Higher education challenges in Yemen: Discourses on English teacher education

We investigated Yemen's higher education challenges by focusing on the English teacher education program. Interpretative analysis of policy statements and interviews revealed several factors that are hindering the quality of the program. Deeply aware of the socio-political dimensions impeding progress, the university lecturers shared convoluted visions for improving higher education and, in reflecting on the mission and realities of their program, voiced their quest for social justice and recognition by university administrators. The administrators acknowledged key problems in teacher education, but proposed no specific corrective measures. The findings highlight the urgent need for systemic change in Yemeni higher education.     

Conflict at higher education institutions: factors and solutions for Yemen

This is a qualitative case study focusing on reporting the dynamics that cause conflicts between academics and administrators in higher education in Yemen. Drawing upon a critical review of two policy documents, observational research and in-depth interviews with 59 administrators and academics, the article presents the key factors for conflict in higher education and provides a model for resolving it.     

Higher education as the catalyst of recovery in conflict-affected societies

ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of higher education in the recovery of conflict-affected societies and argues that while the sector is typically a very low reconstruction priority, it has the potential, if addressed strategically, to act as a catalyst for effective and sustainable post-war recovery. The article begins by contextualising higher education within broader debates around post-war recovery and education. It then analyses the relationship between higher education and four core intervention agendas in conflict-affected societies: stabilisation and securitisation, reconstruction, statebuilding and peacebuilding.     

Capital,inequality and education in conflict-affected contexts

Abstract

Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century has brought the issue of inequality to the centre of political debate. This article explores contemporary research on the relationship between education and inequality in conflict-affected contexts with a view to seeing how Piketty’s work speaks to these issues as a field of research and practice. The article provides a critique of Piketty’s approach, arguing for a broader, interdisciplinary and holistic approach to exploring and addressing inequality in education in conflict-affected contexts in their multiple economic, cultural and political dimensions. In doing so the article also lays out an analytical framework inspired by cultural political economy for researching education systems in conflict contexts which seeks to go beyond narrow human capital framings of education and address the multiple potential of education to promote sustainable peace and development in and through education.     

The effects of armed conflict on schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the past decades, most of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have been affected by armed conflicts. By means of a time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) database, we attempt to measure the impact of war on a sample of 43 countries in Africa from 1950 to 2010. These conflicts, and especially civil wars, are shown to have a strong negative effect on the educational performances of the countries studied. The rate of children not attending school, as well as secondary school enrollment rates, seems particularly sensitive to periods of conflict. It also appears that government expenditures in social sectors including education are a positive factor in increasing school enrollment. In contrast, military expenditure is significantly and inversely related to schooling opportunities. Thus, if an extra 1% only of the GDP were allocated to education expenditure, the rate of children not attending school would decrease by 1.7%, the primary and secondary completion rates would increase respectively by 4.4% and by 2.6%. The gender analysis shows that education expenditures provide a better retention of girls in the school system.     

Higher education expansion and low-income students in Taiwan

In this paper, we report on a study of 1510 undergraduates from five national universities in Taiwan, and we show that compared to “non-prestigious” universities, a larger proportion of students at prestigious universities come from middle and high socioeconomic classes and a smaller proportion experience financial insecurity These results are timely in the wake of Taiwan's expansion in the number of universities and of university students. At non-prestigious universities, a higher percentage of students experience economic constraints, spend several hours per week engaged in paid employment during their university studies, and have parents who did not go to college. These different characteristics of the student bodies at elite and non-elite institutions of higher education may create quite different university contexts, which may in turn affect students’ college experiences, professional choices, and opportunities in the future.     

基于利益关系人的高等教育效率探讨

随着我国高等教育步入大众化阶段,提高高等教育效率有其现实和长远的战略意义。目前,我国高等教育存在效率低下的现象。基于利益关系人的角度,我国目前高等教育在大众化背景下更应该致力于如何提高高等教育效率。     

Arbiters of effectiveness and efficiency: the frames and strategies of management consulting firms in US higher education reform

A growing number of public colleges and universities in the United States have hired management consulting firms to help develop strategies aimed at increasing institutional effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explore the frames and strategies of consultants in US public higher education reform efforts. Drawing upon a range of documentary evidence, the paper examines four consulting firms (Accenture, Bain & Company, Deloitte and McKinsey & Company) and their perspectives on higher education reform. The paper analyses the consultative process with two public universities and two state higher education systems to determine possible avenues by which consultants exert influence. Through reference to theory on academic capitalism and new institutionalism, the paper reveals the ways in which consultants circulate crisis narratives and diffuse private sector management ideas among public colleges and universities that are seeking both financial solvency and legitimacy.     

论高职院校心理健康教育与德育整合的可行性

心理健康教育与德育有着共同的教育目标,即塑造人格完善的全面发展的人。两者的结合完全必要也是可能的,要采取有效的方法和途径,使心理健康教育和德育有机地结合起来,积极推进素质教育,促进心理素质与思想道德素质、文化素质与专业素质的协调发展,从而大大提高高职院校德育的实效性和主动性。     

浅述加强高职院校实践育人工作

加强高职院校实践育人工作,是贯彻党的教育方针的内在要求,是加强和改进思想政治教育的有效途径,是促进学生成长成才的重要载体。其工作重要,意义重大。要通过构建体系、建立健全机制、搭建平台,推进高职院校实践育人工作,开创工作新局面。     

中职教育与高职教育的沟通与衔接研究

简述沟通与衔接的意义,提出了中职教育与高职教育的沟通与衔接的关键是两者课程之间的衔接;转变思想观念是构建中职、高职教育衔接的课程体系的关键;开发实践教学课程是实现中职、高职教育课程体系衔接的重点等观点。     

Fleeing through the globalised education system: the role of violence and conflict in international student migration

ABSTRACT

This article connects directly to the globalisation of both education and conflict, and attends to the intersection between these phenomena, by focusing on conflict-induced student migration, an area, which has until recently been neglected in studies of higher education and migration, and peace and conflict research. The focus is on the very intersection of these research traditions in trying to understand how increasing globalised student migration is intertwined with the internationalisation of higher education and violent conflicts. The research on which this article is based was carried out at Malmö University, Sweden. The focus is on mapping the linkages between violent conflicts and student migration, using a mixed methods design.     

谈高等职业教育中"发舒内力"的实践教育

实践教育是高等职业教育培养高素质技术应用性人才的关键环节和重要途径。但实践教育不能只是对技能技艺的学习。更要注意对学生个性品德能力等内在素质培养。培养学生的“内力”是实践教育的基础。要实现实践教育在人才培养中的作用，必须研究培养学生“内力”的实践教育方法，以及建立相应的运行机制。     

Higher education marketisation and its discontents: the case of quality in Kenya

This study addresses the implications of higher education marketisation for quality in Kenya. It focuses on full fee-paying programmes, the de facto market source of revenue for Kenya’s public universities. The study argues that Kenya’s public universities were precipitately subjected to diminished public capitation, and so was their plunging into marketisation. These institutions started enrolling full fee-paying students at a time when they were strained in terms of institutional capacity. There were not enough physical facilities, and most of those available were suffering decay following many years of neglect. They did not have enough teaching staff, a problem, which the marketisation agenda has made worse. The desire to claim a bigger share in the student market has seen the introduction of many new courses in advance of capacity to offer them. The study concludes that by seeking economic self-determination through full fee-paying programmes, in advance of a well-developed institutional capacity, the subsequent pressure seems to have made the quality situation worse.     

Higher education and social change

An agenda for future higher education research is proposed which incorporates four interconnected elements: changing social contexts; their implications for higher education; mechanisms of interaction between higher education and society; higher education’s impact on society. The role of comparative research in investigating these topics is discussed and a set of priorities for future research questions is proposed. This final article draws heavily on the HELF final report published by the European Science Foundation entitled Higher Education Looking Forward: an agenda for future research and written by the author together with Jurgen Enders, Christine Musselin, Ulrich Teichler and Jussi Valimaa. The author acknowledges the contributions of his co-authors of the HELF report to the ideas and words contained in the present article.     

增强高校思想政治教育实效性的思考与实践

当前形势下,增强高校思想政治教育的实效性刻不容缓。高校思想政治教育实效性不足的主要原因是,对新时期大学生群体特质认识不足,高校思想政治教育难以跟上实际要求甚至脱离实际,网络信息平台缺乏有效的管理和引导等等。因此,针对这些原因进行积极探索,是增强思想政治理论课教学的实效性的有效途径。     

高职院校的人才培养与社会需求

当前，高职院校的人才培养与社会需要间存在突出矛盾，究其原因，主要有：办学模式阵旧、一味追求学历教育、教材使用不尽合理、教师素质达不到要求、实训基地不健全、校企分离等。解决好这一矛盾高职教育必须转变观念，深化教学改革，建设“双师型”教师队伍，开展高职教育的科学研究等，以适应社会发展的需求。     

高等教育大众化进程中的公平和效率

高等教育的公平和效率是一对矛盾 ,随着社会经济的发展 ,这对矛盾已经越来越突出。但它们既是对立又是统一的 ,如果确立了高等教育大众化的观点 ,公平和效率是可以兼顾的 ,美国和英国高等教育大众化的实例就是证明。当然 ,要注意公平是有相对性的。     

Higher education research as tribe, territory and/or community: a co-citation analysis

This article builds upon existing research which has been mapping and analysing the field of higher education research, and, in particular, on the analysis of the articles (n = 406) in 17 specialist higher education journals published in the English language outside of North America during the year 2000. It extends that analysis by examining the citations (n = 10,065) given in the articles, in particular the patterns of co-citation. This enables a clearer identification of the tribes or communities of practice that occupy the territory of higher education research. An attempt is be made to identify the key members of these tribes or communities, and to chart the key relationships within and between them.     

Higher education provision for students with disabilities in Cyprus

Internationally, the number of students with disabilities entering higher education institutions is on the rise. Research estimates that 8–10% of students attending higher education are registered with disability, with learning difficulties being the most commonly reported disability. Widening participation in higher education has been supported by legislative changes, inclusive education practices, the use of ICT and accessible facilities and programs and, ultimately, an increasing belief among students with disabilities that higher education maximizes their opportunities for employment and independent living. Within the Cypriot context, research on disability, access and provision in higher education is limited. This study was a part of a large-scale study (PERSEAS) funded by the EU. From the original sample, 15 students attending private higher education institutions in Cyprus reported disability (i.e., sensory impairment, dyslexia, physical disabilities) and were selected for focus group discussions. Also, interviews and focus groups were conducted with the Headmasters and teachers, respectively, in 10 private higher education institutions. This study yielded interesting results regarding the current state of provision (e.g., concessions for exams and assignments, infrastructure, teaching modification, counseling services) as well as issues of social inclusion, equality of opportunity and entitlement to education.