CMEI Colloquium
Larsen Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Education
September 23, 2015
Human Capital Theory (HCT) has dominated thinking about the relationship between education and the labour market for orthodox economists, policy makers and parents. However, key aspects of this relationship are now in doubt, theoretically and empirically. This is because many of the assumptions made by HCT with respect to education, productivity and income no longer hold. Since education policy has been justified by policy makers as enabling national competitiveness and equality of opportunity, the crisis in HCT will have a major impact on education. The role of education and related questions of equality and social justice need to be fundamentally reconsidered.
Speaker Biography:
Hugh Lauder is Professor of Education and Political Economy at the University of Bath and Director, The Institute for Policy Research. He specializes in the relationship of education to the economy and has, for over 15 years ,worked on national skill strategies and, more recently, on the global skill strategies of multinational companies and their implications for graduate recruitment. He has published many books and academic papers on international education and globalization.
