The supposed demise of Fordism: Implications for distance education and higher education

The recent shift in Australian Government policy for Distance Education at the Higher Education level, as intimated by the increasing usage of the notion, Open Learning, is outlined. Such an emphasis on Open Learning contrasts markedly with the concerted effort to centralise and rationalise distance education in the late 1980s. This shift is related to a more general debate concerning the restructuring of industry which is formulated using an analysis grounded in the conceptualisation of Fordism, its crisis and its likely successor. The complex and contested nature of the debate about Fordism is revealed, as is its important connection with postmodernism. The relevance of this broader debate to higher education is then displayed and linked to the particular place of academic staff and their opportunity and ability to influence future policy.     

Gender and higher education in different national spaces: Female Palestinian students attending Israeli and Jordanian universities

This study examines the higher education experience among Palestinian Arab females in two national spaces and seeks to determine whether studying at an Arab institution of higher learning in a nearby Arab country can alleviate the emotional and economic difficulties that affect Palestinian women at Israeli universities. What can institutions of higher learning in Israel learn or derive from the proposed model to relieve the alienation and exclusion that their female Palestinian students experience? The study will compare two geographically distinct groups of women students. The first is a group of Palestinian women who attend university in Jordan, while the second consists of Palestinian women of Bedouin origin from southern Israel who study in the Jewish Israeli cultural space. The study seeks to shed light on the experience of Muslim students in Western and Muslim universities.     

The demand for higher education in Cyprus: an educational policy perspective

The article examines the reasons for the high demand for higher education in Cyprus. At present, economic, societal, and cultural forces are widely accepted as responsible for the phenomenal increase in demand. A survey of secondary school final form students conducted in Cyprus by the author reconfirms the importance of these forces but also points to another demand influencing factor, namely, the students' psychological motivation in the pursuit of higher studies. The article discusses the policy implications of the findings and suggests the following as measures to help promote a better match between higher education choices and labour market conditions: the provision of greater and more accurate information to secondary school students on the employment opportunities available with a higher education diploma; the promotion of vocational nonuniversity fields of study among secondary school students; and the frequent and closer interaction between higher education institutions and the labour market.     

High school computer science education paves the way for higher education: the Israeli case

The gap between enrollments in higher education computing programs and the high-tech industry’s demands is widely reported, and is especially prominent for women. Increasing the availability of computer science education in high school is one of the strategies suggested in order to address this gap. We look at the connection between exposure to computer science in high school and pursuing computing in higher education. We also examine the gender gap, in the context of high school computer science education. We show that in Israel, students who took the high-level computer science matriculation exam were more likely to pursue computing in higher education. Regarding the issue of gender, we will show that, in general, in Israel the difference between males and females who take computer science in high school is relatively small, and a larger, though still not very large difference exists only for the highest exam level. In addition, exposing females to high-level computer science in high school has more relative impact on pursuing higher education in computing.     

The policy reassembly of Afghanistan's higher education system

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how a national higher education sector can be assembled upon a relatively narrow ideological foundation during and in the aftermath of violent conflict. It analyses the case of Afghanistan's higher education system, and argues that the violent disintegration of this system during the 1980s and 1990s created the conditions for a neoliberal reassembly and subsequent expansion of higher education from 2001. This paper draws on data gathered from document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with key policy actors. It identifies an ideological grounding in neoliberalism within higher education policies which are responsible for directing the sector's growth since 2010. I argue that this neoliberal agenda, largely driven by globalised influences, has exploited Afghanistan's conflict-affected context to position higher education primarily as a driver of economic growth, thus limiting policy emphasis on higher education's non-economic dividends. The paper concludes by critiquing the underlying assumption that this role is sufficient if higher education is to serve as a key institution in Afghanistan's ongoing national development.     

英国高等教育国际化政策研究

高等教育国际化是当代高等教育发展的主流特征之一.通过研究英国高等教育国际化政策的具体内容和特点,对我国的高等教育国际化发展提供一些启示.     

The role of rankings in higher education policy: Coercive and normative isomorphism in Kazakhstani higher education

The present study aims to investigate the role of rankings in Kazakhstani higher education policy and their influence on a group of national universities in Kazakhstan. The analysis draws attention to the role of the Kazakhstani government and accreditation agencies in developing coercive and normative isomorphism in Kazakhstani higher education. The analysis of university missions and development strategies of a group of universities with a special status has revealed that national universities are pushed towards an Anglo-American model of a research university. Further research is suggested to assess the response of Kazakhstani higher education institutions (HEIs) to these coercive and normative pressures.     

Multi-product total cost functions for higher education: The case of Chinese research universities

This paper empirically investigates the economies of scale and economies of scope for the Chinese research universities by employing the flexible fixed cost quadratic (FFCQ) function. The empirical results show that both economies of scale and economies of scope exist in the Chinese higher education system and support the commonly belief that universities as multi-product organizations.     

The policy object: a different perspective on policy enactment in higher education

This paper proposes a new perspective for higher education policy research. It introduces the concept of policy object to designate the discrete preoccupation(s) of a policy text (e.g. a new governance regime, a quality system, or new degrees) and suggests that actor conceptualisations of the policy object intersect with other elements in the policy process to shape enactment and outcomes. First, the policy object concept is described. It is argued that the policy object does not have an objective existence and two concepts are proposed to explain it: ontology and enacted ontology. The former refers to what actors believe the policy object is, a socially-construed context-determined conceptualisation, whereas enacted ontology refers to what the policy object becomes further to enactment under the influence of ontology. Second, the paper presents the findings of a comparative study of master degrees further to the Bologna process in different national and institutional settings to illustrate the policy object approach. This research puts forward arguments to suggest that the policy object could be an important variable to consider in policy research. This somewhat different lens, inviting fine-grained attention to a specific policy object (its ontologies and enacted ontologies), could bring additional insight into policy outcomes.     

高等教育政策分析方法研究

教育政策学 ,特别是高等教育政策分析是一个新兴的学术领域。尽管其重要性已渐渐被学术界同仁认可 ,而且当前高等教育改革过程中的政策已经成为学者们关注的焦点 ,但是在研究和分析方法方面还缺乏系统性和有效的理论指引。本文从西方有关政策分析的方法和概念入手 ,结合我国实际 ,探讨一种适合我国高等教育的特别强调政策环境和政策过程研究的政策分析方法     

中国高等教育财政政策的公平取向

促进教育公平是中国制定教育政策的基本价值导向。中国高等教育财政政策的基点是增加教育投入,保证机会公平,并已经关注资源利用情况及对过程公平的促进,今后的方向是如何提高产出效率,促进结果公平。对高等教育财政政策的公平取向进行分析,提出构建以公平为取向的高等教育财政政策体系,通过财政政策促进高等教育公平,具有现实性意义。     

Implications of technological change for higher education reform

Technological change and social change are viewed as interdependent in this paper. At the same time technology's push is seen as outpacing the capability of social institutions to respond. Consequently, America risks losing its competitive edge economically and, further, is rapidly evolving toward a two-tiered occupational and social structure. This paper examines the relationship between technological and social change, the nature and significance of technological innovation and dissemination, and impacts on organizational life. Finally, the paper explores the role of higher education as well as strategies the university must adopt if it is to participate effectively in addressing the changes that are emerging as society moves from being production-and-material based to an information-based system.     

地方高校发展与高等教育政策调整

近年来,我国地方高校在规模迅猛扩张的同时,普遍陷入了多重发展困境之中。从制度变迁的类型和路径依赖两个角度来看,这种困境产生的制度根源有两个:一是以中央政府为主体的激进式强制性制度变迁的局限性,二是对传统高等教育管理模式的路径依赖。今后高等教育政策调整必须遵循两个基本的指导思想:一是弥补激进式强制性制度变迁的局限,二是摆脱对传统高等教育管理方式的路径依赖。     

Trends of diversification and expansion in Israeli higher education

Israeli higher education faces in the last decade growing pressures to alter the elitistic homogeneity of its universities and to enhance greater diversity of academic styles and traditions. Some calls for reform advocate the implementation of changes into the existing institutions, while others argue for establishing totally new higher education frameworks, both private and public. This paper discusses the emerging changes in the Israeli higher education in the broader context of trends and developments in higher education systems in other parts of the world.     

Contract cheating in Australian higher education: a comparison of non-university higher education providers and universities

Abstract

This article reports on one aspect of a nationally funded research project on contract cheating in Australian higher education. The project explored students' and educators’ experiences of contract cheating, and the contextual factors that may influence it. This article reports the key findings from non-university higher education providers (NUHEPs). It compares survey responses from 961 students and 91 educators at four NUHEPs with previously reported findings from eight universities (14,086 students and 1,147 staff). NUHEP and university students report engaging in contract cheating in similar ways. However, while NUHEP educators spend more time teaching academic literacies and discussing contract cheating, NUHEP students are 12 times more likely than university students to report use of a professional academic writing service. Both NUHEP and university educators require systematic professional development regarding the relationship between the teaching and learning environment and students’ contract cheating behaviour. NUHEPs need to be cognisant of students’ vulnerability to commercial contract cheating services, and ensure they have access to timely academic and social support.     

浅析高等教育与社会分层之间的互动关系

高等教育与社会分层之间具有非常明显的互动关系。这种互动关系主要体现在社会分层对高等教育的影响以及高等教育对社会分层的影响两个层面。近年来,对于这种互动关系的研究多侧重于社会分层对高等教育入学机会以及专业选择等方面的影响,而就社会分层对高校毕业生职业的选择、就业机会是否均等、就业率等方面的影响的研究则显得较为薄弱,仍需进一步研究。     

Implications of financing higher education for access and equity: The case of Syria

This article examines the implications for access and equity of the Syrian government’s efforts to reform higher education in the country over the past decade. In the context of social and economic reforms that are moving the county from a state-controlled to a social market economy, it focuses on adequacy in financing higher education, as well as efficiency and equity. Significant progress has been made in access to higher education. The government has introduced a rich variety of options for accessing higher education, resulting in a doubling of enrolled students over the past 10 years. In terms of equity, the gender gaps in higher education enrollment and completion have all but disappeared nationally, although regional variations persist. The study raises concerns about the system’s internal and external efficiency: despite some improvements, the quality of the curricula and their relevance for the labour market remain serious issues.