Suchergebnisse

Bibliography: leaves 181-187. ; Since its emergence in the 1800s in Germany, the 'modern' Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree has been one of the cornerstones of new knowledge production and research training. Over the past two decades, there has been a surge of debate and reform around doctoral eduction internationally as a result of significant changes in both the global and local contexts within which doctoral education takes place. At the macro level, globalisation and the global economy are redefining what constitutes knowledge, who produces it and for what purposes. At the same time, more than ever before, many governments are depending on doctoral graduates to contribute to achieving national goals. These developments have drawn into question the purpose and form of doctoral programmes and the knowledge products and training outcomes they produce.

"An intimate look at America's historically rooted struggle to adequately educate vulnerable children, and a call to action to those in positions of power who are able to open doors of opportunity. You wouldn't guess it by listening to our elected officials, but education is the civil rights issue of our day. At the root of every important problem we face, from mass incarceration to income inequality, is an education system influenced by our nation's fraught history. Just as past generations fought to ensure that all Americans could enjoy the right to fully participate in our democracy, so must we rally tirelessly to advance an educational agenda that promotes equity and inclusion. With the gap between white academic achievement and that of students of color widening, now is the time to turn our attention to the basics, and few would argue with the fact that the single most essential aspect of a good education is literacy. Beyond reading and writing, literacy encompasses a whole host of skills that allow us to develop our potential and succeed in society, including critical thinking, self-discipline, curiosity, leadership, and motivation. Helping all our nation's young people, especially those who live in low-income communities, improve their literacy skills should be a top priority. Numerous programs are operating around the country to address the issue of underperformance in light of the shortcomings of our public school system. Through one such program, Freedom Readers, Tracy Swinton Bailey has honed an approach to strengthening communities and the prospects of all children that invites those with the benefit of a good education into low-income areas for the purpose of growing literacy skills together. In Forever Free, she outlines clearly and persuasively how it has worked in the rural South, and how it can work across the US. This book will inspire and empower readers, and should be placed in the hands of educators and organizers at every level"--

Universities and economic development in Africa presents the synthesis and includes the key findings of case studies of eight African countries and universities. The analysis and discussion presented in the book draw three main conclusions. First, there was a lack of clarity and agreement (pact) about a development model and the role of higher education in economic development, at both national and university levels, in all eight cases. There was, however, an increasing awareness, particularly at government level, of the importance of universities in the global context of the knowledge economy. Second, research production at the eight African universities was not strong enough to enable them to build on their traditional undergraduate teaching roles and make a sustained contribution to development via new knowledge production. A number of the universities had manageable student–staff ratios and adequately qualified staff, but inadequate funds for staff to engage in research. In addition, the incentive regimes did not support knowledge production. Third, in none of the countries in the sample was there a coordinated effort between government, external stakeholders and the university to systematically strengthen the contribution that the university can make to development. While at each of the universities there were exemplary development projects that connected strongly to external stakeholders and strengthened the academic core, the challenge remains how to increase the number of these projects. The study on which this book is based forms part of a larger study on higher education and economic development in Africa, undertaken by the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). HERANA is coordinated by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET) in South Africa.

Chapter 7 comprises edited excerpts from the first two chapters of the publication Universities and Economic Development in Africa (Cloete et al. 2011). The chapter draws on empirical evidence to establish what the predominant notions of the roles of African universities are – both at institutional and government levels. It shows that the notions are mixed and often not in alignment within higher education systems, and even if there is a strong notion of the development role of the university as knowledge producer and/or system-level alignment, the knowledge production aspirations are not matched by the realities at the coal-face. ; Published by African Minds.