Societal inequalities in general have bad connotations, especially when the social exclusion appears. More and more processes in societies widen the gap between elites and masses. Can elitism have good connotations and how is it connected to the universities?
In the UK I believe there are important distinctions. There is an "eilte" so called - most of these will have gone to the top 10 universities in the UK and many to Oxbridge. Some of these are elitist and some are not. Meritocracy I agree is a better concept as it is more justifiable but it can still be anti-democratic. It depends how you measure merit and what access is determined by. My observation in the UK is that access is only partly determined by class, race or gender. Once it has been obtained personal characteristics and performance take over. Therefore the entry gate is crucial. I am sorry this answer is somewhat anecdotal.
I think it can especially for students who have worked hard to obtain a scholarship to attend a renowned university. These scholarships could be for minority students or underrepresented ones in a field such as Science. But, there's also a downside if you attend an international student as not all of them accommodate for an international perspective to include developing countries, which adds another dimension for inequality.
Best regards,
Debra
Data Generation I: International and invisible in a workforce edu...
Dear Arvydas,
I am from Spain, where many members of our political, economical not to say military elite are not very cultured. Therefore, I would agree with you that a little more "elitism" (I would call it meritocracy) would be beneficial, as long is connected with higher levels o of education and a stronger basis of general knowledge. In Spain many people still disregard intellectuals and our current president (until the june election) does not speak any foreign language.
However, I would use the term "meritocracy", not elitism. We have elites, just they don't have a strong general knowledge of culture.
Hope that it helps.
Luis
In the UK I believe there are important distinctions. There is an "eilte" so called - most of these will have gone to the top 10 universities in the UK and many to Oxbridge. Some of these are elitist and some are not. Meritocracy I agree is a better concept as it is more justifiable but it can still be anti-democratic. It depends how you measure merit and what access is determined by. My observation in the UK is that access is only partly determined by class, race or gender. Once it has been obtained personal characteristics and performance take over. Therefore the entry gate is crucial. I am sorry this answer is somewhat anecdotal.
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