The Dearing Inquiry as Process – Delegated Thinking and the Limits of Expert Advice |
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Authors: | David Robertson |
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Affiliation: | Liverpool John Moores University |
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Abstract: | The Dearing Inquiry into Higher Education is assessed in terms of its contribution to a style of policy-making which has lain dormant for two decades. The paper questions the effectiveness of national inquiries in general, and asks whether there is a case for anticipating further inquiries as proposed by the Dearing report. The Inquiry itself is examined as part of a critique of state-sponsored delegated thinking, in which the state delegates but does not abdicate its policy-making function. Tensions between academic experts and the elite policy-making community are also analysed. The paper concludes that inquiries have less to do with inquiry, and more to do with the legitimation of state policy options. A way is cleared for a further paper which explores the alternatives for higher education. |
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