The commodification of higher education: the challenges of university education in face of the present scenario - doi: 10.4025/actascieduc.v33i1.11580

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to reflect on the current context of higher education in Brazil, providing knowledge of different aspects that prove the importance of ethics in university education and the need to contrast it to the technological development of higher education. For this, at first, we analyze the socio-cultural transformations that occurred in recent decades. The presentation of these transformations makes it possible to know the current trends in higher education from the process of globalization, urbanization, the prevalence of knowledge and internationalization of education. With the passage from the “society of work” to the “knowledge society”, influenced by the development of information technology, started in the mid-twentieth century, knowledge has become a highly marketable commodity. Since then, higher education majors began to be created from the perspective of the market. The opening of the educational market got support in the 1990s, after the implementation of neoliberal educational policies. These initiatives have provided a significant increase in the number of private or private/ commercial HEIs. By understanding this new dynamic that shapes the contemporary world and the influence of public policies in education, this work presents the consequences of the process of commodification of higher education and the challenges faced by universities