Central Europe's universities will fall further behind

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Private Funding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Central Eastern ◽  
Talented Students

Subject Higher education in Central-Eastern Europe. Significance Higher education reform has been on Central-Eastern European (CEE) governments’ agenda since the transition to democracy and market capitalism in 1989-90. Many CEE universities now offer courses in English and attract international students. Yet the most talented students and most successful academics go to Western Europe or North America, reflecting poorly on CEE's economic prospects. Impacts Limited access to quality education is impeding productivity across CEE, depressing overall economic growth. CEE is holding back European higher education in the competition not only with the United States, but also, increasingly, Asia. Countries that enact bold reforms, invite private funding and engender domestic competition may shoot ahead in the regional race.

scholarly journals Ontario Higher Education Reform, 1995-2003: From Modest Modifications to Policy Reform

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Glen A. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
The United States ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
The Past ◽  
Liberal Government

Ontario higher education system has moved far and fast in the past decade. The early 1990s saw "modest modifications and structural stability." Since 1995, under a neo-liberal government in Ontario, major policy initiatives, with objectives not unlike those already at large in western Europe and most of the United States, have quickly followed one another. The author proposes an explanation of the timing and dynamics of the Ontario reforms, describing the driving forces behind reform.

AMLO’s plans may fail to meet Mexican student demands

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Expanded Access ◽  
Market Needs ◽  
Student Demands

Significance Anger over such issues reached a crescendo this month, with several schools at the UNAM staging strikes and a massive student demonstration taking place at the institution’s Mexico City campus on September 5. Graue appears to have calmed the situation for now, but students in seven schools of UNAM are still demanding changes before resuming lessons. Impacts Managing students’ expectations will be crucial if the incoming administration is to prevent unrest from flaring again. Broader student demands, such as accountability, transparency and security will compound AMLO’s challenges. Any higher education reform will require improvements in quality and expanded access, particularly in the poorest states. Making higher education respond to labour market needs will be essential for AMLO’s efforts to reduce inequality.

Migrant-averse Central-Eastern Europe will lose growth

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Labour Costs ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Producer Prices ◽  
Central Eastern

Subject Looming demographic decline in Central-Eastern Europe. Significance The populations of Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) are declining because of emigration and low birth rates, the region’s population being set to fall until 2050 by an average of 0.5% a year. With the working-age population falling even faster, the demographic crisis raises questions about the region’s growth model, which has relied heavily on integrating its pool of lower-cost labour into European supply chains. Impacts Internal imbalances will worsen, with less economically successful regions disproportionately affected, some facing severe depopulation. Population ageing could exacerbate CEE’s turn towards populism, particularly as its pensioners are often among the less well-off. Rising CEE labour costs will push up producer prices in Western Europe, many of whose manufacturers rely on CEE production or suppliers.

Perceptions of higher education reform in Hong Kong: a glocalisation perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lanford
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Educational Reforms ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – In 2012, the eight UGC-funded higher education institutions in Hong Kong completed a multi-year process in which the majority of academic programmes were transformed from three-year to four-year undergraduate curricula to accommodate liberal arts education. The purpose of this paper is to discuss why stakeholders in Hong Kong felt that reforms were necessary and summarizes the implementation of these reforms. Afterwards, recent literature that has similarly addressed higher education reforms is reviewed. Finally, the results of a qualitative research study, grounded in glocalization theory, are presented and contextualized. Design/methodology/approach – This paper first draws upon policy documents, newspaper accounts, and other published primary sources for the review of Hong Kong’s educational reforms. Subsequently, an exploratory qualitative research design consisting of semi-structured interviews with 23 administrators and professors in Hong Kong is presented. These individuals are designated as “key informants”, as they gave presentations, made speeches, or were otherwise active in conceptualizing Hong Kong’s undergraduate educational reform on macro- and micro-levels. Findings – Four primary findings concerning educational reform in Hong Kong are highlighted. They include tensions between international benchmarking and internal value systems; confusion over multiple educational paradigms; the limited efficacy of outside speakers and leadership; and controversy over outcome-based assessment. Originality/value – First, recent educational reforms in Hong Kong’s higher education sector are summarized. Second, the implications of educational reforms for Hong Kong and glocalization theory are discussed. Third, conclusions that may resonate with educational reform processes in other international contexts are drawn.

scholarly journals The Phenomenon of University Americanization: A Critical Review by Max Weber

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1083-1100
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

The paper discusses the phenomenon of Americanization of European universities in a historical perspective, referring to the critical comparison of higher education in Germany and the United States, conceived by Max Weber after the experience of his stay at American universities in 1904. In accordance with the subject and goal, the paper is divided into several thematic units that include the historical context of European university development, defining the research question, the historical and theoretical context (his trip to the International Congress of Arts and Sciences in St. Louis and defining two of Weber's key theoretical concepts (rationalization and bureaucratization) which are necessary for understanding his analysis of higher education), consideration of Weber's most important work on this topic (Wissenschaft als Beruf), and presentation of the conclusions of our analysis. The paper provides an overview of Weber's comparison of two university models: (a) the American model, which he sees as market-oriented, democratized and meritocratic, and (b) the German model, which he sees as critical, holistic and humanistic. Despite the prevailing opinion in modern Weberology that Weber was an apologist of the way in which American higher education works, in this paper we try to show that Weber in his deliberations offered a far more balanced view of the situation at universities in the two countries (United States and Germany), and that he managed to show different aspects, i.e. the advantages and disadvantages of these two, in many respects different, models of higher education and academic communities derived from them. Although the paper deals with a part of Max Weber's legacy and in that sense with a discussion that is part of the history of sociological ideas, the basic ideas that Weber argues in it have not lost their relevance in contemporary discussions on higher education reform in Europe.

Chile's higher education reform faces uncertain future

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Higher Education Reform ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Tuition Fees ◽  
Secondary Schooling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Uncertain Future

Subject Higher education reform. Significance President Michelle Bachelet on July 4 submitted to Congress a bill to establish the framework for a gradual move towards universal free access to higher education and to tighten regulation of the system. The bill represents the final stage in an education reform that was one of Bachelet's key election promises and has already meant important changes in primary and secondary schooling. However, it has more critics than supporters. Impacts Demand for faster progress towards free access will likely mean frequent student demonstrations during the debate. The bill would be the largest reform of the higher education system since its opening to private universities in the early 1980s. Tuition fees are key for universities since, in most cases, they account for around 70% of their income.

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