The Seeds of Discontent: Examining Youth Perceptions of Higher Education in Syria

Autor/in	Buckner, Elizabeth
Titel	The Seeds of Discontent: Examining Youth Perceptions of Higher Education in Syria
Quelle	In: Comparative Education, 49 (2013) 4, S.440-463 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-0068
DOI	10.1080/03050068.2013.765643
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Educational Attitudes; Interviews; Young Adults; Political Influences; Admission Criteria; Government Role; Semi Structured Interviews; Access to Education; Employment Potential; Educational Discrimination; Student Attitudes; Politics of Education; College Admission; Enrollment Management; Syria + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Educational attitude; Bildungsverhalten; Erziehungseinstellung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Young adult; Junger Erwachsener; Political influence; Politischer Einfluss; Admission; Admission procedures; Zulassungsbedingung; Zulassungsverfahren; Zulassung; Education; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Arbeitsmarktbezogene Qualifikation; Beschäftigungsfähigkeit; Schülerverhalten; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Hochschulzugang; Hochschulzulassung; Syrien
Abstract	This article examines young Syrians' perceptions of higher education after the 2001 reforms, which expanded access to higher education and permitted the establishment of private universities. Data come from in-depth interviews conducted with 22 Syrians residing in Damascus, aged 18-32 in 2009. Analysis indicates youth are critical of the higher education system broadly, and that their discontent stems from two sources: (1) the high level of state involvement in determining youth life paths when uncoupled from labour market security; and (2) the perceived unfairness in university admissions stemming from connections and new forms of privatisation. This youth discontent reflects a larger rejection of the state's role in the higher education admissions process. Given Syria's long-term commitment to a model of state-led development in the post-independence era, the failure of the Syrian state to successfully link expanded higher education to secure employment in the neo-liberal era has contributed to a de-legitimisation of the Syrian state as a whole in the eyes of its youth. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10