An empirical study was undertaken of students in the United Kingdom and Germany in order to investigate whether their attitudes were moving away from traditional patterns towards those that might be expected in more marketised higher education systems. The British students were found to be more instrumental and materialistic in relation to their future career and earning prospects. They stressed the intellectual dimension of higher education, whereas the Germans tended to stress personal development, and were keener on socially useful work. However, the United Kingdom students cared much more about human relationships within their higher education institutions, and rated them much more positively. Despite fears that market-oriented knowledge concepts lead to theory-aversion, the United Kingdom students displayed more intellectual enthusiasm and expressed more interest in future graduate study and research. It is speculated that the underlying concept of knowledge may be different in the United Kingdom. The British students were more aware of quality assurance measures within their institutions and more satisfied with their courses than their German counterparts. By contrast, the British staff were in important respects less satisfied in their work than the German staff, so the satisfaction of the students seems to be achieved at their expense.

By Rosalind M.O. Pritchard