A critical pedagogy approach to understanding equity and equality in the transnational higher education sector

The expansion of Transnational Education (TNE) provision by UK providers has coincided with radical transformation of the UK higher education landscape. Neoliberal policy changes have led to significant reductions in government funding for universities, and an increase in the marketisation, competition and regulation of the higher education sector. Growing public animosity towards immigration led the government to commit to an aggressive reduction in immigration, which included a crack-down on 'bogus students' entering the country, and changing the student visa requirements and terms (Tannock, 2013). This had a profound impact on international student recruitment, and how Britain was viewed internationally. TNE provides a solution to these challenges and rebalances the 'global higher education market' by allowing more students to study in their own countries but still access UK universities (HEGlobal, 2016, p. 9). TNE has become an increasingly important element of the global higher education market. However, for many, TNE represents the antithesis of higher education as a public good, and instead symbolises the commodification and marketisation of higher education by neoliberal policies into a private good (Naidoo, 2007). For others, the opening up of new markets through TNE provision is viewed as a way to widen access into higher education for those currently excluded (Hills, 2017). However, the assumption that increased higher education provision will lead to more equity and equality in access and the student experience for all young people across the globe has received little theoretical discussion in the academic literature on TNE. This is a positioning paper that will scrutinise the schizophrenic nature of Anglo-Saxon universities that emphasise and promote their 'public role and function', while being active in the education marketplace, especially across international borders where they 'behave like private entities' (van der Wende, 2003, p. 202). Using Henry A. Giroux's (2011) critical pedagogy, issues of equity and equality in relation to location of provision, the curriculum's failure to address social injustices, subject and knowledge disparities, disadvantaged groups, and meritocracy will be examined. The paper concludes by reflecting on what UK providers can do to ensure more equitable and equal access and student experience in TNE provision, and the role of freedom in ensuring social justice.