Higher education and fertility: Evidence from reforms in Greece

This paper examines the impact of higher education on women’s fertility decisions. To address the endogeneity of non-compulsory education participation, I focus on an increase in the supply of higher education and a concurrent schooling reform that jointly expanded higher education opportunities in Greece in year 2000. Drawing data from the 10% sample of the 2011 Population Census, I use the exogenous variation introduced by the first grade enrollment age cutoff to apply a Regression Discontinuity Design comparing educational attainment and fertility for women that were just, and just not exposed to the reforms. The probability of giving birth before age 30 decreases by around 20 percentage points for women who completed higher education because they were exposed to the reforms. Career outcomes for employed women with higher education improve, while fertility decreases at ages following graduation, suggesting that the result is primarily driven by the increasing opportunity cost of children.     

Higher education in China

This paper discusses the system of higher education in China today. Eight years after the beginning of the upheaval known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, educational principles and practice are still considered experimental. New types of schools have been established, and old ones have been reoriented to conform to recent ideological imperatives. The administrative system has gone through a number of changes and is not yet standardized; innovative enrollment procedures, strongly influenced by social class considerations, are changing the complexion of the student body; teaching methods and curriculum combine teaching, productive labor and scientific research in an effort to relate higher education more closely to the economic and social needs envisioned by the Maoist leadership.The paper concludes that it is too early to make definitive judgments about the viability of the system, regardless of the criteria used, but suggests that assessments of the quality of higher education in China must start from a recognition of the fact that it is an integral part of the total effort to revolutionize society. CR China Reconstructs - JMJP Jen-min jih-pao (People's Daily) - KMJP Kuang-ming jih-pao (Kuang-ming Daily) - NCNA New China News Agency - PR Peking Review     

乌兹别克斯坦高等教育

高等教育是促进经济发展、民族发展和国家发展的重要方式。1991年苏联解体,乌兹别克斯坦走向独立,新兴独立的乌兹别克斯坦政府把高等教育的发展摆在突出的地位,并通过不断地改革来促进高等教育的发展。本文主要以乌兹别克斯坦高等教育为研究对象,着重阐述乌兹别克斯坦高等教育体系的内容、层次、机构、体系改革、教育质量、师资、国际合作等方面,使读者对乌兹别克斯坦高等教育有进一步的了解,促进两国之间在教育领域的合作与交流。     

Higher education in Japan

The present state of development of higher education is described and quantified. Notable characteristics of the system are (i) the predominance of private establishments, (ii) the variety of courses available, (iii) the wide social base from which students are drawn, (iv) the highly competitive nature of the entry procedures. The system faces many challenges including the linked problems of management and finance.     

Technologies of governance and education welfare: monitoring education transitions in Greece

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to explore the ways educational transitions, i.e. student dropout and early school leaving (ESL), are understood and governed in the contemporary Greek sociopolitical context that is dominated by a persistent economic crisis. Drawing upon the residual nature of the Greek welfare state the paper examines the shifts in the dominant discourses referring to ESL. Furthermore, it attempts to understand the configurations of educational attainment as well as the significance of monitoring technologies such as those of comparative statistics, especially in the context of European governance. It is argued that education transitions are multifaceted phenomena and act as sensors of socio-economic and cultural diversity in each national setting. While EU governance shifts from sophisticated technologies to direct unreserved control, compliance with the rules is a manifestation of political realism on the part of the Greek state, but at the same time a representation of the never accomplished European political integration.     

Careers education and guidance in Greece a critical approach

Summary The paper begins with a clarification of the terms effective versus successful teacher and their implications. There follows a summary of the results of a study addressing the issues: a) which Careers Education and Guidance (CEG) aims in Greece are considered most important, and b) what constitutes a successful careers teacher. The study is based on the responses of careers coordinators in Greece and consultants at the Greek Pedagogical Institute. Issues concerning Information and Self-Awareness as Careers Education and Guidance aims are discussed, and an alternative approach to Information is suggested. The main emphasis is placed on the importance of the teacher as an indispensable factor for the implementation of CEG aims in particular, and educational aims in general.

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Zusammenfassung Der Artikel beginnt mit der Klärung der Begriffe effektive gegen erfolgreiche Lehrer und deren Bedeutung. Es folgt eine Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse einer Studie über die Themen: a) welche Ziele der Berufsberatung und-lenkung werden in Griechenland als wichtig angesehen und b) was macht einen in der Berufsberatung erfolgreichen Lehrer aus. Die Studie basiert auf den Antworten derer, die die Berufsberatung in Griechenland koordinieren sowie der Berater im Griechischen Pädagogischen Institut. Streitfragen über Information und Selbsterkenntnis als Ziele der Berufsberatung und-lenkung werden diskutiert, und ein alternativer Ansatz zu Information vorgeschlagen. Das Hauptgewicht wird vor allem auf die Bedeutung des Lehrers als unersetzlicher Faktor für die Durchsetzung der Ziele von Berufsberatung und-lenkung im besonderen und die erzieherischen Ziele im allgemeinen gelegt.

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Résumé Le présent article commence par une clarification des termes efficacité et succès de l'enseignant et de leurs implications. On présente ensuite un résumé des résultats d'une étude portant sur les questions suivantes: a) quels sont les objectifs de la formation et de l'orientation professionnelles considérés comme les plus importants en Grèce, et b) qu'est-ce qui contribue au succès d'un professeur d'enseignement professionnel. Cette étude se fonde sur les réponses des coordinateurs de l'enseignement professionnel en Grèce et des consultants à l'Institut pédagogique grec. On discute des questions concernant l'information et la conscience de soi comme objectifs de la formation et de l'orientation professionnelles, et l'on suggère une nouvelle approche de l'information. L'accent majeur est mis sur l'importance de l'enseignant en tant que facteur indispensable à la réalisation des objectifs de la formation et de l'orientation professionnelles en particulier, et des objectifs éducatifs en général.

     

Higher education regionalization

Is the allocation of higher education resources a means to regional development? Although many governments have approached higher education as part of a wider regional policy, it is still very much an open question whether higher education regionalization really works. The evidence from the most conspicuous Scandinavian example of using higher education for regional development - the creation of Norrland University - indicates that the allocation of higher education resources may be conducive to breaking up traditional patterns of center-periphery interaction, but it also shows that the activities of the periphery play just as crucial a role as the special framing of the policy of the center in determining outcomes.     

Higher education reform in Romania

This paper reviews the crisis in Romanian universities since the country's political transition in 1989, and describes the government's strategy for revitalizing the higher education system. Attention is drawn to the expansion of access to higher education, the dramatic increase of enrollments in social science fields, the spontaneous establishment of private higher education institutions, and to the many difficulties institutions are experiencing in coping with these changes especially because of resource constraints. Comprehensive reform of the role of the state in the financing and governance of higher education are proposed. The government's reform strategy involves accreditation of public and private institutions, establishment of open transparent mechanisms for allocating institutional and research funding, as well as changes in the structure of academic employment. Successful implementation will require strengthening the fragile management capacity of the Ministry of Education and the higher education institutions.     

希腊高等教育管理体制与学校自治制度

希腊高等教育具有政府举办、学校自治的特征。希腊宪法规定，高等教育是公立的，高校实行完全免费政策。绝大多数高等教育机构在行政体制上由国家教育与宗教事务部管理，少数由其他部委监管；同时法律赋予高等学校完全的自治权和学术自由，在学校内部运行和管理上有完善的学校制度。     

Stratification in Higher Education, Choice and Social Inequalities in Greece

Higher education has expanded to a remarkable extent in many countries in recent decades. Although this has led to high levels of participation, inequalities not only persist but are also strengthened. The persistence of inequalities is partly the result of policies for the widening of participation having been accompanied by institutional stratification with educational choices being unequal and socially defined. There is evidence that with the development of new university departments and the increase in the number of university entrants in Greece, a stratified system of higher education has emerged. This study draws on quantitative data that provides evidence that choice has been driven largely by the students' social class: the close relationship between social class and educational opportunities has remained intact. Furthermore, social inequalities in access and distribution in higher education persist, despite the substantial increase in participation in higher education. Social class is a key factor in the interpretation of choice of study, which, along with the performance in the national level examinations that determines entrance into universities, has also led to the increase in the stratification of higher education institutions.     

营销理论视角下的高等学校管理

营销的实质是对需求的管理,营销理论视角下的高等学校管理要求在做总体规划之前,要对高等教育需求有较全面的了解与分析,在此基础上对高等教育市场进行细分,再以营销观念为导向规划总体发展战略,实施内部管理改革,开创品牌建设。战略的具体实施则可根据营销的4P制定相应的组合策略。     

Higher education and equity in Portugal

Abstract

The main topic of this article is to consider the role of the State in providing higher education in Portugal, paying attention to the fact that the privatisation of higher education has been in place since the eighties (Amaral 1999) and also that it is difficult for students and their families to find the monetary resources needed for attendance at university (Cabrito 1999). The discussion focuses on the funding of higher education in a quasi‐market situation (Le Grand et al. 1993), as Portugal hasn't escaped the universal trend towards privatisation of education (Whitty et al. 1998). In the last decade, the relationship between State, universities and students has been changing rapidly (Acherman et al. 1989; Barr et al. 1993; Williams 1990; Henkel et al. 1999), and some arguments are presented that equity in access to higher education must be guaranteed (Mora 1997; UNESCO 1998; Williams 1992). In this connection, the need is argued for free attendance on higher education and State subsidies to students to cover the costs of education. Firstly, the economic and social condition of university students is presented. Using data from two periods, one academic year from the 60s and one from the 90s, the increase in the degree of equity that the university system had known in recent decades can be verified. According to the analysis, the Portuguese population in general is better represented in the university student body nowadays, than in the 60s. Therefore, it is possible to discuss the maintenance of a low degree of equity in the Portuguese university system. For this, the economic and social condition of university students is compared with ‐ that of the Portuguese population in the 90s. Secondly, the expectations of the students of higher education are presented, in order to understand the value attached by them to a university degree, which explains the social demand for education. Finally, the costs of higher education, both private and public, are evaluated. From this evaluation, it is possible to conclude that the principal source of funding of higher education costs is the student and his/her family and to discuss the need for a more interventionist State in higher education financing.     

浅析国内外高等职业教育

高等职业教育已成为中国教育体系的一个重要组成部分,经过二十年的发展,中国的高等职业教育正在迎接二十一世界的挑战。面对世界经济和教育发展的现状,我们深切感到,我们的现代化建设,不仅需要不术型、研究型人才,也需要大批应用型、高级技艺型人才。而学习和借鉴国外的先进经验,对推动我国职业教育是十分必要的。