Global and local priorities in higher education policies: A headache at the national level?

More than a third of students enter higher education at a community college; most aim to earn a baccalaureate. Drawing on sense-making theory and longitudinal qualitative data, we examined how community college students interpret state transfer policies and how their interpretations influence subsequent behavior. Data from 3 years of interviews revealed how students adjudicate between multiple intersecting policies. The higher education context, where institutions provided competing signals about policies, left students to navigate complex messages to achieve their transfer goals. Students’ approaches to understanding transfer policies primarily followed one of two patterns: adopting policy signals as step-by-step procedures or adapting and combining policy signals to create a customized transfer pathway. Both approaches had important implications for students’ transfer outcomes.

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Efficiency Driven Effect of Education in China: The Perspective of Global Competitiveness and Graduate Education

International Journal of Education and Humanities ◽

10.54097/ijeh.v1i1.199 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 36-43

Author(s):

Jia Liu ◽

Lun Li

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Economic Growth ◽

Economic Development ◽

Practical Significance ◽

Education Policies ◽

Global Competitiveness ◽

Higher Education Policies ◽

Level Of Economic Development ◽

Education In China

Capital, natural resources, technology and education are often considered to be the most important factors in improving the level of economic development. China is in the "efficiency-driven" stage of economic development. There are objective laws in the development of education level and economic growth, but they interact with each other. Economic growth provides the foundation and necessary conditions for the development of education. At the same time, the role of education in promoting economic growth is also very obvious. Based on the perspective of postgraduate training, this paper studies the role of education in economic efficiency-driven, through the study of theory, data collection and empirical analysis, combined with the development characteristics of China's higher education, and compares China's and US higher education policies to guide China's higher education. The development of education, and then promote the transformation of China into the "innovation-driven" stage, has certain theoretical and practical significance.

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Gender Inequality and Intersectional Disadvantage among Students in South African Universities

African Journal of Gender, Society and Development (formerly Journal of Gender, Information and Development in Africa) ◽

10.31920/2634-3622/2021/v10n1a7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 147-172

Author(s):

Oliver Tafadzwa Gore ◽

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

South African ◽

Higher Education Policy ◽

Capabilities Approach ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Education Policies ◽

Higher Education Policies ◽

Definition Of ◽

South African Higher Education

Although policies to widen participation have been implemented in South African higher education since 1994, inequality of achievements persists in universities. The failure of the higher education policy to clearly define ‘disadvantage’ in various interventions seems to have contributed to the continuing inequalities. This study theorises disadvantage using the capabilities approach pioneered by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum and argues for a more nuanced definition of disadvantage by exploring the opportunities, agency and achievements available to students in universities. The theorisation is based on findings from a qualitative case study of 26 semi-structured interviews conducted with students from one South African university. Using empirical findings, the theorisation in this study shows how the conversion factors intersect, resulting in some students achieving fewer functionings, which put them at a disadvantage. While gender equality seemingly has been achieved through enrolment figures that show parity levels, some female students are still disadvantaged through subtle forms of discrimination and sexual harassment in universities. This study therefore recommends that higher education policies should consider an expansive definition of disadvantage that encompasses the various dimensions of student wellbeing for all students to have flourishing lives.

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