The competition fetish in higher education: Shamans, mind snares and consequences

Abstract

Contemporary education reform worldwide appears to be locked in a competition fetish. This article explores the varieties of competition, including traditional academic forms, contests sponsored by governments and international organisations, market competition and status wars intensified by rankings. Resisting interpretations of competition as naturally occurring, it presents various macro and micro actors, referred to as ‘shamans’, that breathe life into the phenomenon and that are responsible for its generation, constitution and reproduction. These include structural drivers associated with political and regulatory regimes; and symbolic drivers constituted by normative and affective pressures. The article focuses on the extent to which the varieties of competition reinforce, displace, mediate or counteract one another and reveals how powerful policy and symbolic drivers interact to power competition, and how competition forecloses alternative means of educational reform. The unintended consequences of competition on social equity, on academic work and on global well-being are highlighted, and suggestions are offered on ways to escape the competition trap.

Experiences of arbitrary management among Finnish academics in an era of academic capitalism

“…Competition is an integral part of any university job, but global competition, new performance management systems and fixed-term contracts have made this increasingly so, as excellence policies, finances and efficiency have become the focal point of university strategy (Välimaa 2012;Naidoo 2018). Brøgger (2016) has argued that performance monitoring systems enforce competition by generating desire for fame and a fear of shame.…”

Materialities and mobilities in transnational capacity building projects: Uneven geographies of knowledge production

“…Importantly, when looking at all the life histories of interviewees in the Danida‐study (Madsen & Adriansen, ), it was clear that they had applied for scholarships to the hegemonic knowledge centres before applying for funding from Denmark. Internationalisation and the global competition fetish (Naidoo, ) can be seen as explanations. University rankings are one aspect of the competition fetish.…”

The role of bibliometric research assessment in a global order of epistemic injustice: a case study of humanities research in Denmark

“…While competition between academics and disciplines is not new, the degree and the stakes of that competition are now higher (Rowlands, 2018). Geopolitical competition, in the form of university rankings, reflects that higher education has become a global commodity 1 (Naidoo, 2018). Status and prestige, reflected in standing within those rankings, are a university's most valuable assets and are fundamental in recruiting students and in securing research income (Marginson & Considine, 2000).…”