Modern Ekonominin Yetkinlik Krizi ve Üniversite



Yazar/lar
Ali Gülüm1

1 Dr., İstanbul Üniversitesi, İstanbul, Türkiye. E-posta: [email protected]


Öz

Modern ekonomi, Dünya Ekonomik Forumu (WEF) tarafından “yetkinlik açığı” olarak tanımlanan, özellikle “analitik ve yaratıcı düşünme” gibi üst düzey becerilerde yaşanan bir insan kaynağı kriziyle karşı karşıyadır. Bu krizin sorumlusu olarak sıklıkla üniversiteler (“günah keçisi”) gösterilmekte ve onlara piyasa taleplerine daha hızlı uyum sağlamaları yönünde baskı yapılmaktadır. Bu makale, “yetkinlik açığının” basit bir arz-talep sorunundan ziyade, üniversitenin son yarım yüzyılda geçirdiği tarihsel-sosyolojik dönüşümün yarattığı derin bir paradoksun semptomu olduğunu iddia etmektedir. Martin Trow’un “kitleselleşme”, Randall Collins’in “diplomacılık” ve 1980’lerden itibaren kurumsallaşan Yeni Kamu Yönetimi (NPM) teorilerini sentezleyen bu çalışma, şu nedensel zinciri ortaya koymaktadır: Trow’un kitleselleşme süreci üniversitenin işlevini “beceri” sağlamaya kaydırırken, Collins’in “kültürel para” tezi bu sürecin aslında bir “statü rekabeti” olduğunu göstermiştir. 1980’lerdeki NPM reformları, bu gerilimi piyasa mekanizmalarını dayatarak “çözmeye” çalışmış, ancak bu durum “öğrenci-müşteri” paradigmasını ve eğitimin “McDonaldlaşmasını” beraberinde getirmiştir. Makalenin merkezi paradoksu, piyasanın talep ettiği (WEF) yaratıcı becerileri üretmek için tasarlanan bu piyasa mekanizmalarının (NPM), tam da bu becerilerin gerektirdiği entelektüel angajmanı yok eden “araçsal” bir yaklaşımı teşvik etmesidir. Çözüm, paradoksal bir şekilde, üniversitenin piyasaya daha fazla uyumlanmasında değil, piyasanın ihtiyaç duyduğu “düşünme” pratiğini üretebilmesi için gereken kurumsal bağımsızlığı yeniden kazanmasında yatmaktadır.

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