This paper examines the social impact of the 'student-as-customer' metaphor on the role of academic leadership and objectivity of the assessment process in the higher education sector. A hybrid approach is used in which Deconstruction seeks to render visible the Foucauldian constructs of power and privilege. The paper draws on the existing literature to explore the problematic relationship between the student as customer metaphor, academic leadership, and student assessment. The paper raises awareness of the inherent tensions with the present reliance on the student as customer metaphor and the resulting negative impact on both students and academic staff. This addresses a gap in the literature in regards to the effect that the use of the student-as-customer metaphor has on academic leadership and assessment in higher education. This paper examines the social impact of the 'student-as-customer' metaphor on the role of academic leadership and objectivity of the assessment process in the higher education sector. A hybrid approach is used in which Deconstruction seeks to render visible the Foucauldian constructs of power and privilege. The paper draws on the existing literature to explore the problematic relationship between the student as customer metaphor, academic leadership, and student assessment. The paper raises awareness of the inherent tensions with the present reliance on the student as customer metaphor and the resulting negative impact on both students and academic staff. This addresses a gap in the literature in regards to the effect that the use of the student-as-customer metaphor has on academic leadership and assessment in higher education.
JEL Classification: M41
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.