Constructing a national higher education brand for the UK: positional competition and promised capitals

Abstract

This article examines national branding of UK higher education, a strategic intent and action to collectively brand UK higher education with the aim to attract prospective international students, using a Bourdieusian approach to understanding promises of capitals. We trace its development between 1999 and 2014 through a sociological study, one of the first of its kind, from the 'Education UK' and subsumed under the broader 'Britain is GREAT' campaign of the Coalition Government. The findings reveal how a national higher education brand is construed by connecting particular representations of the nation with those of prospective international students and the higher education sector, which combine in the brand with promises of capitals to convert into positional advantage in a competitive environment. The conceptual framework proposed here seeks to connect national higher education branding to the concept of the competitive state, branded as a nation and committed to the knowledge economy.

International Student Recruitment Strategies in Finland and China

“…4(1), 1-17 later reflect on the formation of student identity and devalue educational capital in decision-making (Courtois, 2018). Noticeable in the analysis was the focus on the overall experience of studying abroad, also noted by Lomer et al (2016) in their study of the UK's education branding. The websites employ dispositifs in the captation of international students.…”

“…As education, often in the format of a degree, poses relative value to its holder due to a variety of factors, including the reputation of the institution, the relational concept of capital is applicable. The study-abroad experience may constitute cultural, social, educational/academic and economic capital (Bourdieu, 1993;Courtois, 2018;Kim, 2016;Lomer et al, 2016). Getting to know new cultures and languages, even when connected with touristic elements (Kenway & Fahey, 2007), are identified objectives for some students and are highlighted by the actors.…”

“…Getting to know new cultures and languages, even when connected with touristic elements (Kenway & Fahey, 2007), are identified objectives for some students and are highlighted by the actors. Social capital is closely linked to cultural capital embodied in social events and networking (Lomer et al 2016). The educational (Lomer, Papatsiba & Naidoo, 2016) or academic capital (Courtois, 2018) obtained from a degree received abroad does not hold equal value across institutions and countries (Marginson, 2006).…”

From Inauguration to Commercialisation: Incremental yet Contested Transitions Redefining the National Interests of International Degree Programmes in Finland

“…These marketing practices are linked to broader national branding operating beyond the education sector (Lomer et al, 2018), which also involves the privatization of education support services, leading to a reconfiguration of universities as consumers of these services (Komljenovic & Robertson, 2016). In Komljenovic and Robertson's (Komljenovic & Robertson, 2016) terms, international education can be positioned as an inside-out and frequently forprofit market wherein universities are the providers of the education service.…”

The transgressive potential of transnational higher education? Bringing geography back in (again)

“…There is a small but growing 'critical' academic literature on international higher education (of which TNE is a sub-set), exposing the various inequalities inherent in the process (e.g. Waters, 2006;Madge et al 2009Madge et al , 2012Wilkins, 2017;Tannock, 2013;Liu-Farrer and Tran, 2019;Lomer et al, 2018;Lomer, 2014). Some of this work has focused on inequalities in relation to class, wealth and access to capital (Waters, 2006) and the problem of framing students as 'consumers' (Lomer, 2014); others on the ways in which international education is prone to neglect post-colonial responsibilities (Madge et al, 2009).…”