Introduction: What are we to do with Higher Education?
In: Organization: the interdisciplinary journal of organization, theory and society, Band 19, Heft 6, S. 879-880
ISSN: 1461-7323
In: Organization: the interdisciplinary journal of organization, theory and society, Band 19, Heft 6, S. 879-880
ISSN: 1461-7323
In: Revista de Ciências da Administração: RCA, S. 42-54
ISSN: 2175-8077
This article is part of a research in progress which aims at defining a set of sustainability indicators that meets the specificities of a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The objective was to identify what is the responsibility of the HEIs before sustainability and the sustainable development from the managers' insights. This is a qualitative research with case study design. The collection techniques used were bibliographical and documentary research and semi-structured interviews with ten managers of the institution. It was determined that managers understand sustainability broadly. The managers mention the importance of applying the concepts to management practices in order to be an example to other institutions and to contribute to the sustainable development of the region where it operates. The respondents cited several actions developed in the HEIs. These results provide subsidies for the construction of a sustainability indicator system for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the actions developed.
In: ACA Papers on International Cooperation in Education
In: The political quarterly: PQ, Band 60, Heft 1, S. 50
ISSN: 0032-3179
The subject of quality has been a pervasive issue on the agenda in higher education around the world for more than a decade. A greater focus on quality in higher education resulted from a range of competing factors, among the most prominent were: political control over higher education (exerted particularly by national governments), the growth in the number of students in higher education (including general changes in the student population and their expectations) and financial control on the part of national governments (frequently related to the previous two factors). Quality monitoring has become a mechanism for governments worldwide to tackle these competing factors. However, at the same time, it can be argued that it was frequently employed to disguise the dominant focus on accountability in higher education rather than on enhancement. Many of the quality assurance models and systems applied to higher education originated in the business and manufacturing sectors. They have often been found unsuitable or only partially suitable for the higher education sector, because they largely disregarded the nature of higher education and its employees, in particular the academics. It may be argued that the quality movement has driven higher education more towards greater uniformity, which may be detrimental to what was understood as the "real" quality in higher education. For instance, innovation was regarded as an important aspect of academic work. Nevertheless, the present quality development drive seems to be working against the nature of academic work. Given this background, it is alarming that the academic voice seems to have had little impact to date on the development of quality systems in higher education. Therefore, the present thesis attempted to investigate the academic voice concerning higher education quality. Overall, this thesis had two main objectives. First, based on the analysis of stories of academics and higher education leaders, the thesis endeavoured to construct a framework of significant quality issues for the potential use in future policy development in higher education in the two countries investigated in this research (the Czech Republic and England), and prospectively in other higher education systems around the world. In particular, it aimed to introduce more human-centred measures into the area of higher education quality. Second, in terms of developing a methodology, the thesis attempted to illustrate the way in which a critical event narrative inquiry study of heterogeneous and complex environments, such as higher education, could be undertaken. Employing such a critical event narrative inquiry approach, the researcher endeavoured to highlight important aspects of higher education quality, which have been largely overlooked in the area, and thus assist the improvement of the practice of quality development in higher education. The study utilised face-to-face interviews with academics and higher education leaders concerning their perceptions of the issue of higher education quality. The researcher anticipated that eliciting of "critical events" through interviews with individuals involved in the area of quality in higher education (academics and higher education leaders) would uncover some important aspects in higher education quality which would not be revealed using other more traditional empirical methods of inquiry, particularly quantitative research methods. To investigate the area of higher education quality, the researcher elected to look into the English and Czech higher education systems. The choice of the English higher education system was influenced by the knowledge that England, and more generally the UK, was among the first countries in the world, and certainly the first in Europe, to introduce a formal quality assurance system into higher education. Australia followed this trend soon after it was introduced in the UK. The researcher elected the Czech higher education system, as a culturally different educational system, distinctive from the Anglo-Saxon educational tradition, and which is uniquely placed on the divide between Western and Eastern Europe. In this respect, the critical event narrative inquiry method was proposed as a suitable method for the investigation of significant aspects of cultural difference. Employing the critical event narrative inquiry method, the researcher uncovered a number of significant issues. Some of these issues were identified by English and Czech academics and higher education leaders as not featuring strongly in their countries' current higher education quality enhancement practices, and yet they were regarded as important by the academics. Some of the issues uncovered in this research, on the other hand, were highlighted as impacting negatively on the quality enhancement processes in their respective higher education systems. There were a number of issues which were identified as common to both the English and Czech higher education systems. These issues might have been an indication of potential wider relevance of such trends among a broader range of higher education systems worldwide. This thesis proposed a framework for a human-centred approach to quality enhancement in higher education based on issues which were common to both English and Czech higher education systems. This framework featured: • Regard for the academic voice in higher education quality policy development; • Attention to human-centred aspects of higher education quality; • Need for a collegial approach and reflection on the purposes of quality evaluation processes; • Equal value afforded to teaching and research; and • Focus on innovation and change. There were also some culture-specific issues uncovered, particularly in relation to the Czech higher education system. These culture-specific issues may be relevant to certain common trends and features in other higher education systems in Central and Eastern European regions. In this respect, the thesis proposed a framework for a human-centred approach to quality enhancement with regard to culture-specific issues. The framework focused specifically on Czech higher education and may be of potential relevance to other Central and Eastern European higher education systems. This framework included: • The significance of transparency in educational processes; • The need for a fundamental change in the style of pedagogy in higher education institutions; to focus more on thinking processes and reasoning; • The need for a more systematic move towards a student-centred approach across the whole higher education system; • The need to address the factor of pressure on Czech academics to publish mainly in English in order to receive international recognition; and • The need for education of Czech academic staff to enable a broader and better understanding of the concept of higher education quality in the context of the Czech higher education system. Investigation of the academic voice in English higher education did not reveal any culture-specific issues. In other words, the English academics and higher education leaders did not identify any issues in higher education quality that were distinctively different from the general issues highlighted also by Czech academics and higher education leaders. Some of the issues pointed out in the English context occurred on a more advanced level due to the different historical, political and socio-economic context of the UK higher education. It appears that quality in higher education is here to stay. As such, it is essential for the future of higher education that quality enhancement be based on education-focused approaches. Overall, this thesis proposed a human-centred approach to quality enhancement as one way of attaining educational focus.
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Recognizing that higher education is an increasingly complex global enterprise, the briefs series is designed to bring a comparative perspective to critical topics and emerging issues. Installments highlight experiences from a variety of national contexts, provide cross country analysis, and explore opportunities for international collaboration. Articles and contributions are written by leading international scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, with the ultimate goal of helping institutional and government leaders around the world develop cumulative knowledge to inform policies, establish impactful partnerships, and tackle key challenges affecting higher education today. ; American Council on Education ; Boston College. Center for International Higher Education
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In: Social research: an international quarterly, Band 76, Heft 1, S. 203-224
ISSN: 0037-783X
In: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c028510568
Review of the literature: p. 155-161 ; Bibliography: p. 162-170 ; Mode of access: Internet.
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In: The Impact and Transformation of Education Policy in China; International Perspectives on Education and Society, S. 377-400
In: Baltic journal of law & politics, Band 4, Heft 1
ISSN: 2029-0454
The UK offers a particularly interesting case for the study of higher education and its regulation. One key challenge has been the growing diversity across the different countries that form the UK, not just in terms of tuition fee regimes. In this context, this article offers a brief introductory comparison of regulatory developments in the higher education system. ; Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation at the London School of Economics and Political Science
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Higher Education in America is a landmark work--a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the current condition of our colleges and universities from former Harvard president Derek Bok, one of the nation's most respected education experts. Sweepingly ambitious in scope, this is a deeply informed and balanced assessment of the many strengths as well as the weaknesses of American higher education today. At a time when colleges and universities have never been more important to the lives and opportunities of students or to the progress and prosperity of the nation, Bok provides a thorough examination of the entire system, public and private, from community colleges and small liberal arts colleges to great universities with their research programs and their medical, law, and business schools. Drawing on the most reliable studies and data, he determines which criticisms of higher education are unfounded or exaggerated, which are issues of genuine concern, and what can be done to improve matters. Some of the subjects considered are long-standing, such as debates over the undergraduate curriculum and concerns over rising college costs. Others are more recent, such as the rise of for-profit institutions and massive open online courses (MOOCs). Additional topics include the quality of undergraduate education, the stagnating levels of college graduation, the problems of university governance, the strengths and weaknesses of graduate and professional education, the environment for research, and the benefits and drawbacks of the pervasive competition among American colleges and universities. Offering a rare survey and evaluation of American higher education as a whole, this book provides a solid basis for a fresh public discussion about what the system is doing right, what it needs to do better, and how the next quarter century could be made a period of progress rather than decline