The McDonaldization of higher education

Abstract

2017 saw the publication of 'Beyond McDonaldization: Visions of Higher Education' (Routledge), the first chapter of which, 'Beyond the McDonaldization of Higher Education', develops and updates the ideas in this paper, which is an edited and revised version of the 'Introduction' to Dennis Hayes and Robin Wynyard’s book 'The McDonaldization of Higher Education' (Bergin and Garvey 2002). This well-received book introduced, and presented some criticisms of, the concept of 'McDonaldization' and examined the consequences of the process of McDonaldization to the university. A notable idea in the 2002 book was the concept of the 'therapeutic university' which, in part, explained the acquiescence of academics and students to the bureaucratising aspects of McDonaldization. The term is now widely used to describe a cultural climate in universities that sees today’s students as emotionally vulnerable and incapable of coping with challenging ideas.