Is ‘student engagement’ just a mirage? The case for student activism.

Individualised and instrumentalised? Critical thinking, students and the optics of possibility within neoliberal higher education

“…My own institution in 2012 and 2013 saw students occupy buildings in protest at the outsourcing of accommodation, catering and security services to private companies -implying resistance to the conceptualisation of the university as a business, rather than an educational community (Danvers and Gagnon, 2014). While both activism and criticality take multiple forms and the former is not necessarily indicative of the latter, the fact that is specifically directed towards the kinds of knowledge produced within the academy make it difficult to argue for an absence of student critical thinking.…”

Unreasonable rage, disobedient dissent

“…Some student engagement and student experience discourses may contribute to an illusion of student power through student voice. Completing their course evaluations and their NSSE or NSS may allow students to believe themselves to be the evaluators of the goods they have purchased: the knowledge they have learned and the degrees they have earned (Danvers and Gagnon 2014). According to Williams, 'lecturers and students, presented as service users and service providers, appear pitted against each other with competing interests.…”

“…Students are responsible, legal adults when they sign their loan documents and enrol on their courses. However, university administrations may still position themselves within an outdated 'father knows best' or 'in loco parentis' decision-making model (Danvers and Gagnon 2014). When the student voice, raised in protest, is not recognised as the voice of a reasonable, credible adult, then their concerns may be easily dismissed as those of a petulant child.…”

“…Through these conflicting discourses, I posit that student activism exists on the edges of engagement, allowing student activists to be easily constructed as either helpless children in need of adult supervision, or as dangerous criminals deserving of prosecution. Expanding upon claims made in a previous article (Danvers and Gagnon 2014), I continue to scrutinise the impact of dominant neoliberal media discourses about 'student engagement' that construct certain students as legitimately engaged in higher education whilst delegitimising other student activities such as protests.…”

Student Voice: Embracing Student Activism as a Quality Improvement Tool in Higher Education

“…Students are viewed as consumers, producers, evaluators, partners, and critical HEI citizens. As such, their voice should be recognized, respected, and valued [25]. Literature on student activism covers many issues including the causes of the unrests, socio-economic background of student activists, values of the institution, and atitudes of students and leadership styles.…”