The Student - as - Customer Metaphor: A Deconstruction Using Foucauldian Constructs

Abstract

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

Improving Society by Improving Education through Service-Dominant Logic: Reframing the Role of Students in Higher Education

“…A natural consequence of the marketization of HE is that universities have become more customer-focused, employing marketing strategies to recruit, retain, and manage the customer experience in HE, in order to obtain competitive benefits in the market [11,12]. This is when the students-as-customers metaphor arises (HE literature has referred to students as customers or consumers, mainly using the terms indistinctively and interchangeably, although some authors differentiate between them (e.g., [49]), arguing that customers are the ones who pay for a service, while consumers are the users of it).…”

“…This marketization process contains the market exchange analogy as its core principle, which regards the university as the service provider and the student as the customer. In spite of the fact that this subject has been widely discussed by education and management researchers, there is still an ongoing debate concerning the profound implications that these considerations have on the quality of HE and their impact on society at large [10][11][12][13]. In this sense, it is considered that good management practices in HE will have direct and profound implications on the sustainability of societies [14] by means of a more efficient use of resources within institutions that will result in the generation of highly qualified professionals who will integrate their skills and knowledge into the network of society.…”

“…Arguably, the HE service is currently facing uncertainty and complexity as never before [16]. Furthermore, as previous research has found, the danger is that the designation of students as customers may have problematic interpretations for university staff that can lead to a detriment in the quality of HE [11,[17][18][19][20].…”

Marketizacijski diskurz v izobraževanju: dekonstrukcija znanstvene publicistike

“…Raznolikost metodoloških pristopov in uporabe virov je velika, tudi dekonstrukcijo zasledimo v objavah, npr. Laing in Laing (2016). Posebnost pričujoče monografije pa je v dekonstrukciji slovenskih znanstvenih člankov, ki obravnavajo marketizacijo in marketizacijske procese v slovenskem prostoru.…”

De Alunos a Consumidores: A Metáfora Aluno-Consumidor Aplicada Ao Ensino Superior

“…Para Laing (2014, apud Hassel e Lourreu, 2005, deve-se atentar para o fato de que quando os estudantes não obtêm as notas que desejam, podem acabar exercendo seu poder de "consumidor" ao avaliar negativamente os professores dessas disciplinas. Como consequência, professores poderiam se sentir inclinados a inflar 14 as notas dos alunos, resultando, por exemplo, na deterioração da validade externa das notas (Oleinik, 2009 (alunos esperam a oferta de materiais pré-formatados, mais "compactados").…”