Consuming Higher Education

Joanna Williams is a Lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent, UK.

If you have been discouraged by what you think may well be undesirable trends in higher education, I urge you to read this book - and to consider the questions Joanna Williams raises. From the Foreword by Arthur L. Wilson, Associate Professor of Adult Education, Department of Education, Cornell University. USA Consuming Higher Education is a very important contribution to thinking about the shape of higher education today. It grapples head-on with the pervasive trope of 'student-as-consumer', illuminating the complex socio-historical and cultural influences that have come to shape contemporary university students as consumers. Yet, the book is by no means all gloom. Joanna Williams argues lucidly, persuasively and inspiringly for putting 'intellectual struggle' at the heart of university education. Monica McLean, Professor of Education, University of Nottingham, UK Consuming Higher Education is a timely and comprehensive treatment of a phenomenon that is of growing importance as governments everywhere embark on market-based reforms. It should be read and reflected on by everyone with an interest in the future health of our higher education system. Roger Brown, Professor of Higher Education Policy, Liverpool Hope University, UK

• Acknowledgements \ Foreword Arthur L. Wilson \ Introduction: It's Not About the Money \ Part I: The Construction of the Student as Consumer \ 1. Students Within a Changing University \ 2. The Rise of the Student Consumer \ 3. Constructing Consumption \ Part II: Being a Consumer \ 4. Teaching Consumption and Consuming Learning \ 5. A Question of Identity \ 6. Customer Care \ 7. Beyond Entitlement \ Bibliography \ Index