Social justice or 'human capital' development through higher education: experiences of scholarship students in Lebanon

While literature documents how the employability agenda has become the new neoliberal common sense in universities much less attention has been given to the mechanisms of adaptation by students. Utilizing a four-year longitudinal case study of scholarship students at an elite university, this paper...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International studies in sociology of education 2020-10, Vol.29 (4), p.366-384
Main Authors: Nimer, Maissam, Çelik, Çetin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affirmative action
Bourdieu
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
capital
Case Studies
Class differences
College Students
common sense
Discrimination
Educational psychology
Educational sociology
Educational systems
Employability
Employment
Employment Potential
English (Second Language)
Foreign Countries
Gramsci
Higher Education
Human Capital
human capital development
Language of Instruction
Language Proficiency
Language Usage
Leadership
Longitudinal Studies
Neoliberalism
Personal Autonomy
Program Descriptions
Rural Urban Differences
Scholarships
Second Language Learning
Selective Admission
Social Class
Social Differences
Social Justice
Student Adjustment
Student Attitudes
Student Characteristics
Students
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Summary:While literature documents how the employability agenda has become the new neoliberal common sense in universities much less attention has been given to the mechanisms of adaptation by students. Utilizing a four-year longitudinal case study of scholarship students at an elite university, this paper focuses on the process through which this 'meritocratic' program normalises neoliberal common sense in higher education. We put into question the principle of positive discrimination, considering the limited number of beneficiaries. Our findings illustrate that, instead of minimizing inequalities, this scholarship program contributes in strengthening the neoliberal ideology within the education system. We further demonstrate that students' backgrounds influence their adaptation into the program and access to employment. In addition, we argue that urban-rural differences among others have more explanatory power than class differences in understanding the complex adaptation of students into the program in the Lebanese context.
ISSN:0962-0214
1747-5066
DOI:10.1080/09620214.2019.1672574