The Neoliberal New Public Management influence on the Swedish Higher Education

Abstract

This study is about neoliberal New Public Management (NPM) entry into the Swedish higher education institutions, its effects and the possible alternatives to it. Academic articles, policy documents and government reports are used for the study. The results of the study show in the Swedish higher education institutions, NPM market characters such as efficiency, competition, quality control, customer satisfaction and manpower training for the labour market are emphasised. Easily measurable knowledge is prioritized at the expense of critical and analytical knowledge. Higher education's autonomy is to some extent violated, collegial leadership is replaced by appointee leadership, and staff are under pressure to follow instructions instead of exercising their academic freedom. Based on these findings I will argue against these trends and emphasise on the importance of all partners in higher education to review the present condition to facilitate the possibility of keeping higher education as public autonomous institutions, academic freedom intact, assure that higher education should have both professional and democratic contents, and that higher education should continue to undertake basic long-term and short-term research.