Higher education professionals for the twenty-first century

This paper originated as a Plenary Presentation at the AUA Conference at the University of Keele in April 2004     

A review of twenty-first century higher education

This article is predominantly concerned with the global challenges associated with managing an academic workforce in an era characterised by increased demand for higher education. In scrutinising global trends in higher education and academic workforce management, the article will address two research questions. First, what are the global trends that most affect education in the twenty-first century? Second, what are the transformations that have taken place in the academic workforce amid these trends? Last, the article calls for a need for researchers to profoundly explore the management of the academic workforce cross-nationally between developed and developing economies, with a particular focus on Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.     

Approaching twenty-first century education from a cosmopolitan perspective

All over the world, educators and policy-makers are concerned about how best to prepare students to engage actively in an increasingly interconnected world. In this paper, I begin by arguing that twenty-first century education policies have largely been articulated in response to the exigencies of economic globalization. Further, a survey of the worldwide spread of twenty-first century education frameworks reveals that these are predominantly informed by Human Capital Theory. Conceptualized mainly by transnational and governmental organizations, such frameworks essentially steer education towards preparing students to compete successfully in the global economy. Next, utilizing findings from a case study of two schools in Singapore and the USA, I highlight how the concretization of twenty-first century education via school-level frameworks is similarly governed by the aims of Human Capital Theory and I discuss some of the resulting effects. Using these case studies as a platform for theory-building, the final section proposes ways in which twenty-first century education frameworks can be reconceptualized using two alternative theories—Human Capabilities Approach and Cosmopolitan Capacities Approach. I show how their incorporation in twenty-first century education frameworks can offer a more holistic and ethical vision of education conducive to our globally interconnected age.     

Forum Comparative perspectives on higher education for the twenty-first century

It is commonplace to note that we are moving toward a global economy. The world is increasingly interdependent in terms of trade, culture and communication. There is one institution that has always been global and that continues to be a powerful force in the world after a half-millennium. This institution is the university. With its roots in medieval Europe, the modern university is at the center of an international knowledge system that encompasses technology, communications and culture. The university remains the primary center of learning and the main repository of accumulated wisdom. While it may be the case that the university has reached the end of a period of unprecedented growth and expansion, it remains a powerful institution. In the knowledge-based society of the twenty-first century, the university will remain at the very center of economic and cultural development.The contemporary university suffers from a lack of self-confidence and has lost some of the support from society it enjoyed in the past half-century or so. However, it is not, as many critics, within and outside of the academy would have us believe, suffering from a deep malaise that will cause either collapse or necessitate major structural and intellectual renovation. The present and very likely the near-term future, will not be a period of great expansion or of great prosperity for higher education. The coming period will also not see the demise of the university.The university is not flourishing as it did in the golden age of the middle decades of the twentieth century in North America and Europe. Yet, the university is far from collapse. It continues to play a necessary role in modern society—as an institution that educates, performs research, provides opportunities for social mobility and certifies expertise and professional competence. Universities have been transformed in less than a century from small, elitist institutions fulfilling a limited educational mission to one of the main engines of the knowledge-based society.     

Fatherhood in the twenty-first century

The twentieth century has been characterized by four important social trends that have fundamentally changed the social cultural context in which children develop: women's increased labor force participation, increased absence of nonresidential fathers in the lives of their children, increased involvement of fathers in intact families, and increased cultural diversity in the U.S.. In this essay, we discuss how these trends are changing the nature of father involvement and family life, and in turn affecting children's and fathers' developmental trajectories. We end with an eye toward the twenty-first century by examining how the children of today will construct their expectations about the roles of fathers and mothers as they become the parents of tomorrow. This life-span approach to fatherhood considers the broader sociohistorical context in which fatherhood develops, and emphasizes the urgent need to consider mothers, fathers, and family structure in future research as we seek to understand and model the effects of parenting on children's development.     

Global policy agencies and visions for twenty-first century lifelong education

The Community University (CU) movement in Taiwan arose from calls for education reform and social change in the country since the last decade. In 1998 the first CU, Wenshan CU, operated by local activists and grass‐roots groups, was established in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, as an outgrowth of a popular rally for education reform in 1994. Within five years, the movement blossomed into more than 66 independent CUs spreading all over Taiwan, with locally hinted diversities (as of 2003). Since then, social activists from areas including community building, environmental action, labour, aboriginal and feminist movements, culture and the arts etc., have found their niches in CUs. As a critical review, this paper first highlights contexts, rationales and methodologies of CUs. To further discussion, contributions and issues embedded in methodologies and difficulties from practice are also analysed. Finally, conclusions and suggestions are provided to help find a way out of the current constraints for CUs.     

《嘉莉妹妹》——二十一世纪中国社会的现实诠释

本文通过对十九世纪时美国社会消费主义的诞生及消费型社会文化特征的诠释,分析了十九世纪末美国的贫富差距对当时的影响,即人们对物质的强烈追求和精神文化生活的极度匮乏,即产生了诸如劳资之间的矛盾,道德观念的败坏,人性的泯灭等问题,值得引起人们的日益关注。     

Geography teaching in the twenty-first century

Conclusion At a time when transnational communities are being created which extend beyond the confines of regions and natio-States, geographers are questioning the very foundations of their discipline and their function in society. Not only do they no longer avoid acknowledging their role in the transmission of spatial, regional and national identity, but they no longer act solely within the framework of the nation-State. The juxtaposition of local and world considerations prompts them to embark upon new inquiries tending towards the teaching of a conceptual and topical geography which can mobilize pupils and teachers alike according to broad social, temporal and spatial principles. Human beings, frail creatures of the earth, have only one real tool adapted to the vastness of the spaces with which we have to grapple: the mind (Ratzel, 1988). Born in 1944. Professor of geography at the University of Geneva, having taught in Canada and France. He holds a doctorate from the Sorbonne and has studied geography and regional sciences in France and the United States of America. He has been chief examiner at the International Baccalaureat Office. He is now President of the Western Regional Science Association and the Swiss Association of University Lecturers. His recent publications, as author or editor, include:Encyclopédie de géographie [Encyclopedia of geography] (2nd ed., 1995),Introduction à la géographie humaine [Introduction to human geography] (5th ed., 1995) andLes concepts de la géographie [Geographical concepts] (3rd ed., 1995). He is editor-in-chief of the series entitled ‘Géographie’ at the Anthropos publishing house, Paris.     

Educating science teachers in the twenty-first century: implications for pre-service teacher education

Abstract

This study examines the verbal interactions among a group of pre-service teachers as they engaged in scientific discussions in a medicinal chemistry course. These discussions were part of the course that encompassed an explicit instruction of scientific argumentation structures as well as an applied component, whereby the pre-service teachers learned the content of medicinal chemistry through cases developed using the strategy of competing theories. By adopting a case study approach using sociocultural framework of learning, we examined the interactions between the pre-service teachers using video data. We describe 12 possible forms of interactions during discussions – (1) seeking clarification, (2) figuring out loud, (3) sharing information, (4) agreement, (5) asking questions, (6) providing explanations, (7) raising strategic and procedural issues, (8) stating claims, (9) disagreement, (10) sharing perspectives, (11) offering alternatives, and (12) persuasion. The pre-service teachers engaged in figuring out aloud and seeking clarifications frequently, and used persuasion least in their discussions. To clarify their ideas and thoughts, pre-service teachers commonly rebut their counterparts and used warrants to support their own assertions. A similar pattern was also observed when figuring their thoughts out loud. Our findings suggest that pre-service teachers were able to carry out rebuttals in the argumentation process. However, the quality and function of their rebuttals can be improved by deepening their understanding of the subject matter knowledge and the science argumentation structure. Implications are discussed.     

Examining models of twenty-first century education through the lens of Confucian cosmopolitanism

ABSTRACT

Today, the intensification of global interconnectivity is a key characteristic of the twenty-first century. This has spurred governments and policymakers to envision how best to equip future-ready citizens who can navigate increasingly globalized workplaces resulting in the worldwide popularity of models that articulate twenty-first century competencies. Twenty-first century education models perpetuated by transnational and multinational organizations posit an idealized vision of the future-ready citizen equipped with requisite skills to compete in the global economy. Informed by economic rationality, such models promote a consequentialist approach to education where the primary aim of schools is to develop citizens as human capital who can thrive in globalized workplaces and ultimately contribute to the progress of their nation. In this paper, I focus on the twenty-first century education model currently infused across schools in Singapore. Using this as an example, I examine models of twenty-first century education from the lens of Confucian cosmopolitanism. I explore how the application of Confucian cosmopolitanism can facilitate an ethical re-orientation of twenty-first century education that shifts the focus from instrumental competencies to humanistic virtues needed for a more hospitable future.     

Prevention in the twenty-first century: promoting health and well-being in education and psychology

This paper explores the science of prevention, with special attention to prevention research and applications in education and psychology, and the importance of prevention in Asian countries. One example that will be highlighted is the recently adopted Korean government policy on Internet addiction which addresses the problem from prevention to treatment. In addition, the paper provides background by summarizing the history of prevention and definitions of prevention. Research and conceptual papers that have been published in the Asian Pacific Education Review serve as examples of important topics to address from a prevention perspective. The topics are school bullying, school achievement, career development, and educator professional development and educational reform. The paper also discusses prevention best practices by summarizing the recently adopted American Psychological Association Guidelines for Prevention in Psychology, emphasizing that the Guidelines are applicable for professions beyond psychology and they also apply in different parts of the world. Finally, the paper discusses prevention in the future, especially noting that advances in science, technology, and population demographics will increase the importance of prevention in the twenty-first century.     

Guidelines to design engineering education in the twenty-first century for supporting innovative product development

In the twenty-first century, meeting our technological challenges demands educational excellence, a skilled populace that is ready for the critical challenges society faces. There is widespread consensus, however, that education systems are failing to adequately prepare all students with the essential twenty-first century knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life, career, and citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to understand how twenty-first century knowledge and skills can be appropriately embedded in engineering education finalised to innovative product development by using additive manufacturing (AM). The study designs a learning model by which to achieve effective AM education to address the requirements of twenty-first century and to offer students the occasion to experiment with STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts. The study is conducted using the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology.