Who defines quality in higher education? Reflections on the role of professional power in determining conceptions of quality in English higher education

In recent years British higher education has come under considerable financial and political pressure which has led increasingly to the use of various indicators for the measurement of quality. Although the use of such measures has often been seen as leading to encroachments on academic autonomy, the paper argues - drawing on concepts from the sociology of power and the professions - that such measures still, essentially, derive from, and reproduce unquestioningly, the tacit assumptions and professional self-interest of academics. This point is illustrated through a brief consideration of the most commonly-recommended performance indicators and by reference to the work of the Council for National Academic Awards in the review and validation of courses. Attention is also given to the stimulation of market forces as a means of quality control. The paper concludes with a plea for greater pluralism within British higher education and argues that several factors make this more likely. These include demographic change, the increasing involvement of industry and the emergence of diverse sources of funding for British HE including the Manpower Services Commission (now the Training Commission).An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Ninth European AIR Forum on the Changing Relationship between Government and Higher Education, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands, 24–6 August 1987.     

Britain and European Engineering Education

The paper outlines the craft origins of engineering in Britain and its influence upon engineering education. The rapid development of technical knowledge during the past 40 years has led to changes in the content of engineering courses and, in some cases, their duration, although the British system remains very different from those of its European partners. The present period is still one of evolution and there are many changes which are likely to take place in the next few years which may include rationalisation and concentration into fewer but more powerful academic institutions. These changes will result, in great part, from the realisation of the need to adopt a more European attitude and form engineers who can take a full part in the development of a truly European engineering industry which can compete with the rest of the world.     

英国与白里安计划的失败

白里安为解决两战之间欧洲所无法回避的德国问题、美国的经济竞争与苏联的共产主义影响而提出了欧洲联邦计划。英国因担心欧洲联合会损害国际联盟权威、引发世界区域化发展并导致英帝国瓦解,遂以其外交权谋将白里安计划置于国际联盟框架内,使之不了了之。考察英国对白里安计划的政策有助于理解二战后初期英国对欧洲一体化的政策。     

A reflection on adaptability,achievement motivation and success of Central and Eastern European students in one English university

This article reflects on and discusses Central and Eastern European (CEE) learners’ adaptability and achievement in one English post-1992 university. There appears to be a scarcity of studies of values, beliefs, attitudes and needs as well as achievement (and factors contributing to it) between CEE and other learners. Since the expansion of the European Union, CEE students’ presence in British higher education has become more pronounced. CEE learners are treated as home students (for the purpose of fees) and yet they come from a distinctively different socio-historical background and pedagogic tradition – tradition (as explained further in the article) that is, to a certain extent, common in CEE countries as a result of the sovietisation of education systems within post communistic countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In the British higher education sector there is a move in curriculum delivery towards more personalised learning, which underlines that effective teaching and learning starts with understanding the individual student. Therefore, it is important that universities with a high proportion of EU students attempt to understand where CEE students come from and what their aspirations might be. This article provides some insights into CEE learners’ values, attitudes and motivations to learn and looks for possible reasons for their success.     

Education-Industry Collaboration in Europe

Mediated interaction with the world of work, especially business and industry, is increasingly seen, world-wide, as a valuable component of science and technology education. A recent WOCATE meeting held in Germany for senior educators, administrators, and industrial representatives aimed to stimulate international partnerships that explore the unity of academic studies and practical work and prompts a review of some European approaches to collaboration between science education and industry. In particular, the British experience favors a variety of agencies, including sponsorship from the professional associations of teachers, scientists, and engineers; substantial participation from industrial companies, individually and through associations; and much essentially voluntary activity by enthusiastic industrial scientists and teachers at all levels.     

Towards the In‐College Evaluation of TEC Programmes

Abstract

The advent of the single European market has generated new demands for training and consultancy, and many further and higher education institutions have been anxious to exploit the commercial opportunities that have been created. In general, however, institutions have been more successful in providing training for the public sector than they have been for the private sector. A survey of FHE reveals the kinds of single‐market training that are on offer, and suggests that the training that is available needs to be more precisely geared to the requirements of business if colleges and universities are to make further inroads into the private sector. It is argued that much training is currently ‘supply led’ rather than ‘demand led’, and that institutions need to recognise important differences between information needs, skills needs and qualifications needs in the design of their single market provision. There are, however, examples of good practice, and institutions’ perceptions of their own needs in improving their European training are also discussed. The article concludes with some practical steps that institutions might consider in order to improve their single‐market training.

‘The training performance of industry and commerce in this country must be raised to meet the greater commitment and higher standards of other European countries.’

The words belong to the then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Robert Jackson, and were spoken in 1990 at the launch of the Department of Education and Science‐funded PICKUP Europe Unit ‐‐ an initiative designed to help further and higher education (FHE) to meet the training needs of industry and business in anticipation of the changes heralded by the single European market (SEM). Helping industry and business to respond to the challenges of the enlarged European market fitted well into the PICKUP scheme, which was intended to encourage FHE institutions to make their expertise and resources available for the purposes of updating and reskilling the labour force. It reflected the Government's desire to build a stronger link between education and wealth creation, and to foster competence‐based, as well as knowledge‐based, aspects of educational provision. The 282 measures associated with completion of the single market have made it increasingly important that workers at all levels are familiar with the new Europe in which they will produce goods and services, but just how effectively are further and higher education institutions facing up to their own challenge, and providing the ‘training for Europe’ that is considered so important in ensuring that British businesses exploit the opportunities of the single market?     

Staff deployment in an age of contraction

Teacher educators from eight European countries undertook a collaborative study into children's understanding of their own national and European identity, their understanding of the geography and cultures of Europe and finally their understanding of how countries are governed. The views of the British children are reported here, set alongside a summary of those from the seven other countries. Findings indicate a confusion with the notion of British identity, a limited understanding of Europe's geography and peoples, but a high level of acceptance of those from other cultures and countries. The implications for geography teaching and for teaching about identity, tolerance, respect and European citizenship are discussed.     

Der Europastudiengang ‘European Mechanical Engineering Studies’—EMS Programme

The characteristics of the European ‘EMS’ course are presented, namely the entrance qualifications, its aims, the structure of its curricula, the eligibility of enrolled students with respect to scholarships, its efficiency in the direction of ‘Europe-capable’ technical education, the possibilities of gaining further British national degrees, as Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and the results reached up to now. In the academic year 1987/88, seven out of eight EMS-students from Osnabriick were in a position to get the Bachelor degree with good results at their first attempt. Furthermore it turned out that this way of engineering education will be the right one for a European career. The final condition of a fully developed system of binational European study courses is characterized as follows: the Fachhochschule Osnabriick together with their counterparts in France, Great Britain and Spain will offer three binational European study courses with double qualification and national graduation within the normal study period of four years. With the help of the ‘Credit Transfer System’ the examination regulations would allow capable students to get a qualification with three national degrees of three partner institutions.     

英国航海法演变与1651年《航海条例》的颁布

1651年的《航海条例》确定了英国航运业和海外贸易的原则,被公认为是英国近代航海法的基础。西方史学界对于该条例的制定与颁布多有研究,但这些研究多局限于近代早期,着重分析相关利益集团的作用,忽视了对历史背景的考察,因而没能认清航海条例颁布的历史必然。对条例的考察应以英国航海法的演变为起点,探究《航海条例》颁布的深层原因;同时继续深入研究条例制定与颁布过程,以证明其既非基于商人利益,也非意在发展海军,而是一项追求欧洲商业霸权的国家政策。     

Where Britain Meets ‘the Continent’: Language and Cultural Exchange in Children's Fiction

Children's perceptions of other cultures are formed, at least in part, by the books they read; yet the potential of children's literature in the UK as a site for international cultural exchange is limited by a lack of translations and a historical resistance in Britain toward the languages of the European continent. The Year of European Languages is an opportune moment to explore the reflection of this uneasy linguistic relationship in children's texts and to compare selected instances of the role of European languages in British children's fiction from the mid-twentieth century to the present day.     

复制非洲神话--论《黑暗的中心》的殖民主义

康拉德的《黑暗的中心》是一部引起很大争论的小说,本文论述了康拉德的小说《黑暗的中心》中的非洲和非洲人形象以及欧洲殖民者形象,认为康拉德虽然揭露了殖民者的罪恶,对非洲的苦难表示了同情,但由于受欧洲文化相对主义的影响,康拉德在小说中又一次复制了非洲神话,并且相信英国的殖民统治不同于欧洲大陆的殖民统治,它会给殖民地带来光明。因而,康拉德仍然是一个种族主义者。     

Professional development in international schools; issues of inclusion identified by a group of international school teaching assistants

With the growth in numbers of teaching assistants (TAs) in the UK, it has been identified through research carried out on behalf of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) research that TAs in British international schools have specific and unmet training needs. Following the development of a course for TAs in international contexts, COBIS and the University of Northampton provided a Professional Development Programme for TAs working in British international schools. The 2‐day event took place in a European city, with participants from three further European cities. The impact of this training on subsequent professional practice was investigated. An initial questionnaire was completed at the conference, and follow‐up questionnaires were distributed at 6 weeks, post‐event. Responses came from participants and from head teachers of the British international schools in which they worked. This paper focuses upon issues of inclusion, which arose from the feedback received, both during the event and afterwards. Group discussions during the event revealed concern among the group that they had insufficient knowledge to provide the level of inclusion support that they felt should be available. Data from the questionnaires provided more detail about these issues and allowed some first conclusions to be drawn, providing further focus and direction for subsequent training for international school TAs.     

Mergers and Linkages in British Higher Education

In its pursuit of the cost-effective expansion of higher education (HE), the British Conservative government has strongly encouraged competition and has opened the HE sector to the influence of market forces. This policy has certainly helped to drive down unit costs but it also has an inherent destructive potential which requires to be mitigated by a whole spectrum of collaborative structures. To study the interplay between competition and co-operation in British higher education, it is useful to focus on the relationships between higher education institutions (HEIs) as manifested in mergers (both actual, proposed and ‘failed’) and the various forms of inter-institutional linkage which are leading to a re-alignment of HEIs in the post-binary era. A number of forms of linkage, stopping short of merger, are defined and illustrated: for example, affiliation, validation, accreditation, franchising and access arrangements, and the important function of consortia is underlined. However, because they exist within a matrix which is basically competitive, such forms of co-operation are subject to stress and disruption. The British higher education system manifests an unusual degree of flexibility which has enabled it to adapt organically to new policies and challenges. It is more permeable than that of most other European countries, but this permeability is gradually being endangered by increasing UK reliance on formal legislation in HE. Experience abroad, notably in Australia, indicates that wholesale dissolution of boundaries, combined with fierce forms of competition, can in the end lead to serious deterioration in educational standards. A balance between competition and co-operation must be sought, but can never be ‘established’ once and for all because external circumstances require it to be constantly re-adjusted. The research on which this paper is based was carried out with funds from the Economic and Social Research Council and from the Faculty of Education Research Committee of the University of Ulster.     

Applying the Varieties of Capitalism Approach to Higher Education: comparing the internationalisation of German and British universities

In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate distinct national approaches with regard to the internationalisation, globalisation, and Europeanisation of higher education systems. While the university is defined as an organisational actor embedded in the higher education system, the higher education system itself represents an institutional subsystem within the national model of capitalism. An analytical framework is then developed on the basis of the Varieties of Capitalism approach to compare the internationalisation of German and British universities. Findings indicate that the relations between the various actors involved in the internationalisation of universities are based largely on market coordination in the British case. In contrast, this process in Germany relies more on strategic interactions between the various organisational actors in higher education. The development paths in the internationalisation of universities are found to be influenced by and reflect the specific mode of coordination in the respective higher education system and the national model of capitalism more generally. This comparative case study shows that recent conceptions of path dependence as well as conceptual tools developed in the Varieties of Capitalism literature, such as institutional complementarity and comparative institutional advantage, may be fruitfully applied to research on institutional change in higher education systems.     

浅析英国报业对我国的启示

报纸是最为传统的传媒介质,它的变化以及走向,更多的反应了当下新媒体的冲击势头,以及整个媒介发展所面临的矛盾与融合问题,它对媒介变化所产生的敏感可能更清晰一点。英国作为世界近代报纸发源地之一,其报业发展有着200多年的悠久历史。在时代的变迁中,英国报纸经历了许多具有突出意义的变革。尤其是近期,英国报业的许多具有划时代意义的革新,对我国报业的发展产生了剧烈的影响。如何借鉴,如何转变,是我国报业发展面临的一个重大问题。     

Europe Needs Industrial Engineering Degrees in Order to Enhance Its Competitiveness

The current position of European industry vis-à-vis industry in others parts of the world is shown to be weak. Possible reasons for this are described and the relative advantages of industrial engineering are set out. The work tasks of industrial engineers are spelled out and their benefits to the organization are explained. Some suggestions on recruitment are given.     

西方传统文化土壤上的一朵魔幻之花——小说《哈利·波特》的文化背景解读

本文将从英国和欧洲传统文化角度来探讨《哈利·波特》系列小说在西方深受读者喜爱的原因。通过对该系列小说文化场景的分析,作者试图说明欧洲深厚的巫术文化,传统的基督教救赎思想以及欧洲悠久的寄宿学校历史为该小说的成功奠定了坚实的文化基础。     

Impact of European projects on engineering education

Various European programmes represent invaluable help and source of experience for universities in Central and Eastern Europe. Being an emerging university that was established just 8 years ago, we welcomed the chance to be involved in numerous projects that introduced us to the area of European cooperation. Last summer two very interesting projects concerning our university were finished (in terms of financing from the sources mentioned above) and so it is a good occasion to evaluate the progress of our international co-operation in the last 3 years and to look forward towards further development of our established links. The first project was financed by The British Know How Fund and its aim was to bring together the University of Hull, UK, and the Faculty of Informatics and Management UHK in Hradec KrÁlové (FIM). The second project, called INSYPA, was a Joint European Project within the frame of the TransEuropean Mobility Programme for University Studies (Tempus). Both projects were extremely fruitful for us but so different one from another that we think it might be interesting to compare them. The contribution describes our original plans, their development, evolution of our partnership, the problems which arose and were solved. The main stress is given to expertise obtained, methods of assessment, persistent links and their influence on our integration to EU educational and research programmes.     

语言与存在--从英美与欧陆语言观的对比中看海德格尔的语言观

语言哲学转向是现代西方哲学的一个重要特征。英美派语言观主要表现在切断了“存在”与“语言”的关系，否认或悬置形而上学本体问题。欧陆派语言观主要侧重对“前谓述真理”的关注。笔者认为这种语言转向并不是一种突发性事件，早在古希腊两大思想家柏拉图和亚里士多德那里就可见两种语言观的端倪．笔者希望通过对英美和欧陆两种不同的语言观的对比来重新审视海德格尔的语言观。     

二战时期英国绥靖政策对犹太人的影响——析1939年《关于巴勒斯坦问题白皮书》

英国1939年《关于巴勒斯坦问题白皮书》的出台,既有其历史背景,又是对犹太复国主义态度的转折性的改变,并认为1939年的《白皮书》就是英国30年代对德、意绥靖政策的另类表现,是英国绥靖总格局中的一部分,它所带来的直接后果是助长了欧洲法西斯势力的气焰,导致了二战期间欧洲大量犹太人惨遭纳粹杀害,同时也间接成为以色列建国的一个催化剂,从而埋下了中东问题的隐患。1939年的《白皮书》的出台也从侧面反映出英国实力正逐步走向衰弱。