Meritocracy and the politics of inequality in higher education

Gamsu, Sol

Abstract

Meritocracy is a central legitimizing myth used by policymakers, university leaders and elites to justify and naturalise academic attainment and obscure universities’ role in maintaining inequality. Whilst the modern term may have its roots in post-war social critique in England, social processes, discourses and ideologies of merit and higher education are global. In this entry, the link between meritocracy and higher education are explored drawing on studies from India, China and elsewhere. A central theme here is who and what is made visible or invisible through discourses of meritocracy? What social groups and which institutions are highlighted as meritorious? Who is absent? What modes of social change and possibility are implied by policies and discourses centred on meritocratic beliefs and ideologies. Meritocratic discourses in higher education focus on defining and de-limiting the possibility of who university offers social change to, under what terms and for what purpose.

Citation

Gamsu, S. (in press). Meritocracy and the politics of inequality in higher education. In R. Sidhu, J. Waters, & Y. Cheng (Eds.), The Elgar International Encyclopedia of Sociology of Education. Edward Elgar Publishing

• Deposit Date: Aug 27, 2024
• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: The Elgar International Encyclopedia of Sociology of Education
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2771535
• Publisher URL: https://www.e-elgar.com/
• Contract Date: Aug 8, 2024