Market-oriented strategies in the higher education system : do they create social exclusion? : the case of private universities in Chile

Abstract

In the 1990s, Chile experienced an impressive economic growth followed by a decreasing trend in absolute poverty. However, problems of inequality remain, where the gap between the rich and poor has not become smaller. There is a need to study development beyond economic factors and take into consideration the social aspects of development, which I conclude is a missing aspect of previous and current Latin American development models. Chile is a society highly divided by class and I seek to explore whether we can explain existing inequality by looking at the educational system.

In this thesis, my focus is related to what impact market-orientation of higher education has had for social exclusion in society at large in the Chilean context. Market-oriented strategies are the tactics of the neo-liberal model of development implemented in the 1980s to attain economic growth, where one of the strategies is privatisation. I have looked at how development models partially influence political decisions, but also how education has been used politically, as part of a nation-building process and of other political projects.

Based on my findings, social exclusion is not due to privatisation alone, but is reproduced through the educational system. According to my case studies,Chilean universities are the arena for the middle- and upper class, while the centres for technical training and the professional institutes are for the lower groups in society. Furthermore, the lower groups are in turn trapped into low paid jobs. In other words, market-oriented strategies have contributed to create stratification in the higher education system. This way, social structures are reproduced through the educational system. In conclusion, market-orientation in higher education has contributed to strengthen the existing inequalities in Chilean society. The Chilean state needs to control the higher education system in order to improve the problems created by market-oriented strategies.