Marketization Discourse in Higher Education
Summary
Marketization discourse in higher education refers to the ways in which universities and related stakeholders adopt commercial logics, language and practices to position themselves within competitive environments. This discourse encompasses the framing of students as consumers, the promotion of courses as marketable products, and the adoption of corporate governance models. It foregrounds metrics such as student satisfaction, graduate employability and research income, translating pedagogical and scholarly activities into quantifiable performance indicators. Central to this discourse is the tension between the traditional public mission of universities—as centres for critical inquiry, civic engagement and humanistic education—and new demands for efficiency, responsiveness to market forces and revenue generation. Critics argue that such discourse risks commodifying knowledge, eroding academic autonomy and narrowing curricula to high-demand subjects. Proponents maintain that it drives innovation, aligns teaching with societal needs and secures financial sustainability. Across different regions, marketization rhetoric intersects with national policies on funding, accountability and internationalisation. In some contexts, it underpins strategic branding campaigns and the expansion of transnational partnerships. In others, it shapes debates over tuition fees, public subsidy and equity of access. The discourse thus operates at multiple levels—from institutional mission statements to digital recruitment platforms—reshaping how universities present their identities, allocate resources and conceive their role in society.
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Marketization Discourse in Higher Education publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in marketization discourse in higher education across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Appraisal framework: A tool for analysing evaluative language, focusing on attitudes, engagement and graduation in discourse.
Commodification: The process by which goods, services or ideas are transformed into commodities with exchange value.
Marketization: The adoption of market principles—competition, consumer choice and profitability—by non-market sectors.
Neoliberalism: An ideology emphasising deregulation, privatisation and the supremacy of market mechanisms in governance.
Promotional discourse: Language and communication strategies designed to highlight benefits, create brand identity and attract target audiences.
References
- From image to identity icon: Discourses of organizational visual identity on Australian university homepages. Discourse & Communication (2024).
- Discursive Marketisation Through Positive Evaluation: A Diachronic Analysis of About Us Texts of Top-Tier Chinese Universities Over the Past Two Decades. Frontiers in Psychology (2021).
- Marketization of Japan-Based Higher Education Advertisements: A Discourse of McJobs?. Ilha do Desterro (2022).
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