Comparison of Two Classrooms

This chapter investigates how students attending environmental science classes in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Bozok University in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 fall semesters learn concepts related to environmental science through a comparison of two different classes, using the Cosine Similarity Measure (CSM) method. The study demonstrates that the students lack the necessary knowledge about the concepts used in urban and regional planning literature and international conventions.

Mobility, Internationalisation, Higher Education

In this chapter, the authors address the following issues: convergence of internationalisation paths in universities and trends in European higher education; international cooperation and education regarding the internationalisation of higher education policy in Europe and other world regions; mobility trends with the growth of selective and qualified migration; student flows and migration in the higher education globalisation and internationalisation process; European and national policies for academic mobility and internationalisation of higher education; consequences of academic mobility and migration regarding the professional value of mobility, interculturalism, and higher education; institutional and social responses to internationalisation, Europeanisation, and globalisation of higher education. The authors note how international academic mobility represents a professional added value and a cultural, scientific, and technological enrichment for higher education, which broadens the perspectives of the individuals and institutions involved. The internationalisation of higher education contributes to spreading an educational culture with a tendency to establish itself as a European and global educational model.

Research Focus on European Education Policy

This chapter includes an overview of the academic research recently dedicated to educational policies in European higher education. This chapter reviews the main research databases, looking for general and specialized articles referring to academic research, and the authors map the trends in mainstream literature. They identify the dynamics of articles dedicated to academic research, the most frequent topics, and assess their impact on educational policies in European universities. The chapter is based on a quantitative analysis of the records, as well as on the debates and analyses of the research on educational policies in recent years.

Convergence of Quality Assurance Paths in Romanian Universities

When it comes to the quality of education, despite the general adhesion related to its importance, one can notice a number of opinions frequently contradicting themselves. The intention of delimitating, systemizing, and prioritizing the multitude of quality facets simply enhances the criticism. These circumstances prompt a more thorough analysis of the quality in education. Focusing on the perspective of the European Higher Education, this chapter proposes a set of convergence indicators that are able to capture the relationship toward which universities evolve. The indicators are then tested against the opinion of several experts from Romanian Higher Education Institutions, analyzed, and subjected to careful revision based on the respondents' answers.

Evaluation of the Case Method with an Emphasis in Energy Issues and its Applicability for European Higher Education

Every professor is searching to improve teaching techniques in order to transform the students into agents of change. This chapter proposes the hypothesis that the use of the Case Method (CM) is an effective strategy for improving education. It is a breakthrough to demonstrate that undergraduate students in finance learned how to use their financial skills in solving a pollution issue in the Mexican swine farmhouses through biomass conversion to fuels, keeping their profitability criteria at the same time. This was achieved through the application of the CM. Europe is very advanced in renewable energy technologies. Thus, the way the CM was applied in Mexico could be replicated with great success in Europe, for example through the visit to solar, biomass, or wind farms. CM surges as a hope to enhance education in Europe, with a plausible way to replicate it in all European universities. This is explored in this chapter.

Evaluating International Competitiveness

This chapter addresses the need for improvement in the development of quality assurance indicators to evaluate progress related to the implementation of the Bologna Process. There is noted room for improvement, as well as an interest in engaging feedback from key stakeholder groups, namely employers. The authors propose that the use of the Global Competitiveness Index with specific attention to the measures provided in Pillars 11, Business Sophistication, and Pillar 12, Innovation provide a transparent and trust-worthy indicator. The measures capture both the absolute and relative standing of a nation's international competitiveness. Using a case study approach that illustrates implementation efforts in Romania, the authors present how the measures might be incorporated into quality assurance indicators at both the national and institutional level. We provide propositions and suggest a future research agenda to advance an understanding of how the use of these indicators can advance convergence of higher education practices in the EHEA.

New and Pressing Challenges for Romanian Higher Education System after 10 Years of Bologna Values Implementation

This chapter examines a number of issues related to the implementation of reforms in Romania, which focused on the national higher education system in order to internalize the values of the Bologna Process. It presumes that the assumption process of the challenges linked to the educational effects of the globalization and regionalization phenomena must be preceded by solving dilemmas, eliminating conceptual, regulatory, and instrumental fetishes, and changing the behavior of stakeholders involved. The study shows that after 10 years of the Bologna Process implementation, the balance between tradition and modernity is still ambiguous, many areas of uncertainty are kept, being unclear how to place this process within the European economic integration logic, and that much of the expected benefits cannot be seen. This chapter explores the extent to which changes that have occurred in the Romanian higher education system and the tools used for this purpose, strategic or circumstantial.

Business Schools

This chapter offers a conceptual contribution to the debate of European business schools and their future directions within the context of higher education internationalization. On the one hand, European business schools represent a continuous success story in terms of enrolment figures and increasing visibility on international rankings. On the other hand, particularly driven by overarching competitiveness paradigms, they are on a path of conformity and obedience to external pressures, leading to dangerously homogenous institutions. Furthermore, they are losing their esteem within society and face increasing criticism in the wake of financial and social crises, as business school contributions have come under scrutiny. Four drivers of European business schools internationalization are identified: globalization, EU policy, rankings/accreditation, and student consumerism. Opportunities and risks arising from all four drivers are highlighted in this chapter, and the subsequent discussion outlines potential future pathways of a more beneficial internationalization that allows for new perspectives beyond apparent Americanization tendencies. It is argued that, despite manifold ambiguities associated with such concepts, through a strategic elaboration of a distinct European identity, business schools could better meet their responsibilities and also develop propositions that are competitive in the global marketplace as well as inspiring constituencies beyond this continent.

Convergence of Quality Management Approaches

In all evaluations of universities, either of programs, schools, or the institution as a whole body, the starting point is the self-evaluation report. Its importance is crucial since all the recommendations and conclusions are based on its content. The purpose of this chapter is to reveal the importance of the self-development process as part of the self-management strategies that need to be implemented in higher education universities, in the context of the quality assessment procedures. In the contemporary context, the process of university development has to be understood as a self-development process, taking into consideration all the reforms and changes generated since the the Bologna Declaration (1999). Therefore, it is important to reveal the characteristics of the process of self-development for the higher education institution, to identify most relevant methods of management development, and to explain how self-management strategies can be supported for universities to become better off. In addition, the concept of quality convergence is expressed on the basis of the self-development process.

Modelling and Simulation of the Need for Harmonizing the European Higher Education Systems

The “Bologna process” has become a highly used idiom by all kinds of people who do not know what exactly it involves. They are unaware of its prerequisites and the correct way to measure its positive and/or negative consequences. Thus, this chapter explains the context of the Bologna reasoning as well as briefly expressing its content. It explores whether the harmonization of the European Educational Systems proposed and agreed on by nations is a fad or a real necessity, taking into consideration the actual evolution of the world. This is done by means of computerized simulation. The simulation tool is provided by TRUE-WORLD System Dynamics Software. In the end, some recommendations for a more efficient achievement of Bologna objectives are provided.