Abstract
It has been suggested that there is “a perplexing absence of an appropriate language within which to speak of the university” (Barnett & Standish, 2003, p. 216), and this chapter offers if not a language then a dialect that may add to the discussion of higher education. In the UK, policies seeking to widen participation in higher education try to reconcile the two concerns of economic growth and social justice. However, even though widening participation students may obtain some benefits from their higher education, they are likely to remain relatively disadvantaged when compared with their more middle-class peers. Nonetheless, the government persists with its arguments that hold out the potential benefits of widening participation to all. The economic and social justice arguments for widening participation can be sustained if they are juxtaposed within the hyperreality of higher education in which the rhetoric of widening participation has replaced its original and authentic reality. Yet, peering through the hyperreal, it becomes clear that these policies are utilitarian in nature and cannot serve both good and Mammon
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Watts, M. (2009). Capability and the Language of Educational Research. In: Smeyers, P., Depaepe, M. (eds) Educational Research: Proofs, Arguments, and Other Reasonings. Educational Research, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3249-2_7
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