A comparative analysis of study satisfaction among young European higher education graduates

This article identifies those aspects of the academic environment that are associated with graduates' overall satisfaction with their higher education (HE) course. We use REFLEX data, which allow comparison among 14 European countries, based on a pooled sample and individual country regressions. Overall, the degree of satisfaction with HE studies appears to be driven to a great extent by the academic environment. The results also confirm the persistence of country-specific traits in different HE systems. This substantial variation among European countries in terms of learning environment may have an influence on subsequent employment experience. While some systems encourage independent learning through participation in research projects, others rely heavily on direct teaching as the main source of information.     

Revisiting religious higher education in China: comparative analysis of Furen University narratives

Asia Pacific Education Review - Established in the 1920s, Furen University was a private Catholic university in China. Just as in the case of other Christian colleges in modern China, Furen was...     

Processes and stages of differentiation in European higher education

In this article we discuss processes of internal differentiation that have characterised European higher education systems in the last 50 years. We argue that these processes have gone through two main stages and in two different directions, each of which is showing its limits in the long run. Therefore, we expect a third stage of differentiation, which will be both internal to individual higher education institutions and multi‐dimensional concerning functions performed. In the first stage (1960–1970s) the main objective was to create a vocational track, without having to profoundly modify traditional academic institutions. In the second stage (mid‐1990s) the main objective was to differentiate between the more and the less competitive universities as regards the amount of financial and symbolic resources provided to them. However, large comprehensive universities are containers of smaller units whose performance may vary widely. Moreover, research is just one of the several functions that modern universities perform. The final section of the article provides some empirical evidence from United Kingdom universities to support the hypothesis of a third stage of differentiation.     

Understanding the higher education student in Europe: a comparative analysis

Higher education is of considerable importance to policymakers across Europe. Indeed, it is viewed as a key mechanism for achieving a range of economic, social and political goals. Nevertheless, despite this prominence within policy, we have no clear understanding of the extent to which conceptualisations of ‘the student’ are shared across the continent. To start to redress this gap, this article explores four key aspects of contemporary higher education students’ lives, considering the extent to which they can be considered as, variously, consumers, workers, family members and political actors. On the basis of this evidence, it argues that, despite assumptions on the part of European policymakers that there are now large commonalities in the experiences of students across Europe – evident in pronouncements about Erasmus mobility and the operations of the European Higher Education Area – significant differences exist both between and within individual nation-states.     

Symbolic resources and marketing strategies in Ontario higher education: a comparative analysis

Existing research on marketing within PSE tends to focus on homogeneous groups of high-status organisations. This study ameliorates this gap in the literature, conducting a comparative analysis of promotional materials produced by public universities and community colleges in Ontario, Canada. We find that these two groups draw on unique strategies to communicate their quality to external constituents. Public universities emphasise faculty and institutional-level accomplishments, such as research grants and rankings. Meanwhile, community colleges, lacking access to these symbolic resources, employ corporate-like strategies, such as taglines and non-traditional logos.     

Leadership and performance in higher education: a comparative analysis in Portugal and Spain

In the last decade, many changes have taken place in the field of university education. Professional practice demands that future graduates design and market products, preserve the interests of their clients, take responsibilities in public administration or participate in politics. Universities must educate professionals so that they become social leaders, consultants, advisers, entrepreneurs; in short, people with the capacity to solve problems. Professors recognise this situation; however, they do not always apply participatory teaching styles to develop these capacities in the students. This paper offers a tool to evaluate the implementation of a transformational teaching style in the classroom, developing joint work between professors and students. Its main contribution is that it assessed several teaching techniques based on this transformational style. This research was carried out in Portugal and Spain.     

多国高等教育大众化模式比较研究

Four financial models of massification of higher education are discussed in this essay. They are American model, Western European model, Southeast Asian and Latin American model and the transition countrie’s model. The comparison of the four models comes to the conclusion that taking advantage of nongovernmental funding is fundamental to dealing with financial difficulty faced by higher education. As a result, it can be argued that the declining of higher education quality does not necessarily have to do with schooling system. On the contrary, the development of private higher education helps the activation mechanism of competition so as to cultivate talents needed by the society. __________ Translated from Gaodeng Jiaoyu Yanjiu 高等教育研究 (Journal of Higher Education), 2007, 28(3): 1–8     

美国高等教育协会及其评析

美国形形色色的高等教育协会(社团)是影响其高等教育发展的重要中介组织,具有不可替代的重要作用。目前,美国的各种高等教育协会已形成了以“六大组织”为核心,以众多专业协会或地方协会为代表的多势力博弈格局,它们促进了政府管理的间接化和市场运行的规范化,在美国高等教育政策形成中发挥了重要作用。但是,基于自身利益的局限性,它们也存在一定程度的保守偏见,其“多数人暴力”问题也不可忽视。     

Internationalisation of higher education: European experiences

‘Internationalisation’ is generally defined as increasing cross-border activities amidst persistence of borders, while ‘globalisation’ refers to similar activities concurrent to an erosion of borders. Study mobility is viewed as the most visible component in this framework in Europe with ERASMUS as the largest scheme of temporary mobility. ERASMUS was a trigger for a qualitative leap of internationalisation strategies and policies since the 1990s: towards cooperation and mobility on equal terms, and towards systematic and strategic internationalisation. The ‘Bologna Process’ aimed to make higher education more attractive to students from other parts of the world and to facilitate intra-European mobility; however, many other activities are needed to stimulate mobility, and the Bologna Process pursues many other objectives. It remains to be seen whether supra-national and national policies and institutional strategies will continue to opt for wide-ranging cooperation based on mutual trust or whether the ‘competition paradigm’ will determine the scene.     

多国高等教育大众化模式比较研究

根据经费来源的不同可以把世界各国高等教育大众化的模式归纳为四种:美国模式、西欧模式、东南亚以及拉丁美洲模式、转型国家模式。总结和比较不同模式的特点,我们发现:充分利用民间资金是解决高等教育大众化过程中经费难题的根本途径;高等教育质量的高低,与办学体制并没有必然联系,相反,民办高等教育的发展,有利于激活竞争机制,更好地培养适应社会需求的人才。     

A comparative analysis on models of higher education massification

Four financial models of massification of higher education are discussed in this essay. They are American model, Western European model, Southeast Asian and Latin American model and the transition countrie’s model. The comparison of the four models comes to the conclusion that taking advantage of nongovernmental funding is fundamental to dealing with financial difficulty faced by higher education. As a result, it can be argued that the declining of higher education quality does not necessarily have to do with schooling system. On the contrary, the development of private higher education helps the activation mechanism of competition so as to cultivate talents needed by the society.     

New skills for new futures: a comparative review of higher education guidance and counselling services in the European Union

The main results are presented of a study of thehigher education guidance and counselling services inthe Member-States of the European Union. The changingcontext of higher education in Europe, and itsimplications for guidance and counselling services,are discussed. The main trends in the development ofsuch services are outlined, including the results ofa task analysis covering the main guidance andcounselling roles. Implications forprofessinalisation and for training and professionaldevelopment are reviewed. It is suggested that aEuropean Master's degree could be a valuablecomplement to national training and qualificationstructures.     

高等教育个人成本投资与机会成本比较分析

试用无投资风险度与带风险度的投资决策模型,采用信息论的熵值作为度量投资方案的不确定性程度(投资风险)的数量指标,计算比较两者净现值与预期收益,指出如何权衡高等教育与机会成本两者之问的关系.这种研究在我国目前高等教育人数上升、就业形武严峻及预期收益不确定的趋势下,有积极的现实意义.     

Developmental patterns of privatization in higher education: a comparative study

In most developing countries, as the young population increase in number and consequently, the demands for higher education rise, the governments cannot respond to all demands. Accordingly, they develop private higher education sectors as an alternative solution. In developed countries, some moving factors are influential in creation and the increase of private institutions but there are scarce evidences and comparative results about developing countries. The current comparative study seeks to investigate and analyze the main factors of privatization in higher education of three developing countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Kenya. After a short outline of theoretical foundations, this study provides more in-depth explanations of the principal and common effective factors.     

A configural analysis of differences among higher education consortia

In order to plan appropriate cooperative programs for particular higher education consortia, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of these organizations. The spatial configuration technique was used to illustrate the impact of eleven variables of the member institutions in differentiating among four consortia. Six of the variables — Control, Highest Degree Awarded, Percentage of Males, Math SAT Scores, Conventional Orientation, Scientific Orientation, and Endowment — were found to be significant in differentiating among the consortia. It was concluded that the spatial configuration technique was an effective way of visually comparing those consortia composed of member institutions, which as groups had similar and dissimilar characteristics.     

Bullying and victimisation rates among students in general and special education: a comparative analysis

Bullying and victimisation remains a pervasive problem within the nation’s schools. International research has indicated that students who are enrolled in special education curricula are victimised and perpetrate more bullying than their general education peers. Few empirical studies have examined bullying and victimisation rates among American schoolchildren within special education programmes. The current study examined rates of bullying and fighting perpetration and victimisation among middle‐school students (n = 7331) and high‐school students (n = 14,315) enrolled in general education and special education programmes. As hypothesised, students in special education reported greater rates of bullying and fighting perpetration, and victimisation than general education students. Students who were in self‐contained classrooms reported more perpetration and victimisation than those in inclusive settings. Fighting perpetration was similar for younger and older students in special education settings, whereas fighting perpetration was lower for older students, versus younger students, in general education.     

Recent evaluations in Australian higher education: Context and incidence

Peer evaluation of individuals and of individual activities within universities is commonplace in academic appointments and promotions, the examination of theses, and the assessment of research and publications. Less common, until recently, have been evaluations of institutional objectives and outcomes by formal review procedures. In Australia, the Williams Committee Report and the Tertiary Education Commission have encouraged a wider implementation of formal evaluations.This study initially reviews the institutional and societal context of higher education within which evaluation is being increasingly formalized. The incidence of evaluation (or review) at three dissimilar Australian universities is analysed in three areas: the frequency of evaluation activity; the constitution of evaluation teams; and the status of any ensuing report. Policy statements from two universities are briefly examined against standards for evaluation developed by Stufflebeam and others.Evidence of intra-institutional turbulence and a lack of value consensus encompassed many of the ninety-eight reviews considered. This overview study suggests that more energy should be spent on discovering essential problems and consequential needs and less on implementing reports arising from inadequate evaluations.     

Criticality in international higher education research: a critical discourse analysis of higher education journals

The current study utilizes the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211 Ajzen 1991) to examine an instructor confirmation-interaction model in the instructional communication context to discover a means by which instructors might cultivate positive student attitudes and increase beliefs that interactions with instructors would be beneficial in the future. Specifically, the model examines how teacher confirmation (Ellis 2000) influences students’ behavioral intention to communicate with instructors. Surveys were distributed to 343 college students (41.7% male and 58.1% female) in a basic communication course. Results were primarily consistent with the proposed model; teacher confirmation was significantly related to attitudes toward communicating with an instructor, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were also positively related to students’ behavioral intention to communicate with the instructor. However, results reveal attitudes toward communicating do not predict students’ behavioral intention to communicate with instructors. It is recommended that future models examine a more contemporary, hi-tech representation of attitude toward student-instructor interactions as it may produce a significant association with students’ behavioral intent to communicate with them. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications to examine student classroom communication via the confirmation-interaction model and the theory of planned behavior.