La Evolucion De Las Universidades Britanicas (Trends in British Universities)

This paper reviews the history of the management of British universities as from the seventies, explaining the changes that have taken place since then, discussing the causes and evaluating their social consequences. The fundamental proposition of this paper is that the confluence of an economic crisis and a fall of birth rates was accompanied by a change of outlook in education management, going on to a neo-liberal stage featuring a blind faith in the market and the assumption that the state is inefficient in terms of providing services. It is suggested that the steps taken then to create internal markets in the education system contributed to transform what was a class-based system into an even more class-based system. The implications for the international image of British universities are also discussed. No hope is given regarding the creation of a fairer society with equal opportunities.