International Baccalaureate as a litmus test revealing conflicting values and power relations in the Israeli education system

This study comprises a comprehensive attempt to reveal the power relations and conflicting interests within the local–global nexus of the Israeli public education system. The perceptions of different stakeholders were explored, in regard to the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program as an example of a globally oriented curriculum. Vignette scenarios and mixed methods were utilized in order to survey various stakeholders including parents, school principals, Education Ministry officials, academics, and educational entrepreneurs. Findings indicate that the Israeli education system is somewhat trapped between different and opposing pressures that force transformations in conflicting directions. The Israeli case may serve as a reference point for future research, advancing the study of power relations and tensions between different values and diverse stakeholders in modern education systems, especially within societies engaged in active conflict.     

Quality assurance in distance education: The challenges to be addressed

Integration of technology in all forms ofeducation has narrowed down the gap between theon- and off-campus students and has resulted inthe use of the more broad-based term`distributed learning'. Consequently, distancelearning is seen as a subset of distributedlearning, focusing on students who may beseparated in time and space from their peersand the instructor. The new forms and meaningsit is acquiring, its convergence withtraditional learning and its global impact poseseveral challenges. It has caused a seriousconcern to the governments and the qualityassurance agencies all over the world about thesafety of the national systems, legitimacy ofthe providers, protecting the public from fakeproviders, quality of the offerings etc. thecommon element being `concern for quality'.Many quality assurance agencies have respondedto this need and there is considerable dialogueabout ensuring quality in distance education.Some think that quality assurance practices fordistance education are essentially the same asthose used for traditional education. Othersargue that distance education testsconventional assumptions and hence the presentmechanisms of quality assurance are notadequate to ensure the quality of distanceeducation. This paper highlights the aspects ofdistance education that deviate so markedlyfrom what has been practiced for hundreds ofyears and argues that quality assurance ofdistance education has to be approacheddifferently.     

美国高等教育认证制度的功能分析

认证制度作为美国高等教育的一种质量保障制度在高等教育内部以及高等教育与社会、政府的关系中具有多重功能.在高等教育内部,认证制度为高等教育市场提供了基本的标准,对市场的自由竞争起着一定的制约作用.同时,认证制度又是一种内在的统一协调力量,使地方分权管理的美国高等教育能够在必要的时候协调一致应对来自自身和社会环境的各种挑战.在与政府的关系中,认证制度是一种政府管理的重要媒介,也是对政府管理的一种制衡.认证制度与政府之间既有联合合作的一面,又有对抗抵制的一面.在与社会的关系中,认证制度成为高等教育向社会传递信息之窗,同时也是社会公众参与高等教育管理之门.社会则需要认证制度提供关于院校和专业的信息,也通过认证制度参与高等教育的质量管理.     

Culture and quality in higher education

The growth in quality assurance worldwide raises questions about what higher education should want from its quality programmes. The paper constructs a typology of quality assurance systems (drawing a distinction between the source of the judgement and the purpose of the process) and evaluates the alternatives. It argues that Total Quality strategies are the best suited to the higher education purpose but demonstrates that there are deep, often conflicting, cultural processes that can frustrate its introduction.     

Globalisation and Higher Education Restructuring in Hong Kong,Taiwan and Mainland China

Globalisation and the evolution of the knowledge-based economy have caused dramatic changes in the character and functions of higher education in most countries around the world. However, the impacts of globalisation on universities are not uniform even though similar business-like practices have been adopted to cope with competition in the global marketplace. The pressure for restructuring and reforming higher education is mainly derived from growing expectations and demands of different stakeholders in society. In the last decade, government bureaucracy, public service institutions and higher education institutions and universities have been significantly affected by the tidal wave of the public sector reform around the world. Apart from improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, universities are confronted with a situation in which the principles of financial accountability and responsiveness to stakeholders prevail amidst the massification stage under the condition of global economic retrenchment. In response to such pressing demands for change, policies and strategies of decentralisation, privatisation and marketisation are becoming increasingly popular measures in university governance. Reform strategies and measures like quality assurance, performance evaluation, financial audit, corporate management and market competition are adopted to reform and improve the performance of the higher education sector. This article examines the most recent higher education reforms and restructuring in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China, with particular reference to the issues related to globalisation of decentralisation and marketisation in higher education.     

研究生教育外部质量保障体系建设思考

介绍我国研究生教育外部质量保障体系的内涵、手段与特点;分析近十年欧洲研究生教育外部质量保障体系的建设目标、实施情况及全面质量保障理论在国外发达国家教育质量保障实践中的应用。文章认为：我国高等教育外部质量保障活动应促进高等教育与国际接轨;评价理论、工具、形式要和具体情境结合;高等质量保障活动应更具体、更有针对性;评价活动的科学性有待进一步分析与验证。     

Faith and education in Bangladesh: A review of the contemporary landscape and challenges

Relationships between religious beliefs, institutions, educational strategies, and delivery pose practical challenges for policy makers in all countries. They have particular significance today in Bangladesh given the national and regional developments that shine light on religious roles within national identity and minority communities. Challenges range from coordination of different systems for purposes of employment credentials, equity, and quality assurance to fundamental questions about the values that underlie curricula. A related challenge involves national objectives to instill shared civic values through education and to address mounting intergroup tensions. How the wide variety of religiously managed education institutions in Bangladesh approach these issues is poorly understood and subject to significant misunderstandings. Knowledge about different types of schools and programs led by religious institutions in Bangladesh is incomplete in terms of numbers, approach, and results. Knowledge gaps contribute to misunderstandings and social and political tensions. This review describes and analyzes faith-inspired education providers in Bangladesh, the most prominent of which are Islamic madrasas and Catholic schools. It sets faith-inspired education in a historical context and highlights contemporary issues for policy makers that arise from their approach and that feature in public discourse about the links between religion and education. The aim is to build constructively on the legacies of religious contributions to education, address both articulated and unarticulated tensions, and to identify ways in which contemporary innovations among religiously inspired education providers contribute to broader national education goals.     

THE GLOBALIZATION OF THE PROFESSIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION: TRADE AGREEMENTS,NEW TECHNOLOGIES,AND THE QUALITY IMPERATIVE

The global marketplace and new technology are contributing to the rapid globalization of higher education. No longer is higher education provided solely within national borders. Transnational educational programmes, provided both by the higher education and the corporate sectors, can be found in multiple forms, provided both electronically and in traditional ways. Issues of quality, purpose, recognition, and responsibility abound in this new borderless educational arena, posing new challenges to the regulatory communities of accreditation, certification, and licensure, the three pillars of heretofore national quality and competency assurance among the professions of the world. It is the globalization of the professions and the need to provide common professional preparation which is the fastest moving justification for regional and global standards setting and accreditation. Institutions of higher education and their quality assurance processes that have already considered the need to incorporate regional or global standards of quality to improve internal competency and external competition will be in a better position to propel the purposes of the various trade agreements than those that have remained nationalistic and myopic in scope.     

博洛尼亚进程述论

作为欧洲高等教育改革重大举措的博洛尼亚进程,即欧洲高等教育区建设进程,是在高等教育国际化和欧洲经济政治一体化的背景下产生的.它以建构欧洲高等教育区为目标,旨在加强各成员国之间高等教育的可比性和兼容性,增强欧洲高等教育的吸引力和竞争力,提高欧洲高等教育的质量,重塑欧洲高等教育的辉煌.1999年6月,欧洲29国教育部长共同签署<博洛尼亚宣言>,提出建设欧洲高等教育区的具体构想、行动纲领和工作计划.其后,经过历次会议特别是5次部长峰会的评估和改革,逐步形成"学位体系建设、质量保证、学位互认、促进流动、联合学位、终身学习、社会维度和机会均等、提升就业力、全球化背景下的欧洲高等教育"等新的行动目标,并在学制改革、质量保证、学分互换、学位互认等方面取得明显进展.2007年的伦敦会议明确提出,要建设"全球化背景下欧洲高等教育区".从<索邦宣言>欧洲高等教育区的设想到EHEA的形成规模,从当初的4个发起国到现在的46个成员国,博洛尼亚进程走过了10年,其内容不断丰富,目标日益完善,原则广受认同,且一直处于发展、改革和完善之中,致力于协调进程在各国实施进度的差异、保持进程趋同化发展中的多样性、寻求不同民族和国家在区域性合作和竞争中的平衡.     

Quality assurance in Australian higher education: Globalisation and `steering at a distance'

The complex and contested phenomenon of globalisation presents a fundamental challenge to higher education. Arguably, the development of quality assurance mechanisms during the 1990s and into the 2000s is one of the key globalising practices evident in many higher education sectors – in both developed and developing countries. However, there are still too few studies on the implications of globalisation processes grounded in detailed examinations of particular historical times and geographical spaces. It is important to investigate context-specific differences in potentially globalising policies and practices, rather than simply assuming global homogenisation. This paper offers an analysis of policy on quality assurance in Australian higher education over the last decade. It points to the changing discourses on `quality' over the period from a management device to a marketing device. It suggests that, in essence, quality assurance mechanisms have provided the government with an avenue for `steering at a distance', where the controls over universities and academics have not lessened but have changed form. The specific mechanisms used are both similar to, and different from, those evident in quality assurance policies in other higher education systems.     

高等教育质量保障的法律纠纷及解决机制——基于德国与美国的经验

高等教育质量保障的法律规制是大学法研究的前沿议题,以德国与美国为代表的两大法律体系,分别被纳入公法规制与普通法规制的范畴。在德国,高等教育认证行为属于行政行为,高校与认证代理机构之间的纠纷属于公法争议。申诉、行政诉讼与宪法诉愿等公法救济机制,构成德国高等学校与认证代理机构之间纠纷的解决渠道。如何避免认证对学术自由构成侵害,已成为德国公法学界与实务界关注的核心议题。受联邦宪法法院大学课程认证裁定的影响,德国高等教育认证体系正在进行深刻变革与调整。在美国,高等教育认证机构具有非营利性组织的法律地位,须履行诚实信用以及基本的正当程序等普通法的一般义务。高等教育认证机构对“认证联邦化”的抵制以及高等教育机构对认证决定的抱怨或不满,构成美国高等教育质量保障纠纷的焦点议题。穷尽内部救济与“司法终局性”原则,被视为美国高等教育质量保障纠纷的解决机制。德美两国在高等教育质量保障法律纠纷的解决中形成的经验和教训,对我国明确高等教育质量保障机构的法律地位、强化高等教育质量保障的程序正义、建全高等教育质量的多元纠纷解决机制具有重要启示。     

非洲高等教育质量保障中的地区合作——以东非大学理事会为例

非洲国家在推进高等教育质量保障方面面临着重大挑战,主要表现为高校缺乏完善的质量保障框架和质量保障能力。除了推进和完善国家层面的质量保障体系之外,在地区与全球一体化的进程势不可挡和不断加快的时代,非洲还在尝试建设区域性高等教育质量保障体系。在东非一体化的进程下,东非大学理事会推动的高等教育质量保障框架试点的成功具有重要的示范作用。非洲高等教育质量保障中的地区合作有助于非洲大陆人力资源的流动,进而可以推动非洲经济的发展和一体化进程。     

美国高等教育认可制度的演变、结构及权力

美国高等教育认可制度起源于非政府的、自律性的对教育认证机构的约束和规制活动。二战后联邦政府通过立法介入高等教育认可领域,美国高等教育领域由此形成了两条并行的高等教育认可制度。在不同的价值传统和功能目标下,两种认可制度之间既有合作支持也有权力冲突。代表高等教育自治理想的"自治性认可权力"与代表政府管理职能的"他治性认可权力"相互作用,此消彼长,影响了美国高等教育质量保证的走向。20世纪末公共问责运动的兴起,为现有高等教育认可制度的"二元"结构注入了新的影响力量。     

Addressing quality challenges in the private university sector in Bangladesh: from policy formulation to institutional implementation

Private higher education is growing, especially in developing and transitioning countries. Rapid growth frequently comes with concerns about quality. This article explores challenges and opportunities for higher education quality among private universities in Bangladesh. By presenting a vertical case study that explores interactions among actors at the institutional, national and global spheres, the authors argue for the need of developing quality standards that respond to the local realities of developing and transitioning countries. It is also argued that self-regulation among private universities is likely the most effective pathway for improvement. Bangladesh presents an ideal case for analysis given the rapid growth that higher education has experienced in the last 20 years in that country and given the current policy junction as Bangladesh begins to implement a newly developed quality assurance system. Other countries in the region in early stages of developing quality assurance and accountability systems may benefit from the findings of this study.     

高等教育国际质量保证和认证的模式

在高等教育国际化的今天,各国政府、团体或者学校都寻求一个广泛认可的高等教育质量保证和认证模式。本文对Dirk Van Damme提出的四种模式做了介绍和评价。即1从现有的国家质量保证和认证系统和机构中分离出来并加强它;2促进跨境质量保证和质量保证及认证的双边认可;3．在国际和全球层面制定质量保证和认证机构的后认证;4建立国际质量保证和认证机制。我们需要根据现实情况来参与高等教育国际质量保证和认证,保护高等教育各利益相关人的权益。完善自己的认证系统。     

One or multiple paths to quality assurance of higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven autonomous emirates that follow different economic models. There is a process for quality assurance at the federal level, however, each emirate takes its own approach to assure the quality of its institutions. This has resulted in different procedures and varying levels of oversight and scrutiny of quality. Since the majority of higher education providers in the UAE are market-driven, this poses the challenge of maintaining the quality of education in those institutions. This study explores how well quality assurance systems support the quality of commercial higher education institutions using two research methods: semi-structured interviews with 38 stakeholders to investigate their perceptions of the quality assurance processes in the UAE; and focus group discussions with 161 students to collect their views of the quality of education in the commercialised institutions. The research confirms earlier findings that quality of education is a function of quality assurance processes.     

Designing the framework conditions for assuring academic standards: lessons learned about professional, market, and government regulation of academic quality

The new demands of mass systems of higher education and the emerging environment of global academic competition are altering the traditional institutions for assuring academic standards in universities. As a consequence many nations are experimenting with new instruments for academic quality assurance. Contemporary government control of academic quality assumes three primary forms: “oversight” or direct regulation; “competition” or steering of market forces; and “mutuality” or professional self-regulation structured by the state. The challenge confronting all nations is to design a policy framework that effectively balances the forces of the state, the market, and the academic profession to assure academic standards in universities. Based upon the strengths and weaknesses observed in 14 policy analyses of innovative national instruments of professional self-regulation, market-based regulation, and direct state regulation for assuring academic quality in universities, we outline the essential components of a national framework for assuring academic standards.     

高校排名

介绍全球各主要媒体和学术机构的排行榜,收集归纳各方面对排行榜的反应和评论,分析排行榜对各方面的作用和影响。着重剖析各排行榜所存在的问题,以及由于排行榜引发的各校之间的不健康竞争等。并列举各种原因,说明为什么各个质量保证机构一般都不做排行榜。同时,也指出公众对质量保证机构及其工作非常陌生,质量论证对公众的作用极小。而排行榜却以通俗的形式容易为公众所接受。如果大学的质量靠排行榜设置的标准来评判其好坏,并力求符合这些标准的话,那么,这样发展下去,我们究竟是离开优质教育更近了,还是更远了呢?     

Qualitative research as a method for making just comparisons of pedagogic quality in higher education: a pilot study

Systems designed to ensure that teaching and student learning are of a suitable quality are a feature of universities globally. Quality assurance systems are central to attempts to internationalise higher education, motivated in part by a concern for greater global equality. Yet, if such systems incorporate comparisons, the tendency is to reflect and reproduce inequalities in higher education. Highlighting the European context, we argue that, if higher education is to play a part in tackling social inequalities, we must seek alternative methods to explore pedagogic quality in institutional settings. The sociologist Basil Bernstein’s concepts of classification and framing provide an illustration of the potential of sociologically informed, qualitative approaches for exploring and improving higher education pedagogy and also for addressing social justice issues: these two concepts are used to analyse documentation about undergraduate sociology in two universities that have quite different reputations within the English and Northern Irish higher education system.