A critique of massification of higher education in Poland and the United States: Mass-media discourse analysis

Abstract

The nearly universal access to higher education (HE) in developed countries was once praised as a great democratic achievement, and a basis for both economic development and social mobility. After the onset of the 2008 recession, the narratives changed considerably. The most radical critics of HE propose a partial “deschooling” of society by reversing the process of massification. This paper aims to present a critical discourse analysis (CAD) of the “don’t go to college” discourse that became popular in Poland and the United States. I trace the differences in the way the decision to go to college is conceptualized in Poland and the U.S to the differences in dominant political ideologies – democratic and egalitarian in the U.S., paternalistic and conservative in Poland. I also show how recent changes in the actual HE systems put those ideologies at odds with the educational realities of both countries.

Keywords

• szkolnictwo wyższe
• analiza dyskursu
• Polska
• Stany Zjednoczone