The politics of student engagement
| DOI | 10.1177/0263395715626157 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Research Articles |
Politics
2017, Vol. 37(1) 52 –66
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0263395715626157
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The politics of student
engagement
Heather Milburn-Shaw and David Walker
Newcastle University, UK
Abstract
Student engagement (SE) is currently a significant focus of attention in Higher Education (HE),
but its underlying political character and the broader political-economic context have been
overlooked. SE has not been considered from the perspective of the ‘Idea’ of the university.
Bringing together the literature on SE, the marketisation of HE and the ‘Idea’ of the university,
we argue that current policies and practices are based on a one-dimensional conception, which
neglects the crucial elements of cognitive and emotional engagement, and that this both reflects
and reinforces an economic utilitarian conception of the university and a consumer model of
student identity.
Keywords
higher education, idea of university, politics, student engagement
Received: 14th April 2015; Revised version received: 31st August 2015; Accepted: 15th October 2015
Introduction
Student engagement (SE) is a topic of increasing significance in the discourse on the
student experience, and in the wider discussion of what makes a quality higher education
(HE) institution. It is almost universally viewed as a positive term, but the way in which
it has been conceptualised and put into practice has not been wholly beneficial. It has
become distorted by political and economic factors, principally the marketisation of HE,
which have led to a narrowing of how SE is understood and actualised. Discussions of SE
in the scholarly literature have overlooked the broader political-economic context, with
even the more progressive work on SE in HE discussing its content and nature in a polit-
ical-economic vacuum. In addition, the existing literature has not considered SE from the
perspective of philosophical reflections on the Idea of the university.
Bringing together the literature on SE, the marketisation of HE and the Idea of the uni-
versity, we offer a critique of the dominant model of HE and paradigm of SE. We argue that
the policies and practices of SE in HE are based on a one-dimensional conception, which
Corresponding author:
Heather Milburn-Shaw, Politics, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, 40-42
Great North Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Email: h.shaw@newcastle.ac.uk
626157POL0010.1177/0263395715626157PoliticsMilburn-Shaw and Walker
research-article2016
Research Article
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