Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Roozbeh Aghajari
• Abbas Varij Kazemi

The institute for social and cultural studies

Abstract

The marketization of higher education is a set of structures, procedures, and practices that make the university system more and more subject to the requirements of the market. In this article, in the beginning, we tried to describe the dimensions of this marketization and show at what levels it operates. An important level of marketization practices includes theoretical and academic justifications, which we mentioned as market-oriented approaches. In this article, we classified these theoretical practices to justify marketization in Iranian universities in the framework of several specific approaches: 1) indigenous Islamism, 2) Radical market orientation, 3) Developmental market orientation, and 4) Expedients market orientation. We traced these approaches in the works of leading academic figures and showed that although the place of the first three approaches is in the university, in a part of the fourth approach there is a mediator through which these academic approaches reach the structure of administrative institution (government) and legislating institution (Parliament) has an effect. This mediator has been filled by those whom we mentioned as "bureaucratic Agents". We tried to explain the effect of this mediator through the review of some policy-making texts. In this article, we have used documentary and meta-analysis methods. We have tried to show to what extent market-oriented approaches are rooted and widespread among expert opinions, academic research and analysis, and common beliefs and opinions in Iranian universities. 

Keywords

• Marketization of university
• market-orientation
• market-oriented approaches
• Bureaucratic agent
• Entrepreneurship university
• higher education policy

Main Subjects

• Higher education development planning