Access to and Participation in Higher Education in Northern Ireland

This paper summarises some of the key characteristics of access to and participation in higher education. In particular, it focuses on the key social characteristics of participation and the interaction with migration to study outside Northern Ireland. Key policy areas relating to student finance and widening access are also considered. The paper also reports on qualitative research conducted with Protestant and Catholic pupils from less well‐off backgrounds about attitudes to further and higher education. The paper concludes by suggesting higher education policy issues for a newly restored devolved administration.     

Higher Education in Further Education: Northern Ireland

This paper reviews the provision of higher education courses in the further education sector in Northern Ireland. It charts the evolution of policy through the 1990s by examining major policy documents. It notes the chronic absence of reliable statistical and research evidence during this period. The available statistical evidence is reviewed. Key themes are identified including: localism, ‘non‐evidence based policy making’, higher education versus the demand for skills and community relations and equality. The innovative concept, now it would appear doomed, of the Springvale campus for west Belfast is examined. Finally, the paper notes that there is an urgent need to provide strategic direction to the further education sector as a whole.     

Equality in Higher Education in Northern Ireland

The higher education sector in Northern Ireland has been fully involved in the public policies designed to enhance equality. Starting with measures designed to secure greater employment between Catholics and Protestants, known as fair employment, the policies are now designed to promote equality of opportunity across nine designated groups together with the promotion of ‘good relations’ on the grounds of religion and race. The paper examines the implementation of this new policy framework in the universities and suggests that progress to date has been fairly limited.     

Higher Education and Fair Employment in Northern Ireland

As equal opportunities are assuming greater significance in higher education this paper examines the issue of fair employment in the two universities in Northern Ireland. The development of higher education and the evolution of fair employment policy which seeks to promote greater equality of opportunity in employment between Protestants and Catholics, are outlined. The employment practices and profiles of Northern Ireland's two universities are considered. Under the 1989 Fair Employment Act employment monitoring is a legal requirement for the two universities. The paper concludes by noting that other UK higher education institutions should undertake monitoring as a means of implementing equal opportunities policy.     

Higher Education Participation of Northern Irish Students 1

Higher education in Britain displays a diversity of patterns of participation and provision. The establishment of funding councils for England, Scotland, Wales; together with the advisory body the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council (NIHEC), for Northern Ireland, will further increase this diversity. As these councils go about their work, a valuable exercise might be conducted by recording the patterns of participation in the early 1990s. Each council confronts a different tradition, with different levels of participation, and with somewhat different issues on their policy agenda. The NIHEC oversees a small two university system, with a high Northern Irish age participation index, and where affirmative action and equal opportunity measures have a particular prominence.     

Higher Education in the Republic of Ireland: Participation and Performance

This paper describes the expansion and diversification of higher education in the Republic of Ireland and examines some of the principal characteristics of higher education entrants. It is estimated that in 1995, some 43 per cent of the age cohort entered the full-time higher education system in the Republic of Ireland with a further 5 per cent enrolling in UK colleges. While these increasing admission rates have been fuelled by rising completion rates at second level they reflect, primarily, rising transition rates into higher education from those who complete the Leaving Certificate. The greater part of the expansion has taken place in the non-university sector which is characterised by a preponderance of sub-degree programmes, heavily concentrated in the areas of Business Studies, Engineering and Applied Science. A noticeable feature of higher education admissions is the low percentage of older students. The great majority come directly from school with increasingly high levels of attainment in the Leaving Certificate reflecting stiff competition for places, especially in the university sector. While there continues to be large disparities by socioeconomic group in access to higher education, the most recent data point to some reduction in equality. Western counties have consistently had higher third level admission rates with lower rates in eastern counties, including Dublin, and border counties.     

A Comparison of Part-time Higher Education Provision and Participation Rates in the UK: Implications for the Development of Provision in Northern Ireland

Most studies of higher education participation rates have been primarily concerned with the numbers of full-time students most of whom have progressed into higher education soon after leaving secondary school or full-time further education. This paper seeks to compare part-time provision and participation levels in Northern Ireland with that in other parts of the UK. The pattern which emerges is that part-time participation rates in Northern Ireland do not appear markedly different to those in other parts of the UK. However there are distinctive features in the pattern of provision. Compared with Scotland, a much higher proportion of part-time HE in Northern Ireland takes place within the universities. It is argued that these differences should be considered when examining options for tackling the under-supply of HE places in Northern Ireland which are identified in the Northern Ireland Appendix to the Dearing Report.     

Higher Education and Industrial Development in Ireland

In the structures of European society, the institutions of education, state, industry and others have always been quite autonomous and largely separate from each other. This contrasts with the USA and Japan, where the linkages between the university and industry sectors have always been very strong and cooperation between the two has been long established. This paper addresses itself to the situation in Ireland and reviews the many institutional structures for university industry cooperation. The specific developments in University College Dublin are described and the benefits which such cooperation bring to both the university and industrial sectors are summarised.     

Trends in Higher Education Participation in Scotland

Scottish higher education has expanded and diversified in the last two decades. Most notably, compared to the early 1980s, participation in the mid-1990s has risen disproportionately among people aged over 21, people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, women, and (probably) minority ethnic groups. Students are more likely to move away from their home region on entering undergraduate courses, although they are not much more likely than before to leave Scotland altogether. Although participation from Scotland generally has risen more rapidly than participation from elsewhere in the UK generally, at some Scottish institutions the proportion of undergraduates coming from outside Scotland is growing. The system as a whole is not becoming markedly more part-time, although there has been a rise in the very small proportion of people who are studying for first degrees part-time (as opposed to HNDs etc). The share of higher education taking place in further education colleges has grown sharply, but nearly all of that has been for HNDs etc rather than degrees. The expansion has been driven partly by general social change (including the intergenerational effects of previous educational expansion), partly by special entrance schemes to encourage students from social backgrounds that have not in the past been strongly associated with entering higher education, and partly by government policy. These pressures will continue, and will probably be reinforced by the imminent reform of post-16 assessment and curriculum in Scotland, producing for the educational stage immediately preceding higher education for most students a unified framework embracing both academic and vocational courses.     

Student Participation in Higher Education Institutions in Turkey

After the 2001 meeting of the European Ministers of Education held in Prague, higher education institutions in Turkey took serious actions in order to implement the goals of the Bologna Declaration (1999). Arrangements made for the democratization of universities and student participation in the decision‐making process formed one of the predominant actions. The formal point of these arrangements – aimed at student involvement in the university governance process via Student Councils and their representatives, was prescribed by law and forced universities to comply with the process. The present research provides information about the legal arrangements in higher education institutions concerning student involvement in the university decision‐making process and the obstacles met within the course of application. In addition, it presents the findings of an empirical study related to student representation and involvement in governance through the agency of the Student Councils.     

ICT Policy and Implementation in Education: cases in Canada,Northern Ireland and Ireland

Countries with similar levels of economic development often implement different education ICT policies. Much of the existing research attributes such differences to economic and political factors. In this paper, we examine the development of ICT policy and implementation in the two parts of Ireland and in two Canadian provinces and find that historical, social and cultural differences also play an important role in the way ICT policies develop. In particular, we see differing historical perceptions of the role of the state and church in education playing a more important role than has hitherto been recognized.     

Education as a mechanism for conflict resolution in Northern Ireland

How education systems operate in divided societies is an increasingly important question for academics and educational practitioners as well as for governments. The question is particularly pertinent in post‐conflict societies, where education is a key mechanism for resolving conflict between divided communities. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, this article sheds new light on the role of education in conflict resolution by examining the long‐term impact of segregated and integrated education on attitudes towards community relations and levels of contact between the Protestant and Catholic communities. The results suggest that individuals who had attended an integrated school are significantly more likely to have friends and neighbours from across the religious divide and that these friendship networks translate into a more optimistic view of future community relations. This is not the case, however, when kinship networks are considered. The evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that the education system can be a source of both conflict and cohesion depending on the nature of the school system as well as the particular source of division to be addressed.     

高等教育质量评估中的学生参与——以北欧五国为例

当前,教育评估的部分责任从教师转向了学生,学生正在成为高等教育质量评估的重要参与者。冰岛、丹麦、芬兰、挪威与瑞典等北欧五国高等教育质量评估注重学生参与,产生了良好效果。北欧五国的评估机构与被评高校采用各种办法,使学生参与评估计划制定、外部评估小组、院校自我评估、现场考察与评估报告发布。国家通过立法,保证学生参与权;让学生全程参与,发挥学生参与的主体性;方法多样,确保学生参与度。学生参与高等教育质量评估,要有一个参与度,把握好度,才能发挥其优势、克服劣势。     

高等教育质量监控学生参与机制初探

作为新兴的高等教育质量监控主体,学生从自我价值取向出发,通过受教育的过程和结果两方面的标准来评判教育质量,其参与监控的主要形式包括教学评价、参与评估和学生信息员等。建立学生质量监督组织作为沟通广大学生和高校管理者的桥梁,规范和完善从指导政策到操作细则等方面的各种制度,是高等教育质量监控学生参与权得以实现的有效途径。     

Citizenship Education in Northern Ireland: Beyond national identity?

The introduction of citizenship education to the curriculum of all schools in Northern Ireland is one way of underpinning a long-term commitment to democratic politics as part of a fragile peace process. However, the concept of citizenship requires careful consideration in a society where there are different loyalties that give rise to conflict over the future constitutional status of the society itself. Neither British nor Irish national identity provides the basis for a 'patriotic' model of citizenship that could be accepted in all schools. This article describes the commitments and confidence-building measures contained in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and its implications for developing a concept of citizenship that might transcend the two main nationalisms that exist in Northern Ireland.     

Professional Educational Psychology and Community Relations Education in Northern Ireland

The events in North Belfast surrounding the children of Holy Cross Primary School have reminded us all, graphically, of how long and tortuous the path to lasting peace in Northern Ireland might be. In this very timely article, the author describes his practice-based research aimed at informing the processes of school improvement for peace and reconciliation. The analysis involves an exploration of the contribution that professional educational psychology might make to community relations education and to the broader project of inclusion and social reconstruction in Northern Ireland. The present article intends to contribute towards local debate concerning a reappraisal of the educational psychologist role. Furthermore, to be relevant to all educational psychologists who are interested in the contribution of schooling towards improved intergroup relationships and peace education.     

爱尔兰高等教育管理与拨款

爱尔兰高等教育遵循欧洲大学自治的传统,其大学的自治程度较高。爱尔兰高等教育质量保证分为两个体系:大学对自身质量的内部评估和爱尔兰大学质量委员会(IUQB)对大学进行的外部质量评估。爱尔兰高等教育经费主要来自财政拨款,不收学费,整个第三级教育机构82.6%的经费来自于财政。     

爱尔兰高等教育评估中的学生参与机制

爱尔兰高等教育部门在博洛尼亚进程的推动下,积极建立学生参与高等教育评估机制。学生不仅可以加入质量评估部门、外部评估组和参与院校内部自评过程,甚至还能以评估组成员的身份参加评估考察,撰写评估报告,参与评估后续行动程序。尽管爱尔兰高等教育部门已经确立了全面全过程的学生参与模式,构建了多元利益相关者的网络组织,建立了积极有效的国际合作机制,但是学生参与机制中还存在一些问题亟待解决,譬如法律制度的完善、活动经费的保障以及重新定位问题等。