The postmodern university revisited: reframing higher education debates from the 'two cultures' to postmodernity

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Strohl
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Two Cultures ◽  
The University ◽  
Idea Of The University

Current debate on higher education in Britain is focused on its instrumental functions and largely ignores its social and cultural value. This paper considers the 'idea of the university' in an historical perspective and critically examines current policy discourse while identifying robust alternatives to the utilitarian argument. It proposes, speculatively, the notion of 'cosmopolitanism', as defined by critics of pluralism and postmodernism, as a more meaningful starting point for philosophical and policy discussions.

Creating task-based oral foreign language exams linked to the CEFR in higher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Reisenleutner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Oral Exam ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Grading Systems ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Form Part ◽  
The University ◽  
Answer Format

AbstractOral language exams at university often consist of an individual or group conversation with the examiner about topics dealt with during the semester. A question-and-answer format is applied and vocabulary and structures tested. As a consequence, the oral exam does not reflect action-oriented approaches that often form part of classroom activities and are also fostered by the CEFR. This article describes the process and outcomes to date of action research carried out at the University of Sheffield and the University of Nottingham since 2014. The starting point is that many courses are linked to CEFR levels, which I wanted to include in oral language exams by working with descriptors. The article illustrates ways of making oral language exams more task-based, while still ensuring that topics, structures and vocabulary dealt with during the semester are incorporated. The process of changing the exam is described and examples are given. I also pose the question of how level descriptors of the CEFR might be linked to marking schemes and grading systems of British universities.

scholarly journals De la Licenciatura al Grado en Pedagogía: ¿Cambios en las capacidades cognitivas que desarrollan los estudiantes?

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-335
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa García Hernández ◽  
Nicolás Martínez Valcárcel ◽  
Mónica Porto Currás
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Basic Skills ◽  
Research Data ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cognitive Capacities ◽  
Knowledge Domains ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Thinking Process ◽  
The University

Resumen:El momento de cambio en el que se encuentra inmersa la Educación Superior ha provocado la aparición de numerosos términos (objetivos, competencias, habilidades, capacidades, etc.), que pueden ser evaluados con la finalidad de conocer cómo es el aprendizaje del estudiante.En este sentido, uno de los objetivos de este artículo es mostrar cuáles son las capacidades cognitivas que, según las experiencias de los estudiantes, se han potenciado a lo largo de su formación. Concretamente, para este estudio se han recogido datos vinculados con la titulación de Pedagogía de la Universidad de Murcia, trabajando con tres promociones distintas (dos de ellas de Licenciatura y una de Grado). Asimismo, destacar que la información recogida proviene de la experiencia y vivencia del alumnado, que ha recordado cuáles habían sido las capacidades cognitivas fomentadas en cada materia, por lo que se ha tomado al estudiante como fuente primaria. Para el análisis e interpretación de la información obtenida se ha tomado como referencia el trabajo de Marzano y Kendall (2007), quienes elaboran una taxonomía de capacidades cognitivas partiendo de diferentes propuestas sobre los procesos de pensamiento y los dominios del conocimiento. Por último, del análisis elaborado podemos reseñar, por un lado, el fomento de las capacidades más básicas -la recuperación, comprensión y análisis- en ambos Planes de Estudios. Y, por otro lado, el incremento de capacidades más complejas en el Grado con respecto a la Licenciatura.Abstract:The moment of change in which Higher Education is involved has caused the appearance of multiple concepts (goals, competences, skills, capacities and so on) which can be evaluated with the purpose of knowing in depth the learning process of our students.In this sense, one of the goals of this article is to show, according to the students experiences, which cognitive capacities have been powered in their learning process. More concretely, for this research, data linked with the degree of Pedagogy in the University of Murcia have been collected, working with three different promotions (two of the belong to the Bachelor in Pedagogy and the other one the current degree). In this way we have to highlight that the information collected comes from the experiences and livings of our students, which has remembered the cognitive capacities promoted in each subject, so the student has been taken as a primary source.For the analysis and interpretation of the information collected, the research made by Marzano and Kendall (2007) has been taken as a reference. These two authors elaborated a taxonomy of cognitive capacities taking different proposals about the thinking process and knowledge domains as a starting point. Finally, we can outline from our analysis the promotion of the most basic skills, recovery, comprehension and analysis in both teaching plans. On the other hand, the increase of more complex capacities is more present in the Degree in Pedagogy than in the Bachelor in Pedagogy.

scholarly journals Is There a Latin American University Model?

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Bernasconi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Research Universities ◽  
Normative Influence ◽  
American University ◽  
American Universities ◽  
Latin American Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
Idea Of The University

Postindependence Latin American universities developed during the 19th and most of the 20th century largely under the normative influence of a Latin American idea of the university institution. In the last few decades, factors both related to the development of higher education and external to it have combined to challenge the clout of that model. As a result, notwithstanding the persistence of elements of the old paradigm, the model of the Latin American university is now related chiefly to US research universities.

Dilettantes and Over-Specialization”: Diagnosing and Treating Nazism at West German Universities after World War II

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 604-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig K. Pepin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
World War ◽  
Character Formation ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Educational Structure ◽  
British Occupation ◽  
The University ◽  
Idea Of The University ◽  
German Universities

After 1945, the words “anti-fascist education” appeared much less frequently in the western zones of occupied Germany than in the Soviet zone, but the concerns expressed by the phrase were shared by all occupying powers: How could education help prevent a resurgence of Nazism? For the American and British occupation authorities, and to a lesser extent, the French, the answer was to “reeducate” for democracy. The leaders of German universities in the western zones answered this question differently. Drawing on the traditional German “idea of the university,” German professors stressed the inculcation of morality through Bildung or character formation. In practical terms, this meant very little change in curriculum, course content, or educational structure: Only a rededication to university traditions supposedly uncompromised and unaffected by Nazism could lead German higher education, and by extension Germany, away from fascism.

scholarly journals Jutustaja kui kujutluse etnograaf eksperimentaalses süsteemis / The Narrator as an Ethnographer of the Imagery in an Experimental System

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (25) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taavi Remmel
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Theory ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Experimental Situation ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Internal Resistance ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Experimental Systems ◽  
Quantum Reality ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Two Cultures

Käesoleva artikli eesmärgiks on tuua nähtavale kahe kultuuri (reaalteaduste ja humanitaaria) pingeväli ja näidata, kuidas eelkõige 20. sajandi teise poole kirjandusteadus, adapteerides põhiliselt populaarteadusest nüüdisfüüsika, sh kvantteooria mõistevara, on võimaldanud pingetel jätkuda. Artikkel tutvustab põhilisi kirjandusteaduse suundi, mis on arenenud kvantteooria mõjuväljas, kuid suhtub neisse reaalteadlaste seisukohti arvestades ka kriitiliselt. Vastukaaluks sellele pingeväljale esitab artikkel alternatiivse lahenduse, kuidas võib kirjandus ise olla uue teadmise kandja, ning näitab, et kirjandusteaduse rolliks on seejuures anda õige suund tekstis „osalemiseks“.   The aim of this article is to explore the conflicting situation of two cultures: science and the humanities. Due to erroneously orientated practices of literary criticism in which the concepts of contemporary physics and quantum theory have been adapted mistakenly, the conflict of the two cultures has continued. The article introduces the main outcome of this kind of inaccurate science making: a usage of scientific concepts as metaphors, the genre of quantum fiction, and Susan Strehle’s concept of actualism. As an alternative approach, the article explains how scientific and epistemological value lies in fiction itself, considering its ability to awaken imagery expressions of the unknown. Based on Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s ideas on experiment and Gabriele Schwab’s ethnographical perspective, a text can been seen as an “experimental system”, which includes “epistemic things” as bizarre or unknown but familiar objects which offer resistance to immediate interpretation. Instead, they actuate a process in which “knowing that” transforms to “knowing how”. This process in which the imagery is evoked in an experimental situation carries a scientific value in itself. If the reader or scientist pays special attention to the internal resistance of the “epistemic things” and to the power of the imagery, a quantum reality is more likely to open up in fiction. Another aim of this article is to expand upon a quantum-based study within Estonian literary theory. However, the introduction begins in a critical manner: up to now, no deeper study of the relation between contemporary physics and fiction of the 20th and 21st centuries has been considered and the word “quantum” has only occurred in Enn Kasak’s study of quantum mythology. Therefore, in order to avoid random connections between Estonian literature and, for example, the genre of quantum fiction, the article starts with a broader perspective by exploring thoroughly the relation between the two cultures, also asserting the need for further investigation. Furthermore, the article is may serve as a quest into trying to understand how to define a fictional quantum world. In order to avoid incoherency between physics and humanities, the article takes Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s idea of “experimental systems” as a basis. By doing this, the epistemological value would lie in the text itself; more importantly, rather than creating direct connections between fiction and contemporary physics, an “experimental system” will provide knowledge by resisting knowledge and therefore setting the focus more on the attunement of the text. The article is also a starting point for further research. An approach from the idea of “experimental systems” might attribute new meanings to the fiction by the physicist Madis Kõiv, especially as regards his novels Päev (Day) and Aken (Window). So, instead of highlighting some keywords that might show the relation of Kõiv’s fiction and quantum theory, considering a text as an “experimental system” could expose the inadeqacy of such assertions. Rather, what might be revealed is that Kõiv’s novels are “heading” for a quantum reality, but they are also relocating it in open field.

scholarly journals Diagnóstico de competitividad académica y acreditación de programas educativos de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
José Alfonso Jiménez Moreno ◽  
Joaquín Caso Niebla ◽  
Carlos David Díaz López
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Baja California ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Institutional Mission ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Postgraduate Educational ◽  
Academic Units ◽  
Two Indices ◽  
Education In Mexico ◽  
The University

Under the current policy that demands that higher education in Mexico should consider academic competitiveness and the recognition of educational programs within its planning, this article shows a diagnosis of all the 46 academic units of the Autonomous University of Baja California in its three campuses. In accordance with the institutional mission of this university, this article shows four indexes of academic competitiveness related to the consolidation of teaching and research of the entire university's teachers, as well as two indices of accreditation of undergraduate and postgraduate educational programs. With this information, the university is evaluated regarding the expected competitiveness, considering the particularities of the academic units that comprise it. The conclusion shows the importance of constructing diagnoses of this type in order to promote the knowledge of the institutions for purposes of feedback and planning, avoiding the possibility of ranking among universities.

scholarly journals Concepts, policies and actions of internationalization of Higher Education: reflections on the expertise of a North American University

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlize Rubin-Oliveira ◽  
Hamilton de Godoy Wielewicki
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Internationalization Of Higher Education ◽  
Acting Out ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
American University ◽  
University Of Georgia ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The University

ABSTRACT This paper aims to explore - from a decolonial point of view - concepts, policies and actions of internationalization of Higher Education at the University of Georgia based on a qualitative approach with individual semi-structured interviews, observations and documental analysis addressing two research questions about: the conceptions of internationalization of Higher Education; and how internationalization policies and actions are perceived within University of Georgia. From the analysis, three substantive categories have been identified: Subject, Place and Research. Those express concepts supporting policies and actions of internationalization. Subjects can be seen as the starting point and driving force of processes of internationalization. Places are spaces inherently filled with both contradictions and possibilities, bringing together participants who count on support and means to build bridges for understanding, by acting out interdisciplinary joint efforts of research to address complex issues affecting mankind as a whole.

Reproducing Social Equality across the Generations: The Nordic Model of High Participation Higher Education in Finland

2018 ◽  
pp. 358-385
Author(s):  
Jussi Välimaa ◽  
Reetta Muhonen
Keyword(s):  
Applied Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Universities Of Applied Sciences ◽  
High Participation ◽  
The University

This chapter provides a detailed and extensive assessment of Finland’s high participation system (HPS) of higher education, in a historical perspective and with focus on Finland’s core values of equality and equity. The country case challenges some of the HPS propositions. The Nordic model is built upon a distinctive cultural tradition in which the state administers a social consensus based on solidarity, equality, and trust, and higher education is of high quality and has equal esteem. Since World War II equality of opportunity has been central in national policymaking. The chapter focuses especially on the nature of access to higher education and continuing binary diversity between the university sector and the Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS, the former polytechnics) .While there is continuing social competition for access to elite professional programmes, and cultural capital provides certain families with advantages, the Finnish HPS is less competitive and stratified than other HPS.

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