What Are Universities For?
Analysis12 Mar 2018

What Are Universities For?

Almost half of the UK's school leavers are now going to university. But the university sector is under more scrutiny than ever before. Sonia Sodha argues that it's time to take a profound look at what universities are really for.

Should we be spending vast amounts of public money educating young people at this level if the main purpose is to get ahead of the next person? Are vast numbers of students being failed by a one-size-fits-all system that prizes academic achievement above all else? Why has Apple - and several other companies in Silicon Valley - decided that training young people's imagination and sense of civic culture is of paramount importance? What are the long-term risks to society if universities increasingly become little more than training grounds for the workplace?

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

Episoder(389)

What's the future of nudge?

What's the future of nudge?

The term nudge has become a byword for the application of behavioural science in public policy, changing how governments the world over create policies designed to encourage, or nudge, people to make ...

20 Nov 202328min

Can reading really improve your life?

Can reading really improve your life?

Most educational research now suggests that reading for pleasure is strongly linked to a child’s future outcome, educational success, and even wellbeing. But the latest studies also show that reading ...

13 Nov 202330min

Can the UK afford a mental health crisis?

Can the UK afford a mental health crisis?

A record 2.6 million people are off work due to long-term sickness, with mental health conditions the biggest single contributor. The problem is particularly acute among younger people, who are dispro...

6 Nov 202328min

France: a constitutional crisis in the making

France: a constitutional crisis in the making

The USA, the UK and France, which have led the democratic world, are all suffering problems with their constitutions. But the problem is most acute in France, where President Macron has lost his parli...

30 Okt 202329min

What on earth is the national interest?

What on earth is the national interest?

Should we be sceptical when politicians claim to act in "the national interest"? The phrase is frequently trotted out to elevate policy and actions as unimpeachably serving us all. But what does it ac...

23 Okt 202328min

What makes a good school?

What makes a good school?

How should we evaluate schools? Is it about delivering a wide range of subjects, or extra activities and pastoral care that make a “good” school? Who gets to decide what is a good school and what doe...

16 Okt 202329min

How can we grow the UK economy?

How can we grow the UK economy?

The cost of living crisis followed a decade in which people’s wages and incomes barely grew. The idea that each generation does at least as well as the one before, has for the moment ended. We’ll only...

9 Okt 202328min

The Democratic Brain

The Democratic Brain

Our brain is a wonderful machine, but it can also short-circuit. What happens to us when emotions and politics intersect, when the democratic, listening brain is cut off, or when we succumb to ‘hate s...

2 Okt 202328min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden-usa
aftenpodden
i-retten
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
fotballpodden-2
rss-gukild-johaug
nokon-ma-ga
det-store-bildet
dine-penger-pengeradet
bt-dokumentar-2
aftenbla-bla
hanna-de-heldige
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-dannet-uten-piano
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-ness
e24-podden