Pablo Lillo Cea disputerade i utbildningssociologi

Den 22 mars försvarade Pablo Lillo Cea sin doktorsavhandling i utbildningssociologi: The World-Class Ordination: A Field Theory Approach to the Study of Global University Rankings

Se abstract och doktorsavhandling

Why did you choose to attend PhD studies in Sweden and Uppsala University?

This question really digs into a complex issue. It touches on the topics of migration (international mobility) and educational choices, which lie at the core of the sociology of education. It’s crucial for me, then, to start with a disclaimer: the reasons we often give for such decisions are largely narratives we construct. These narratives help us make sense of a tangle of experiences and influences that our conscious minds can’t fully untangle. I’m talking about events that, at a first glance, may seem disconnected to the question, but when considered more closely, offer deep explanations for one’s predispositions toward certain practices. For example, Sweden’s history of welcoming political refugees from Chile during the 1970s and 1980s—an aunt of mine among them—endowed the country with a special place in my imagination from a young age. This backdrop made the idea of moving to Sweden a possibility within my world; therefore, when I was confronted with the actual opportunity to do so, it didn’t seem as wild of a proposition as it seemed to some of my Chilean friends who didn’t have any connection to Sweden—and who of course, more often than not, thought I was talking about Switzerland.

Nevertheless, leaving sociological (over)thinking aside for the moment, at its core, my decision boiled down to personal curiosity and external advice. On one hand, my experiences in Chile—both as a student and as a teacher trainee—ignited a deep-seated curiosity about how the learning process and educational systems are interlinked, yet distinct. This led me to obsess over the relationship between education and power, guiding me towards a richer engagement with sociological literature. On the other hand, a significant nudge came from a professor of education in Chile, who is also my father-in-law. His own journey from Chile to Sweden as a refugee (and later from Sweden to Chile as an expert in the field of education) inspired him to suggest I apply to the international master’s program in Sociology of Education at Uppsala University. This master’s program solidified my desire to become a researcher, making the pursue of a PhD the obvious and necessary next step.

Your thesis is about global university rankings. How did you become interested in that subject?

I’ve been aware of global university rankings ever since I first applied for a university programme back in 2006. Initially, I didn’t take these rankings too seriously. The idea of evaluating universities globally, stripping them of their cultural context and ignoring the diverse faculties within them, struck me as a somewhat superficial endeavour with limited value. However, a decade later, during the introductory days of my master’s studies in 2016, an observation shifted my perspective. The mention of Uppsala University’s position in global rankings, followed by the audience’s positive reaction, highlighted how university administrators and many international graduate students view these rankings as meaningful reflections of reality. This revelation made me question whether I had overlooked something important.

Upon studying the literature on the subject, my initial scepticism found justification—the evidence I encountered only reinforced my doubts. Despite a growing body of research pointing out the fundamental flaws in these rankings, however, most people continue to regard them as valid indicators of academic quality, often without a clear understanding of what “academic quality” (or “world-class universities”) really means. As I pondered dissertation topics, my wife recalled my ongoing interest on the ranking phenomenon and suggested it as a potential focal point for my research. Her suggestion resonated with me, and indeed, it proved to be an excellent starting point for my exploration into the world of global university rankings and world-class universities.

What do you think are the most important conclusions that you have reached in your thesis?

In my thesis I ask why and how are certain universities classified as "world-class" institutions? In this way, I take a step back from the discussions of meaning that take both the notion of “world-class universities” and rankings as for granted. Instead of a linguistic, technical, or philosophical perspective based on deontological pursuits (what a “world-class university” should be), I take a more sociological and empirical one grounded in ontological questions (what a “world-class university” actually is based on concrete evidence). Thus, I explore who wields power to assign meaning to this classification?, how has their authority been legitimised?, and what symbolic relationships (between institutions, nations, regions) emerge through this classification?

My research shows that the “world-class” designation emerges not merely from objective evaluations, but rather from a concerted push by specific stakeholders (mainly rankers, policy makers, and university administrators) who have purposefully crafted and propagated a global narrative, delineating what constitutes ideal practices and values in higher education, while simultaneously establishing an infrastructure that endorses and perpetuates this categorisation. The “world-class” narrative, which isn’t but an ode to the Anglo-Saxon model of the university to the detriment of alternative views, has been spread and legitimised through the foundation of various international institutions (primarily the International Ranking Expert Group and the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and the implementation of a worldwide university evaluation system. This system presumes the existence of a global space where universities, despite the stark differences stemming from their specific national histories and cultures, can be compared to each other as a coherent whole, even sidelining the fact that these institutions often are made up of subunits—faculties and the like—with very distinct academic traditions and practices.

I’ve learnt that we think we know a lot of things about rankings, but in reality these assumptions are either wrong or not exactly right. For example, a lot of people think that global rankings emphasise internationalisation; however, leaving aside the fact that not all global rankings have indicators on internationalisation (even the Shanghai ranking, probably the most well known, has zero indicators on this matter), the biggest, oldest rankings that do include this theme, attribute a lower relative weight to it, reducing its impact on the final scores quite significantly. Instead, in some cases, metrics of subjective appreciations of prestige, a feature that most rankers have claimed should not be the focus of their evaluations, account for a third (in the case of THE World University Ranking) and even for half (in the case of QS World University Ranking) of the final score. In other words, measurements of “academic quality” and “excellence” don’t go beyond status, reputation and prestige; in fact, with my study, I can confidently state that the former terms designate the quantification of the latter in an attempt to objectify, rationalise, and naturalise an order of institutions and nation-states rooted in geopolitical hierarchies rather than in abstract performance metrics.

What are you going to do after you have completed your dissertation?

The manuscript is completed and the defence is right around the corner. There’s a mix of excitement and nerves, but I’m pretty confident about continuing my journey in academia. The deeper I’ve dived into the world of higher education and how we evaluate research, the more fascinating stuff I’ve uncovered. For instance, my thesis shone a light on how global university rankings are kind of pushing the social sciences and humanities into a corner. It’s like they’re being told to act more like their natural science counterparts if they want any shot at funding. This insight really got me thinking about the big changes happening in our academic world, and I’m itching to dig deeper and see what else is going on beneath the surface.

I’ve also found a real joy in teaching. It seems I’ve been well-moulded for a life in academia, where I can share what I know and keep learning alongside my students. But here’s the thing: I’m especially enthusiastic about connecting more with Latin America, particularly Chile, to enrich our academic conversations. I envision fostering new connections and bringing in diverse perspectives to energise our research environment. As I look ahead, I’m excited to contribute to this collective effort, helping to build a more inclusive and dynamic academic community.