PROPOSALS FOR MORE STABLE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWITZERLAND

After the somewhat “explosive” increase in student numbers, the need for a more stable situation in higher education development is under discussion in many countries. Proposals for higher education reform in Switzerland, particularly regarding the optimal number of students, have been put forward by Dr. h.c. A.W. Roth, Member of the Swiss Council of Science. A summary of these proposals is given below.     

NEED FOR CAREER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Career education is given increasing importance by the growing employment problems of higher education graduates. Below we give a summary of a statement concerning this problem in US four‐year colleges and universities prepared by the Committee on Career Education of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). The statement was presented during the AASCU Annual Conference held in New Orleans from 10 to 13 November 1976.     

NEED FOR CAREER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Career education is given increasing importance by the growing employment problems of higher education graduates. Below we give a summary of a statement concerning this problem in US four‐year colleges and universities prepared by the Committee on Career Education of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). The statement was presented during the AASCU Annual Conference held in New Orleans from 10 to 13 November 1976.     

WOMEN AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWITZERLAND: ACCESS TO UNIVERSITIES/ STUDY PREFERENCES AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Using statistical analyses, the following article describes the present situation of women in Swiss higher education, the difficulties met by women to succeed in universities as well as in the job‐market where employment conditions are not always satisfactory. The reader might also refer to the article of Mrs. Wiederkehr‐Benz where a different aspect of the problem is presented.

Mrs. Esther Garke is attached to the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science, Bern and she is also the liaison officer for CEPES in Switzerland.     

AGING EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PREPARING FOR THE 21st CENTURY

Institutions of higher education have a stake in the demographic shift that will occur in the 21st century. Employers will depend on colleges and universities to produce a trained workforce and the general public will request information about aging processes and how to successfully age. By responding to the demands of employers and the general public, institutions of higher education will be faced with a number of challenges. This article considers six challenges facing institutions of higher education in the 21st century and how higher education might respond to these challenges. Potential barriers to meeting these challenges are also discussed.     

THE IMPLICATIONS OF INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Studies on intercultural education undertaken by the Council of Europe have highlighted a gap at the level of higher education between transmitted knowledge and the indispensable information needed by individuals living in the pluricultural contexts of contemporary European societies. A task of higher education is to inculcate in teachers an intercultural perspective both for work in schools and for activities in community contexts and perspectives. The intercultural dimension should not simply address itself to a special category of culturally different students, but rather, should address all students so as to sensitize them to the cultural pluralism which surrounds them and to educate them to successfully master it. Certain disciplines have a privileged status with regard to the transmission of useful information for the education of all citizens living in pluricultural societies: history, geography, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, economics, sociology, and law. Several examples of intercultural education programmes offered by higher education institutions are presented in this study (in Portugal, Canada, and France) as well as reference to activities sponsored by the Higher Education and Research Division of the Council of Europe.     

THE UNITED KINGDOMS’ HIGHER EDUCATION INTO THE 1990's

The birthrate in the United Kingdom has fallen in every year since 1964. This has produced a big decline in primary school rolls and is beginning to affect secondary schools. From 1982, it will produce a decline in the number of 18‐year‐olds, from which the majority of the entrants to higher education traditionally come. How should the higher education system be developed in the face of this prospect? A discussion document, issued in February 1978 by the Department of Education and Science and the Scottish Education Department, considers the implications of these demographic trends for the current pattern of higher education and how that pattern might change over the next 15 years.

The paper also explores the range of possible policies for dealing with this problem.

The main elements of this document are outlined below.     

高校社会体育专业建设与学生社会实践能力的培养研究

本文采用文献资料、访谈调查和材料统计分析等方法,着重对我院和安徽省现有6所高校社会体育专业建设与学生社会实践能力培养的现状及有关计划措施,进行专题调研和分析。结果表明:当前我院和安徽省高校社会体育专业建设还处于探索阶段,培养目标尚不明晰,学生社会实践能力和人才培养的质量与规格要求,尚不能满足社会需求。研究认为:为了不断培养与当代社会发展相适应的体育专业人才,进一步增强社会体育专业的办学活力,必须根据社会需求,加强专业课程与学科建设,加快调整专业结构,强化学生能力的培养。只有不断深化改革,面向社会、依托市场、协调发展,才能取得良好的办学效益。     

FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Future development of higher education is at present a widely discussed issue in the United Kingdom. This discussion was inspired to a great extent, by a paper “Higher Education into the 1990s: A Discussion Document” issued in February 1978 by the Department of Education and Science (DES) and the Scottish Education Department. (Editor's Note: The main part of this document was published in No.3, May‐June 1978, issue of this Bulletin).

The article presented below reviews prospects of future developments in higher education mainly of the university sector in the United Kingdom in the context of the above document. It is based on the Final Report of the Group on Forecasting and University Expansion established in April 1978 by the Conference of University Administrators (CUA). The Report draws attention to a number of matters which are either not covered or not developed in the Discussion Document. The Chairman of the group was Mr. M.L. Shattock, Academic Register, University of Warwick.     

PRODUCTION AND USE OF EDUCATION TELEVISION PROGRAMMES ‐ DEVELOPMENTS IN 1970's AND DEMANDS FOR 1980's

The preparation of adequate educational material, significant parts of curricula etc. is one of the basic problems in the wider application and acceptance of educational technology. Advancement in this field is connected with numerous problems of varying natures ‐ e.g. the professional qualifications and academic competence of producers as well as technical and psychological considerations. These problems, mainly in the context of the preparation and production of television programmes for students at the Open University, are discussed in the following article, which is based on a paper by John Miller, Senior BBC Producer at the Open University. The paper was presented during the 4th International Conference on “Post Compulsory Education in the 1980's” held at the University of Lancaster, UK (29 August‐1 September 1978).