In spite of the fact that the XXI century has brought a lot of progress to the mankind, with all the new inventions which scientists have come up with, there are certain things to lose for people as they pass another stage of their development.
The so-called phenomenon of McDonaldization which is creeping into every sphere of human’s life and makes things go according to its own timing and order is another side of the sword of progress. Since the processes of McDonaldization are going on even in the sphere of education, it is high time to consider the positive and the negative effects of the new program.
The very definition of McDonaldization is rather complicated, since the very process has gone much further than the sphere of cooking and food. Because of the fact that the process touches upon a great variety of concepts and spheres of people’s activities, the definition of McDonaldization embraces many other notions and phenomena.
Among the vats variety of the definitions suggested the one which provides the most complete description and does not make the readers plunge into the depth of the other sciences is the one provided by Hayes (2006), who defined the process of McDonaldization as the “iron cage of rationality”.
Indeed, the process of McDonaldization involves several key elements, among which the process of creating the society in which the system of rationality will be implanted as the most reasonable one takes the first place. As Ritzer explained the origin of the term and the relations between the origin of the name and the processes which ate going on in the modern society,
Indeed, McDonaldization can be seen as an effort to “modernize” Weber’s rationalization thesis. The use of the term McDonaldization reflects my conviction that the fast-food restaurant, rather than Weber’s bureaucracy (and the process of bureaucratization), is the better paradigm for that process in the contemporary world.1
Whether the process of McDonaldization is positive or negative for the modern society is rather complicated question. On the one hand, the easy of fast-food and the comfort which the fast-food system has brought to people is quite a benefit for the modern society, for people are constantly in hurry and they need certain time-savers. Yet on the other hand there are certain motifs which make people doubt about the reasonability of the McDonaldization process.
Among the ideas which make people feel rather doubtful the concept of the higher education and the changes which the higher education will face as McDonaldization will take its toll on the education system are of much importance. It is obvious that people have to evaluate the impact of the McDonaldization first. According to the recent case studies held in the field of the higher education system, the McDonaldization has already had some effect on the students and has driven to certain results.
Since the financial changes are always the priority for defining the economical state of a given state, the changes in price were the main reason for people to start worrying about the new reform and the effect which it will have further on.
Higher educational establishments were the first to face the new reform in motion and evaluate the effect which it had on the economical state of the country. According to the evidence of Hayes (2006), the reform promoted further changes in the financial aspect of higher education, for students considered some of the novelties provided rather discouraging.
One of the aspects of the new reform which stroke students was the fee which they had to pay according to the standards of McDonaldization. Paying fee to get the necessary service was another burden for students to stand against to; as Hayes said, the idea of educational consumption and the commercial ways which educational system seemed to acquire stirred quite defiance among the cohort for students:
In Britain, the university life appears to be even more harassed, and the anxiety Zweig identified seems to be even more pronounced as students are required to cope with the new burdens of paying fees and securing loans if they are to participate in “educational consumption”.2
Speaking of the modernization of the higher education sphere and creating more comfortable studying environment means creating the systems of education which are more flexible and adapted to the needs of the students.
Making education free of any kinds of fees can be a great forward step which will suggest that the further improvements will also take place in the other spheres of education. It is important that people could get access to education and obtain the knowledge which will be necessary not only for their career, but also for their world picture and personal development.
This is what constitutes a university, in fact. On the assumption of what a university or any other higher educational establishment is and what purposes it should serve, a university must provide people with the skills and knowledge which they need, every single student taken into account. Such is the idea of a higher education that it can be granted to anyone who feels that the knowledge obtained will help him or her to prosper and be a decent part of the society.
The importance of a higher education cannot be overestimated, since the sciences studied there will help a student to see the nature phenomena interdependent, all taken in a single pattern. According to Newman (1999), the versatility of the experiences which studying at the university will provide students with is of immense importance for people:
Those various partial views of abstractions, by means of which the mind looks out upon its objects, are called sciences, and embrace respectively larger or smaller portions of the field of knowledge; sometimes extending far and wide, but superficially, sometimes with exactness over particular departments, sometimes occupied together on one and the same portion, sometimes holding one part in common, and then ranging on this side or that in absolute divergence one from the other.3
Learning these parts of the knowledge will make an educated man, which is one of the main aims of any university or other higher education establishment.
Indeed, providing people with the knowledge with help of which they will be able to improve the life of millions of people, or simply do their job in the most diligent and successful way must be the target for all universities and institutes to aim at. Helping people to find their way in the life, diving into the pool of opportunities and not get sunk in it is what universities should aim at, while McDonaldization can slow this process down.
Among the other things which the idea of McDonaldization conflicts with is the notion of a liberal education. The notion of a liberal education is far more complicated than the idea of McDonaldization and the whole educational reform, for liberal education is the basis of the existing educational system.
Since liberal education promotes education which is free and available to everyone, the issue of McDonaldization clashes in a sharp conflict with the basis of education as it is. According to Newman, who considers the theory of liberal education suggested by Dr. Copleston, liberal education is a concept of life itself, comprising not only the idea of a man’s education, but also the ideas of a man’s existence.
He shows first, that a liberal education is something far higher, even in the scale of Utility, than what is commonly called a Useful Education, and next, that it is necessary or useful for the purposes even of that Professional Education which commonly engrosses the title of the Useful.4
Thus, it is clear that the issue of education moves far beyond the financial profit and the economical reasons, being the sphere of a human’s intellect. In spite of all considerations dictated by the ideas of financial or any other character, education will always stay uninterested of any profit except for the scientific one.
Because of the specific features of educational sphere, the conflicts raised here will never concern the issue of money, and it is logical that education should stay free, with no fees imposed on students. People have to realise that, however good and important the process of McDonaldization can prove in the other spheres of a man’s life, there is no place for it in the sphere of education. This is the holy of holies where the issue of money should never have anything to do with.
Reference List
Hayes, D., 2006, The McDonaldization of Higher Education, IAP, Charlotte, NC
Newman, J. H. 1999, The Idea of a University: Defined and Illustrated, Regnery Gateway, Washington DC
Ritzer, G. 1998, The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA
Footnotes
1 Ritzer, G. 1998, The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2
2 Hayes, D., 2006, The McDonaldization of Higher Education, IAP, Charlotte, NC, p. 54
3 Newman, J. H. 1999, The Idea of a University: Defined and Illustrated, Regnery Gateway, Washington DC, 43
4 Newman, J. H. 1999, The Idea of a University: Defined and Illustrated, Regnery Gateway, Washington DC