McDonaldization and the Traditional University of John Newman - Essay Example

McDonaldisation and the Traditional of John Newman Introduction It has been suggested that fees are the natural and logical conclusion to the McDonaldisation of Higher Education. The following discussion will critically examine this statement in terms of the traditional notion of a liberal education and what constitutes a university. Initially, the traditional or classical notion of a liberal education as it was espoused by Cardinal John Henry Newman will be examined. Then the term McDonaldisation will be defined with particular relevance to the concept as it is evidenced in the changing models of a liberal education and of a university. Newman and the Idea of a University According to New Advent: The Catholic Encyclopedia, John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was Cardinal-Deacon of St. George in Velabro, divine, philosopher, man of letters, leader of the Tractarian Movement, and the most illustrious of English converts to the Church.” (“John Henry Newman”) An Anglican priest he converted to Roman Catholicism at 45. A decade later, in 1854, he was asked by the Catholic Bishops of Ireland to become the rector of the Catholic University of Dublin (Currently known as University College Dublin (UCD). Newly appointed rector of the Catholic University of Dublin in 1854 he also delivered a lecture, published as a pamphlet entitled “The Idea of a University” that asked the deceptively simple question, “What is a University?” (Newman, 1854) “The Idea of a University” lays out in concise, detail Newmans concepts of the organization, objectives and education that should characterize a university. He begins immediately by placing the university in its historical context, “If I were asked to describe as briefly and popularly as I could, what a University was, I should draw my answer from its ancient designation of a Studium Generale, or "School of Universal Learning." (Newman, 1854). In ancient times the Studium Generale “a University seems to be in its essence, a place for the communication and circulation of thought, by means of personal intercourse, through a wide extent of country.” (Newman, 1854) Newman goes on to acknowledge the power of the printing press - “Considering the prodigious powers of the press, and how they are developed at this time in the never - intermitting issue of periodicals, tracts, pamphlets, works in series, and light literature, we must allow there never was a time which promised fairer for dispensing with every other means of information and instruction.” He refers to this overwhelming quantity of published material as the litera scripta. He further praises popular education and burgeoning literacy. However, he insists that the ancient method of personal instruction remained important even as publishing blossomed in the mid-nineteenth century. Whenever men are really serious about getting what, in the language of trade, is called a good article, when they aim at something precise, something refined, something really luminous, something really large, something choice, they go to another market; they avail themselves, in some shape or other, of the rival method, the ancient method, of oral instruction, of present communication between man and man, of teachers instead of learning, of the personal influence of a master, and the humble initiation of a disciple, and, in consequence, of great centres of pilgrimage and throng, which such a method of education necessarily involves. (Newman, 1854) Books, however, widely available they may be and no matter how widely read they may be cannot replace personal intercourse, present communication between man and man and the personal influence of a master. A student can read a book but he cannot ask the author what she meant. Two people can read a given book but unless they are resident in great centres of pilgrimage and throng they cannot discuss it with one another. Publishing and literacy are wonderful Newman recognizes, however “the rival method, the ancient method, of oral instruction” is the key to advanced learning and the essence of a university education: Gathered together in time and place students and instructors can challenge one another orally and debate their beliefs and mores. Books alone are inferior to oral instruction for many reasons. First, according to Newman, “if we wish to become exact and fully furnished in any branch of knowledge which is diversified and complicated, we must consult the living man and listen to his living voice.” (Newman, 1854) Second, at the university “the intellect may safely range and speculate, sure to find its equal in some antagonist activity, and its judge in the tribunal of truth.” At the university intellectual achievement occurs like Marxs synthesis as ideas collide and are challenged, as “inquiry is pushed forward, and discoveries verified and perfected, and rashness rendered innocuous, and error exposed, by the collision of mind with mind, and knowledge with knowledge.” (Newman, 1854) The key characteristic of the university that Newman states explicitly, and so frequently that he offers an apology - “And such, for the third or fourth time, is a University; I hope I do not weary out the reader by repeating it” - is its dynamism. A true university is a centre, a geographic centre, of intellectual ferment where ideas clash in individual debate and dialogue. There are also in Newmans piece implications of more of the nature of the university that go beyond its dynamism alone. The university, according to Newman, is steeped in the classical tradition. He begins his argument by referring to the Greek Studium Generale and returns to the classical allusion when he considers the site of a university. Not surprisingly, he returns to Athens, crossroads of cultures and intellectual focal point of the ancient world, “a sort of ideal land, where all archetypes of the great and the fair were found in substantial being, and all departments of truth explored, and all diversities of intellectual power exhibited, where taste and philosophy were majestically enthroned as in a royal court, where there was no sovereignty but that of mind, and no nobility but that of genius.” (Newman, 1854) Implicit in his adoration of Athens, and of his alma mater Oxford, is the belief that an ideal university offers a classical education, one that includes Greek and Latin, as well as the entire corpus of western thought from Alexander to Paine and Mill. This is Newmans second key ingredient of a university, it offers a broad, classical education. Implicit in Newmans definition of a university is a third concept. He refers to Parliament as a political university: “It is access to the fountain - heads of political wisdom and experience, it is daily intercourse, of one kind or another, with the multitude who go up to them, it is familiarity with business, it is access to the contributions of fact and opinion thrown together by many witnesses from many quarters, which does this for him.... The Houses of Parliament and the atmosphere around them are a sort of University of politics.” (Newman, 1854) “All that goes to constitute a gentleman, - the carriage, gait, address, gestures, voice; the ease, the self - possession, the courtesy, the power of conversing, the talent of not offending; the lofty principle, the delicacy of thought, the happiness of expression, the taste and propriety, the generosity and forbearance, the candour and consideration, the openness of hand” are learned behaviours. Moreover, they are learned at “the metropolis, the court, the great houses of the land, the centres to which at stated times the country comes up, as to shrines of refinement and good taste; and then in due time the country goes back again home, enriched with a portion of the social accomplishments, which those very visits serve to call out and heighten in the gracious dispensers of them.” In essence a university is a dynamic learning environment that brings together scholars and students in one place where they can debate face to face the intellectual and political questions of the day. They learn to debate them in the framework of the classsics of Greek, Roman and English literature and they learn to debate in a manner that is courteous and gracious yet intellectually rigorous and challenging. These are the three key elements of a traditional university education according to Newman: face to face, dynamic learning; classical grounding; and, aesthetic as well as intellectual refinement and grace. The McDonaldisation of Education Since the 1990s, driven largely by George Ritzers analysis of the fast-food restaurant chain, McDonalds, the term McDonaldisation has emerged as a key concept in organizational theory. The question to be considered is how McDonaldisation affects university education. Initially, however, it will be essential to outline the key features of McDonaldisation. According to Ritzers 2008 book, The McDonaldization of Society, McDonaldisation has four key characteristics. The first is efficiency or minimization of time. McDonalds is known as fast-food for a reason, its primary marketing feature is the speed with which it serves the customer, not the quality that it offers the customer. Second, is calculability: measured inputs and outputs must be quantitative not qualitative. For instance, McDonalds measures its success in terms of volume of sales not taste. Based on sales it is inferred that high sales mean high food quality but the essential variable is quantitative (volume) rather than qualitative (taste). Second, McDonalds measures success internally as the time that elapses between order and service delivery. The third aspect of McDonaldisation is standardisation and predictability. The products that McDonalds sells taste largely the same throughout the world, the restaurants they operate globally look largely the same and the style and speed of service is also standardised and predictable. The consumer does not visit McDonalds because they are seeking an aesthetic dining experience or exotic foods. They are attracted to McDonalds because the Big Mac they eat later today in London will taste the same as the one they ate in New York City last week and will have in Paris in a weeks time. Finally, undergirding this efficiency, calculability, standardisation and predictability is control. Uniform production processes (ideally automated) and uniform service delivery standards must be implemented and achieved consistently: This means the process must be micromanaged and controlled at every level to maximise efficiency and standardisation and minimise unpredictability and vagaries in production and service standards. McDonalds is an ideal case study to illustrate this process and it is hardly surprising that the larger trend is eponymously named after the fast-food restaurant. However, it is also evident in other industries. Amazon.uk.co also relies on McDonaldisation to improve its sales volume and bottom-line. The retail sales staff at Amazon are not required to be particularly well read or refined in their tastes. However, they are expected to be fluent in all software that is used to search for books and place orders. Uniform production processes (ideally automated) and uniform service delivery standards not personal knowledge or interest are the key capabilities required of their staff. Further, their corporate model and their marketing is designed to encourage consumers to order online and take delivery at home totally removing the experience of the bookshop from the book shopping experience. Ideally, it would seem that Amazon.co.uk would prefer to sell books sans personal contact and retail outlets. McDonaldisation of the Idea of the University The question remains in what ways has university education been McDonaldised ? What has the impact of McDonaldisation on University education been? What does McDonaldisation mean for the future of Newmans view of the university? These questions will be approached by returning to the four characteristics of McDonaldisation identified by Ritzer. The first is efficiency, in terms of time (and to a lesser extent money). The classical university education is not concerned with efficiency. In fact, it could be described as anti-efficiency oriented. The classical university education as envisioned by Newman is based on debate and face to face instruction. This is simply not the most efficient way to educate an individual. It may very well be the most effective but it is undeniable the leas efficient. In terms of learning large quantities of knowledge quickly the internet, multiple choice tests and a host of other technologically mediated methods are most time efficient. However, they are not the methods of discourse and debate that the classical university education focuses on. A similar argument can be made about calculability and measurable, quantifiable inputs and outputs. Quantifiable and calculable outcomes are marks on standardized tests and examinations that pose questions that have right and wrong answers. The simplest illustration is a mathematics test containing a question such as, what is the square root of 16? The answer is 4; there can be no debate about this answer and no matter how eloquently one argues for the correct answer being 5 it remains 4. The answer is either 4 and correct or another number that is incorrect. The answer is precisely calculable and the grade right/wrong is similarly objective. This is education under McDonaldization and it bears little resemblance to a classical university education. Questions regarding the meaning of life (admittedly a cliché), Kierkegaards leap of faith or the precedence of existence over essence cannot be answered using quantifiable inputs and outputs and they are not calculable or measurable. These are ultimately subjective questions and arguably they are best answered using face to face debate in small tutorials. Again, this is not easily calculable nor is it particularly efficient in terms of time. However, it is absurd to suggest that philosophy, theology or ethics can be taught using simple quantitative methods that are calculable and measurable. These methods may work in engineering and other applied sciences but they are absolutely inappropriate for education in the humanities. Finally, there is the question of the application of standardisation and predictability. McDonalds wants every McDonalds fast food outlet in the world to be known as much like every other. Nothing could be further from the truth with universities. Heriot-Watt does not aspire to be the Weizman Institute and Freiburg Universitat does not seek to imitate Oxford. Each of these universities is world-renowned for its own reasons and has its own distinct traditions and strengths. However, none of them aim to be standard, identical or predictable. Indeed, Newman argues that the precise location of a university and the unique agglomeration of teachers and students that it attracts gives it its distinct character. Uniformity has nothing to do with classical universities and the education that they offer. Undergirding this efficiency, calculability, standardisation and predictability of McDonaldisation is control. Uniform production processes (ideally automated) and uniform service delivery standards must be implemented and achieved consistently: This means the process must be micromanaged and controlled at every level to maximise efficiency and standardisation and minimise unpredictability and vagaries in production and service standards. Tenure is an academic institution that ensures professors have the freedom to think and write as they please without the threat of being fired for where intellectual inquiry takes them. This is in direct contravention of the control imperative of McDonaldisation. The largest single factor encouraging the McDonaldisation of higher education is the view, amongst both students and employers, of a university education as simply a stepping stone to a higher paid career. Students looking only towards a career see university as a requirement for a goal entirely different than an education: They see it as a prerequisite for affluence. While this may reveal my prejudices I believe that the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program is both a cause and a symptom of the McDonaldisation of university education. Students in an MBA program are not amateurs studying a subject because they love it. They are career professionals interested in attaining the designation MBA in the most efficient manner possible. They want to earn their MBA as quickly as possible so they can enter the real world of career and employment. A university education is not a goal in and of itself, it is simply a staging ground for a career. Once a university education becomes merely a means to an end, the classical idea of a university education that is intellectually demanding and time-consuming becomes a burden rather than a pleasure. This is true in terms of time, intellectual burden and cost. When an MBA, or any other university program becomes merely a means to an end one, quite understandably, wants to obtain this end as efficiently in terms of time and money as possible. This instrumentive motivation suppresses the desire to attend seminars, to prepare for debates or do readings beyond the course syllabus. It renders meaningless attending plays or at galleries if to do so does not directly contribute to the goal of attaining the required credentials. There is no point in doing so if one only wants the credentials rather than the education per se. Moreover, if a university education has become a means to an end, it has become a product and universities will become increasingly inclined to charge what the market will bear. McDonaldization has definitely impacted on university education. All of its characteristics—efficiency, standardization, predictability and control – act against Newmans idea of the university. However, even more detrimental than the immediate impacts of McDonaldisation is the larger shift, a result of McDonaldisation, to a university education as a commodity and a precursor to a career. Once a university education is commodified the student wants to obtain it as quickly as possible and the university wants to sell it at the highest price the market will bear. This commodification of university education also completely destroys Newmans idea of a classical university education that is predicated on face to face contact between students and professors, wide reading and study, and a commitment to education not credentialing. References Anderson, Robert. The Idea of a University Today. History and Policy Working Papers #98.[online] Available at http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-98.html. (December 15, 2010) Cornell, John. (June 4, 2010) “Cardinal Newman” BBC News.[online] Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8720000/8720596.stm. (December 15, 2010) Heft, James L. (2007)"Newmans vision of a university: then and now". Catholic Education 10.3 pp. 357-375. “John Henry Newman” New Advent: The Catholic Encyclopeadia.[online] Available at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10794a.htm. (December 15, 2010) Kings, Graham. (October 2010) “The Ambiguous Legacy of John Henry Newman: Reflections on the Papal Visit 2010” Fulcrum Newsletter. [online] Available at http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=558. (December 15, 2010) Newman, J. H. (1976). The idea of a university: Defined and illustrated (I. T. Ker, Ed.). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. (Original work published 1852).[online] Available at http://www.newmanreader.org/works/idea/. (December 15, 2010) Newman, J. H. (1854) “The Idea of a University” Modern History Sourcebook.[online] Available at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/newman/newman-university.html. (December 15, 2010) Ritzer, George. “Interviews with George Ritzer: The Importance of McDonaldization to Students”. [online] Available at http://www.pineforge.com/mcdonaldizationstudy5/videos/clip5.htm. (December 15, 2010) Ritzer, George (2008). The McDonaldization of Society 4th ed. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. Scruton, Roger. (September 2010) “The Idea of a University” American Spectator, Vol. 43 Issue 7, pp. 50-52. Walsh, Joseph J. (Fall 2003). “Newmans Idea of a Classical University” Renascence, Vol. 56 Issue 1, pp. 21-42. de Zilwa, Deanna. (2007). “Australian University Leaders: Agents of the McUnivrsity, Entrepreneurial Transformers, or Bureaucrats? In Global Issues in Higher Education editor Pamela B. Richards Nova Science Publications. pp. 149-172. Read More