Mutual recognition of certification systems: The case of SERMO and ACLES

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-319
Author(s):  
Julia Zabala-Delgado ◽  
Barbara Sawicka

Abstract The Association of Language Centres in Higher Education in Spain (ACLES) and the Association of Academic Foreign Language Centres in Poland (SERMO) established the mutual recognition of their English language competence certificates (CertAcles and ACERT examinations) in 2017, on the basis of previously performed analyses of routine pre-exam and exam procedures, specifications and applied evaluation criteria. This paper represents a further step towards comparability by reporting the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of data from a summer examination session in 2018 carried out with Spanish and Polish students who took a commonly developed English exam combining the features of both certification systems. The exams were carried out at Universitat Politècnica de València (ACLES) and Poznan University of Technology (SERMO) and the data was collected by means of test scores, student and teacher questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The results obtained are encouraging and provide a strong basis for further collaboration between the certification systems. Furthermore, they give support to the mutual recognition of our certificates while encouraging similar studies with other non-commercial university accreditation frameworks. These initiatives are in line with the objectives of the Bologna Process, facilitating student and staff exchange between institutions within the European Higher Education Area.

Author(s):  
Evgen Khan

The integration and the enhanced cooperation with Europe in the sphere of higher education have become and remained an important component of the European integrative intentions of Ukraine. For many years, our state has been an important strategic partner for Europe. Since gaining independence, the government of Ukraine has constantly declared the will to implement the European principles in all spheres of the social life. The sphere of education and science was no exception. Through many years in Ukraine, the process of reforming both the educational system as a whole and higher education system in particular is still in progress. These reforms continue in difficult times for our state. The authorities and the governments are changing, but all of them have been declaring “the European choice of Ukraine”. It is clear-cut that the process of reforms, transformations and innovations is complicated, often painful and is perceived ambiguously by society. However, it is obvious that one way or the another, but the Ukrainian educational system needed to be reformed, updated and modernizated. In 2005, our state became an official participant of the Bologna Club by signing the Bologna Declaration, which gave rise to the Bologna process – the process of creating a united European educational space. The main principles of the Bologna Process have been and remain the following principles: the establishment of similar, understandable and accessible educational standards, mutual recognition, the intensification of academic mobility and academic exchanges, the development and the financing of various educational projects, programs and grants, the creation of conditions for the formation of a common market, the enhancement of the competitiveness of European educational system. As part of the Bologna process, our state entered a new phase in reforming the education system. First of all, the reforming of the higher education by committing itself to gradually move to the European educational standards, introducing the basic principles and elements of the Bologna process. The article examines the main stages of the reform process of the Ukrainian higher education system within the framework of participation in the Bologna process, describes the legal and regulatory framework for the transition of the national higher education to European educational standards, justifies the importance and perspective of educational reforms on the path to European integration.


Author(s):  
Ricardo Pinto Mario Covele

Abstract Although the internationalization of higher education through the standardization of English language is considered progressive, unfortunately, for Lusophone universities it remains a deterrent for scholars’ career progression. The evidence of lived experiences in Mozambican universities suggests that the relationship between English language competence and professional status remains inconclusive. The study explores the impact of English language for career development in two Portuguese language-speaking universities, namely Eduardo Mondlane and Catholic universities in Mozambique. Case study design, purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews with scholars, documents reviews and content analysis approach will be employed. Career construction theory and practice (Savickas, 2013), is considered ideal based on its fundamental premise of individual and social constructivism of knowledge through which individuals construct themselves. The study contributes to a comparative higher education career research by guiding the formulation of language policy for career development in Lusophone countries.


Author(s):  
Iryna Sokolova ◽  

The ongoing implementation of the Bologna Process in Europe prompts comparisons with international competitors and efforts to match their quality assurance standards. Higher education institutions must be effective to succeed in research, to provide best academic practices and high quality of studies. Terminological system of pedagogical science and practice of higher education reflects the goals, values and problems, structure and system of scientific knowledge of the XXI century. The process for content analysis is designed to achieve the objective analysis possible by defining the process of the qualities and characteristics to be measured in HE. The article provides definitions of basic concepts that describe the features of tools for measuring and assessing in higher education. A comparative analysis of the practice of applying criteria & indicators is made on materials of English-language publications. Starting from a conceptual discussion around commonly used terms, such as, «criterion» and «indicator», the author has shown that these terms do not have a single universal meaning. The analysis shows that there is no common understanding of what criteria-based means or what it implies for practice. Instead, they belong to a wide conceptual field, which covers various overlapping or closely related topics. This paper addresses the nature of the concept of criteria in relation to higher education. This paper provides examples of use different sets of criteria for the accreditation and external evaluation of Higher education institutions and study programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognised by the EU as a «potential candidate country». In accordance with the constitutional structure of BiH, there are several regulations for external QA which are combined for each accreditation procedure. The project «Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Quality Assurance» (2013-2015) aims to support the full implementation of the ESG at all levels and to carry out accreditations of all HEIs in the country. In the process of analyzing the institutional practice of the country the problem of harmonizing national criteria with updated ESG2015 for licensing, conducting accreditation of higher education institutions and educational programs has been raised. The author analyses ways of thinking about the practice of applying the indicators for the sphere of higher education. It is stated, that the concepts of «effectiveness» and «efficiency» are often confused. The peculiarities of using the indicator panels (OECD, World Bank, European Union) are described for measuring the quality at the level of the education system.


2018 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 01051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inna Shafikova ◽  
Galina Gurova ◽  
Andrey Novikov

Composite materials is a rapidly developing field of science and technology. Training specialists in composite materials requires special approach with regard to their English language competence. The paper looks at the proposed English language course for Rocket and space structures. The course in question must comply with the requirements of the Bologna process, curriculum and education standards and at the same time meet the learners' needs in terms of their professional competence. A multi-level system is proposed that includes academics apart from undergraduate and postgraduate students.


2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Braun ◽  
Bernhard Leidner

This article contributes to the conceptual and empirical distinction between (the assessment of) appraisals of teaching behavior and (the assessment of) self-reported competence acquirement within academic course evaluation. The Bologna Process, the current higher-education reform in Europe, emphasizes education aimed toward vocationally oriented competences and demands the certification of acquired competences. Currently available evaluation questionnaires measure the students’ satisfaction with a lecturer’s behavior, whereas the “Evaluation in Higher Education: Self-Assessed Competences” (HEsaCom) measures the students’ personal benefit in terms of competences. In a sample of 1403 German students, we administered a scale of satisfaction with teaching behavior and the German version of the HEsaCom at the same time. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the estimated correlations between the various scales of self-rated competences and teaching behavior appraisals were moderate to strong, yet the constructs were shown to be empirically distinct. We conclude that the self-rated gains in competences are distinct from satisfaction with course and instructor. In line with the higher education reform, self-reported gains in competences are an important aspect of academic course evaluation, which should be taken into account in the future and might be able to restructure the view of “quality of higher education.” The English version of the HEsaCom is presented in the Appendix .


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma MESIRIDZE ◽  
Nino TVALTCHRELIDZE

The Bologna Process, Information and Communication Technology, and market forces have brought manyinnovations and great changes to higher education systems throughout Europe. Reforms in higher educationhave taken a new direction, towards making higher education students more autonomous. However, manycountries have not really adopted this innovative way of teaching and still maintain an old ‘transmission’ stylewhich often entails teachers trying to pour knowledge into the minds of their students. Promoting autonomouslearning (the ability of students to manage their own learning) in higher education is crucial both for theindividual and society, as the idea of an academic student comprises critical reflective thinking and theimportance of becoming an independent learner. This article will discuss the importance of promotingautonomous learning throughout self, peer and co-assessment for higher education quality enhancement. Thepaper will examine the case of International Black Sea University’s MA students enrolled in the Higher EducationManagement program. The analyses of a survey will be used to discuss the significance of autonomous learningfor students and their readiness for self, peer and co-assessment.


2012 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 2229-2233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana-Luminiţa Todorescu ◽  
Anca Greculescu ◽  
Gabriel Mugurel Dragomir

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 50-60
Author(s):  
SVETLANA KOBACHEVSKAYA

In the current article, the viewpoints of the Belarusian and foreign scientists and experts on the organization of international cooperation in Higher Education Institutions within the Bologna process are analyzed, the directions of organization of interuniversity cooperation of the university are considered, the experience of Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank in this direction and the objectives of interuniversity development are defined.


Author(s):  
Liudvika Leisyte

The Bologna process has spurred higher education reforms in various European countries. Higher education reforms in Lithuania took place rather incrementally and represented an interaction between two strong powers—the state and the academic oligarchy. In the 1990s, the structural changes at the forefront of the Bologna-related reforms in Lithuania, but higher education reforms have remained stagnant in Lithuania. It is too early to draw conclusions about the success of the reforms, but the involvement of various stakeholders and the vision of broad reforms increase hopes for prospects of a more radical change of the Lithuanian higher education landscape.


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