EQUIVALENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION ‐‐ A VIEW FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

The authors of this article make a plea for the rationalization and the streamlining of the procedures for granting recognition of foreign diplomas and studies and for obtaining rulings as to their equivalence. The removal of the remaining economic barriers among the countries of the European Community at the end of 1992 is bound to stimulate the mobility of students, graduates, and job seekers, many of whom already, on an individual basis, think of themselves as members of an international community. What is needed, in addition to a strong commitment to the very ideas of mobility, equivalence, and recognition of diplomas as well as efficient means for making decisions on these questions, is goodwill, increased flexibility, and easy access to accurate and up‐to‐date information for both seekers and granters. Also, professional licensing procedures for foreign workers will need to be liberalized.     

SHORT OVERVIEW OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN LITHUANIA IN THE DOMAIN OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

This article describes current developments in regard to quality assurance and the recognition of higher education qualifications in Lithuania. With the aim of internationalizing its higher education system, Lithuania acceded to the UNESCO European Diploma Convention in 1994 and to the Council of Europe Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas Leading to Admission to Universities in 1996. The Ministry of Education created the Lithuanian Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education in January 1995. It has been very active in a number of directions since then. In addition, Lithuania has subjected its science to international evaluation, is a partner in the Baltic Higher Education Coordination Committee, and is participating in two PHARE projects for the development of co‐operation in higher education. The main obstacle to greater co‐operation in regard both to the recognition of academic qualifications and to quality assurance is lack of financial resources.     

The returns to UK degrees for foreign‐educated graduates

Exploiting information on foreign qualifications for the first time, we estimate the returns to obtaining UK higher degrees for foreign graduates who migrated to the UK in their 20s. Accounting for direct measures of foreign and UK qualifications and country‐of‐origin fixed effects, we find substantial returns to obtaining UK (higher) degrees on hourly wages and occupational attainment for both genders, working mainly through occupational attainment. However, there is strong evidence that the effect of the high returns is driven by immigrants from countries where English is not a dominant language. Moreover, returns to UK (higher) degrees are more pronounced for graduates from low‐HDI/GDP countries, suggesting an important role for the incompatibility of education and skills between home and destination countries. We further examine the robustness of our results by using a partial identification method, and our findings suggest that the extent of selection on unobservables required to eliminate a positive treatment effect is too large to be plausible, especially for men. Our study extends previous research with the first evidence from the UK, by showing large positive effects of post‐migration investments in human capital acquisition on labour market outcomes. Obtaining UK higher degrees appears to reduce the informational uncertainty associated with foreign credentials, facilitate cultural and economic assimilation, and boost economic opportunities for foreign graduates, especially for those developing/poor country immigrants.     

构建我国基于资历框架的教师行业资历等级和标准

建立终身教育资历框架是我国目前一项重要的教育举措,构建基于资历框架的教师行业资历等级和标准是其中重要的组成部分,有助于促进教师专业发展、推动教师终身学习。本研究采用文献研究法和专家访谈法,提出了由4个等级、4个维度和10个要素组成的教师行业资历等和标准,能够与国际及国内已有的资历框架有效对接,构建了我国基于资历框架的教师行业资历等级和标准。教师行业资历等级和标准既是针对教师专业发展的评价框架,又是认证和转化学习成果的工具,是一套系统的方法和工具。期望本研究的成果能够为教师专业发展项目提供评价与认证框架,为贯通教师职前培养与职后培训、构建教师终身学习体系提供参考框架。     

First‐Semester Experiences of Counselor Education Doctoral Students

This qualitative study explored 4 counselor education doctoral students' 1st‐semester experience. Data analysis revealed students experienced vicissitudes of thought and emotion that varied from self‐doubt to beliefs in their abilities, received information and made decisions about how to engage in their responsibilities, and felt affirmation of their capabilities and qualifications. With this affirmation, students were able to make decisions about further experiences they would have during their program. As the semester progressed, the students experienced greater feelings of confirmation yet returned to vicissitude when faced with new situations.     

Measuring labour market success: a comparison between immigrants and native-born Canadians using PIAAC

Canadian society is characterised by a plurality of immigrants and Canadian migration policy and corresponding recognition approaches are strongly geared to economic criteria, qualifications and skills. This paper addresses the question how immigrants who have acquired their highest qualification outside Canada are able to use their foreign qualifications and skills in their current job. The analyses are conducted to verify the assumptions of human capital theory as well as the lack of transferability of human capital across country borders. To answer these questions a labour market success index is developed, which is used as a dependent variable in regression models. The results show that traditional operationalisations of human capital (years of education, years of work experience and skills) have a positive effect on individual labour market success. At the same time, being born abroad and having acquired one’s highest qualification abroad in comparison to Canada, especially in a Non-Western country, has negative effects on the overall labour market success of an individual. Detailed comparisons regarding different indicators of labour market success also prove these comparatively negative effects. The results demonstrate the limited explanatory power of human capital theory and the necessity to complement it with Bourdieu’s concepts of social and cultural capital.     

The Teaching Focus of Adult‐Reading Teachers When Developing Word Reading Skills

Despite widescale literacy interventions, reading difficulties persist in the adult population. Results from international surveys report that millions of adults around the world remain unable to read the texts they require for daily life and work. Adult reading difficulties are diverse and under‐researched, and adult‐reading teachers are generally underprepared to build reading skills, particularly at word level reading where many adults report difficulties. This study examined (i) the teaching foci that 60 adult‐reading teachers prioritised in determining how to teach a hypothetical adult reader with difficulties at the word level and (ii) the teacher attributes by which these decisions varied. Around 40% of teachers indicated that they would prioritise non‐word level components in deciding how to teach the hypothetical reader with word level difficulties, and these decisions varied with teachers' training/qualifications. To make sense of the persistence of low reading levels in the adult population, it is necessary to understand more about what teachers teach and why they teach the way they do. The findings of this study may provide an important step towards this goal.     

‘Bringing learning closer to home’: the value and impact of the Lisbon strategy for strengthening the role of local learning centres and partnerships in south‐eastern Europe

This paper presents a comparative examination of four local learning centres that provide learning opportunities throughout life in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. The paper aims to assess some of the strengths and weaknesses of different types of local learning centres and partnerships in South‐Eastern Europe—in line with the value and impact of the Lisbon strategy for developing multipurpose local learning centres for ‘brining learning closer to home’—in order to draw some conclusions on how to promote greater collaboration and a culture of co‐operation, in an area where a lifelong learning culture is still underdeveloped, compared with that in other parts of the European Union.     

Path dependency and the politics of quality assurance in higher education

Abstract

National policy agendas for quality assurance in higher education (HE) are increasingly influenced by supra‐national trends and decisions. Taking Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands as examples, the paper analyses how supranational trends are re‐interpreted at the national level and how recently formulated national policies combine the demands for cross‐national harmonisation with the long‐lasting influence of decisions and procedures run in the past in the domain of quality assurance. In this perspective, the paper argues that cross‐national policy harmonisation, a key prerequisite for the construction of the European Higher Education Area is challenged by the long‐lasting influence of national path dependent policies.     

REPORT ON THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE EQUIVALENCE CONVENTIONS

The report sums up the role and scope of the various Council of Europe Conventions on the recognition of credentials and qualifications in higher education from 1953 when the first one was signed to the present day. Six documents are presented; four are analysed in some detail. The historical, legal, and educational contexts are discussed as are the core principles with regard to application: Finally some suggestions are made on how to expand the contexts of these conventions and to move towards a diversified all‐European recognition system.     

Journal Peer Review: an Endorsement in Principle

A first study by the authors found that publications in refereed (i.e., peer‐reviewed) serials were viewed as significantly more important in tenure and promotion decisions than publications in non‐refereed serials. Neither the title of the respondent (i.e., dean, chairman, co‐ordinator, director, or head) nor graduate designation (i.e., Master's degree‐granting versus doctoral degree‐granting institutions) affected the results. A further split by geographical regions (western versus central versus eastern Canada), by institutional designation within regions, and by holders of Canadian versus foreign doctorates did not significantly alter the original findings. Thus peer‐reviewed publications continue to have higher ratings than other publications in tenure and promotion decisions. Possible reasons for these findings are presented along with implications for future research.     

INTERNATIONAL CO‐OPERATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE GLOBALIZATION OF UNIVERSITIES

This article begins by posing some fundamental questions about global co‐operation and why co‐operation among nations is necessary. Co‐operation in higher education can foster global understanding and bridge cultural gaps. What is therefore called for is the globalization of universities. For positive international co‐operation in education to occur, the following initiatives are required: global perspectives in the curriculum, foreign students as learning resources, the globalization of universities and colleges, and the disengagement of educational policy from foreign policy.     

Geographical migration,psychological adjustment,and re‐formation of professional identity: the double‐culture shock experience of international pharmacy graduates in Ontario (Canada)

The experience of migrants with qualifications in health professions is of significance given current and projected skills shortages in western countries. The situation of pharmacy practice in Ontario (Canada) is unique in demonstrating an unusually high reliance on foreign‐trained professionals. This qualitative study examined the experience of migrant‐pharmacists in Ontario as they enculturate both personally and professionally. In negotiating re‐professionalisation and re‐licensure, these individuals reported instrumental use of professional qualifications to facilitate personal life goals, primary reliance upon mono‐cultural (rather than professional networks), an idealisation of the professional practice environment in their home country, and a diminishing social identification as a pharmacist. Most participants reported lack of engagement with the pharmacist community and a declining interest in their own professional status and development. Participants described a ‘double‐culture shock’ experience: adapting to both a new national and a new professional culture simultaneously. Addressing these issues is of importance in attracting and retaining immigrants with health professional qualifications and to engage them more fully in the professional community and their ongoing professional development.     

Identifying specific learning disability: is responsiveness to intervention the answer?

Responsiveness to intervention (RTI) is being proposed as an alternative model for making decisions about the presence or absence of specific learning disability. I argue that there are many questions about RTI that remain unanswered, and radical changes in proposed regulations are not warranted at this time. Many fundamental issues related to RTI are unresolved, and a better strategy may be to more rigorously implement existing identification criteria (e.g., discrepancy and psychological processing deficits) in a structured psychometric framework. Suggestions on how to modify present procedures are provided.     

RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF STUDIES AND QUALIFICATIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION∗

The text reproduced below is that of an official Recommendation of the General Conference of UNESCO regarding the worldwide international recognition of higher education studies and qualifications. It suggests steps that the Member States should take to harmonize their policies with regard to mobility in higher education and the mutual recognition of diplomas, degrees, periods of study, and professional qualifications and practice. Evoking the six existing UNESCO Regional Conventions on the recognition of studies and qualifications in higher education, this Recommendation serves as a step toward the eventual creation and ratification of a Universal Convention on the recognition of studies and qualifications in higher education.

     

The Impact of Part‐time Jobs in Years 12 and 13 on Qualification Achievement

Many students in full‐time secondary education in the UK hold part‐time jobs. Though this has benefits, there is concern that long hours of paid work conflict with students' studies. However, there is no recent nationally based UK evidence on the impact of paid work on examination results. This article fills the gap, with data on a large, nationally representative sample from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. It describes patterns of paid work amongst full‐time students in Years 12 and 13 and how these relate to time spent working for qualifications. It shows that, after controlling for a range of factors, paid work of a few hours per week has a negligible impact on A level grades, but that long working hours significantly reduce grades. The critical number of hours is lower in Year 13 than in Year 12. The impact of part‐time jobs on the probability of obtaining advanced vocational qualifications is much less clear.     

RECOGNITION OF STUDIES,DIPLOMAS, AND DEGREES: THE YUGOSLAV EXPERIENCE

The differences, so far as Yugoslav legislation is concerned, between “equivalence” and “recognition” are mads clear, and the Yugoslav instances authorized to make decisions on questions of equivalence and recognition are stated and their procedures, briefly described. The 7 multilateral conventions and the 13 bilateral agreements on equivalence and recognition matters are listed. More is said about the various Yugoslav instances empowered to make decisions and to give Information on questions of equivalence and recognition.     

Embarking on an Educational Journey‐‐the Establishment of the First Foreign Full University Campus in Malaysia under the 1996 Education Acts: a Malaysian‐Australian Case Study

This article is a case study of the first foreign university invited to open a campus in Malaysia under the 1996 Education Acts: Monash University of Australia, in partnership with the Sunway Corporation. The authors provide some historical background leading to the July 1998 opening of the new campus‐‐Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia (MUSCM). Using MUSCM as a case study, they explore a number of issues that they argue must be addressed in such an international educational undertaking involving co‐operation among government, business, and a university. The article is structured under the following headings: why a foreign branch campus; nuts and bolts, operational structure and legislative requirements; quality assurance procedures; and some educational challenges.