Policy change in higher education: the New Zealand experience

For over one hundred years, the structure of the New Zealand education system has been basically stable. After re-election in 1987, however, the Labour government initiated a major reform of the system, from early childhood to tertiary. Although the pace of change has been great, most of the changes are only recently in place or, in the case of the tertiary sector, not yet fully operative. It is, then, too early to assess the consequences of the changes except rather intuitively. Nevertheless, this is an opportune moment to begin to document and analyze the changes in the tertiary sector.     

The flexible university: higher education and the global production of migrant labor

This article demonstrates how neoliberal higher education has come to play a distinct role in the global market for migrant labor, where a growing number of developing nations educate its citizens for overseas work in order to maximize future monetary remittances. Located in the Philippines, this study shows how local colleges and universities attempt to impose an ideal notion of flexibility, quickly shifting academic manpower and resources to programs that would produce the ‘right’ types of workers to address foreign labor demands. Based on qualitative interviews with Filipino college educators and students, the article then discusses how such ‘flexible’ strategies undermine the job security of college faculty and lead to the constant restructuring of physical space within university campuses. Such changes negatively affect both students and teachers.     

Reconciling university autonomy with public accountability: The state,University Grants Committee and higher education in New Zealand

This article analyzes the contemporary role of the University Grants Committee (UGC) vis-à-vis New Zealand's universities and the Department of Education. Emphasis is given to the historical and political factors which resulted in devolution of the University of New Zealand in the early 1960s and brought the UGC into being. Established to guide the development of the university system in a period of budgetary expansion, the UGC assesses the financial needs of the universities and the national need for new academic programs. Recent financial exigency prompted the government to introduce restrictions on the financial autonomy of the universities. The UGC has lost some of its autonomy in consequence, but a fundamental change in its relationship to government or in its protective role with respect to the universities is considered unlikely.     

Interrogating global flows in higher education

The paper critically reviews the concept of ‘global flows’, beginning with the discussions of flows and networks in Appadurai (1996 Appadurai, A. 1996. Modernity at large: cultural dimensions of globalisation, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.  [Google Scholar]), Castells (2000 Castells, M. 2000. The rise of the network society, Oxford: Blackwell. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]) and Held et al. (1999 Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D. and Perraton, J. 1999. Global transformations: politics, economics and culture, Stanford: Stanford University Press.  [Google Scholar]). Emphasising the need to embed ‘global flows’ in agency and history, and to explore global connectedness in terms of situated cases, the paper develops an analytical framework for analysing global flows in higher education. It then applies that framework in an examination of global ‘scapes’, impacts, transformations, situatedness and relations of power in two national universities, research leaders in their nations but located in contrasting nations: Universitas Indnesia and the Australian National University.     

New challenges for higher education: global and Asia-Pacific perspectives

With rapid socio-economic changes, twenty-first century higher education is facing major challenges to its governance systems, curriculum, mission focus, external relations, research, and financing. A theoretical framework to analyze these post-massification challenges is suggested, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region as well as global issues. Five main topic areas provide the basis for the theoretical framework: massification, privatization, accountability and governance, internationalization, and ranking and world-class universities. Some discussion of the possible effects of the financial crisis that commenced in 2008 is provided.     

大众化背景下大学使命的重新审视

More attention should be paid to four issues during the massification of Chinese higher education: (1) how to understand the prime cause of the expansion of higher education; (2) how to reinforce liberal education; (3) how to balance the relationship between equality and excellence; and (4) how to harmonize the relationship between the university, the government and the market. All these are based on the orientation about the ultimate goal of universities. Modern universities must make students and the public understand that their ultimate mission is places where stratagems for profits and opportunities of employment are provided; rather, modern universities should inspire students’ rationalistic potencies, cultivate their ability to look upon the development of individuals, society and history from a long-term and all-around perspective. Translated from Beijing Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban) 北京师范大学学报 (社会 科学版) (Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Sciences Edition)), 2006, (6): 13–20     

高等教育研究与大学的创新

通过对中外高等教育研究发展历史的简要回顾,指出高等教育研究的发展和大学的创新是一个密不可分的互动过程,必须有高水平的高等教育科学研究才能促进大学的创新,并对我国当前高等教育研究的发展提出了若干参考意见。     

The internationalization of Canadian university research: a global higher education matrix analysis of multi-level governance

To date, much of the research on internationalization and globalization of higher education has focused on the institution or higher education system as the unit of analysis. Institution based studies have focused on the analysis of institutional practices and policies designed to further internationalization. System-level studies focus on state policy initiatives or approaches. In this paper we explore the inter-relationships among multiple levels of authority within a higher education system through an analysis of research policies and activities related to internationalization. While we are interested in the internationalization of university research, our primary objective is to explore the relationships between policy initiatives and approaches at different levels. Using the “Global Higher Education Matrix” as a framework, we discuss the policy emphasis on the internationalization of research at the federal, provincial (Ontario), and institutional levels of authority, as well as the international research activities associated with two large professional schools operating at the understructure level. By focusing on the inter-relationships among initiatives at different levels of authority, this study explores the complexity of policy perspectives within the internationalization of research in the context of multi-level governance.     

Evaluating engagement with graduate outcomes across higher education institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Our research addressed two aims: to develop a systematic way to evaluate institutional engagement with graduate outcomes and to explore such engagement in higher education institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand. An online survey was completed by 14/29 institutions with nine follow-up interviews to gather information on institutional engagement with graduate outcomes. Using a Maturity Modelling approach with indicators of planning, systems, delivery, assessment, evaluation and professional development support for graduate outcomes, we assessed the level of engagement in each institution. Results revealed patchy engagement across the polytechnic and university sectors. There was strong engagement with the planning, systems and delivery of graduate outcomes, particularly in the polytechnic sector, but much lower engagement with their assessment and evaluation, and overall, weak engagement with professional development support for graduate outcomes. Some mechanisms for promoting engagement with graduate outcomes were external drivers, a teaching-focused culture, strong leadership from the top and enabling structures. Our findings can inform institutional policies and practices in order to support not only compliance, but more importantly engagement with the graduate outcome agenda to improve the student learning experience.     

Bicultural education policy in New Zealand

Abstract

Bicultural educational policy is part of a much broader ensemble of bicultural policies that were first developed by the Fourth Labour Government elected in 1984. These policies were an acknowledgement of, and response to, the historical injustices suffered by Māori people as a consequence of colonisation. Bicultural education policy is thought to be a means of addressing the ongoing challenge of educational underachievement of Māori students in the compulsory schooling sector. At present, the dominant discourse in New Zealand education frames the educational underachievement of Māori as a problem associated with cultural differences; however, this tends to obscure explanations that focus on socio-economic disparities. This paper shows how the dominant discourse relating to the underachievement of Māori students is established in policy and maintained through various auditing systems, and how this leaves little space for other explanations or solutions. The paper advocates a move away from an either/or approach to the problem of the educational underachievement of Māori and argues for greater critical engagement with bicultural education policy in order to open up space for conversations that address both the cultural and the socio-economic factors which may affect achievement.     

World-class higher education and the emerging Chinese model of the university

China??s recent quest to develop world-class universities is a significant phenomenon within the worldwide transformation of tertiary education. Taking a cultural approach and drawing on empirical findings, this article investigates the emerging Chinese model of the university, considering its key features and contributions to global communities. First, examining the rhetoric about world-class universities in varied societal contexts, it explores the institutional initiatives and government agendas involved in China??s drive for global status. Then, using case studies of three universities moving toward mass higher education and world-class status, it shows the role played by their individual institutional initiative. It next describes key features of the emerging Chinese model of the university, including the core values of self-mastery and intellectual freedom, to show how it differs from the dominant Anglo-Saxon and American models but shares some features with the continental European and Japanese models of the university. The final section considers policy implications of the emerging Chinese model, its potential lessons for reform and practice, and its role in fostering vibrant democracies and global dialogue among civilizations in the future.     

试论高等教育大众化背景下的多校区大学管理

在一校多区办学条件下,如何进行有效有序的科学管理,是大学管理者必须面对的问题。本文在简要分析多校区大学形成和表现特点的基础上,结合国内外多校区大学管理的实践经验,分析应对的管理策略。     

新西兰的教育魅力

记得台湾作家三毛写过一篇游记,说她"万水千山走遍,没有去过的就是澳洲和新西兰了。那里虽然很美,但是没有文化,就不去了"。是啊,新西兰这个只有约200年历史的小国,有什么历史文化遗产呢?然而,这次我赴"没有文化的新西兰",却感受到了它那