Nosipho Akhona Bongephiwe Sithole
As I make the final stretch to the grand finale of my university career, I am naturally reflective on the whole experience. And some may perceive my stance and musings as cynical but I believe it to be mostly critical but also largely based on my experience which permits me to be somewhat bias. In addition, the beauty of experience is that it cannot be wrong. I believe that the neo-liberalist ideological society we live in imposes and pressurises young adults into believing university is the most logical and only conceivably acceptable option as the next step. Neo-liberalism can be understood as the hegemonic and dominant social and political state that indoctrinates the west (Harvey as cited by Saunders, 2010). The shift being from the previously popular and collectivised welfare state to individualised citizens who become ‘autonomous economic actors’; a society in favour of privatisation, commodification and marketization (Whitehead and Crawshaw, 2012; Harvey, 2005). And despite of the subsequent rise of inequality, the power shifting to multinational corporations and financial institutions (the elite) and the exponential growth of personal debt- this ideology still has a stronghold over western cultures (Dumenil and Levy as cited by Saunders, 2010).
This has undoubtedly had an impact on higher education and university institutions. This has resulted in an alignment of neoliberal ideologies with the ‘economics, structures, and purpose of higher education’, affecting the students and faculty priorities (Saunders, 2010). Moreover, with the rise of neoliberalism there has been a parallel growth in student applicants. The year I applied saw an increase of 3.1% (16,100) applicants amongst the UK population, following the previous year (UCAS, 2015). I distinctly remember being in sixth form, having barely adjusted to the shift from GCSE’s and there was already the subtle suggestions of university and prep for writing personal statements. By my second year of A Levels, they were militantly enforcing all students to write personal statements and throttling prospectuses down our throats. Along with the pressures of staying on top of the work, we had to make time to travel the country, going to open days and deciding whether we would want to invest three years of our lives in these glorified institutions. My housemate expressed to me how everyone in her sixth form was made to write a personal statement. I remember the way in which our sixth form leader would refer to those who had chosen not to attend sixth form, and instead had pursued college and apprenticeships, as if they were settling. And how students, who chose to not apply, were marginalised and were not nurtured or given the same care and attention as they were not fulfilling the highly favoured quota. If you were not coerced into applying, in the eyes of the sixth form, you shifted into the periphery. That in itself is a very dangerous notion to implement on young adults; the feeling of failure, if you do not make the grades required for university or being devalued, if you simply do not aspire to enter higher education.
I decided to re-jog my memory and looked at what was being prophesised in various university prospectuses. There is an undeniable promise and sales pitch of what young adults should expect university to be;
‘For every astronaut, fire fighter, gold medal winners and entrepreneurs, there are millions who grew up and settled for plan b’
‘There are those happy to stand back and see how that page will be filled And then there are others- the ones clutching their pens and their brushes. That’s us, and that’s you’ (Manchester Metropolitan University, 2019)
These are just two excerpts but already the notion ‘settled for plan b’ has supported my musings, there is a clear suggestion that there is a belief in the essentialism of university. A narrative spoken and perpetuated by the institutions who have been indoctrinated by the neo-liberal ideology. For it is ideology that allows power politics to become seemingly an essential and stringent component of human interactions; of social and economic environments (DeMarrais et al, 1996). In addition, these quotes have succeeded in drawing a line and marginalising those who do not strive for university. In a way that makes those seem like deviants. When one of the greatest likelihoods, that should be considered, is that where before the right to higher education was a man’s right- a feminist issue- it has now shifted into a socio-economic/ class issue. In simpler terms, whether individuals can even afford to go to university; afford to entertain the idea of even applying. And with the rise of austerity and increased tuition fees, it is not surprising that individuals would be hesitant to embark on an experience that is financially not feasible. Saunders states that the system has always served the interests of capital and the ruling class (2010). When I was decided to go to university I understood that I would be walking into debt and what was most worrying about this fact was that this seemed to be the norm, it did not unsettle me because so many were, had and would be going through the same thing. Right here is a clear example of how we, liquid moderns, have been interpellated within our ideological states. Liquid Moderns are the products of the neoliberal societal state, entered at the end of the 20th century (Bauman, 2000). The interpellation occurring here, is the proposed process of young adults internalising and identifying their social and subject roles as undergraduates and whatever comes with that role, whether it be negative or positive. Althusser theorised it as, ‘capitalism brings forth a subject form”; a subject who, assuming his subjection, takes on its guilt’ (Bidet, 2017 pg. 63). We are being hailed into applying into higher education.
The Unfolding Paradoxical Pedagogy
I make the cut, securing the grades to enter the land of academic milk and honey, with my hands held out in supplication. Initially, due to being a novice and the newness of it all, I fool myself into thinking that this was great, I am enthusiastic and even make the effort with my attendance and engagement with what I am learning. The irony of it all was in our first year we were made to investigate the shift for students into higher education. And reading it back now, I definitely was naïve, going as far as accusing students who dropped out or did not arise to the challenges as having not prepared themselves adequately, that they had been ‘laissez-faire’. Little did I know, or simply did not realise, that for many they were sold something far greater than what was received. Nevertheless, I was soon about to be made aware. What has now been illuminated to me from that assignment, is the lack of wider criticism I bore; but even more interestingly is that scholars who have also investigated this shift into higher education rarely attribute the resulting interactions of the students and the university as being intertwined and affected by the rising dominant neoliberal ideology (Saunders, 2010).
‘Education at Birmingham is a genuine partnership and this is reflected in our focus on ensuring you develop the skills needed to stand out in a competitive job market, whichever career you go on to choose’ – (University of Birmingham, 2018)
‘you’ll experience an education and environment that sets you on the right path to a professionally rewarding and personally fulfilling future. Be inspired by world-leading projects, make global connections and develop your talents. Choose Manchester and we’ll help you make your mark.’ (University of Manchester, 2018)
Although these two extracts are from different universities, consensually amongst all universities, there is that delightful promise of inspirational and world class teaching that, in the end should deliver world-class professionals. University is an imagined landscape of ‘academic freedom’, with the goal to inspire intellectual and impassioned students. This was a statement from a friend and recent Manchester University dropout, he states his experience with the university ‘failed miserably and a horror show ensued.’ In addition, he goes on to say, ‘Lectures were uninspiring. Curriculums were designed not to provoke original thought but to be marked quickly and effortlessly.’. Considering he was a hard-working, driven computer science and mathematics undergrad, in his last year, something must have went amiss for him to drop it all. My experience, I believe is not significantly different from many other peoples; I came into university with great expectations socially, academically, with a naïve curiosity and fresh drive. However, by the second year, the disillusionment had turned into an established disheartened version of that very same person. The course had quickly fallen short of what I had been so greatly looking forward to. For first two years, I we were subjected to compulsory units that were pretty much building on from what I had studied in A-Levels. It was as if, what we had been taught in A levels was the beginner level and we were forcibly progressing through the levels finally ending at advanced. But the catch was, the knowledge was all the same, reciting the same old traditional psychological theories as if they were biblical; parables that I had have to recite every night so I could receive the holy communion and make it to the promised-land. In other words, tick all the boxes, pass my assignments and examinations and finally graduate.
It truly felt as though I was being taught how to regurgitate with greater understanding, with increasing and wider references. This failed to inspire any passion, within me, to be intellectually innovative and incentivised. I was being taught discipline. I grew further resentful and dis-impassioned. I felt as though I was going through the paces, completing assignments and exams to a standard that would get me to the next stage. One-step closer to that sweet piece of paper on graduation day, from the face of the university who up until that moment I would not have had any idea who they were. The elusive validator. In this sense you could say the ‘genuine partnership’ Birmingham University offers, was true, as I grew to anticipate what my master, I mean marker, expected from me. In fact, the reality of what I actually got, and what so many of us get, is the master-slave dialectic. This can be understood as the hegemonic pedagogy inflicted upon most students in higher education, where the master (lecturer) see’s the slave (student) as a vessel to be filled with their superior knowledge within the rigid, ‘bureaucratic codes’ (Langer et al, 2018). This approach to teaching I strongly believe lead me to adopting, what Sarah Mann proposed to be the surface approach to learning, meaning I was grossly apathetic and passive towards my learning; but simultaneously taking on the strategic approach, and feeling the pressure of still having to make my deadlines and complete examinations (Langer et al, 2018). The neoliberal state of the university is guilty of treating the student as a customer, instead of an apprentice to work in collaboration with. The institutions ideology has dehumanised the learning experience. The Master- Slave dynamic supressed and stifled within me my objet a before I even had the chance to discover what it was, to find what it was that made me tick academically. It is admittedly heart breaking and terrifying to think I could have walked away from university having internalised and accepted this, to be exemplary lecturing.
It was only in third year, after we were gracefully but unpunctually bestowed with the choice of picking our own units, that I was finally able to be critical of Psychology but also engage in topics that truly interested me. It created a fire in me that challenged the meticulously constructed notions of what it was that I thought Psychology to be and, most reassuringly, challenged what I had learnt to accept as teaching. It is not to say that all university courses are similar to this but this seemed to be the case for me, and a few other peers who I have vented to, and with. Continually, it is not to say that there were not moments of excitement and sparked embers of curiosity. It just calls into question, the issue of whether it was enough to justify the sheer amount of investment made by me into the university.
Mental Health among the Apprentices.
University is not just an institution where you learn, it also involves confronting other aspects of emerging adulthood: finding independence and freedom but also creating a new social safety net. And for some, the experience is not plain sailing. Along with feeling deflated with what I was learning and the style in which it was taught, I also unfortunately developed anxiety and depression and a lot of that was due to choices I made in my social life. However, I cannot ignore that the hopelessness I felt from my learning environment did not help. Because of my freedom and things that were made readily available to me, due to my social surroundings, taking recreational drugs became something of the norm and- at the lowest point- a reliance. Nothing seemed to stimulate me academically so I wonder if that was one of the many reasons it became so easy to give in to the appeal of drugs, was it being reinforced by the presence of instant gratification.
Mental health issues are greatly prevalent amongst students. Five times as many students as 10 years ago, are likely to come forward with their afflictions, however this may be due to the decrease in stigma (Raddi, 2019). But a survey on 1,093 students, by NUS, reported that half of their sample size experienced some form of mental health issue but did not seek support (Gil, 2015). It is also reported that as many as one in four students will suffer with mental health issues, the number of students dropping out has also trebled and there is a devastating exponential rate of suicides in recent years (Raddi, 2019). I fall under the category of students who suffer but never seek help, and for whatever reason I was able to stop it from swallowing me completely, although there was definitely a point where I was drowning. In one of the many articles covering student mental health, a student effectively states one of the issues that can be seen as a cause of the rising phenomena, is that we are told university will be some of the “best years of your life”, and there is an undoubtable pressure and expectation to live up to that (Gil, 2015). I wholly agree with this, I was attempting to balance a well-rounded and active social life, beginning to realise that I was taking a passive interest in my studies, whilst still stressing over the demanding nature of my studies. It feels like you have to save face and keep up with your peers, who are probably experiencing the exact same thing. An opinion piece I recently read, touches on the new and unrecognised phenomena of ‘millennial burnout’, believed to be, ‘brought on by “over-expectations from parents, careers, and society”’ and further goes on to illuminate how the presence of social media creates a wider threat, due to ‘the constant pressure to be living your best life’(BBC, 2019). I think the neoliberal society we live in creates this overly-connected but similarly individualised sphere that leaves people feeling isolated and in competition with each other. Sociologist, Will Davies argues that the encouraged competitiveness of neo-liberalism, makes it possible to ‘discern who and what is valuable’ (Metcalf, 2018). In addition, I think students are aware of the competitive society we live in and despite the mediocrity and oversold pedagogy offered by universities, they take on the brunt of it all. I speculate, just to keep up with the rat race, and in my case to overcome the dissonance, I had/ have to tell myself it is all going to be worth something. We understand that neo-liberalism does not empathise or wait for those falling behind.
A Degree and Then What?
So now I am looking back on my experience, in the final hour and yes the experience has not been wholly disastrous but I am walking away with marks, my battle scars; mentally and financially but I am desperately hoping it was not some futile war. Whilst working part-time in a supermarket, I learnt you are held liable for any misleading or deceptive sales, I think universities should also be held liable for what they sell to young adults. The promise of prosperity after graduation should be carefully considered, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) found that the top 10% of male graduates earn £170,000 annually, the median earning £40,000, whilst the graduates at the bottom end are not guaranteed graduate jobs (The Conversation, 2016). Going on further to publish that it was graduates from higher-income families with students attending the top universities that gained greater earnings, compared to low-income households. Continually, there was an increase in men with high earnings than woman. This illustrates that yes, higher education matters but ‘the labour market seems not to be entirely meritocratic’ and as I argued before there is a favourable nature for capital and the ruling class (The Conversation; 2016; Saunders 2010).
In hindsight, I wish when I was 16/17 years old, that I had been given the option to really take my time with making my choice. I wish that the people responsible for offering me my future had nourished and allowed the consideration of the other venues possible for someone my age, for instance, going to College, applying for an apprenticeship, working and experiencing the real world. I wish that the notion of acquiring knowledge and experiencing the world was not only made feasible by endeavouring to become a graduate. That there is not an enforced notion on young adults that the only way to achieve a good standard of living and quality of life is by getting a degree and a graduate job. Lastly, for those embarking on the journey, that they be sold the truth. And that once you get your degree, it does not certify anything and that there will be new existential threats to face.
To surmise on a positive note, I did find my objet a; to apply critical thinking within and beyond higher education. Author Bell Hooks articulates it so well,
‘without the capacity to think critically about our selves and our lives, none of us would be able to move forward, to change, to grow.’ (2014)
If society and the university adopted this as well, I believe they would create these world class professionals they proposition to do. Critical thinking extends to anyone, it is not only exclusive to those who go to university, it should not to be seen as a privilege.
References
Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Polity Press
BBC Three (2019) How it Feels to Have ‘Millennial Burnout’. 27th February. [Online] [Accessed 1st March 2019) https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/c384d54a-0116-437f-83e8-ddbca65b6c06
Bidet, J. (2017) The Interpellated Subject: Beyond Althusser and Butler. Marxismes Ecologiques. Vol. 1, Iss. 61, pp, 184-201.
DeMarrais, E., Castillo, L, J. & Earle, T. (1996) Ideology, Materialization and Power Strategies. Current Anthropology. Vol. 37 Iss.1, pp. 15-31.
Gill, N. (2015) Majority of Students Experience Mental Health Issues, says NUS Survey. The Guardian. [Online] 14th December 2015. [Accessed 1st March 2019]. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/14/majority-of-students-experience-mental-health-issues-says-nus-survey
Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hooks, B. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York. London. Routledge.
Langer, S., Bunn, G., & Fellows, N. (2018) Towards a Psychosocial Pedagogy: The ‘Student Journey’, Intersubjectivity, and the Development of Agency. Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.
Metcalf, S. (2017) Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world. The Guardian. [Online] 18th August. [Accessed on the 28th February 2019]. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/18/neoliberalism-the-idea-that-changed-the-world
Rivkin, J. & Ryan, M. (2004) Literary Theory: an Anthology. 2nd Edition. Oxford. Blackwell Publishing.
Raddi, G. (2019) Universities and the NHS Must Join Forces to Boost Student Mental Health. The Guardian. [Online] 15th February 2019. [Accessed 1st March 2019] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/15/universities-and-the-nhs-must-join-forces-to-boost-student-mental-health
Saunders, D. (2010). Neoliberal Ideology and Public Higher Education in the United States. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. Vol.8 Iss.1, pp. 41-77
The Conversation. (2016) What Your Choice of Degree Means for your Future Earnings. 13th April. [Online] [Accessed 2nd March 2019] http://theconversation.com/what-your-choice-of-degree-means-for-your-future-earnings-57760
University of Birmingham (2019) Undergraduate Prospectus 2020. Date published not applicable. [Online] [Accessed 27th February 2019] https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/students/undergraduate-prospectus.pdf
University of Manchester (2019) Undergraduate Prospectus 2020. Date published not applicable. [Online] [Accessed 27th February] https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/prospectus/
Whitehead, P. & Crawshaw, P. (2012) Organising Neoliberalism: Markets, Privatisation and Justice. London and New York: Anthem Press.
The Reflexive Relay 