The financial crisis of 2007/2008 prompted governments across Europe to adopt austerity measures aimed at the reduction of their escalating budget deficits. Higher Education in Austerity Europe explores how the resulting cuts in public expenditure - together with the increasing reliance on the privatisation of services - have impacted on higher education directly through the reduction of public sector provision and indirectly as a result of the social and political consequences of that reduction. Moreover, it explores how the effects of these economic policies have differed markedly across the national regions of Europe, with the result that inequality has increased significantly both within and between national regions, and this, in turn, has led to social and political dislocation within and across communities.

It is only by viewing higher education within this broader context that we can begin to understand the full implications of the austerity measures introduced over the last ten years. Jon Nixon draws together leading scholars to delve into the complexity of impact and response generated by these measures. Part 1 focuses on cross-European perspectives; Part 2 on the impact of austerity measures within national systems; and Part 3 on new perspectives and possibilities. The volume also includes considered responses from 'outsiders' by academics located in Asia, Australia, and the USA, providing an additional dimension to the analysis. As well as analysing the full impact of austerity measures across some of the worst hit national regions of Europe, the contributors also identifying openings and possibilities for renewal.

Focuses on the impact and consequences of post-2008 economic policies on higher education across the national regions of Europe.

About the Author
Jon Nixon is Honorary Professor in the Center for Lifelong Learning Research and Development at The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Reviews
Higher Education in Austerity Europe is an exceptionally important book. It provides us both with nuanced critical analyses of what is happening in higher education in a time of "austerity" and with paths that might be taken if we are to interrupt these dangerous policies and their effects. * Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA *
Austerity is being outsourced in order to blame those who did not generate the financial crisis. Higher education is one of those sites where cuts to knowledge production is negatively impacting on the purposes of research and teaching. Nixon and colleagues not only illuminate the complexities of what is unfolding, but also explicate how other events - Alt Right depoliticisation and populism, and Brexit - actually combine with enduring social justice issues to ratchet up radical changes to higher education. The threats are real but this collection of essays does more than scope our fears by demonstrating the intellectual activism needed to name, resist and provide alternatives. * Helen M. Gunter, Professor of Professor of Educational Policy and Sarah Fielden Professor of Education, The Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, UK *
This book charts the impacts of austerity on the role, financing, governance and pedagogy of higher education. Mercifully, the authors discern some glimmers of hope that the moral and civic values of higher education institutions as a public good have not been totally eroded by economic utilitarianism * Robert Adamson, Chair Professor of Curriculum Reform and Director, Centre for Lifelong Learning Research & Development, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong *
Ten years since the financial crisis, Higher Education in Austerity Europe, provides a unique view into austerity's impacts on higher education institutions across distinct national contexts. * European Journal of Higher Education *



Book Information
ISBN 9781350105331
Author Professor Jon Nixon
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 358g