scholarly journals Italian University Museums at Time of Covid-19 Lockdown: How to Restore a “Sense of Normalcy”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Magliacani ◽  
Daniela Sorrentino

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the normal conditions within which Higher Education systems are used to operate. This regards not only teaching and research, but also public engagement activities as a university Third Mission. As for the latter, there is scant literature on University Museums as subjects that transfer cultural knowledge to the community, so providing a relevant public service. Addressing this research gap, this study focuses on the critical Italian context, exploring how University Museums have responded to the COVID-19 lockdown. To this aim, the social science notion of resilience is adopted for interpreting the evidence on their ability to cope with the emergency. Data from legislative and statistical sources are complemented by a questionnaire administered to 34 University Museums. Findings show the ability of Italian University Museums to handle the ongoing emergency by carrying out digital and non-digital activities that prevent it to become worse. A conceptual model that highlights how University Museums contribute to transfer cultural knowledge also at a time of emergency is finally proposed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
RYAN EVELY GILDERSLEEVE ◽  
KATIE KLEINHESSELINK

The Anthropocene has emerged in philosophy and social science as a geologic condition with radical consequence for humankind, and thus, for the social institutions that support it, such as higher education. This essay introduces the special issue by outlining some of the possibilities made available for social/philosophical research about higher education when the Anthropocene is taken seriously as an analytic tool. We provide a patchwork of discussions that attempt to sketch out different ways to consider the Anthropocene as both context and concept for the study of higher education. We conclude the essay with brief introductory remarks about the articles collected for this special issue dedicated to “The Anthropocene and Higher Education.”


Author(s):  
Juan García-Gutiérrez ◽  
Carlos Corrales Gaitero

The constant transformation that the institutions of higher education experiment and, particularly, the university assumes a re-consideration of their shapes, methodology, and missions, as well as the relationships established with society. Therefore, we shall consider that a “social mission” of the university or their “third mission” constitutes an umbrella that shelters a wide diversity of reflex conceptions, and at the same time, the relationship university – society. Additionally, take into consideration that this civic and social commitment in higher education should incorporate an integrator approach, involved with an idea of European or Latin-American citizenship, in any case, incorporated in the development of their supranational policies. Therefore, the objective of our work is double. On one side, to meet and analyze the notion of a “social mission” or “third mission” of the university and their conceptual network, to clarify the language and in which sense the different denominations are used, according to the different economical, sustainability or civic approaches to be adopted. Secondly, the treatment of these ideas will be addressed at the supranational policies of higher education both in Europe and Ibero America, according to what had been structured at the Higher Education European State and whether it has been promoted by the OEI. Also, it will be attended the way that this supranational policy aboard the civic and identity components, that linked to the social mission cooperate for the promotion of common citizenship. As a result of the analysis made we can affirm that the approach of the learning-service constitutes an emergent tendency on a global scale, appropriate to develop effectively the third mission or social mission of the university.


Author(s):  
Isabel Menezes ◽  
Márcia Coelho ◽  
Fernanda Rodrigues ◽  
Peter Evans ◽  
Brian Martin

The emphasis on the social responsibility of higher education institutions emerged more systematically in the Post-Bologna European context. This paper presents an overview of a case study on a certificate in university social responsibility auditing, based on three European universities: Edimburgh, Kaunas and Porto. The goal is to develop an auditor training for students based on experiential learning, that is coherent and replicable in diverse contexts and that involves the various stakeholders. The project is based on a set of benchmarks of university social responsibility developed in the context of a European project, namely:  Research, Teaching, Support for Learning and Public Engagement; Governance; Environmental and Societal Sustainability; and Fair Practices. We will report on the initial data generated by the ESSA Project, in respect of student recruitment, baseline attitudes and the impact of participation in the training and the first audit.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Švec ◽  
Aleš Vlk ◽  
Šimon Stiburek

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the way higher education institutions adapt to environmental pressures. These pressures can be represented either by various demands or by specific policies. Dropout policy is examined on a Czech case study in order to demonstrate that at the end of the day, higher education institutions respond mainly to the most pressing challenges of an economic nature in the most rational way. As a result, their traditional mission (teaching, research, the third mission), and mainly the social function of the higher education system, may be at stake. At the same time, this study illustrates how difficult it is to introduce any higher education policy without thorough evaluation of other policies in place and of various factors affecting institutional behaviour.


2019 ◽  
pp. 155-175
Author(s):  
Roger Normann ◽  
Rómulo Pinheiro

This chapter discusses the evolution of third-mission collaboration by tracking the historical unfolding of third-mission engagement in the Norwegian higher education sector and against the backdrop of changes in the institutional profiles and legal statuses of domestic providers. We categorise developments into four distinct phases and develop a novel typology on the evolution of third-mission roles and the tensions that emerge from this, to be empirically tested and applied in other geographical contexts. The research problem being addressed is: What characterises third-mission engagement in the transition from regional college to a full-fledged university? The findings are of relevance to managers and policy makers, in addition to social science researchers interested in the topic.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Penny Welch ◽  
Susan Wright

We are delighted to introduce the first volume of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences. As founding and now-former editors of Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences (LATISS), our new journal reflects a strong continuity in the editorial aims that inspired ourfirst journal. We remain committed to using social science perspectives to analyse learning and teaching in higher education. In particular we invite contributors and readers to reflect critically on how students’ and academics’ practices are shaped by, or themselves influence, wider changes in university strategies and national and international policies for higher education. Viewing changes in course design and curriculum, in students’ writing, in group work, seminars or tutorials as taking place within a network (or lattice) of institutional, political and policy contexts is the focusof this journal.


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