Wrecked
Deinstitutionalization and Partial Defenses in State Higher Education Policy
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Rutgers University Press
Published:12th Aug '22
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£124.00(9781978821422)
Higher education is a central institution in U.S. democracy. In the 2010s, however, many states that spent previous decades building up their higher education systems began to tear them down. Growing hostility toward higher education reflected changing social forces that remade the politics of U.S. higher education. The political Right became increasingly reliant on angry white voters as higher education became more racially diverse. The Republican party became more closely connected to extremely wealthy donors as higher education became more costly. In Wrecked, Barrett J. Taylor shows how these social changes set a collision course for the Right and higher education. These attacks fed a policy agenda of deinstitutionalization, which encompassed stark divestment from higher education but was primarily characterized by an attack on the institution’s social foundation of public trust. In response to these attacks, higher education officials have offered a series of partial defenses that helped higher education to cope in the short-term but did nothing to defend the institution itself against the long-term threat of declining public trust. The failure to address underlying issues of mistrust allowed conflict to escalate to the point at which many states are now wrecking their public higher education systems. Wrecked offers a unique and compelling perspective linking higher education policymaking to broader social and political forces acting in the twenty-first century.
"The overall message of Wrecked should be taken seriously. Taylor's careful anthology of the historical events and patterns comprising the crash courses in four states are astute and anchored in real data. While Taylor focuses on the dynamics in the USA specifcally, his work provides clues and guidance for researchers continuing to study the infuence of the right on higher education in other contexts. This book could also serve as a text in courses centered around politics and higher education, and the case studies could be particularly useful examples of analysis of government policies and their impact on higher education. Wrecked is a must-read for anyone interested in the impact of political movements on education." * Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research *
"Taylor's Wrecked is a bold, unapologetic, and thought-provoking analysis and manifesto that addresses how the long-ignored elephants of race and partisan politics continue to shape higher education policy. A must-read for anyone interested in understanding and improving higher education equity in policymaking." -- Sosanya Jones * coauthor of Performance Funding for Higher Education *
"Wrecked offers a compelling and instructive indictment about the rise of political and policy hostility of states toward higher education. Armed with a decade of data reflecting the political Right's retreat from supporting public higher education, Barrett Taylor explains clearly and honestly its devastating effects. Implications for the future of college access and equity are sobering, yet hopeful in how we understand the complexities of social divisions and their political consequences. Wrecked demands our attention in addressing the collateral policy damage and the diminishing possibilities of higher education." -- James Earl Davis * Bernard C. Watson Chair in Urban Education and Professor of Higher Education, Temple University *
ISBN: 9781978821415
Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 18mm
Weight: 4g
248 pages