±
Knowledge Economy for Whom? How the neoliberal knowledge economy creates risk for working class students Victoria Smith
Bell (1976) argued that western countries and high skilled workers demanded by the new the U.S are passing from an industrial to a post- knowledge economy (Grint & Nixon, 2015). industrial period of society, which is described There is little doubt that UK government as ‘The Information Society’ (Bell 1976). Bell policies have been heavily influenced by the states that “instead of society based on a knowledge economy theory and this is most labour theory of value… the post-industrial clearly apparent in the expansion of the school society rests on a knowledge theory of value- leaving age and the higher education sector in that is to say, value is fundamentally increased, recent years. From research and official not by labour, but by knowledge” (Bell, 1976: statistics in the UK, we can see that there are 46). Bell identified key shifts in post-industrial more students in Higher education than ever societies employment before, with 49% of structures such as the young people decline of unskilled attending university manufacturing before the age of employment and the 30. This means growth of high skilled, almost half of all managerial, technical young people in and professional England are going occupations in sectors onto higher such as business and education, which is education services the highest level (Grint & Nixon, 2015). since the For Bell (1976), the post-industrial society is a introduction of £9,000 tuition fees (Adams, knowledge economy because future job 2017). Research shows student numbers have growth would be focused in high skilled doubled since 1992, from 984,000 students to occupations, which would dictate a massive 1.87 million young people in 2016 in full time expansion of higher education to provide the education (ONS, 2016).
Historically, the education system has In Becks terms, “risk is a modern concept. It remained for those already privileged in presumes decision making” (Beck, 2002: 40) society (Furlong and Cartmel, 2007) as the and in this example, we can see how working- working class continue to be disadvantaged in class students making the potentially life the academic world. Nevertheless, in the UK changing decision about higher education can we have seen a multi-million-pound drive to be an immense risk for various reasons that we recruit students from disadvantaged shall explore. It could be argued that for the backgrounds into higher education, with middle and upper classes, higher education is universities spending a total of £725.2 million not a huge decision but rather a right of on access initiatives in 2017 alone (Turner, passage or a normal expectancy, as almost all 2017). Additionally, the drive for a wider young people from professional families go representation of working-class students is onto university and succeed (Archer, 2003). motivated by “economic, institutional and Giddens describes the theory of risk society as social injustice concerns, which are “we no longer live our lives as fate, in a framed within the globalization of the process which Ulrich Beck calls knowledge economy” (Archer, individualisation” (Giddens, 1999: 2003: 14). Yet, whilst the 3) as he outlines his own theory expansion of higher of manufactured risk, which education and the is created by the very widening participation evolution of human agenda can be read as development (Giddens, creating greater 1999). Giddens goes on to opportunity for greater describe how we live in a world numbers of young people (Archer where one can no longer depend & Hutchings, 2000), in this critical on tradition to establish what to do in reflection I want to argue that this a range of settings, thus individuals must process, following Beck (2002), generates “take a more active and risk-infused many risks for working-class and orientation to their relationships and disadvantaged groups. involvements” (Giddens, 1999: 4). This could While Beck (2002) argues that the risks be an explanation as to why many working- generated by modernisation are democratic class students take the risk with higher and cut across the class structure, I will argue education, as it could be seen that they are that in relation to the expansion of higher doing what must to be done in order to survive education, working-class students face many in our post-industrial knowledge economy. risks not encountered by their more privileged Financial risk for working class students is peers that threaten their ability to take extremely significant, as the reductions in advantage of the knowledge economy. I will financial support have transferred the also argue that neoliberalism has transformed responsibility for funding university from the universities, which has caused working-class state onto the individual and their families students to be further disadvantaged in the (Moreau and Leathwood, 2006). This could be academic world. an explanation as to why students from lower
social backgrounds are more likely to work unknowingly less supportive and helpful during term time, and also work more hours towards working class students, as they are than their middle-class counterparts similarly unaccustomed in the academic world (Callender and Wilkinson, 2003). There is no (Thomas, 2002). Altogether, these risks may doubt that trying to excel in full time contribute towards the 8.8 per cent of undergraduate study and also partaking in working-class students (in 2014/15) unable to paid part-time work alongside this can affect complete their first year of undergraduate academic performance significantly (Moreau study (Turner, 2017). However, if working class and Leathwood, 2006). Financial hardship is a students do become fully integrated at genuine risk for many working-class students university and succeed academically, there is and the reality is, many need to work simply to research that suggests that their tastes and remain at university (Callender and Wilkinson, outlooks can change, which can make 2003). Furthermore, working-class students relationships with family members and friends experience financial pressures and concerns from home more difficult, as they no longer around debt and comparative lack of money share similar views and interests. Similarly, compared to their middle-class peers they are still outcasts to the middle class, (Thomas, 2002), as not having a disposable which leaves them as “cultural outsiders” income to enjoy the leisurely activities of (Lehmann, 2013). This demonstrates another university life could certainly contribute to the risk that working class students may face if pressures of university. A study done by Archer they do become successful in the academic (2007) found that the prospects of student environment that is university. debt prevented young people from attending There is no doubt that a knowledge centred university, as it was viewed as a risky economy has highlighted the importance of investment. higher education (Kandiko, 2010) as There are also social and cultural risks, as universities are now the main drive in the working-class students may be relatively search for competitive advantage in global unprepared and lacking academic ability when economies (Brown, Lauder and Ashton, 2007). they get to university Nevertheless, which could lead to neoliberalism has them feeling like they affected many do not fit in at that qualities of higher academic institution education as we (Lehmann, 2007). witness the shift Supporting this, it “from bloody wars could be said that the to knowledge wars” middle-class “know (Brown, Lauder and how to play the Ashton, 2007: 133) game” (Archer, 2007: we see how higher 220) which contributes to their academic education has become privatised, success. Also, families with little or no commercialised and corporatized (Kezar, experience of higher education may be 2004). In the UK, we have seen a reduction in
funding for public services, which has resulted university, which is a clear outcome of our new in high tuition fees for university students. This “knowledge economy”. However, it is clear shifts the economic burden from the state, that for working-class students, the risk is onto individual students (Kandiko 2010), which much greater in several different aspects of can cause them many personal financial risks. higher education in our new post-industrial Additionally, this creates the students to society. Similarly, neoliberalism has become more like consumers and customers, transformed higher education through thus presenting the shift from educational privatisation and marketization, which has institute to a business-like establishment forced students to compete for places and (Kandiko, 2010). encumbered them with excessive tuition fees. We have explored how widening participation It is clear that this would also disadvantage can be viewed positively within a knowledge working class students further, as they may economy, however, in the terms of not possess the social, cultural or economic neoliberalism, it could be seen as allowing capital to rival their middle-class peers. While universities to educate a larger number of higher education is represented positively on a students at a lower cost (with the implement whole, there is an extensive history of of high tuition fees) (Kandiko, 2010). sociological theorization that has been critical Furthermore, universities are constantly put of how it often reinforces and reproduces class into competition with one another on a global inequalities (Archer, 2003). scale, with success measured through league tablets (Radice, 2013). Not only do the universities compete with one another, but Bibliography: also hopeful students must compete for places Adams, Richard (2017). Almost half of all young and endure a lengthy selection process when people in England go on to higher education. The applying for universities across the UK. It could Guardian. Available from: be said that has a negative impact on working-
Beck, Ulrich (2002). 'The terrorist threat- World Radice, Hugo (2013). 'How we got here: UK higher risk society revisited'. Theory, Culture and education under neoliberalism'. An international Society, 19(4), 39–55. journal for critical georgraphies Bell, Daniel (1976). 'Welcome to the post-industrial ONS (2016). 'How has the student population society'. Physics today, 46-49. changed?' Office for national statistics . Available Brown, Phillip, Lauder, Hugh, & Ashton, David from:
Moreau, Marie.-Pierre, & Leathwood, C. (2006).
'Balancing paid work and studies: Working (-class) students in higher education'. Studies in Higher Education, 23-42. Powell, Walter.W., & Snellman, Kaisa (2004). 'The Knowledge Economy'. Annual Review of Sociology, 199-220.