Public perceptions of universities are okay as long as they stick to the part of their knitting which is about educating people for employment, helping society and expanding the economy. But just over a third of Australians are sceptical of university yarns about fostering democratic participation and debate as core responsibilities.
“This mismatch raises fundamental questions for policymakers and university leaders about how universities can sustain their civic mission in an environment where the public is ambivalent about the democratic dimensions of higher education,” Nicholas Biddle (ANU) and colleagues suggest, in an analysis of their most recent survey of students and other Australians.
In the poll, taken last September, 62% of the sample had confidence in universities, down from just under 80% in 2019; but still way better than people’s perceptions of the national government last year, when 37.8% expressed confidence in the feds.
The researchers draw insights from just over 1,000 students and more than 2,400 other Australian adults, who responded to a consumer panel.
The confidence fall in universities was strongest among those without degrees, “consistent with a broader pattern identified in advanced democracies in which education increasingly structures institutional trust and political attitudes,” the authors opine.
However, the decline was “much less” than their loss of confidence in the national government, making it “a concern but far from a crisis.”
Good, but not good enough for the researchers, “If large groups of Australians—particularly those without degrees—see universities as distant, underperforming or misaligned with national needs, this may reinforce broader political disaffection and institutional distrust,” they warn.
There is also a problem in the poll results for HASS advocates of study as teaching critical thinking. Over 90% of the poll thought “training people for the future workforce” is a university responsibility.
And it’s not great for the research establishment. While 40% plus held that universities “should develop new ideas” the sample was less keen on research on “the fundamental questions of the time” or on “developing new products” (both 26.7%).
And just on 30% believe universities were a place “for controversial ideas to be expressed and debated”. The same % thought universities “help strengthen democracy by fostering informed citizens and encouraging civic participation.”
Survey participants were also pragmatists on what they expect graduates to gain from a university education; rating employment skills, preparation for the workforce and solving problems/think analytically at just over 60 %; 10% clear of “creative approaches to problem solving.”
The authors identify three “implications” in the survey:
- “To rebuild public confidence” universities “need to focus on transparency, accountability and demonstrable public value—not only in economic terms, but in social and civic terms”
- Perceptions that disadvantaged and regional students have declining access must be addressed, “perceived unfairness in educational opportunity is associated with lower democratic satisfaction”
- “If universities continue to retreat to a narrow focus on funding, rankings, or student places, they risk ceding discussion on democratic institutional design to those outside the academy, including those who frame universities as remote, self-serving, or culturally hostile,” they warn.