Thoughts on the future of higher education in the UK: A personal view with a historical context
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Date
2021
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
MPDI
Abstract
Before the effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there had been continued debate about the
future of Higher Education (HE) in the UK. It is now accepted that the effect of the pandemic will
have a long-lasting effect on HE in the UK and elsewhere. This paper addresses the changes that are
currently taking place, based on a strategy that aims to develop a future knowledge-based economy,
following the UK governments 2019 landmark review of HE. It explores the underlying parallels
between the current situation and certain historical events that catalysed the development of a
new approach to HE in the past, which is very relevant today. In this context, the paper discusses
why major changes in UK HE provision is now required as a response to the fact that although
the cost of education is rising, employers are reporting that graduates are increasingly unprepared
for the workplace. In this respect, the paper addresses a model for HE that focuses on ‘earn-asyou-learn’ apprenticeships and work-place-based learning. The key to this is the emphasis that the
UK government is now placing on funding new ‘Technological Colleges’, in which students are
trained by experts from the industry on a contractual basis, rather than by university academics with
tenured positions.
Description
Keywords
Higher education, IT in education, Technological colleges, United Kingdom, COVID-19 pandemic
Citation
Blackledge, J. (2021). Thoughts on the future of higher education in the UK : A personal view with a historical context. Education Sciences,11(9), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090474