A University Education

Author(s):  
David Willetts

Universities have a crucial role in the modern world. In England, entrance to universities is by nation-wide competition which means English universities have an exceptional influence on schools--a striking theme of the book. This important book first investigates the university as an institution and then tracks the individual on their journey to and through university. In A University Education, David Willetts presents a compelling case for the ongoing importance of the university, both as one of the great institutions of modern society and as a transformational experience for the individual. The book also makes illuminating comparisons with higher education in other countries, especially the US and Germany. Drawing on his experience as UK Minister for Universities and Science from 2010 to 2014, the author offers a powerful account of the value of higher education and the case for more expansion. He covers controversial issues in which he was involved from access for disadvantaged students to the introduction of L9,000 fees. The final section addresses some of the big questions for the future, such as the the relationship between universities and business, especially in promoting innovation.. He argues that the two great contemporary trends of globalisation and technological innovation will both change the university significantly. This is an authoritative account of English universities setting them for the first time in their new legal and regulatory framework.

2020 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 09001
Author(s):  
Zabira Madaliуeva ◽  
Gulmira Kassen ◽  
Nazira Sadykova ◽  
Laura Baimoldina ◽  
Shynar Zakaryanova

The article considers the concept of resources and competences in the context of the transition of universities to a new generation model - “University 4.0.” Based on an analysis of the historical variability of university models, it is justified that resources and competencies act as the main determinants of the 4.0 university model in the modern realities of higher education. The analysis of sources claims that the movement from University 1.0 to University 4.0 increases the level of “transition” of talent and knowledge. In this way, the authors reach to the concept of “resources,” as supra-competent determinants of the growth of the university. Based on the analysis of the global challenges of the modern world, the need to distinguish the spiritual mission of universities as important actors in the development of modern society is justified. Is presented the model of the University of the Fourth Generation, developed by Al-Farabi KazNU.


2021 ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
A.A. Voinova ◽  
◽  
P.E. Kirillov ◽  
S.V. Ryabtsev

Examined is the issue of the further trajectory of the university development in modern society, where information and technological transformations determine a completely new educational discourse. It is emphasized that the cognitive nature and the increasing role of knowledge and education as the most important value are becoming the main characteristics of the new society. At the same time, the main factor of modern production, in contrast to the previous social forms, turns out to be inseparable from its subject. Knowledge constructs a person, becomes his leading characteristic. As a result, investments in people are growing: expenses for training and education, advanced training and retraining of employees. Information and knowledge in their new role create the socio-cultural context in which modern education exists, including university education. The thesis is substantiated that the philosophical understanding of education in a new society proceeds from an understanding of the specifics of the modern world and the position of a person in it. Since today a knowledge worker with a talent for assimilating information from various sources and transforming it into new knowledge is in demand, the university is guided by this idea in choosing its strategy. At the same time, the focus of attention is all the same knowledge as a leading public and personal resource, however, the new specificity of educational knowledge, as knowledge that is the subject of the university’s activity — its informational variability, fragility and contextuality, due to global informatization, cannot but affect comprehension of the specifics of a modern university.


Author(s):  
Xavier Mas ◽  
Lluís Pastor ◽  
Marta Merino ◽  
Loles González ◽  
Toni Martínez-Aceituno

The main challenge faced by higher education is overcoming the gap between university education and the demands of society and the professional world. This gap cannot be accounted for merely in terms of a shortcoming in the relationship between the competencies of academic programmes and the real training needs of lifelong learners, but also involves the mismatch between the design of training models and students' expectations. The UOC has launched the PLA-Niu project in response to this problem. It aims to transform the subjects in the University's programmes into activities designed strictly based on competencies which are aimed at resolving challenges inspired by the professional sphere; to implement a new means of selecting, designing and managing learning resources based on content curation for learning, organising it into specific aggregators for each activity; and to provide a system that enables the production and organisation of training in an agile, flexible and personalisable manner. In this paper, we set out the experience of applying the PLA-Niu in the University as a whole, and present its characteristics, explain the strategies and measures involved in its implementation, and share the reflections of those involved from a critical perspective.


Author(s):  
William Whyte

This chapter explores the way in which developments in the apparently rather narrow field of undergraduate finance tell us something about perceptions of the university in the late twentieth century and, more importantly, about how debates over higher education illuminate wider attitudes to the relationship between the individual, the state, and civil society. It also uses these debates—and the legislation they inspired—to discuss the difficulties the state and other actors faced in dealing with higher education in an era characterized by anxieties about Britain’s perceived decline, and about inequities in British society. The tangled and tortured development of student finance in the last four decades of the twentieth century illustrates the value of Jose Harris’s approach, whilst also enabling historians to trace the longer-lasting legacy of idealist thought.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Benlaria Houcine ◽  
Mostéfaoui Sofiane

This study aims to measure the individual rate of return for investment in higher education at Adrar University by using both basic and extended Mincerian Earnings Function. In addition to this, the comparison had been established between the results obtained and those of other researches in the same domain.We adopted in the research the model of Mincer in evaluating the rate of the economic returns according to previous classifications and the effective experience got by the individual in the work (measured by years). The result of the model application states that the economic return of university education in Algeria has been improved by 8.49% based on the benchmark of Psacharopoulos International Return measured by 9.8%.We conclude that there is no general trend by which we can interpret the results but this lack of interpretation refers to the typical situation of the Algerian economy and its impact on the human capital (education specifically) as it is known that the relationship between the economic development and the human development is positive.


Author(s):  
Weycliffe Otieno

The vulnerability of the education sector to the risks of political instability became clearly evident during the flare-up of violence following the disputed 2007 presidential elections in Kenya. Whereas universities especially in the developing world have often been seen as breeding grounds for radical political ideas and student activism, the post-election violence in Kenya directly affected university education, on a scale no other event has in the country's history. And, for the first time, the crisis facing education generally, and higher education specifically, showed clear ethnic manifestations.


Author(s):  
Larysa Terletska ◽  
Anastasia Chistyakova

The article presents the results of an empirical study of the relationship between character and socio-psychological adaptation of the individual to university education. Concepts analyzed: character, adaptation, socio-psychological adaptation to learning, adolescence. Diagnostic research methods were used (Oldham-Morris questionnaire to determine personality types and Rogers-Diamond research methods to determine socio-psychological adaptation of personality); methods of mathematical statistics. In the field of psychological and pedagogical research, the problem of adaptation of students is one of the priorities, as it is located at the junction of different fields of knowledge that are crucial in the modern conditions of higher education. The purpose of the study: to identify the relationship between personality types and socio-psychological adaptation in students. The conducted empirical research allows to draw the following conclusions: in general, the subjects had a high level of adaptation, self-acceptance, acceptance of others, emotional comfort, internality, which indicates good social adaptability; the average level of desire for domination, which allows them to have self-esteem, not to be constantly subordinate to others, but also does not lead to authoritarianism, dictatorship. Among the personality types of the most popular is the "Honest" type, also common are "Dramatic" and "Active".


Author(s):  
Anne Roosipõld ◽  
Krista Loogma ◽  
Mare Kurvits ◽  
Kristina Murtazin

In recent years, providing higher education in the form of work-based learning has become more important in the higher education (HE) policy and practice almost in all EU countries. Work-based learning (WBL) in HE should support the development of competences of self-guided learners and adjust the university education better to the needs of the workplace. The study is based on two pilot projects of WBL in HE in Estonia: Tourism and Restaurant Management professional HE programme and the master’s programme in Business Information Technology. The model of integrative pedagogy, based on the social-constructivist learning theory, is taken as a theoretical foundation for the study. A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with the target groups. The data analysis used a horizontal analysis to find cross-cutting themes and identify patterns of actions and connections. It appears, that the challenge for HE is to create better cooperation among stakeholders; the challenge for workplaces is connected with better involvement of students; the challenge for students is to take more initiative and responsibility in communication with workplaces.


Author(s):  
Svetlana Antonova ◽  
Tatyana Pletyago ◽  
Anna Ostapenko

There is a demand for transformation in higher education. Undergraduates need to be taught critical thinking, an essential skill that should be central to the mission of all educational institutions. Critical thinking is a key focus of academic interest among researchers in the field of pedagogy and methodology. Despite this, there is still a lack of sufficient information on approaches, methods, techniques, and means of incorporating critical thinking skills in the classroom environment at the tertiary education level. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the hands-on experiences of some European and Asian universities in promoting critical thinking education using a range of academic models. The review shows that critical thinking has already been integrated into many major tertiary education programmes in both European and Asian universities. Further, majority of the academic models implemented are transferable and flexible. The results confirm that in terms of content, methods, and technologies, university education is focusing on cultivating the higher order skills necessary for innovative professional activities in modern world.


Author(s):  
Brianne H. Roos ◽  
Carey C. Borkoski

Purpose The purpose of this review article is to examine the well-being of faculty in higher education. Success in academia depends on productivity in research, teaching, and service to the university, and the workload model that excludes attention to the welfare of faculty members themselves contributes to stress and burnout. Importantly, student success and well-being is influenced largely by their faculty members, whose ability to inspire and lead depends on their own well-being. This review article underscores the importance of attending to the well-being of the people behind the productivity in higher education. Method This study is a narrative review of the literature about faculty well-being in higher education. The history of well-being in the workplace and academia, concepts of stress and well-being in higher education faculty, and evidence-based strategies to promote and cultivate faculty well-being were explored in the literature using electronic sources. Conclusions Faculty feel overburdened and pressured to work constantly to meet the demands of academia, and they strive for work–life balance. Faculty report stress and burnout related to excessively high expectations, financial pressures to obtain research funding, limited time to manage their workload, and a belief that individual progress is never sufficient. Faculty well-being is important for the individual and in support of scholarship and student outcomes. This article concludes with strategies to improve faculty well-being that incorporate an intentional focus on faculty members themselves, prioritize a community of well-being, and implement continuous high-quality professional learning.


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