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Remembering R obbins: Context and Process
Author(s) -
Shattock Michael
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
higher education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.976
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1468-2273
pISSN - 0951-5224
DOI - 10.1111/hequ.12044
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , sociology , process (computing) , key (lock) , political science , history , law , epistemology , philosophy , computer science , archaeology , operating system , computer security
The R obbins R eport was the most deeply researched and most highly regarded report ever written on B ritish higher education. By common consent at the time it marked a watershed in the development of higher education in B ritain and took its place as one of the most influential contributions to the growth of B ritish society since B everidge. However, some of its most important recommendations were not accepted and for nearly 30 years the pattern of development that it proposed was in abeyance. This article describes the context of the establishment of the R obbins C ommittee, considers the processes that it followed in reaching its conclusions and offers an account of why some key recommendations were rejected. The article is intended to provide an historical introduction to the articles in this special issue of the journal.