more and more global corporations are utilizing centralized training practices at corporate universities while opting for English as the language of instruction. This usage serves to promote English as a global lingua franca. At the regional level, Central and Eastern European nations have been actively seeking admission to the European Union. Bound by the 1993 Copenhagen European Council agreement, CEE nations who have applied for EU membership must be actively engaged in developing a functioning market economy. Consequently, these CEE nations must demonstrate the introduction of active measures to reduce state owned enterprise and create a free market system(Note 1). Due to these measures, the CEE region has been a fertile ground for international investment. Consequently, on a regional level, transnational corporations have been granted access to CEE markets due to the necessary adoption of neo-liberal economic practices facilitated by the World Bank and the European Union (Note 2). Consequently, these powerful corporate entities influence language policy due to employment opportunities in Western as well as Central and Eastern Europe (Note 3). Due to their centralized training practices, access to employment is dependent upon western language skills and knowledge. This serves to privilege those in the region who have English language skills; those who have acquired English language skills maintain an advantage in the economic and labor markets. Consequently, transnational corporations have begun to play a major role in the field of higher education due to employment access based on western linguistic skill. Furthermore, the European Union (EU) exerts influence in the region due to the involvement in education and developmental assistance (Note 4). Recently, Romania and Hungary became eligible for participation in European Union Community programs in the field of education, training and youth: SOCRATES, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth for Europe programs. This will serve to expand EU support of education carried out through TEMPUS from 1990 - 1996 (Note 5). Since 1990, the European Union has instituted the TEMPUS program which has provided educational travel opportunities for faculty and students. An examination of TEMPUS program data indicates that an unequal flow, from east to west, of faculty and students has occurred; many more university faculty and students from the east are traveling to the west than vice versa. I contend that these unequal mobility flows demonstrate an advantage for those with western language skills; CEE university students and faculty endowed with western language skills are afforded the opportunity to travel to Western Europe. This advantage along with the promotion of English language for training among transnational corporations will serve to devalue Central and Eastern European intellectual work. Through the introduction of SOCRATES, mobility flows will further exacerbate an unequal East-West flow of students and faculty. Through this unequal flow, those with Western European language skills will gain economic privilege through increased job opportu nities. Furthermore, these mobility flows will lead to a diminished output of scholarly work published in Eastern and Central European languages. In this article I will explore the influence of transnational corporations and the European Union on Central and Eastern Europe. I contend that global trends facilitated by transnational corporate training is facilitating a de facto linguistic advantage for those who have acquired English language skills. Furthermore, since most transnational corporations maintain a strong lobbyist structure in Brussels, transnational corporations act more in the role of policy development in the European Union. Simultaneously, participation in TEMPUS has operated to privilege university students with western language skills. Further participation in ERASMUS will further this trend; those university students with French, German or English language skills will maintain a privileged position due to access to university mobility programs. EU involvement in the region paired with the international influence of transnational corporations will lead to an increased level of economic stratification in Central and Eastern Europe. Those who have western language skills, especially English, will be granted access to study and employment opportunities not afforded those without these linguistic skills.
Globalization: English as Corporate Lingua Franca
With the collapse of Soviet communism and subsequent opening to international capitalism, global corporations were given the opportunity to expand operations and markets into Central and Eastern Europe. During the initial phases of transition, those CEE nations which were oriented towards a market economy were rewarded with large amounts of foreign investment (Note 6). Consequently, the World Bank and other multilaterals provided funding for those nations which were actively engaged in attempts of free-market liberalization and privatization(Note 7). Due to a need for capital and required by multilateral conditionality, CEE nations have opened its doors to global commerce. Yet, global commerce is simultaneously English speaking; five hundred and sixty-six of the top one thousand corporations in the world are located in English speaking nations(Note 8). Due to the economic power of global commerce centered in English speaking nations, English has become a global lingua franca. With markets expanding into CEE nations, those with English language skills will be given a privileged opportunity in the labor market. Consequently, English will increase in value as expansion of transnational corporation continues into the east. With this economic expansion comes a de facto influence on University curricula. Since University students in CEE nations will be granted employment opportunities with English language skills, a demand for English language instruction at the university as well as at other levels of the educational system has been realized(Note 9). Due to the economic influence of global commerce, the connection between transnational corporations and institutions of higher education continues to merge. For example, Mallampally (1997) provides the example of two internationally renown business universities (i.e., Institut pour l´enseignement des méthodes de direction de l'enterprise (IMEDE) and the International Management Institute (IMI) which were originally founded as corporate training centers for Nestlé and Alcan. Levels of university and corporate connections will be discussed in more detail later. Yet, the connections current exist and will continue to flourish as global commerce grows. Consequently, a hierarchal system of influence exists; labor market requirements (facilitated by TNCs) influence universities which provide the credentialing and cultural knowledge needed to advance in a global society. The power of economic capital works to define the system of higher educational institutions; due to economic influence, the practices of these corporations facilitates public demands which operate to change university practices and knowledge distribution (Bourdieu, 1973).
Table 1 illustrates the training strategies of the largest transnational corporations. From Table 1, large transnational corporations provide more technical training as well as on-the-job training than small to medium TNCs. Since large transnational corporations rely more on their own training systems, access to this training is critical for employment with these firms. Due the location of corporate headquarters, access to training is dependent upon western language skills. For example, since 566 of the top 1000 corporations are located in English speaking nations, English will more likely be the language of training. Consequently, what appears to be more important criteria in hiring is the language skills through which TNCs provide training for employees. Therefore, western language skills become more critical for employment in large TNCs.
Table 1. Training of employees by TNCs
Type of Training & Region Small to Medium TNCs Large TNCs On-the-Job Training % Providing Training % Providing Training South, East & South-East Asia 61% 75% Latin America 60% 69% All Developing Nations 61% 73% Technical Training % Providing Training % Providing Training South, East & South-East Asia 46% 71% Latin America 35% 74% All Developing Nations 44% 73%
Source. Mallampally (1997).
From table 1, it can be ascertained that large transnational corporations tend to train employees at centralized locations. For example, in 1993, Nestlé trained 1200 workers from over 60 various nations at its Rive-Reine training center (Mallampally, 1997). As ERT (1989:35) explains about Nestlé training, due to global expansion:
a special group is prepared for an international career. An initial on-the-job training mixed with classroom seminars is offered during a 1˝ - 2˝ years. For this group it is especially essential to look after the company's interests as though they were one's own, through (1) mobility or the willingness and ability to move about both physically (i.e., from one geographical area to another) and socially, (2) adaptability both in geographical and intellectual terms, and (3) linguistic skill. The minimum requirement is for two languages, the preference being English, French and Spanish.Similarly, large TNCs such as McDonald's as well as Anderson Consulting maintain their own universities which operate as training centers. Yet, in order to conduct training in these central locations, employees must utilize a lingua franca. Consequently, workers who are hired are required to have gained linguistic capital in French, English or German. At Airbus Industries, a collaboration between Spanish, English, German and French companies, workers communicate in English (World Press Review, 1997). Global commerce is influencing training practices throughout the world while TNC's training policies are influencing language acquisition as well as access to employment opportunities. Consequently, those who possess Western European linguistic capi tal remain in a privileged position. Transnational corporations located in Western Europe or moving into Eastern and Central Europe are continually influencing language policy. Since the EU is expanding into CEE nations, CEE university students are driven to acquire Western European linguistic capital. European Union: Conflation of the Regional and Global
Bound by the 1993 Copenhagen European Council agreement, CEE nations who have applied for EU membership must be actively engaged in developing a functioning market economy. In accordance with this EU mandate, the EU clearly views CEE nations as potential consumers of Western European products (Note 10). EU policy makers desire to increase the economic competitiveness of Western European corporations. "Further integration and enlargement will help rapidly growing income in Central and East European countries translate into a continuous rapid growth of the West-European export market" (European Commission, 1997a). With the European Commission keen on expanding economic markets into Eastern and Central Europe, EU policies are created in an effort to perpetuate free market liberalization and privatization in CEE nations which further contributes to the influence of global corporations. Like all large political institutions, the European Union has an ancillary collection of lobbyist organizations working for private corporate interests. One of the largest is the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT). ERT is comprised of some of the largest multinational companies in the world. Of the forty-six companies ERT represents, twelve are listed in the top one hundred corporations in the world. European business continues to a major play on the world's stage. In 1998, 139 of the top 500 and 290 of the top 1000 corporations were located in Western Europe. In 1990, 168 of the world's top 500 corporations were based in Western Europe (Ikeda, 1996). Table 2 demonstrates the international economic power of many of the ERT corporations. Table 2. ERT Corporations' Economic Power
Corporation International Corporate Ranking
(Rank of 1000)General Electric 1 Royal Dutch Shell 3 British Petroleum 21 Unilever 33 Nestle 38 British Telecom 45 Daimler Benz 58 Ericsson 71 Siemens 77 Bayer 91 Veba 94 B.A.T. Industries 96
Source. Business Week (1997).With such economic influence, it would be prudent to explore the relationship between ERT and the EU. For example, "[t]he aim of the ERT is to strengthen Europe's economy and improve its global competitiveness" (ERT, 1998). In order to accomplish this objective, ERT makes contact biannually (i.e., every six months) with members of the government which currently holds the EU presidency. This is due to the change in the EU presidency each six months. During these meetings, ERT presents working papers, reports or position papers outlining their policy in regard to critical issues influencing their corporate markets. In addition, ERT operates at the national level with its members facilitating contact with country level governmental and parliament members. Like all lobby organizations, the European Round Table of Industrialists is a policy dissemination body which attempts to steer EU policy decisions. For example, ERT released "Education for Europeans-- Towards the Learning Society" in March 1995. Interestingly, a July 14, 1997 report on the European Council's decision to admit Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic for participation in Community programs for education, training and youth makes reference to a White Paper entitled, "Teaching and Learning - Towards the Learning Society." According to the European Council, this paper "defines the priorities of an education which is capable of carrying out its traditional tasks while integrating the new economics, technological and, above all, human aspects" (European Parliament, 1997: 20). In addition, in 1997, ERT published a report "Investing in Knowledge: The Integration of Technology in European Education." Later the same year, the European Commission released "Towards a Europe of Knowledge." ERT's report emphasizes an information society which learns through cooperation with corporations. This sentiment was echoed by the European Commission. In section three of the European Commission report, "The Parties Involved," economic partners are emphasized. "There must be a commitment to securing greater involvement of the business sector" (European Commission, 1997d, p. 7). Topics raised by ERT through their policy papers seems to have an influential effect on European Commission policy. This influence extends directly to institutions of higher education through collaborate efforts with universities.
European University--Corporate Connection
ERT maintains an Educational Policy unit through which policy papers and collaboration with European Higher Education is facilitated. For example, the ERT joined together with the Standing Conference of Rectors, Presidents and Vice-Chancellors of the European Universities (CRE) to conduct research, publish policy papers and facilitate policy which would benefit corporate interest. CRE represents 500 universities in thirty nations. Two examples of collaborative publications include the following: European Approaches to Lifelong Learning (1992); and Lifelong Learning: Developing Europe's Future Capability: The Role of Industry - University Cooperation (1991). Through these publications, ERT promotes an increased partnership with institutions of higher education. Table 3 provides an example of suggested university - corporate collaborations currently being utilized by ERT member corporations.
Table 3. University--Corporate Collaboration
Training Type Description Inhouse Training Individual University faculty utilized at corporate headquarters Tailor-made programs Universities construct program for corporation Joint Collaboration Combine accredited company training with external university courses Pick and Mix Select courses at a variety of institutions Publicly funded adult education Open University Self-study Distance Education Supported with Technology
Source. European Round Table of Industrialists (1991).ERT desires universities to serve its interest through a concerted effort to promote life long learning; training costs will be reduced if universities aid corporations in training. For example, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) reported that $25 billion was spent annual in order to train poorly educated graduates (Vaughn, 1997). In addition to global economic influence, the European Round Table of Industrialist is attempting to drive educational policy making throughout Europe through its partnership with CRE and policy papers disseminated to the European Union at its biannual meeting with the EU presidency. Yet, the corporations represented by ERT influence university students as well as language policy in CEE nations through its global economic strength. Corporate Influence in Central and Eastern Europe
A recent survey conducted by Universum (1997) illustrates how Polish, Hungarian and Czech University students view language skills and their relationship to economic opportunity. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents indicated that "the ability to speak foreign languages" was a critical skill perceived as necessary to realize success in career plans. A large percentage realize that access to increased levels of employment in the European market is dependent upon the possession of language skills. Economic incentives, realized through language ability, remain the impetus for travel to Western Europe for education and employment opportunities. On the other hand, the large number of Romanians and Hungarians without knowledge of Western languages face an uncertain and perceived unfair future. World Press Review (1997:8) provides insight into their feelings:
Hardest to take for many non-English speakers is the way the global language has divided the world into haves and have-nots: opportunities for knowledge, jobs, and advancement may be open to English speakers and closed to others. Career ads in French newspapers published in Belgium are often used in English, because multinationals increasingly regard mastery of the language as a job requisite.With such an emphasis on foreign language acquisition as a requisite for employment, transnational corporations are endowed with a de facto influence over CEE university students. Due to the economic prowess of TNCs, CEE students look to these multinationals as a mechanism for upward mobility. Of those surveyed about companies that they would ideally like to work for, only four domestic companies (i.e., two banks, one telecommunications company and one brewery) made the top 25 "wish list" in total of the three countries represented in the survey. Interestingly, in two nations these companies were the number one choice. Generally, university students in the region are looking toward the West for economic prosperity; thirty-six percent of the respondents want to work for a multinational. This desire for employment at multinational corporations leads to a de facto influence on language programming at Central and Eastern European universities. For example, students seeking upward mobility realize the need to acquire Western European language skills which in-turn creates a demand for these languages at CEE universities. Fifty-seven percent of the university students indicated that acquiring a command of foreign languages is important to current career success. In other words, these university students recognize that acquiring linguistic capital (i.e., modern languages of Western Europe such as German, French and English) is critical to upward mobility in the emerging new Europe. In addition, the influence of western linguistic capital can also be seen in the number of students from post-communist nations studying in the United States; 4780 students came to the U.S.A. during the 1991-92 year to study at American universities as compared with 18,032 during 1995-96 year (Moffet, 1996). The influence of global commerce on language acquisition can be seen through this recognition. Consequently, transnational corporations (TNC) create linguistic value through their global economic power. Students are clearly aware of this fact and equate economic success with working for this influential transnational corporations. Table 4 illustrates the university respondents top ten selections for ideal employment.
Table 4. CEE University Students Dream Jobs.
Poland Czech Republic Hungary IBM Komenci Banka MOL BMW IBM IBM OPEL Microsoft Unilever Microsoft SPT Telecom Coca Cola General Motors Citibank BMW Philips Coppers & Lybrand Andersen Consulting Siemens Hewlett Packard Nestle Bank Handlowy Arthur Andersen Mercedes-Benz Arthur Andersen Siemens Audi Sony BMW Danone
Source: Universum International (1997)Surely, the majority of these companies are familiar to the reader. Students chose large TNCs; TNCs that represent some of the most successful and wealthiest corporations in the world. With this recognition comes a simultaneous realization of the language of their corporate headquarters (i.e., English, French, German). Obtaining linguistic capital for these university students represents an economic incentive for upward mobility. In addition, these languages operate as a transnational corporate ling ua franca allowing communication between native speakers of various vernacular languages. The influence of English and other Western languages facilitates university policy and curriculum change as well as a simultaneous demand by university students to acquire these linguistic skills.
EU Involvement in Central and Eastern Europe Higher Education
Beginning September 1, 1997, Romania and Hungary became eligible for participation in European Union Community programs in the field of education, training and youth: SOCRATES, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth for Europe programs (Note 11). In a ddition, the Czech Republic has recently became eligible to participate and it is anticipated that other CEE countries (i.e., Slovakia, Poland) will become eligible in the near future. The European Union (EU) has been actively involved in Central Europe since 1988 (Note 12). As CEE nations realized more freedom, the level of EU involvement and cooperation from the EU increased. On December 18, 1989, the EU created PHARE in an effort to provide financial assistance and advice to post-communist nations (Note 13). As part of the creation of PHARE was the development of TEMPUS (Note 14). TEMPUS has been the EU's primary developmental assistance program in the field of education for Central and Eastern Europe. TEMPUS was initially implemented in order to meet the education and training needs of Hungary and Poland in an effort to support the initiatives of Phare. Yet, the EU soon realized Member Countries could benefit from expanding aid to other nations in the CEE region. In 1990, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of G24 nations extended financial assistance to Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic and Yugoslavia On May 7, 1990, the European Council created the TEMPUS program; Article 4 of the European Council decision outlines the objectives of the TEMPUS program (European Commission, 1997; European Commission, 1991). With the admission of associate countries into community programs, the EU will further its educational efforts first facilitated through TEMPUS (Trans European Cooperation Scheme for Higher Education). The objectives of TEMPUS are:
- to facilitate the coordination of the provision of assistance to the eligible countries in the field of exchange and mobility, particularly for university students and teachers, whether this assistance is provided by the Community, by its Member States or by third countries of the G24 group;
- to contribute to the improvement of training in the eligible countries, particularly in subject areas to which they give priority, and to encourage their cooperation, including joint cooperation, with partners in the Community, taking into account the need to ensure the widest possible participation of all regions of the Community in such actions;
- to increase opportunities for the teaching and learning in the eligible countries of those languages used in the Community and covered by the Lingua program and vice-versa;
- to enable students from the eligible countries to spend a specific period of study at university or to undertake industry placements within the Member States, while ensuring equality of opportunity for male and female students as regard participation in such mobility;
- to enable students from the Community to spend a similar period of study or placement in an eligible country;
- to promote increased exchanges and mobility of teaching staff and trainers as part of the cooperation process.
Of particular interest are the final two objectives: (1) to enable students to study or work in CEE nations; (2) to promote exchanges between EU and CEE faculty and students. Ideally, TEMPUS objectives promote cooperation as well as the exchange of ideas and cultures between citizens of EU and CEE nations. Yet, this is only true if a two-way flow of exchange occurs. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate faculty and student flows from 1990 to 1996.
Consequently, an examination of the flow patterns of faculty and students to and from CEE nations should reveal if TEMPUS objectives have been met through exchanges and mobility flows. According to the European Training Foundation (1997a), large numbers of East-West and West-East exchanges have occurred. For example, 100,649 faculty and students have benefitted from TEMPUS funded Joint European Project exchanges as well as 10,624 individuals through Individual Mobility Grants (European Training Foundation, 1997b).
Figure 1. Faculty & Student Flows between EU and CEE countries (1990-1996)
Source. 1996 Tempus Yearbook.
Figure 2. Faculty & Student Individual Mobility Flows (1990-1996)
Source. 1996 Tempus Yearbook.From this data, it becomes clear that an unequal flow of faculty and staff is occurring; faculty and students from CEE countries are traveling to the EU Member States in much greater numbers. What is particularly worrisome is the low number of students from EU member countries traveling to CEE nations. Since these students represent the future scholars from the region, the capability for access to knowledge from CEE nations is dependent upon translations from CEE nation students obtaining Western European language skills. Consequently, the potential for the loss or lack of distribution of academic work produced in CEE nations remains great due to the emphasis on Western European languages as well as these unequal academic mobility flows. Due to the emphasis on western languages, scholars will not have access to academic production written in CEE languages; those who will translate are more likely to translate from western to eastern languages. As English continues its global dominance, fewer scholarly journals will utilize CEE languages; the majority of the global intellectual products, journals and magazines, are published in a few languages: English, French, German, Spanish (Altbach, 1982) Some may argue that this unidirectional flow is justifiable. After years under Soviet domination with strict regulations governing travel, faculty and staff from CEE nations desire travel opportunities to visit and explore Western Europe. In addition, universities in the region may not have the infrastructure capacity to support large numbers of west-east exchanges. Certainly, conversations with many students and colleagues from the CEE region indicate a desire to see Western Europe after oppressive communist policies. Yet, these mobility patterns are likely to result in a high degree of social-epistemological stratification based upon linguistic and other capital. For example, those who have acquired Western European language skills are able to participate in East-West exchanges. Current realities in Western European Academic exchange will only be exacerbated with the further entry of Eastern and Central scholars. For example, current participation of EU Member countries in staff mobility demonstrates the dependence on the dominant languages of Europe.
Enders' (1998) study of academic staff mobility in the European Union through ERASMUS demonstrates that a hierarchal value of languages exists in the European Union. Of all staff mobilities in 1990 - 91, English was utilized in 61 percent of course offerings where visiting faculty were lecturing at host institutions. French was the language of instruction in 27 percent of the courses, German 13 percent, Spanish 10 percent, Italian 9 percent and all other languages 2 percent. English is presently the academic lingua franca of choice.
In addition to the potential for decreased production of scholarly works in CEE languages, these opportunities created through university exchange could lead to future employment prospects with Western European universities and/or corporations leading to further economic stratification between university students in the CEE region who possess Western European language skills and those who don't. Consequently, economic stratification based on educational attainment will be further exacerbated by access given to those with western language skills. Access which provides upward mobility opportunities for those with these linguistic skills.
European Higher Education: Potential Impact on CEE Faculty and Students
In 1979, Jean-François Lyotard published The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. His work acted as a catalyst for the postmodern movement but more importantly discussed his perceptions of the future of education and knowledge. Lyotard (1993, p. 4-5) writes: The relationship of the suppliers and users of knowledge to the knowledge they supply and use is now tending, and will increasingly tend, to assume the form already taken by the relationship of commodity producers and consumers to the commodities they produce and consume - that is, the form of value. Knowledge is and will be produced in order to be sold , it is and will be consumed in order to be valorized in a new production: in both cases, the goal is exchange. Knowledge ceases to be an end in itself, it loses its "use-value."
Due to this shift from knowledge as an end in itself to knowledge as symbolic capital, educational institutions must sell the acquisition of knowledge and skills to the consumer-student. Universities throughout the world are experiencing a shift from knowledge as an end in itself to knowledge as added value to the individual's symbolic captial. Consequently, universities are forging relationships with corporate entities as I have discussed previously in the paper.
Transformation in the nature of knowledge, then, could well have repercussions on the existing public powers, forcing them to reconsider relations (both de jure and de facto) with the large corporations, and more generally with civil service. (Lyotard, 1993, p. 6)
Lyotard's keen prognostication of the current reality we are witnessing in higher education is valuable for reflection on the impact of Central and Eastern Europe in regard to higher education. In CEE nations, the commodification of higher education is realized in two majors forms: privatization of education and the shifting profession of higher education.
With the elimination of communist state controlled education at the beginning of the 1990's came privitization efforts. International donor agencies including the European Union mandated privatization as a preresquisite to EU membership as well as receipt of donor aid. Consequently, the education sector was opened to private institutions offering all types of educational services. Through these privatization efforts, Central and Eastern Europe has witnessed the influx of hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of private institutions of higher education as well as universities headquartered in Europe or the United States with branch campuses in the region. Higher education has become a commodity. Since many of the programs strive to offer international models of business or authentic language instructors, local instructors are replaced with scholars who have knowledge of Western European business, law, economics models as well as the command of English or German. Could this lead to unemployment for those regional scholars without these languages or skills?
In addition to privatization efforts, higher education institutions in Europe as well as throughout the world are facing similar circumstances. Throughout the world in the past fifteen years, the percentage of students entering institutions of higher education as well as the percentage graduating has continued to rise substantially. Figure 3 demonstrates these trends in several OECD nations.
Figure 3. University Enrollment Rates (1985-1995)
Source. Peter (1997)
With large numbers of students entering higher education, universities are beginning to struggle financially. In addition, at the same time as large numbers of students are entering higher education, European governments are reducing per pupil funding. Consequently, a potential education crisis is being realized in Europe. To counter the economic reality of universal access to higher education, many nations have introduced increased levels of tuition and fees as well as stricter admissions policies (Schugurensky, 1998). Yet, with the opening of Central and Eastern Europe, western institutions may utilize the contacts brought about through TEMPUS and SOCRATES to fill needed lecture positions with CEE academicians.
Considering the influx of western scholars to Central and Eastern Europe as well as the access to university connections through mobility programs, Western European institutions of higher education potentially view Eastern European scholars as inexpensive labor to fill the needed positions to teach the masses entering higher education in Western Europe. Although these trends favor Western European institutions, Eastern scholars are eager for an income to support themselves and their families. Intellectual labor will, as Lyotard suggests, begin to resemble commodification. Advertisments may soon appear in LeMonde or Nepszabadsag written in English searching for lecturers to teach in Western Europe. But again we must be reminded of the linguistic capital involved. English is a symbolic passport providing access to those who posess it.
Furthermore, this financial crisis may lead to less opportunities for Central and Eastern European students seeking placement in the universities with the best domestic reputation. Due to the financial crisis of higher education in the region, institutions of higher education are attempting to lure Western students who are willing to spend large sums of money on tutition to study there. With large numbers of foreign students coming to the region, university spaces at prestigious unviersities may begin to be filled with those who can afford to pay for tuition in hard currencies such as dollars, marks and pounds. Language continues to play a major role at the university level in the region.
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About the Author
Joseph Slowinski
Indiana University
4228 Education
Bloomington, Indiana 47405
Email: Joeslow@Indiana.eduJoseph Slowinski currently is Associate Instructor at Indiana University where he teaches "Computers in Education." In addition, he is involved in post-communist education scholarship and serves as Assistant Editor of the Institute for the Study of Russian Education newsletter. He has earned a M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a focus on International and Comparative Education. Over the course of his career he has taught in England, Hungary and Switzerland.
Copyright 1998 by the Education Policy Analysis Archives
The World Wide Web address for the Education Policy Analysis Archives is http://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa
General questions about appropriateness of topics or particular articles may be addressed to the Editor, Gene V Glass, glass@asu.edu or reach him at College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2411. (602-965-2692). The Book Review Editor is Walter E. Shepherd: shepherd@asu.edu . The Commentary Editor is Casey D. Cobb: casey@olam.ed.asu.edu .
EPAA Editorial Board
Michael W. Apple
University of WisconsinGreg Camilli
Rutgers UniversityJohn Covaleskie
Northern Michigan UniversityAndrew Coulson
a_coulson@msn.comAlan Davis
University of Colorado, DenverSherman Dorn
University of South FloridaMark E. Fetler
California Commission on Teacher CredentialingRichard Garlikov
hmwkhelp@scott.netThomas F. Green
Syracuse UniversityAlison I. Griffith
York UniversityArlen Gullickson
Western Michigan UniversityErnest R. House
University of ColoradoAimee Howley
Marshall UniversityCraig B. Howley
Appalachia Educational LaboratoryWilliam Hunter
University of CalgaryRichard M. Jaeger
University of North Carolina--GreensboroDaniel Kallós
Umeå UniversityBenjamin Levin
University of ManitobaThomas Mauhs-Pugh
Rocky Mountain CollegeDewayne Matthews
Western Interstate Commission for Higher EducationWilliam McInerney
Purdue UniversityMary P. McKeown
Arizona Board of RegentsLes McLean
University of TorontoSusan Bobbitt Nolen
University of WashingtonAnne L. Pemberton
apembert@pen.k12.va.usHugh G. Petrie
SUNY BuffaloRichard C. Richardson
Arizona State UniversityAnthony G. Rud Jr.
Purdue UniversityDennis Sayers
University of California at DavisJay D. Scribner
University of Texas at AustinMichael Scriven
scriven@aol.comRobert E. Stake
University of Illinois--UCRobert Stonehill
U.S. Department of EducationRobert T. Stout
Arizona State University
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