‘Sorry the lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock.’ This apology, care of Banksy, is imprinted in the shadows of Canary Wharf. It’s a message to students of the post financial crisis, students who have been fed a mantra of ‘work hard, borrow from the Bank of Mum and Dad, keep calm and go to university’.
But the economic value of education is more and more doubtful. New Zealand students,often leave with great personal debt and enter an economy in which real wages have stagnated for decades and property prices are out of reach for all but the entitled.
Universities reassure students that a degree comes with a hefty financial reward, but is that the case? John Morgan poses the question ‘why bother with education?’ and offers some surprising answers.
BIO
John Morgan is Professor of Education at the University of Auckland. Prior to his time in New Zealand, John taught geography in London schools, then worked at Bristol University and University College London. He is a firm believer in the value of education, but is increasingly concerned that educational leaders and policy-makers are selling our young people short. This talk will draw from his dynamic and thought-provoking book entitled What’s left for education?