scholarly journals Poland: Polish Education Reforms and Evidence from International Assessments

2020 ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
Maciej Jakubowski
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
International Studies ◽  
School Autonomy ◽  
International Assessments ◽  
Polish Experience ◽  
Secondary Analyses

AbstractOver the last two decades, the Polish education system has been reformed several times, with the comprehensive structural reform in 1999, curriculum and evaluation reform in 2007, and early education reform introduced gradually until 2014. Student outcomes, as documented by PISA, but also other international assessments, largely improved over the last 20 years. Poland moved from below the OECD average to a group of top-performing countries in Europe. This chapter describes the reforms and research on their effects. It also discusses how it was possible to find political support for the reversal of changes that seemed to be highly successful. It provides three lessons from the Polish experience. First, the evidence should be widely disseminated among all stakeholders to sustain reforms. Second, the sole reliance on international studies is not sufficient. Additional investment into secondary analyses and national studies is necessary to develop evidence for better-informed political discussions. Third, some positive changes are more difficult to reverse. In Poland, increased school autonomy, but also external examinations, broader access to preschool and higher education, are among the changes that the new government could not alter.

scholarly journals Countryís Competitiveness and Sustainability in the Context of the Higher Education System Reforms

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elita Jermolajeva ◽  
Ludmila Aleksejeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Middle Term ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Quantitative Indicators

Abstract The accumulation of knowledge and its use have become important factors that promote economic development as they contribute to a countryís competitiveness in the global economy. The basic significance of research is obtained by defining new approaches in the organisation, function and efficiency of the higher education system (HES) by emphasising its qualitative aspects. The aim of the article is to describe the influence of education reform on economic competitiveness, paying a special attention to analysing and evaluating international experiences from an interdisciplinary perspective, including economics, pedagogy, etc. Quantitative indicators are used to characterise specific features of the HES and the interaction of this system in the overall context of state development. Some aspects of the Latvian HES are also analysed. The economic activity of inhabitants often directly depends on their level of education. In order to reorganise the Latvian HES and increase its competitiveness and efficiency, thus ensuring quality and availability, the Latvian education system must define a middle-term (4ñ5 years) and long-term (10ñ15 years) development plan that is coordinated with national economic development.

scholarly journals Continuing Education Reform in Hong Kong

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Chris Dowson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Professional Control ◽  
Considerable Pressure

Following initiations in educational reform that began in the 1990s, Hong Kong continues to experience considerable pressure for educational reform. On the surface many of these initiatives parallel reform policies/movements in Asia and indeed, globally. The success of any reform is dependent on how it is contextualised prior to and at implementation. In this article, an exploration is made into how reforms in four particular sareas, namely: professional development of principals, higher education, English language standards, and inclusion of students with learning difficulties have been conceived, contextualised and managed in Hong Kong, as it moves gradually toward increased adoption of education reforms. These areas are linked in that each describes and critiques contextualization with reference to areas such as accountability, co-operation and professional control.

Establishing transdisciplinary minor programme as a way to embed sustainable development into higher education system

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Qian Jia ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Li Fengting
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Core Courses

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of the establishment and development of a minor program in Sustainable Development in Tongji University, China, and how it contributes to embedding sustainable development into higher education system as an alternative platform for researchers and students to involve in a transdisciplinary teaching and learning process. Design/methodology/approach This case reviews the institutional setting and the different studying models and requirements for postgraduates and undergraduates. Postgraduate students have to take four core courses, select one module with four themed courses (4 + 4 fixed) and complete a transdisciplinary essay, and undergraduates can choose any three courses in all modules apart from the four core courses (4 + 3 open), with a transdisciplinary group project. Findings The development of the minor program reveals the popularity and decline of different modules, because of the popularity of the schools and institutes behind them, the university legacy and the media influence. The program design spurs transdisciplinary thinking on sustainable development but brings about challenges including time conflict with students’ major study. In conclusion, this program explores alternative education practices in embedding sustainable development in education system, contributing to and reflect on Education for Sustainable Development and the education reform in China. Originality/value The case presents a unique way of implementing Education for Sustainable Development in higher education system, in which minor education stands between formal and informal curriculum to tackle the barriers in undertaking sustainable development initiatives in curricula, through nurturing the culture and providing organizational support.

Higher Education Reform in Time of Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-149
Author(s):  
Foteini Asderaki
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Education System ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
European Level ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
Policy Choices

Abstract This study examines the transformation of the Greek higher education system at a time of crisis focusing on syriza/anel governance (2015–19). It aims to contribute to the literature on coalition governments’ policy choices. It also intends to enrich the research on the new party cleavages triggered by the economic crisis which hit both Europe and Greece in 2008/9, across pro- vs anti-Europeans/Eurosceptic and pro- vs anti-austerity parties, and on how these cleavages are reflected in higher education policy. It argues that these divides and the politicisation of higher education at the national and European level mobilized partisan entrepreneurs to pursue their strategies and ideological preferences in framing the agenda, to offer solutions based both on an anti-EU and an anti-austerity platform to reverse and reform the previous governments’ laws and forward their own reforms.

Higher education reform in russia:international experience and economics

2014 ◽  
pp. 97-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Tambovtsev ◽  
I. Rozhdestvenskaya
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Higher Education Systems ◽  
Russian Higher Education

The paper is aimed to analyze the current higher education reform in Russia in the context of international experience of higher education systems’ performance and economics’ statements. It is shown that changes put into practice are in discrepancy with Russian higher education system institutional environment. As a consequence the achievement of formal resemblance of Russian higher education system with other effective higher education systems will not result in real improvement of its efficiency and quality. Alternative directions for the Russian higher education system transformation are proposed.

scholarly journals Sustainable Higher Education Reform Quality Assessment Using SWOT Analysis with Integration of AHP and Entropy Models: A Case Study of Morocco

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4312
Author(s):  
Asma Fahim ◽  
Qingmei Tan ◽  
Bushra Naz ◽  
Qurat ul Ain ◽  
Sibghat Ullah Bazai
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Entropy Method ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Reform Plan

Sustainable development goals (SDG) involve not only environmental issues but also economic, social, and cultural concerns. Higher education plays a key role in promoting sustainable development initiatives and in empowering people to change their thinking and to strive for a sustainable future. However, the main issue that needs to be presently resolved is how leaders, teachers, and students in higher education can achieve sustainable development in their system vision, mission and values, strategic plans, and organizational culture. Morocco is a country with a long history of higher education and has continuous reforms for sustainable development. In the process of responding to the wave of globalization, the Moroccan government has begun to formulate a higher education reform plan to maintain its competitiveness and achieve the SDG standards. Therefore, this study is focused on the quality of the higher education system through which the sustainability of higher education reform can be implemented. With this in mind, an organized approach that involved a questionnaire using the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) decision-making model with integration of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Entropy method was developed. The questionnaires were filled out by the experts, staff, and students of the higher education system (universities) to obtain the important key factors for the SWOT analysis. The AHP was used for the qualitative analysis of the weights of the SWOT factors, while the Entropy method was applied for the objective analysis of the number of different weight attributes. After integration of AHP with Entropy, the finalized variables were ranked; these results are more reliable and realistic to decision-makers. Finally, the SWOT matrix was established based on the questionnaire assessment and the AHP with Entropy weights to help implement the higher education reform policy and to monitor the quality of the current education system. The results also indicate that higher education reform must incorporate many changes, including effective budget planning, skilled experts, internationalization, improved and expanded infrastructure, reformed study curriculum, and latest training.

scholarly journals Higher education reforms: Latin America in comparative perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Bernasconi ◽  
Sergio Celis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Higher Education Reforms ◽  
Latin American Region

This article introduces a special issue of EPAA/AAPE devoted to recent higher education reforms in Latin America. The last two decades have seen much policy development in higher education in the region, examined and discussed by scholars in each country, but dialog with the international literature on higher education reform, or an explicit comparative focus, have been mostly absent from these works. By way of presentation of the papers included in this issue, we first provide an overview of major policy changes in higher education in the Latin American region since the 1990s. We then turn to the six works in this special issue to describe the theories and methods supporting them. Next, we illustrate how general analytic categories can be derived from single or multi country case studies to illuminate themes capable of cutting across the particulars of national contexts, with their unique traditions, policy paths, and politics. Our three common threads are, first, the types of drivers for reform, that is, how policy change originates, either bottom-up from the institutions, or top-down from the government, and various possibilities in between. Second, understanding challenges to institutional autonomy in a continuum of intensity of state intended intervention in higher education. Third, explaining different levels of strain between public and private sectors in higher education based on conditions of competition for economic resources. While the papers in this special issue do not cover all countries, nor all issues on which policy has been crafted in the last two decades across the region, the collection of articles herein account for topics of enduring importance: faculty work in Ecuador, financial aid in Colombia, public policy decentralization in Argentina, quality assurance models in Colombia and Uruguay, the emerge of new institutions and universities in Argentina and Uruguay, and social justice, access, and inclusion in higher education, in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. The articles presented in this special issue provide much insight onto higher education policy in Latin America and, additionally, offer ample opportunity to develop social science knowledge on the basis of strong comparative work.

scholarly journals Institutional Evolution of Higher Education in Georgia

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Shota Veshapidze Shota Veshapidze ◽  
Gia Zoidze Gia Zoidze
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Higher Education System

Education policy is an important direction of Georgia's security policy, of which higher education is an integral part. Institutions occupy an important place in its development. Regulatory norms, institutions, values, cultural patterns, forms of ownership are recognized directions for establishing progress in the education system, its arrangement and institutionalization. In conditions when there is no orderly, social protection-oriented system, as well as any clearly defined priorities, all forms of discrimination in the labor system in the education system are excluded by the Georgian legislation. In this field, sufficient experience has been accumulated in public and private higher education institutions of Georgia. This approach was developed by the adoption of the Organic Law of Georgia on the Labor Code of Georgia. Georgia needs the development of institutions that will enable us to effectively realize the potential of the higher education system. It is also important to implement long-term education reform, which is openly supported by the World Bank. Keywords: Institute, Institutionalization, Education Policy, Higher Education, European Standard Education System.

scholarly journals Strategic Alternatives for Transforming Public Egyptian Universities to World-Class Universities

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanaa Ouda Khadri Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Statistical Population ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Flagship Universities ◽  
World Class ◽  
World Class Universities

In the past decade, the term “world-class university (WCU)” - also called “globally competitive universities”, “world-class”, “elite”, or “flagship” universities- has become a catch phrase. This is simply not only for improving the quality of learning and research in higher education, but is also more significant for developing the competency to compete in the global higher education marketplace through the acquisition and formation of advanced knowledge. The main objective of this paper is to propose strategic alternatives for transforming public Egyptian universities to world-class universities. In achieving this objective, the paper starts by attempting to construct an operational definition of a world-class university. Then, it outlines the features of world-class university, the requirements for transformation into world-class universities, the challenges involved in achieving world-class universities, and the key problems and challenges of the Egyptian higher education system. Finally, the selected statistical population of the research include higher education experts [N=57]. Thus, a mix method of using a questionnaire and conducting interviews were used. The research questions are: 1- What does it mean for a university to be a world-class university? 2-What are the essential features and characteristics of a world-class university? 3-How does the ecosystem influence the performance of universities? 4-What are the present performance, problems, and challenges of the Egyptian higher education system? 5-What are the higher education reform initiatives in Egypt? 6-What are the requirements that could upgrade public Egyptian universities to world-class universities? 7- What are the existing challenges of developing world-class universities? 8-What strategic alternatives have been developed for transforming public Egyptian universities to world-class universities? Therefore, one-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was used to analyze the data. In addition, the result obtained in the study shows the use of collaborative strategic alternative rather than to upgrade the present Public universities, or create or merge them together.

scholarly journals Research of humanization transformations of the higher education system of Ukraine at the end of the 20th - early 21st centuries (1985-2012)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-307
Author(s):  
Roman Yevsovych
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Sense Experience ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Late Twentieth

The article analyzes the theoretical and practical foundations of humanization and humanization of domestic higher education in the late twentieth - early twenty-first century. Based on a comprehensive historical and pedagogical analysis, the research identifies and characterizes the essence of humanization transformations of higher education in Ukraine. The research hypothesis is based on the thesis that special value-oriented pedagogical conditions in the process of professional training are a prerequisite for the acquisition of values and sense experience of future specialists in foreign philology, which creates important prerequisites for the formation of axiological competencies. The proposed study is aimed at determining the level of formation of values and sense experience among future specialists in foreign philology at the initial and final stages of the experiment.           The paper analyzes the key concepts, the essence of humanization and humanitarianization and its established features. The main periods are singled out: the first (1985-1990) - directive humanization and humanitarianization of higher education in Ukraine; the second (1990-1995) - humanization and humanitarianization in the process of higher education reform; the third (1995-2004) - normative-legal institutionalization of the process of humanization and humanitarianization of higher education; fourth (2005-2012) - international integration of higher education in Ukraine in the process of humanization and humanitarianization with their inherent trends.                   The article has comprehensively researched tendencies, ways, innovative technologies of humanization and humanitarianization of higher education of Ukraine, the possibilities of the improvement taking into account the European educational standards, accumulated positive experience, national traditions and modern tendencies in the organization of higher education in the conditions of Ukraine’s integration into the European educational space.            The course of scientific research has proved that the axiological approach to humanization and humanitarianization of the process of training future specialists in higher education is to focus the learning process on personal growth of the student, ensuring his/her comprehensive, cultural, socio-moral and professional development. The teaching of professional and methodological disciplines does not act as a transfer of information, but as activation and stimulation of the process of independent search for one’s own value position in relation to the world, formation of worldview, development of youth perception, ensuring students’ understanding of human values and harmony of human relations. The results of the study have confirmed the effectiveness of the author’s approach to the formation of the humanistic orientation of future professionals in the higher education system of Ukraine during the study period.           The research on the humanization and humanitarianization of higher education in Ukraine in the late twentieth - early twenty-first centuries made it possible to involve in scientific circulation a wide range of materials that are representative in nature and reproduce certain aspects of the studied problem, and therefore need to be generalized. Various principles, methods and techniques of modern methodology used in the process of the research have allowed avoiding subjective and biased assessments, ensuring the scientific validity of the results obtained during the research, confirming a sufficiently representative character of the identified sources.

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