Politics of Higher Education Marketisation

2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03563
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: C・J Pokarier 早稲田大学, 国際学術院, 教授 (70386697)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: universities / campus / virtual / online / COVID-19 / market / higher education / borders

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

The COVID-19 pandemic had a very negative impact on my ability to disseminate research findings owing both the significantly increased workload associated with teaching, and the inability to travel to conferences. In 2021 several key European and other conferences did return to face-to-face meetings, unlike the virtual conferences of 2020, but the practical difficulties of travelling from Japan led to my not participating. Instead energies were directed at analysing contemporary debates and developments in higher education policy and management in response to the pandemic's profound negative impacts on international student mobility and higher education markets. In short, the pandemic has - in a positive but very demanding way - kept this project in a research mode (primarily desk-based) and delayed the dissemination aspects.

Current Status of Research Progress

4: Progress in research has been delayed.

Reason

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to be a very disruptive influence upon the project. Teaching dutes remained much heavier with the shift to hyflex teaching, in person meetings for research and international travel became practically impossible. Ironically though, as reported for 2020, the pandemic's dual impacts on virtualisation of higher education - raising profound questions about the future of the university campus - and disruptions to the international higher education market, confirmed the key tenets of this research program and its ongoing importance. The additional extension by a year will be invaluable and is greatly appreciated.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

While some international conferences will go ahead in person this year my own participation is probably impossible because of a pressing need to travel at the same time (September) to Australia to assist ill parents, which I have not been able to do since the start of the pandemic. My dissemination efforts for this project will instead be aimed primarily at developing one or manuscripts for submission to relevant international journals and/or other publishing outlets. I will also participate in, and will endeavour to organise, one or more online workshops with foreign and Japan-based scholars working on topics pertaining to the marketing of higher education and the role of the campus in a virtual age.

Causes of Carryover

Inability to travel reduced expenditures notably - directly re airfares and accommodation and indirectly through conference registration fees not needed. This was slightly offset by the need for some equipment - especially to make use of electronic versions of research materials which were more convenient given disruptions to international shipping, as well as to support planned online research meetings. As the research has expanded in duration and scope I anticipate that funds will be directed more to acquiring further research materials, which will strongly support planned writing of manuscripts for dissemination of research fundings.