從市場化的觀點探討澳洲高等教育的轉變

Abstract

本研究主要從市場化的觀點，探討澳洲高等教育的市場化發展及影響。受到全球化、新自由主義、新公共管理運動、以及高等教育大眾化時代來臨的影響，「市場化」成為1980年代以來主導世界各國高等教育發展最主要的力量之一。在市場化理論的探討上，本研究從經濟學的觀點來探討市場化的定義、目的與途徑。市場化強調運用價格機能、自由競爭、消費者選擇、完全訊息等理念，藉由鬆綁、私有化與準市場機制等途徑，引導高等教育儘可能達到完全市場的狀態，以達到提高經濟效率與效能、競爭力、品質、多樣化的目的。 在市場化的潮流下，高等教育在運作、人員、服務、顧客、資源等各方面皆受到程度不一的影響。本研究進一步以澳洲高等教育的市場化發展為例，探討市場化可能為高等教育發展帶來的利弊得失。根據研究結果可以發現：1980年代末期以來澳洲高等教育在政府有意圖的引導下，逐步朝向市場化發展。就市場化的意義而言，高等教育並不適宜完全交由市場運作；就市場化的目的而言，市場化或許能提高機構間的競爭、改進經濟效率與效能，卻未必能達到改善品質與多樣化的目的；就市場化的途徑而言，高等教育市場化並不意味著放任大學完全自主，商品化擴大了學校間、學生間的差距，也改變了大學學術知識的內涵。 最後根據前述研究結果，對我國高等教育在市場化的發展上提出四點啟示： 一、 僅以「經濟」為目的窄化高等教育的發展。 二、 完全以市場需求為考量可能使大學教育工具化。 三、 兼顧管理主義與學術精神是大學改革成功的關鍵。 四、 市場化需兼顧社會公平正義的維持。

The dissertation discusses the development and influence of marketization, with a in-depth study of Australian higher education reforms in the past two decades. As the coming of the globalization, new liberalism, new public managerialism, and massification of higher education, ‘marketization’ has become one of the most important forces which have lead the development of higher education in many countries since 1980s. Base on the market theories, the dissertation discusses the definition, purposes, and approaches of marketization. Marketization emphasizes how to make use of the concept of price mechanism, free competition, choices of consumers and perfect information. Through deregulation, privatization and quasi-market mechanism, higher education is supposed to be in a better position to strengthen its efficiency, effectiveness, while improving quality and diversity at the same time. Driven by the trend of marketization, the idea and operation of higher education have been influenced at different degrees. The dissertation illustrates how marketization affects Australian higher education, with both advantages and disadvantages. This study argues that since late 1980s, higher education in Australia was directed by the government gradually to the development of marketization. The Australian experience shows that if mainly driven by market forces, the aims of greater efficiency and effectiveness are very likely to be achieved at the cost of quality and diversity. Besides, the over-emphasis of market apparently has a negative impact on institutional autonomy, which is the tradition universities cherished for centuries. Marketization of higher education also runs the risk of commodifying knowledge and therefore challenges the value universities used to place on disinterested research. Finally, the dissertation concludes the study by providing the following policy implications for Taiwan’s higher education: 1. It will narrow the scope of higher education, if its economic function is over-emphasized. 2. The compliance with the needs of market may make university education too instrumental. 3. Successful higher education reforms have to consider both entreprenuership and academic values. 4. Marketization may ignore social justice, therefore greater efforts should be taken to enhance higher education access and equity..