IMMINENT DISASTER REVISITED, AGAIN: THE CRISIS LITERATURE OF CANADIAN HIGHER EDUCATION

Oct 15, 2026

Analyzes the “crisis literature” in Canadian higher education, defining a recurring body of conference papers, monographs, polemics, and articles that frame universities as being at a critical juncture requiring immediate action to avert catastrophe. Examines how the crisis concept is constructed, why such assessments often imply imminent disaster, and how the underlying claims vary over time—underfunding, moral crisis, confidence, management, and mediocrity. Highlights major methodological problems, especially weak or anecdotal proof of imminence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

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Editorial

IMMINENT DISASTER REVISITED, AGAIN: THE CRISIS LITERATURE OF CANADIAN HIGHER EDUCATION

DEFINING THE LITERATURE

THE PROBLEM OF PROOF

The Canadian Journal of Higher Education,Vol.XX-21990 La revue canadienne d'enseignement superieur.Voi.XX-21990 Editorial # IMMINENT DISASTER REVISITED,AGAIN:THE CRISISLITERATURE OF CANADIAN HIGHER EDUCATION GLEN A.JONES* Once,when I was a young student politician,I had a conversation with a kindlybureaucrat in which I expressed my frustration at the provincial government'sfailure to respond to the financial problems facing the university that I attended.Heexplained that there was nothing particularly critical or immediate about theconcerns my student organization was presenting."Universities,"he said with awink,"are the only institutions I know of which are in a constant state of crisis." With the possible exception of "chronic underfunding”,the phrase“crisisof.…"may be the most commonly used expression in descriptions of Canadianhigher education.A number of conferences,reports,compendiums,and articleshave been titled or sub-titled“The Crisis of Canadian Universities”,and whilethe nature of the perceived crisis has varied,the conclusion remains fundamentallythe same:the system is on the brink of imminent disaster. Given what appears to be a growing tendency to describe the problems ofCanadian higher education as crises,it is important to recognize what such anassessment implies;and further,it is important to recognize that contributions tothis body of work are often flawed.The purpose of this paper is to define the crisisliterature of Canadian higher education and discuss a number of problemsassociated with these publications. ## DEFINING THE LITERATURE The crisis literature of Canadian higher education is that group of conferencepapers,monographs,polemics,articles and compendiums which share a generalvision of the state of Canadian higher education,a vision of imminent disaster.Theliterature suggests that the problems facing higher education are critical,and theythreaten the very existence of our universities or threaten the nature of highereducation as we have come to know it.Higher education is on the edge of amountain and it is in danger of falling over the brink. This literature is obviously based on the notion of crisis,which Webster's NinthNew Collegiate Dictionary defines as a “situation that has reached a criticalphase,""an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending,"or “the decisive moment.”The word obviously has connotations ofcriticality and imminency,and these two factors are important points in definingthe literature.The criticality of crisis suggests that,in abstract terms,there is apoint at which change is unavoidable,a decisive moment when one is threatenedby impending danger.The imminency of crisis suggests that the decisive momenthas arrived.The crisis literature of Canadian higher education is that body ofwork which has,as a common theme,a belief that universities have reached acritical juncture in their history and that steps must be taken immediately to avoidcatastrophe. The nature of this crisis has varied according to the ideas and objectives of theauthors or conference organizers.In 1956,the National Conference of CanadianUniversities sponsored a conference entitled “Canada's Crisis in Higher Educa-tion,"during which,according to Axelrod,"the very survival of the country waspinned to the expansion of educational facilities”(1982,p.23).Conferenceparticipants warned that the problem of the universities has become an emergency of grave national concern,to the certain disadvantage of our progress and standing as a nation,and can only besolved by the energetic and immediate assistance and cooperation of all govern-ments of Canada,of business and industry,and of private benefactors(Bissell,1957,p.244). More recent contributions to the literature have identified a “moral crisis”(Katz,1986),a “crisis of confidence”and a“crisis of management”(Paquet,1987)inhigher education.The “funding crisis”has been the subject of a number of articlesand rep

FAQs

What does the paper define as the crisis literature of Canadian higher education?

It is a body of work—conference papers, monographs, polemics, articles, and compendiums—that shares a vision of imminent disaster in Canadian higher education and argues that universities face a critical juncture requiring immediate steps to avoid catastrophe.

Why does the author say crisis literature often implies disaster is imminent?

The concept of crisis carries connotations of criticality and imminency: change becomes unavoidable at a decisive moment, and the crisis literature suggests that decisive moment has already arrived.

What is the main evidence-related problem the paper identifies in the crisis literature?

Many works fail to provide convincing evidence that disaster is imminent, relying on anecdotal reflections, unexplained causal relationships, or case studies that are assumed to represent a sector-wide problem.

Oct 15, 2026

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