Disability in higher education: a position paper

Leadership in education, particularly special education, implies both knowledge and application of professional behaviors, decisions, and ethics within the field. University students look for best practices in education to be modeled by faculty; this, in turn, underscores a fundamental belief in inclusionary principles. Such modeling is important on every level in teacher education programs, particularly special education programs. The higher a student's level (i.e., undergraduate vs. doctoral), the more notice that student will take of disparities between rhetoric and actions. While reflective practices are explicitly taught in teacher preparation programs to enable professionals to reflect on their own personal and professional practices, teacher education faculty need to employ the same strategy to ensure that they are indeed modeling the practices they teach. This position paper documents the impressions of a doctoral cohort in special education in terms of inclusionary practices demonstrated in a real-life context.     

Visually handicapped students in higher education: the position in eastern Europe

ABSTRACT

This article is based on findings made by members of the Student Support Service of the Royal National Institute for the Blind during study visits to Hungary, Poland and Czecho‐Slovakia in June and September 1991 and during attendance at a conference in Prague in November 1991. All these visits were funded by the EC under the Tempus scheme ‐ Trans European Mobility Programme for University Students. The present position of students who have a significant visual disability was assessed against a background of the services available to such students in Britain and Ireland. Information was sought on students’ studies, the support services available from universities, local societies for the blind and other sources. Interviews showed that a significant number of visually handicapped students were studying in higher education, aided generally by supportive friends and staff. However, a considerable lack of specialist material and equipment was revealed and, in certain cases also, a lack of awareness of special needs. There appeared to be little knowledge of the numbers of students with high partial sight, or of their particular requirements. Recommendations for change are made and discussed in relation to personal, financial, vocational and technical requirements, in the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term, bearing in mind economic constraints within the countries concerned.     

Quality assurance and accreditation of engineering education in Jordan

This paper provides a study of the quality assurance and accreditation in the Jordanian higher education sector and focuses mainly on engineering education. It presents engineering education, accreditation and quality assurance in Jordan and considers the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) for a case study. The study highlights the efforts undertaken by the faculty of engineering at JUST concerning quality assurance and accreditation. Three engineering departments were accorded substantial equivalency status by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology in 2009. Various measures of quality improvement, including curricula development, laboratories improvement, computer facilities, e-learning, and other supporting services are also discussed. Further assessment of the current situation is made through two surveys, targeting engineering instructors and students. Finally, the paper draws conclusions and proposes recommendations to enhance the quality of engineering education at JUST and other Jordanian educational institutions.     

Trans-national recognition and accreditation of engineering educational programmes in Europe: recent developments

The “Bologna Process”, started in 1998/99 with the Sorbonne and Bologna Declarations and now involving 40 countries, aims at establishing by 2010 the “European Higher Education Area”, based on “a system of easily readable and comparable degrees”. The actual implementation of this process and its relevance for the European labour market requires a convergence also of the accreditation procedures of educational programmes, that are still very different from a European country to the other.

After defining the term “accreditation” in the context of the formation of engineers, this paper will discuss the present situation of accreditation of engineering educational programmes in Europe, and present some examples. The contribution of the Thematic Network E4 will be illustrated, and the most recent developments, aiming at a European-wide accreditation system, will be introduced.     

Recognition and accreditation of ‘short cycle’ degrees in engineering

Comparing the standards of engineering programmes has never been easy even in one's own country and therefore international recognition is especially difficult with so many different educational systems to contend with. Standards have recently been raised in the UK and the need for two types of professional engineer with an educational base at degree level has been clearly established. The development of 'short cycle' degrees as a supplement to the established 'long cycle' type has been much slower in many European countries, hampered in many cases by the lack of recognition from professional engineering bodies. This paper considers developments in the UK at national level regarding the need, content and accreditation status of 'short cycle' degrees, making some comparison with longer duration degrees. A number of international agreements and a European case study are explored with the argument being made for specifying programmes of study in a manner that is easy to read in order to help facilitate further agreements.     

专业评估与资质鉴定:中国工程教育的国际接轨

本文探讨了中国工程教育“国际接轨”的必要性与可能性,建立与发展中国工程教育评估专业资质鉴定制度,努力推动工程教育专业评估及学历、学位国际间的互认和关于我国工程教育“国际接轨”对策的思考。     

Socio-economic position and higher education in Australia

The proportion of students enrolled at university from the lowest quartile of socio-economic position has remained static at around 15% for at least the past 15 years (DEEWR, Transforming Australia’s higher education system, 2009). This paper argues that the apparent lack of progress towards equity of access has been exacerbated due to how socio-economic position (SEP) is measured within higher education. Three major methodological issues are identified: (a) the use of socio-economic indicator for areas (SEIFA) at an inappropriate unit of geographic area (postcode), (b) an inappropriate choice of index (education and occupation), and (c) using the index of education and occupation as the sole indicator of SEP thereby increasing the risk of misclassification of individuals through the operation of ecological fallacy. This paper argues that to address these methodological deficiencies, alternative methods of determining SEP are required at both the aggregate and individual level. Possible options are proposed for use as replacements for the geographic area (postcode) and index (education and occupation) as well as additional measures at the individual or household level.     

建设工程训练课程体系 助力工程教育专业认证

从当前工程训练课程存在的问题入手分析,确定了工程训练课程的新定位。针对工程训练教学设计(教学内容、教学方法、成绩评定)进行了重点研究,构建了基于成果导向教育理念的工程训练课程新体系,探索了工程训练运行新模式。实践表明,对工程训练课程体系的研究与探索,为学校专业认证工作提供了良好支撑,效果优异。     

E-learning in engineering education: a theoretical and empirical study of the Algerian higher education institution

Technology-mediated education or e-learning is growing globally both in scale and delivery capacity due to the large diffusion of the ubiquitous information and communication technologies (ICT) in general and the web technologies in particular. This statement has not yet been fully supported by research, especially in developing countries such as Algeria. The purpose of this paper was to identify directions for addressing the needs of academics in higher education institutions in Algeria in order to adopt the e-learning approach as a strategy to improve quality of education. The paper will report results of an empirical study that measures the readiness of the Algerian higher education institutions towards the implementation of ICT in the educational process and the attitudes of faculty members towards the application of the e-learning approach in engineering education. Three main objectives were targeted, namely: (a) to provide an initial evaluation of faculty members’ attitudes and perceptions towards web-based education; (b) reporting on their perceived requirements for implementing e-learning in university courses; (c) providing an initial input for a collaborative process of developing an institutional strategy for e-learning.

Statistical analysis of the survey results indicates that the Algerian higher education institution, which adopted the Licence – Master and Doctorate educational system, is facing a big challenge to take advantage of emerging technological innovations and the advent of e-learning to further develop its teaching programmes and to enhance the quality of education in engineering fields. The successful implementation of this modern approach is shown to depend largely on a set of critical success factors that would include:

1. The extent to which the institution will adopt a formal and official e-learning strategy.

2. The extent to which faculty members will adhere and adopt this strategy and develop ownership of the various measures in the context of their teaching and research responsibilities.

3. The extent to which the university will offer adequate support in terms of training, software platform administration, online resource development and impact monitoring and assessment.

     

法国高等工程师教育解析

法国大学校的工程师教育培养模式在世界上一直享有盛誉.严格的选拔制度、创新的培养体制、与经济领域的密切合作是其长期以来优秀教育质量的重要保证.在教育环境日新月异的今天,法国工程师教育面临一些调整和改革,然而其几大传统特色在世界高等工程师教育中仍突现出不可比拟的优势.     

Accreditation of engineering education: review,observations and proposal for global accreditation

In engineering education, the accreditation and assessment of academic programmes is vital in order to maintain the quality and the status of engineering graduates, and hence the technical workforce. Results of a survey of the relevant literature and observations indicate that various accreditation models have been developed regionally, as well as internationally but most of these models seem to be non-uniform, too complex, non-transparent and, moreover, non-precise. This leads to confusion and growing concerns about the mutual recognition and global mobility of the engineering profession. As a result, there is an urgent need for a systematic global model of engineering accreditation that can be used to assess global professional skills and attributes of engineering graduates. The aim of the current paper is to present a brief review of existing accreditation systems implemented in engineering education worldwide as well as to describe the methodology for developing a global accreditation model in engineering education. Various existing accreditation models in engineering education are briefly discussed in this paper and the strengths and weaknesses of these models are outlined and presented. The need for the global accreditation model has been justified and the methodology for the development of the model is outlined with its advantages listed in the paper.     

初探高等工程教育的发展

国家工业化必须发展高等工程教育 ,而且必须更新观念 ,重新认识工程教育的社会意义、经济功能 ,必须通过产学研相结合的活动在企业和院校之间建立一种共同培养工程技术人才的机制 ,必须着力建设一支双师型教师队伍 ,积极探索工程技术人才的培养模式     

Patterns of subsidies to higher education in Europe

The patterns of government subsidies to higher education in France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK) are compared and contrasted. The subsidies are subsequently evaluated in the light of stated policy objectives, with particular attention to the objectives of efficiency and equity. Two extreme models of financing are considered; one in which public subsidy covers 100 per cent of the private costs of higher education, including income forgone by students, the other in which public subsidy to students is kept at a minimum. The study concludes that the ideal package from the standpoint of efficiency and equity is (1) a grants system in the last few years of secondary education; (2) a system of fees equal to about 30–50 per cent of institutional incomes and (3) an income contingent loan scheme (or graduate tax) for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.The research for this paper was sponsored by the United States Education Policy Research Center for Higher Education and Society under HEW Contract No. 300-76-0026. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Center. Our thanks are due to J. Froomkin for valuable comments on an earlier draft.     

高等工程教育的实践与思考

我国高等工程教育与国外相比,人才培养质量还存在很大的差距.随着我国工业技术的发展和对创新人才的需求,高等工程教育必须不断调整与改革.针对目前工科院校普遍存在的问题,如何实现使学生在校期间既掌握坚实的理论基础,同时又具有良好的工程素质,在此方面做了一些有益的尝试.     

中国高等工程教育的改革与发展

感谢大会给我这样一个机会 ,简要地谈几点关于高等工程教育的看法。一、高等工程教育为工程科学技术的发展注入了无尽动力工程科学技术在推动人类文明的进步中一直起着发动机的作用 ,一部近代社会生产力的发展史 ,也是科学发现、技术革命、产业革命相互推进的历史。科学技术是第一生产力 ,工程科技是第一生产力中的一个最重要因素。科学发现推动了人们在认识世界的过程中形成科学原理 ,工程科技则把科学原理变成了改造世界的能动力量。工程科技架起了科学发现与工业发展之间的桥梁 ,是产业革命、经济发展和社会进步的强大杠杆。高等工程教育…     

对高职教育培训认证体系的思考

实践科学发展观,构建高职教育培训认证体系,必须实事求是地把握认证体系存在的观念、技术、体制等障碍,坚持高职教育培训认证的科学定位,重视培训认证的终身化、信息化和国际化。     

建立我国高等教育评估中介机构的探讨

建立高等教育评估中介机构 ,对于确保高等学校办学自主权的实现 ,形成自我约束的高等教育质量保障体系具有重要作用。我国可借鉴美、英、法等国高等教育评估体制的长处 ,建立由政府代表和高校人员共同组成的高等教育评估理事会 ,把专业评审和院校评估、高校自我质量控制与校外评估结合起来。     

北欧高等工程教育考察

本文介绍了全国工程硕士专业学位教育指导委员会北欧考察团在 2 0 0 4年 8月访问芬兰、瑞典和丹麦等国四所著名工程类高校的有关情况 ,包括调研的背景和目的、所访学校概况、考察调研体会 ,以及值得我国工程教育工作者借鉴的经验和做法等