IgorRižnar
UniverzanaPrimorskem,
Fakultetazamanagement
igor.riznar@fm-kp.si
HigherEducationMix(FourBs
ofHigherEducationInstitutions):
ForBoštjanŽekšand,toaLesser
Extent,FollowersofE.Jerome
McCarthy
This text is about the most valuable assets in education: students and
teachers.Tosomeextent,itisalsoaboutpolicymakers.Itfocusesondif-
ferenttypesofteachersinasimilarwayassomemarketinggurusfocus
onfour(orseven)Psoftheso-calledmarketingmix.Themainaimofthe
textistoshedsomelightonthecomplexityofeducationandtheimpor-
tanceofunderstandingasthemostimportantfinalproductoflearning.
This contribution is a far cry from a definitive picture of anything, let
aloneofthecomplexsystemofeducation.Ontheotherhand,itaimsat
convincing the reader that learning (i.e., critically thinking about an is-
sue)isthemosteffectivecognitiveenhancer,whichincreasesourmental
flexibilityandprovidesstrategiesforsolvingproblems.
Keywords: teachers, education systems, policy makers, students, rote
learning,understanding
Mešanicavisokšolskegaizobraževanja
(štirjeB-jivisokošolskihinstitucij)
Nepoučenemu bralcu najprej končna opomba: naslov je izbran po ana-
logiji štirih P-jev v marketingu. Nekateri strokovnjaki menijo, da štirje
P-ji(price,product,promotion,place)nisodovoljzapravičenopiszaplete-
nega spleta, zato so teoretsko podmeno razširili na sedem P-jev (poleg
processinphysicalevidencesopomislilicelonapeople),drugimspetsena
trenutke dozdeva, da tudi štirideset P-jev ni dovolj za poglobljeno ana-
lizo. Po drugi strani pa nekateri z vso zavzetostjo zagovarjajo misel, da
jepravzapravglavnikriveczazablodeinpovršnopsevdoteorijočrkaP,ki
raziskovalcesilivdoločenosmerrazmišljanja,indabiutegnilabitičrka
B(alikaterakolidrugaalicelovsečrkeabecede)velikoprimernejša.Kdo
imaprav,sevedanipredmettegaprispevka,kijeposvečenBoštjanuŽe-
kšu.Od18.maja2002,kojevSobotniprilogiDelaizšelzapisintervjujas
takratnim novimpredsednikomslovenskega sazu-ja z naslovom»Uni-
verza, pomožna šola za reveže in mentalno ne popolnoma razvite«, do
danesnemoremnehatirazmišljati,kakozlahkanekaterapomembnabe-
sedilaizginejovpozaboinkakohitropopolnomaabsurdneabotnostipo-
stanejopredmetvsakodnevnihrazprav.
Ključne besede: učitelji, študenti, izobraževalni sistemi, oblikovalci poli-
tik,učenjenapamet,razumevanje
https://doi.org/10.26493/1854-4231.17.47-50
Let me start with a remark for the uneducated
reader: The title deliberately resembles the anal-
ogy of four Ps in marketing mix. Some firmly
believe that four Ps (price, product, promotion,
place)donotsufficeforathoroughdescriptionof
what they call marketing mix, so they widened
their theoretical premise to seven Ps (in addi-
tiontoprocessandphysicalevidencetheyalsoin-
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IgorRižnar|HigherEducationMix(FourBsofHigherEducationInstitutions)
troduced people). Others simply think that even
fortyPsaretoofewforanin-depthanalysisofthe
phenomenon.Ontheotherhand,therearescien-
tists who claim (yes, without providing evidence
orproof)that the mainculpritfordelusionsand
superficialpseudotheorycouldbeascribedtolet-
ter P, which forces researchers into a certain way
ofthinkingandthatletterBcouldbeamuchbet-
ter choice(or forthat matter,and other letteror
alllettersofthealphabet).Whoisrightisnotthe
topicofthistext.
This modest piece of writing is devoted to
Boštjan Žekš and E. Jerome McCarthy’s follow-
ers.FromMay18,2002,whenDelopublishedthe
interview with the then newly elected president
of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
titled‘Univerza,pomožnašolazarevežeinmen-
talno ne popolnoma razvite’ (University, Special
Needs School for the Poor and Mentally Under-
developed),untilthisverymomentIcannotstop
thinking how easily certain important thoughts
disappearintotheabyssofforgetfulnessandhow
easilymeaninglessdiscoursecanflourishbybeing
constantlyregurgitatedbyteachersandstudents.
Thistextisaboutpeople,becauseIbelievethat
in social sciences texts should be about people
andnotaboutabstractionsthatnoonecanmake
any sense of. I follow Billig (2009, 2013) who is
clearly against noun-based style of writing i.e.,
reification,nominalizationandpassivization,be-
causeitonlymakesacademictextsincomprehen-
sible and difficult to grasp. This text is above all
about people in education; not that they differ
a lot from people in other professions, but they
have a special role that is often left out in their
job descriptions: in addition to inspiring, moti-
vatingandencouragingstudentstheyneedtobe
aware of their intelectual responsibilityand help
studentsachievethehighestgoalinlife,whichis
to inquire and create and, last but not least, to
internalizethepartsthattheyfoundtobesignif-
icant for their future personal and professional
life. In this context, the purpose of education is
tohelpstudentsdeterminehowtolearnontheir
own. If we want to have a society of free, cre-
ative, independent individuals, educational sys-
tems should be geared towards encouraging ac-
tive exploration, independenceof thought and a
willingness to challenge accepted beliefs. Every-
thing else belongs either to pseudo-education or
indoctrination.Manyoftheabovethoughtshave
beeninternalisedfromtheworkofNoamChom-
sky(2004).
This contribution is a far cry from a defini-
tive picture of (higher) education systems. Its
main purpose is to shed some light on the most
valuable asset in education, its people:students,
teachersandpolicymakers.
Discussion
FirstB
Bees & Beacons. As any seasoned reader have al-
ready noticed, the first B is a double B. It rep-
resents the largest and the smallest groups of
teachers, administrators and policy makers at
all levels of education. Bees could be a source of
inspiration, well organised as they are. On the
other hand, they seem to be led by instinct and
rarelyquestionwhattheydo.Therearemorethan
20.000 bee species, some wild, others domesti-
cated. They are critical for the societies around
the globe, but often completelyunaware of their
importantrole.
Teachers sharing some of the characteristics
of bees are satisfied with the status quo, do not
question how things are done in education and
are–inthesamemannerashoneybees–listed
as endangered species, with some who in more
favourable circumstances may have evolved into
beaconsunfortunately,areleavingtheprofession
forgood.
Beacons are rare, but of utmost importance:
they help students at all levels of education to
navigate on their path to understanding (under-
standing, not remembering and forgetting ad
infinitum). When bees regurgitate the mantra
of skills and knowledge, beacons are aware that
only understanding counts. Beacons guide their
students, try to retain their curiosity and open
mindsandaresmartenoughtoquestionassump-
tions and paradigms and help students do the
same.Theyareagainstrotelearningandregurgi-
tation,twoofthebiggestenemiesof,letuscallit
this way, sustainable education. Sustainable ed-
ucation is quality education, not any education
opportunity: it encourages critical and creative
thinking, it goes beyond traditional borders of
individual disciplines and sub-disciplines,it pro-
motes research-based teaching/learning, it takes
into account differences between students and
constantly fives feedback, it challenges students
and help developtheir metacognitive skills.Bea-
cons are rarely found among teachers; they are
evenmoredifficulttofindamongpolicymakers.
SecondB
Bulldozers. Dozers create and destroy with equal
insensitivity; they ruthlessly force their way like
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IgorRižnar|HigherEducationMix(FourBsofHigherEducationInstitutions)
a real bulldozer, hence they are often promoted
to the policy-maker or headmaster status. Bull-
dozers come in several types: teacher-bulldozers
usuallysticktooneandonlyonemethodofteach-
ing (say, project-basedlearning). Lately, many of
them have become keen proponents of e-Learn-
ing/e-Teaching, often mistakenly believing that
quaranteachingandzoomingequalsonlinelearn-
ing/teaching.Bulldozersinthepolicy-makersec-
toroftheeducationindustrywould,amongmany
other things, force others to believe that test-
ingisgoodforstudentseveninsituationswhere
there has been little or no feedback given. Bull-
dozersareoftentoopowerfulandusetheirbrute
power to force their opinion on bees and stu-
dents.Sometimestheirspecialityisreachingfalse
consensusonthepremiseoffalseconclusionsbe-
ingpreviouslymade.
ThirdB
Bullshitters. We live in the world in which, it
seems at least occasionally, bullshit reigns su-
preme. ‘One of the most salient features of our
culture,’writesHarry.G.Frankfurt(2009),‘isthat
there is so much bullshit.’ We are all aware of it
andweallcontributeoursharetoit, butbecause
wetakethesituationforgranted,verylittlework
hasbeendoneonthesubject.AccordingtoFrank-
furt speech emptied of all informative content
‘is unavoidable whenever circumstances require
someone to talk without knowing what they are
talkingabout.’
Frankfurt determines that bullshit is speech
intendedtopersuadewithoutregardfortruth.
It is difficult to say with any certainty sup-
ported by sound statistical data that the num-
ber of bullshitters increases exponentially with
the level and field of education. Some may be-
lievethat these numbersareconsiderablyhigher
in social sciences and higher levels of education.
Geographicallyspeaking,Finlandmaylagbehind
in this respect, which, of course, is good for all
stakeholders and the society at large. Unfortu-
nately, there are many countries where a person
who is not good at anything is more than wel-
come to become a teacher. The discussion about
the consequences of this fatal mistake is beyond
thescopeofthisarticle.
Bullshitters like to listen to their own voice
and are unable to answer the question: ‘What
do you mean by this?’ This group of teachers is
unable to learn, lacks intellectual humility, their
expertise is worthless, are overconfident, and
represent a bigger threat to the development of
education systems than liars. Listening is not
their speciality, nonsensical speech their piece
of cake. They are Deepak Chopras of many edu-
cational systems.Emptydiscoursepretendingto
bear meaning is all they are capable of – to the
detrimentofallothersinvolved.
FourthB
Barbarians.Thisisamiscellaneousgroupofteach-
ers, ranging from cool teachers (in the eye of
the short-sighted student) to clueless teachers
and many types in between (lazy, on the verge
of retiring, utterly strict, too friendly, sick and
tired of the job, text-book dependent, early ca-
reerteacher,etc.).Theircommondenominatoris
thattheyareunabletoplaythisimportantrolein
thesociety,becausetheydonotfitinthesociety
of learners. Teachers in this subset, miseducate
students,seeingteachingaspassiveawarenessof
somedeadfacts.Oversimplification,ontheother
hand,isthespecialityofpolicymakersbelonging
tothisgroup.
Bulldozers, bullshitters, and barbarians be-
long to traditional education: they teach by the
book,andtheyteachtothetest.Theyarefocused
on propositional knowledge, not on skills and
understanding.They encourage sadistic teaching
methodsbystickingtothe principleof assembly
line in the presentation of topics that – as a rule
– overlook the needs and interests of students,
hindertheircreativityandinhibitanychange.
Conclusion
Iwasprobablywrongin2017(Rižnar2017)when
Iwrotethatthiswasamake-or-break-itmoment
for higher education institutions. At that time, I
did not know that covid-19 crisis would bring
about so much nonsense claims into the edu-
cation system that Dunning and Kruger would
be turning in their graves had they not been
alive.Yet Iwasprobablynotwrong that weneed
a creative destruction in education at all levels
and that we should embrace learning (and not
pseudo-research and publishing) in education as
afundamentalmissionofuniversities.Byfollow-
ingKahneman(2013)weneedtofocusmoreon
teaching disciplined thinking, decision-making
skills,principlesofprobability,choicetheoryand
statistics and learn how to approach problems
methodicallyandavoidjumpingtoconclusions.
Learning is the most effective cognitive en-
hancer,whichincreasesourmentalflexibilityand
provides strategies for problem solving and ab-
stract thinking. Using big words (learning out-
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IgorRižnar|HigherEducationMix(FourBsofHigherEducationInstitutions)
comes,referencepoints,closingthequalitycircle)
in education, dressing banalities up as profundi-
tieswillonlyleadtoseriousrhetoricalsickness,in
education and in society as a whole. As teachers
whovaluetruth,weshouldnotsufferthepseudo-
profound gladly and should do our best to help
our students develop, as Cohen (2002) puts it, a
better ‘crap detector.’ Education is about asking
questions, validating answers, assessing mean-
ing and, last but not least, having a keen sense
of the ridiculous, allthis donewith cautiousness
andhumility.
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