Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education
Abstract The global neoliberal discourse on Higher Education (HE) reform has become dominant in both the developed and developing worlds. The paper tackles the Egyptian HE reforms that have been produced in line with the global neoliberal discourse through the World Bank’s (WB) funded reform project...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01915-4 |
| _version_ | 1797769670654164992 |
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| author | Israa Medhat Esmat |
| author_facet | Israa Medhat Esmat |
| author_sort | Israa Medhat Esmat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The global neoliberal discourse on Higher Education (HE) reform has become dominant in both the developed and developing worlds. The paper tackles the Egyptian HE reforms that have been produced in line with the global neoliberal discourse through the World Bank’s (WB) funded reform projects. Through Foucauldian discourse and genealogical analysis, the study questioned, troubled, and de-naturalized the inevitability and persistence of the neoliberal discourse in Egyptian HE. Far from being deterministic and rational, the process of transfer of the global neoliberal discourse to Egyptian HE was embedded in the interaction of a number of discursive and structural selectivities as captured by the Strategic Relational Approach. On one hand, privatization, cost-sharing strategies, and quality assurance systems constituted the major policy reforms produced by the neoliberal discourse. On the other hand academic freedoms, university autonomy, and equitable access to HE have been discursively disallowed, de-problematized and excluded. The 25th of January revolution represented a discontinuity that threatened the collapse of the neoliberal discourse while the crushing of the revolution perpetuated and reinforced the neoliberal discourse reflecting a mutual relationship between neoliberal and authoritarian discourses and governmentalities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:11:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d2aa681a6a744a6fab769b852a27ec41 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:11:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-d2aa681a6a744a6fab769b852a27ec412023-07-30T11:10:07ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922023-07-0110111010.1057/s41599-023-01915-4Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher educationIsraa Medhat Esmat0Cairo UniversityAbstract The global neoliberal discourse on Higher Education (HE) reform has become dominant in both the developed and developing worlds. The paper tackles the Egyptian HE reforms that have been produced in line with the global neoliberal discourse through the World Bank’s (WB) funded reform projects. Through Foucauldian discourse and genealogical analysis, the study questioned, troubled, and de-naturalized the inevitability and persistence of the neoliberal discourse in Egyptian HE. Far from being deterministic and rational, the process of transfer of the global neoliberal discourse to Egyptian HE was embedded in the interaction of a number of discursive and structural selectivities as captured by the Strategic Relational Approach. On one hand, privatization, cost-sharing strategies, and quality assurance systems constituted the major policy reforms produced by the neoliberal discourse. On the other hand academic freedoms, university autonomy, and equitable access to HE have been discursively disallowed, de-problematized and excluded. The 25th of January revolution represented a discontinuity that threatened the collapse of the neoliberal discourse while the crushing of the revolution perpetuated and reinforced the neoliberal discourse reflecting a mutual relationship between neoliberal and authoritarian discourses and governmentalities.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01915-4 |
| spellingShingle | Israa Medhat Esmat Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education |
| title_full | Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education |
| title_fullStr | Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education |
| title_short | Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education |
| title_sort | neoliberal reform discourse in egyptian higher education |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01915-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT israamedhatesmat neoliberalreformdiscourseinegyptianhighereducation |