Divorce, gender role, and higher education expansion

In Western societies the past two decades have witnessed a great increase of women's participation in higher education and a multiplication of responsibilities as a result of the expanded role of women. This article examines higher education enrollment between 1970 and 1987 in the United Kingdom and the United States. It is guided by a theoretical model contending that educational expansion occurs where people choose education as an adaptation to increased deprivation and uncertainty. By linking the expanded role of women to the expansion of women's participation in higher education, and by using the rising rate of divorce as an indicator of the increased disenfranchisement among women in patriarchal societies, this study attempts to uncover the hidden forces behind the recent expansion of women's participation in higher education. Multiple regression is used for the statistical analysis. The results show that the divorce rate is positively related to women's enrollment in higher education in the United States. The results also show divergent enrollment patterns between the two sexes regarding the effect of unemployment in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It is argued that gender role expectation is crucial to understanding the different effects of divorce and unemployment on the divergent enrollment patterns of men and women. The article also explores important differences in the areas of educational opportunities, the magnitude of the impact of divorce, government policies regarding women's welfare, and the differing role of credentials in social mobility in the two countries under study.     

Examining the ethical environment in higher education

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the world have found themselves faced with new challenges on issues of ethics. Much of this has been centred on issues of assessment: plagiarism, buying essays, sharing/lending of previously passed work and the stealing of marked/returned work of others. Institutions still treat academic misconduct as largely a behavioural difficulty rather than an issue of ethics (or education), suggesting that academia places a far greater emphasis on combating new forms of dishonesty than it does on encouraging ethical habits and a healthy ethical environment. To date, the majority of research in this area has examined these forms of academic misconduct from the point of view of the student and/or the university, with the perspective of academics receiving very limited attention. Our hypothesis is that academics are perhaps best placed to provide the education needed to create and sustain an ethical environment, and we argue that being ‘ethically aware’ is a critical factor in the development of academic competence for all parties. This study adds to existing research in three ways: firstly, by highlighting the importance of an overall framework for an ethical environment within HEIs; secondly, by suggesting an ecological model of key parties (the university, students and academics) with responsibility for this environment in assessment; and thirdly, by including new evidence (generated by a survey of academics) to extend our understanding of their views on these issues.     

Funding,selected issues and trends in Tanzania higher education

The purpose of this article is to discuss the funding constraints as related to higher education in Tanzania. The article discusses also the trend of internal and external efficiency indicators. The funding constraints include: the low growth rate of GDP, balance of payment problems, inflation, devaluation of the shilling, absence of cost-sharing and resources mismanagement. Higher education is characterized by high unit costs, low capacity utilization and high teacher-student ratios and yet private benefits are high as compared to social benefits. Tanzanian higher education remains elitist and continues to serve a well-to-do minority.     

Market trends in Spanish higher education

Higher education in Spain broke away from its close dependency on the State in the last decade. In this paper we analyze the steps undertaken by the Spanish higher education system which has allowed market influences to grow in recent years. We analyze the historical framework and legal changes which have facilitated market trends in higher education. We consider the influence of these market trends on the financial and organizational structure of universities. We conclude that, though the steps are still hesitant, market-like elements are increasingly affecting every aspect of higher education life.     

Political economy of higher education: comparing South Africa to trends in the world

Education is one of the major linchpins of economic, social and political development of any nation. Recent evidence suggests that higher education can produce both public and private benefits. Thus, the role of the state in making education policy, and funding education is indeed critical, and cannot be left to be determined by market forces alone. Nevertheless, the trend of inadequate government funding for universities, loss of autonomy, infrastructural decay, falling academic standards, politicization and privatization of education, etc. appear to be a worldwide phenomenon and not just restricted to the developing world. South African higher education shows much promise with respect to knowledge production and dissemination, to contributing to social equity, economic and social development and democracy, and to the development needs of the Southern African region and the African continent. However, higher education in South Africa is under considerable stress from domestic and international trends that are redefining the nature and role of public sector post-secondary education (PSE) institutions worldwide. The paper will outline the role of PSE in the knowledge economy and the impact of the neoliberal context on the evolution of higher education in South Africa and the world. Given the significant developmental implications of investment in higher education, the authors argue that relegating this important public policy issue to the market forces is likely to promote inequality in the society, along with negative consequences for socio-political stability, economic sustainability, and knowledge generation.     

创业教育在中国高等教育中的发展走向

在大学生创业活动发展的同时,有关创业教育的研究越来越受到社会各方面的重视与关注,各高校也开始着手进行创业教育的尝试.创业教育必将成为今后高校教育的重中之重.     

Examining organizational climate in institutions of higher education

Two major questions related to organizational climate have existed in the organizational theory literature for the past twenty years. First, at what level of analysis should the construct of climate be operationalized (i.e., does climate have greater relevance at an organizationwide or subunit level?). Second, in what specific ways do organizations with positive climates differ from those with comparatively more negative climates. This study examines organizational climate in nine four-year public colleges and utilizes data from 2,937 respondents. The most significant findings are: (1) Climate does have relevance at the organizational level in that it distinguishes carnpuses from one another, but subunits, particularly academic departments, account for the largest proportion of variance; (2) administrators have significantly and consistently more positive perceptions of organizational climate than do faculty; (3) faculty at campuses with comparatively more positive climates report greater goal clarity and performance standards.     

The expansion of higher education,employment and over-education in China

The article considers the current situation in the labour market for higher education graduates in China, showing what kinds of graduates have an advantage when facing potential employers. Secondly, it discusses the tendency of supply and demand between higher education graduates and the labour market from the perspectives of employment probability and over-education. Finally, the article suggests what should happen in the Chinese higher education system if it is to achieve a more effective relationship with the labour market.     

高等教育分流的发展趋势

基于各国高等教育自身的大发展,高等教育的分流也呈现出一些新的发展趋势:分流主体的多元化、分流对象的大众化、分流目标的综合化、分流结构的合理化、分流策略的科学化、分流过程的民主化、分流机制的协调化。     

Trends of diversification and expansion in Israeli higher education

Israeli higher education faces in the last decade growing pressures to alter the elitistic homogeneity of its universities and to enhance greater diversity of academic styles and traditions. Some calls for reform advocate the implementation of changes into the existing institutions, while others argue for establishing totally new higher education frameworks, both private and public. This paper discusses the emerging changes in the Israeli higher education in the broader context of trends and developments in higher education systems in other parts of the world.     

Teaching and learning in higher education: Recent trends

In the last decade, the questioning of traditional teaching and learning methods and instructional systems and the search for more effective alternatives have gained momentum in higher education. Recent trends can be grouped as follows:

论高等学校的扩招

高等教育由精英化向大众化乃到论过渡,这是高等教育发展的必然趋势,中国的高等教育相对落后,因此扩招是必然之选择,高校扩招对国家、社会、学校、家庭及至个人均有诸多裨益,面对高校扩招所带来的诸多问题与困境,我们要积极地探求解决问题的思路。     

Examining faculty questions to facilitate instructional improvement in higher education

Many of the innovations that show promise for improving outcomes for underprepared community college students require instructors to make changes to their teaching practice. Little research explores the experiences of faculty teaching in reformed courses as related to their professional learning needs. Drawing on a multi-year qualitative study, this paper uses data from 100 faculty interviews to explore the questions they ask when teaching a new course. A key outcome of the analysis is a typology of questions that mirrors the stage of implementation. Through analysis of 20 observations of implementation activities, this paper also documents the learning opportunities made available to instructors and examines the extent to which these activities addressed their questions.     

The language question in higher education: trends and issues

Nowhere is the language scenario and the problems associated with it as complex and controversial as in a multicultural and linguistically diverse country like India. Since language is the medium through which educational transactions take place, the vicissitudes of language and the language controversies have had a significant bearing on the structure, process, and outcome of her educational endeavour. This article examines the various issues and trends in the language conundrum vis-à-vis education in general and higher education in particular. Broadly, it is divided into four parts. The first part provides a brief sketch of the background and context in which the linguistic imbroglio in higher education becomes meaningful. The next two parts deal respectively with the twin aspects of the language problem in relation to education, namely, language instruction and language as a medium of instruction. The concluding part recapitulates the scenario and delineates the dilemmas of policy perspective.