Framing Higher Education as a Public Good: Narratives, Power, and Policy in Trade Journals

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Abstract

This study examines how U.S. higher education trade journals (2015-2024) frame universities’ public good mission through critical discourse analysis of 49 articles. Findings reveal three key patterns: 1) linguistic dominance of ‘public good’ terminology over alternatives; 2) competing narratives of institution skepticism and restorative calls to action; and 3) ideological prioritization of Economic and Democratic purposes. The analysis identifies a critical tension: while academics are urged to defend higher education’s public role, policymakers are positioned as controlling its definition. This discursive paradox highlights how sector-specific media both reflect and shape the contested valuation of higher education’s public mission.

Author

• Antonia Bacigalupa Albaum, Indiana University