Higher Education and Social and Civic Development

Abstract

The missions of higher education have been debated for the past two decades. Based on the notion of human capital theory, a widely shared mission among universities is to boost the development of economic performance through the cultivation of human resources and technological advancement. Education, especially higher education, has even been said to produce benefits such as a longer life expectancy, a better quality of life, lower crime rates, and even greater civic engagement. Such benefits are not related to economic advantages that stem from higher education, but rather to social and even civic developments. However, higher education institutions have faced a growing tidal wave of privatization and commercialization while trying to pursue greater public goods. This is particularly true in Asia, where university rankings and world-class universities are heavily emphasized. Against such a wider context this, article aims to decipher the emerging functions of higher education in relation to social and civic development. Relevant theories, including Sen’s capacities approach, normative democratic theory, and the notion of the engaged university, are closely examined. Using these conceptual frameworks, we analyze social responsibility initiatives in select Asian countries. Empirical data generated from impact rankings were also systematically estimated. Our findings indicate that although initial progress has been made, social responsibility has been far from integrated into the missions of the higher-education sector. Furthermore, unfriendly neoliberal policies, at the national level, and constrained academic freedom, at the institutional level, may further compromise the social and civic developments. The article concludes that there will be an uneven future for the engaged university and the social university.