Reforming Higher Learning in New Brunswick: A Critical Theory Critique: Examining Higher Education Policy and the Changing Character of Institutions of Higher Learning in New Brunswick

This book examines the policies presented by the Government of New Brunswick for restructuring the provinces post-secondary education system. The main policies reviewed are the Advantage New Brunswick Report and the New Brunswick Action Plan, which are part of Canada’s wider strategic economic action plan. This book is relevant because it deals with many central concerns and problems faced by universities and the government in the context of contemporary higher education policy, recession, and high unemployment. The purpose of this book is to provide the ground for criticizing higher education policy through a theoretical framework aimed at articulating the problems facing post-secondary education and the liberal arts. The Advantage New Brunswick Report and New Brunswick Action Plan are framed and defined in terms of the context of post-secondary education. This work can hopefully serve as a springboard for discussion and as the basis for further critical inquiry into higher education policies in Canada and all over the world. The overall significance of this book is as a sign of the decline of liberal education in the face of growing technical and applied programs.

Christopher Lyons is a PhD candidate in education policy in the Faculty of Education at the University of Western Ontario in Ontario, Canada. He has received a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of New Brunswick and a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Philosophy from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada.