Disseminating the right information to the right
audience: cultural determinants in the use (and misuse)
of rankings
Disseminating the right information to the right
audience: cultural determinants in the use (and misuse)
of rankings
Rankings and league tables, or Report Cards (RCs), of Higher Education Institutions have become a global phenomenon. Their purpose, it is claimed, is to help
‘student-consumers’ make informed decisions. Yet the degree to which RCs succeed in helping students in their college choice is disputed. Even though RCs are intended for all, which information is sought and how it is used may differ between potential students hailing from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, RCs may neglect certain cultural determinants that influence students’ college choice behaviour. The article reviews the literature on the cultural determinants of college choice and especially the use of RCs in the ambit of cultural determinants. In the United States, possibly because of evident educational gaps between ethnic groups in society, the issue of cultural perceptions in college choice has been addressed, albeit scantly. In Europe, this field of study is virtually non-existent, despite increasing indications that second and third generation immigrants still lag behind in terms of higher education participation and graduation rates.
college choice, consumer information, culture, higher education, information processing, ranking, report card, students
373-385
Cremonini, Leon
71ac1980-027f-4a89-a541-e5d2aebc328f
Westerheijden, Don
86c473af-e988-4b17-9323-5fdcbd64da5c
Enders, Jürgen
cf0b34e3-15ef-430a-ae38-3c780d059a78
March 2008
Cremonini, Leon
71ac1980-027f-4a89-a541-e5d2aebc328f
Westerheijden, Don
86c473af-e988-4b17-9323-5fdcbd64da5c
Enders, Jürgen
cf0b34e3-15ef-430a-ae38-3c780d059a78
Cremonini, Leon, Westerheijden, Don and Enders, Jürgen
(2008)
Disseminating the right information to the right
audience: cultural determinants in the use (and misuse)
of rankings.
Higher Education, 55 (3), .
(doi:10.1007/s10734-007-9062-8).
Abstract
Rankings and league tables, or Report Cards (RCs), of Higher Education Institutions have become a global phenomenon. Their purpose, it is claimed, is to help
‘student-consumers’ make informed decisions. Yet the degree to which RCs succeed in helping students in their college choice is disputed. Even though RCs are intended for all, which information is sought and how it is used may differ between potential students hailing from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds. In particular, RCs may neglect certain cultural determinants that influence students’ college choice behaviour. The article reviews the literature on the cultural determinants of college choice and especially the use of RCs in the ambit of cultural determinants. In the United States, possibly because of evident educational gaps between ethnic groups in society, the issue of cultural perceptions in college choice has been addressed, albeit scantly. In Europe, this field of study is virtually non-existent, despite increasing indications that second and third generation immigrants still lag behind in terms of higher education participation and graduation rates.
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Published date: March 2008
Keywords:
college choice, consumer information, culture, higher education, information processing, ranking, report card, students
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Local EPrints ID: 352533
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/352533
ISSN: 0018-1560
PURE UUID: e6c705cf-90bf-41e8-bf1a-acfa01dc2da0
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Date deposited: 15 May 2013 12:54
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 13:54
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Contributors
Author:
Leon Cremonini
Author:
Don Westerheijden
Author:
Jürgen Enders
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