Abstract
Comparing higher education in the 12th century with that of today, we can find some interesting analogies. Contrary to what certain stories justifying the academic community lead us to understand, the university has never been based on a purely humanistic ideal of cultivating knowledge; rather it has been based on utilitarian values from its birth. As Cobban (1975: 8) writes, universities “evolved as institutional responses to the pressures to harness educational forces to the professional, ecclesiastical and governmental requirements of the society.” For the majority of students the aim was to study a few selected disciplines that would prepare them for their chosen career. In the beginning, universities were also very much like schools with fixed curricula and degree procedures. In this respect, the university is now returning to its roots with graduate schools, Masters programmes, study modules and credits, limits to the duration of studies and other school-like elements (Kivinen & Kaipainen, 2002).
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Kivinen, O. (2002). Higher Learning in an Age of Uncertainty. In: Enders, J., Fulton, O. (eds) Higher Education in a Globalising World. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0579-1_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0579-1_13
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