俄罗斯高等教育经费筹措的市场化改革及对我国的启示

俄罗斯高等教育经费改革是适应其社会体制的变化而实施的重大举措.它的改革措施主要体现在五个方面:建立实名制国家财政券制度、实行多元主体办学制度、扩大自费生招生比例、公立高校开始实施适度收费制度、鼓励高校自身从事企业经营活动.这些措施拓宽了高校资金的来源渠道,保证和促进了俄罗斯高等教育的可持续发展,并对"教育公平"的推行产生了一定的影响.该问题的研究对我国高等教育的发展也具有重要意义.     

The Financial Situation of the Higher Education System of the Russian Federation

For a number of reasons, higher education in the Russian Federation has been able to benefit from a more stable financial situation than have most of the other “socio‐cultural areas” in Russia. It has nevertheless been severely affected by the problems besetting the other sectors of the Russian economy, most of them linked to the rigours of transition to a market economy. The situation will improve as the Russian economy as a whole improves and as higher education in Russia not only becomes more market‐oriented and quality conscious but adopts specific administrative measures designed to ensure efficiency.     

WOMEN IN SCIENCE: TRENDS AND PROBLEMS

Until the recent radical transformations got underway in the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, the USSR as a whole was making important strides in favour of the facilitating of scientific and research‐oriented careers for women. Because the economic dislocation of the current period has induced male scientists in particular to leave the academic world for commercial enterprises or to emigrate to foreign countries, the feminization of higher education and higher education‐related research seems to be all the more increased. The Russian government, so far as it is specifically concerned, is committed to improving the working and professional conditions of scientific workers of both sexes.     

欧洲教育一体化进程中的俄罗斯高等教育改革

融入欧洲教育一体化空间是21世纪初期俄罗斯高等教育改革的新的战略选择。而用欧洲标准衡量俄罗斯高等教育有其独特之处和局限性。为了顺利加入欧洲教育一体化空间,俄罗斯高等教育必须从证书制度、学分制、两阶段教育体制和教学质量等方面进行改革。     

Research planning and management in non‐traditional research discipline areas

Abstract

In its drive for higher efficiency and effectiveness in higher education, the Australian Commonwealth Government released its policy on higher education, Higher Education: A Policy Statement during the late 1980s which contributed to the introduction of performance indicators to manage and assess the performance of the higher education system. The research component of annual Commonwealth funding to universities, called the Research Quantum, is now distributed by a set of performance indicators: external research income, publications count and higher degree research completions. This paper analysed the impact of these indicators on the research activities of Australian university academics based on Leibenstein's model of X‐efficiency. Although the impact of performance indicators on university academics was found to follow the pressure‐effort relationship, for some respondents, the increase in effort as a result of heightened pressure had involved strategic behaviour. Two conditions that are identified for the minimisation of an institution's X‐inefficiency despite high staff effort are a high ratio of maximising to non‐maximising decisions for both the staff and institution, and for all the institution's essential objectives/activities, and not just those which are measured by the performance indicators. The implications of these findings for the development and application of performance indicators are discussed.     

Romanian Private Higher Education Viewed from a Neo‐institutionalist Perspective

Following a rapid overview of the genesis of private higher education in Romania after the Revolution of December 1989, the author proceeds to analyse the phenomenon in terms of John Meyer's neo‐institutionalist perspective. Citing, in particular, Meyer's theses regarding the isomorphism of organizations with their respective environments, she credits much of the early success of private Romanian higher education institutions in getting started to their close copying of the structure, offerings, and procedures of public higher education in addition to unsatisfied public demand for higher education. She further shows how private higher education institutions have adapted to the requirements of accreditation and state funding possibilities. She fears, however, that the continuing demographic downturn in Romania along with the creation of extra tuition fee‐paying openings at the public universities may finally doom private higher education.     

Private Higher Education in Russia: capacity for innovation and investment

This article considers the potential role of private institutions in the development of Russian higher education. After decades of a government centralised higher education system, there is a clear trend towards the privatisation of education institutions and the diversification of education practices. Some commentators consider this to indicate that the Russian State is losing control of education; others welcome private initiatives, both in formal and informal education. Russian higher education has also been greatly challenged by the current demographic gap: the total number of secondary school graduates expected in 2012 is half that of 2006. This strengthens the competition for the enrolment of students in private and public (federal and municipal) institutions. Based on recent interviews with senior management at a number of provincial private universities, this article suggests possible avenues for private universities to extend into the education market and considers the implications.     

Education the Foundation for Freedom and National Strength

One of the most pressing problems facing the nation today is the need to improve and enlarge our higher education system. Many of our college facilities and faculties are already overburdened, yet the number of students seeking higher education will double in the next decade. This paper points out the steps that must be taken to increase the number of potential teachers and to induce sufficient numbers of them to choose teaching as a career. A greater effort must also be made to see that more of our most able high school graduates have an opportunity to pursue a higher education; at present, one third of the top quarter of our high school graduates do not go on to college. A recent study of Russian education made by the U. S. Office of Education is reported and the relative emphasis which Russia and America are placing on education is discussed. The cost of meeting the increased educational needs in America will be immense by current standards, but the cost of not meeting these needs will be far greater.     

俄罗斯高等教育层次结构及学位制度的改革与现状评述

俄罗斯高等教育的层次结构在历史上有别于其他国家,苏联时期的学位制度亦比较独特.独立后的俄罗斯不论在高教层次结构还是学位制度上都进行了大力度的改革,以顺应教育国际化的总体趋势.本文在对苏俄学位制度的沿革进行历史梳理的基础上,着重评析20世纪90年代以来俄罗斯高等教育层次结构和学位制度方面的变革与趋势.     

The Problems and Prospects of General Education in an Information Society

Russian education faces a difficult task in defining what its education system needs to be achieving to maximize its effectiveness in a changing society. Both educational officials and the general public need to be more aware of this challenge and how to deal with it.     

The Evolution of the University in Europe and in the United States

The author takes a broad look at the history and the developing functions of higher education, specifically universities, in the West in order to estimate the degree to which the historical link between teaching and research will continue to characterize universities. She is persuaded that the pressures arising from massification, on the one hand, and the increasing volume of applied research, on the other hand, will lead to increased separation of the teaching and research functions, even in the historically research‐oriented universities.     

Assessing the self‐esteem of female undergraduate students: an issue of methodology

For many students, embarking on higher education can pose particular threats and challenges, not only to academic identity, but also to fundamental, personal aspects of the self. This paper reports a methodological study that employed quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore the impact on the sense of self and self‐esteem of a group of female first‐year undergraduates. Results from a Self‐esteem inventory, a variation on Q Methodology, an Ideal‐self inventory and a semi‐structured interview revealed different but complementary aspects of the self and indicated that participants’ self‐esteem increased over the duration of the study, as recorded on all four measures. It is suggested that the most appropriate way of uncovering and understanding mediators of self‐esteem may be through a mixed‐method approach.     

Post‐graduation reflections on the value of a degree

This article investigates the impact of a changing higher education system on young adults' priorities and motivations. A considerable number of studies have explored the impact of recent changes on patterns of participation within higher education. However, there has been less emphasis on how such changes have been played out in the experiences of graduates and, more specifically, in the interface between higher education and lifelong learning. To redress this gap, this article explores the changes to graduates' experiences brought about by the ‘massification’ of the higher education system. Research conducted amongst young people in Australia has suggested that as result of the normalisation of post‐compulsory education and the encouragement of high aspirations, young people have come to assume a one‐to‐one relationship between being qualified and having a lasting professional career. It has been argued that as a result of these assumptions, young adults are often disappointed when they do eventually enter the labour market, and experience uncertainties previously associated with the end of compulsory schooling. If young adults do indeed feel misled about the rewards of a higher education, it is possible that this may have a significant bearing on their perceptions of the value of engaging in further education and training in the future. Drawing on 90 life history interviews with graduates in their mid‐twenties, this article explores the prevalence of such attitudes in the UK and their impact on young adults' attitudes to lifelong learning.     

The Construction and Challenges of Australia's Post‐binary System of Higher Education

Abstract

In 1988 Australia commenced the transition to a post‐binary system of higher education as the UK is currently doing. In both countries the generally acknowledged obsolescence of the dual system had provoked the structural change. In Australia, the new direction was also motivated by official concerns that the universities be made more accessible to government priorities, particularly economic priorities, at a time of national economic decline. Unlike the UK, the Australian post‐binary era has been founded on a government programme of widespread amalgamations based upon the universities.

This article explores the process of constructing the unitary system, the difficulties experienced in conceptualising the new order and its impact upon the other provider of tertiary education. The Australian approach has ignored a canon in higher education, that varied structures and types of institutions preserve diversity. Further, in contrast to Britain's gradualist path into a unitary system, Australia moved quickly to form large undifferentiated universities to serve the needs of a mass system of higher education.     

Humanisation in Russian Education: a transition between state determinism and individualism

This article is concerned with the development of humanisation in contemporary Russian education where it is regarded as a key factor influencing social change in the country. The authors draw on the proceedings of a seminar held in Moscow in 1994 concerned with the future of Russian education. Through an analysis of past Russian educational development and related psychological theory an argument is developed which suggests that present trends owe more than may be expected to the past. The concept of mediation is a central concern of the authors. They argue that the present discussion in Russia is overly individualistic and takes no account of processes of mediation in pedagogic formulations which render them incomplete and vulnerable to exploitation.     

Toward a Typology of Business Education in the Internet Age*

Many diverse forces are motivating institutions of higher education, particularly business schools, to develop and deliver education via the Internet. As higher education institutions explore this opportunity, the question of how courses and degree programs should be designed for effective online delivery via the Internet is a nontrivial concern and challenge. To address this concern and challenge, this paper articulates, defines, and justifies a typology consisting of four types of online distance education that can be pursued by institutions of higher education. The four online distance education types—Overview Model, Overview Model with Feedback, Technical‐Skills Model, and Managerial Learning Model—can be differentiated along a number of content‐related, delivery‐related, and learning‐related issues and have applicability at various educational levels. In addition, the paper highlights and discusses five key lessons for institutions to consider in their desire to launch online distance education initiatives. These lessons provide insights not only for launch success but also for the ongoing sustainability of online distance education.     

ENHANCING QUALITY - TENSIONS AND TENDENCIES IN AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES

Presenting the comprehensive quality control measures which have been taken in Australian higher education in recent years, the author argues that the way they have been imposed from top down without proper consultations with the faculty/staff members of the institutions concerned have led to their being discredited at this level. She proposes ways in which evaluation and awards systems might be introduced through proper consultations with staff/faculty members in ways which engage the support of the latter and are then conducted with their co‐operation and collaboration. In particular, she describes how the Guidelines for Effective University Teaching were developed by the Australian Vice‐Chancellors Committee and are now being introduced into the various Australian higher education institutions as the basis of an effective teaching evaluation and improvement system.     

The Process Of Developing a New Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education in Guatemala

The intention of this article is to present the way in which a proposal was put forward for a national basic curriculum for the lower level of secondary education in Guatemala, within a general curricular reform of the education system. In this process, the International Bureau of Education and UNESCO’s national office in the country provided technical advice. The article examines the socio-cultural and educational context, some conceptual foundations for the curricular reform, the construction of the curriculum for lower secondary education, some features of the proposed curriculum and the outlook for the future. The process of curriculum construction included a diagnosis, drawing up a strategy for reforming the first cycle of secondary education and preparation of the proposed curriculum. Likewise, the authors present the steps that must be taken in order for the national basic curriculum to be adopted, subject, amongst other factors, to the availability of funding. Original language: Spanish Linda Asturias de Barrios (Guatemala) Doctorate in Anthropology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Postgraduate studies in Public Policies and Intercultural Affairs at the Universidad del Valle, Guatemala. She has taught at secondary school and university level. As a researcher, she has published books and articles on ethnology, development and education in Guatemala and Central America. At the Ministry of Education she has worked as Co-ordinator of the National and International Co-operation Unit (1997–1999), Co-ordinator of the Reform of Secondary Education (2004–2006) and Co-ordinator of the Reform of Lower Secondary Education (2007). E-mail: lindaasturias@yahoo.com Verónica Mérida Arellano (Guatemala) Teacher of secondary school language and literature and graduate in Literature and Philosophy at Rafael Landívar University. She completed a master’s degree in education and curriculum at the University del Valle, Guatemala. She has been a university lecturer. She has published books and articles on the teaching of Maya as a mother tongue and Spanish as a second language. She has worked as curriculum specialist at the Ministry of Education (1985–1991) and as Co-ordinator of Teacher-Training Programmes at Rafael Landívar University. From 2005 to 2007 she acted as Curriculum Consultant for Lower Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education. E-mail: vmeridaguate@yahoo.com.mx     

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? JEAN‐JACQUES ROUSSEAU ON LISTENING EDUCATION

In this essay Megan J. Laverty argues that Jean‐Jacques Rousseau's conception of humane communication and his proposal for teaching it have implications for our understanding of the role of listening in education. She develops this argument through a close reading of Rousseau's most substantial work on education, Emile: Or, On Education. Laverty elucidates Rousseau's philosophy of communication, beginning with his taxonomy of the three voices—articulate, melodic, and accentuated—illustrating the ways in which they both enhance and obfuscate understanding. Next, Laverty provides an account of Rousseau's philosophical psychology, with specific reference to amour‐propre and amour de soi. Listening plays a central role in Rousseau's philosophy of communication, Laverty maintains, because it is in the act of listening that humans fulfill, or fail to fulfill, the imperative that we seek to understand others.     

The Winds of Change in Russian Higher Education: is the East moving West?

In the last 30 years, major changes have taken place in the public sector worldwide under the rubric of New Public Management [NPM]. The education sector is perhaps one of the key areas drawing an intense interest and discussion in the wake of NPM. The Russian State seems to be no longer an exception to this global trend. In line with this, the Russian education sector was declared as a large-scale top priority national project in the late summer of 2005, which was aimed to help raise the living standards of each Russian citizen. This empirical paper seeks to reveal the major institutional and legal changes taking place in Russian higher education over time. This insight is vital as it points to the contexts in which Russian public universities operate. To make the acquaintance of a system of Russian higher education, this research sketches its evolution. It commences from the Soviet era to the present time, highlighting the most significant government initiatives.