THE CHANGING ROLE OF CAREERS SERVICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The strength of specialist careers advisory services in United Kingdom universities is linked to the in loco parentis tradition and also to the tradition of occupational flexibility on graduation. The evolution of such services from appointments boards to careers services is traced in terms of three sequential changes: the impact of counselling, the growth of careers education, and the move towards an open‐access style of delivery. The overlap of roles between careers services and teaching departments is analyzed in relation to individual guidance and placement, and particularly in relation to careers education. The extent of overlap tends to vary between vocational, semi‐vocational, and non‐vocational courses. The emergence of the concept of personal transferable skills has encouraged new forms of partnership between careers services and teaching departments. This development raises questions about where careers services should be located organizationally within higher education institutions. Should they, for example, be aligned to other student services, to academic services, or to marketing services? What organizational benefits do institutions seek from such services? Are they part of the core offer made to students, or additional.services which are open to. review in terms of their specific costs and benefits?     

FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Future development of higher education is at present a widely discussed issue in the United Kingdom. This discussion was inspired to a great extent, by a paper “Higher Education into the 1990s: A Discussion Document” issued in February 1978 by the Department of Education and Science (DES) and the Scottish Education Department. (Editor's Note: The main part of this document was published in No.3, May‐June 1978, issue of this Bulletin).

The article presented below reviews prospects of future developments in higher education mainly of the university sector in the United Kingdom in the context of the above document. It is based on the Final Report of the Group on Forecasting and University Expansion established in April 1978 by the Conference of University Administrators (CUA). The Report draws attention to a number of matters which are either not covered or not developed in the Discussion Document. The Chairman of the group was Mr. M.L. Shattock, Academic Register, University of Warwick.     

CONSIDERATIONS OF DEMOCRATIZATION AND ELITISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The year, 1992, has been one of bewildering change in British higher education caused primarily by government planning and intervention which has as its motor a complex political agenda. In this article, the authors concern themselves with one of these changes: the apparent move towards the democratization of higher education. The likely effect of this change is then assessed for all sectors of the British population and in particular for the linguistic and ethnic minority groups constituted by recent immigration into the country.     

LIFELONG EDUCATION AND THE UNIVERSITIES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

The higher education system of the United Kingdom, of which the universities are only part, is changing rapidly. Although broad social conditions explain why universities should be centres of lifelong learning and specific institutional needs are in fact pushing them in this direction, changing demography is only one explanation among many. The kinds of programmes and related policies concerning students, teaching and curricula which are seen as relevant to continuing or lifelong education are widening and diversifying as the political and funding environment of higher education also changes. Research on continuing education and that generated by it are also being perceived differently. The new decade of the 1990's seems likely to witness significant changes in what is identified as continuing education as present trends in favour of integration or mainstreaming accelerate and new arrangements are made for more accessible and flexible forms of study both for degrees and for short courses. This process will be a part of a wider and more fundamental change as higher education moves somewhat towards a mass from an élite model and as the concept of a university and of a university education changes in step behind these changes in practice. The possibility exists that more fundamental changes in the initial undergraduate curriculum will also make universities more effective centres in terms of preparing their young students for lifelong learning.     

DIVERSITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A UNITED KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE

Conscious diversity of provision within and between institutions of higher education is desirable. Diversity is a necessary feature of all evolving systems. In higher education, student choice among a wide range of educational and training options is the surest way to persuade universities to adapt to modern needs. The key to success lies in the modularization of all course contents on a standard basis and in removing barriers to choice and interdisciplinary studies of all kinds.     

COMMUNICATION STUDIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Communication Studies in the United Kingdom has a short past, a lively present and an uncertain but promising future. The paper discusses each of them, and presents a definition of this extremely diverse new academic field     

THE SWEDISH MINISTER OF EDUCATION ON THE REFORM OF POST‐SECONDARY EDUCATION IN SWEDEN

The information below is based on the speech given by Mr. Bertil Zachrisson, Swedish Minister of Education, at the opening of the 33rd meeting of the Council of Europe's Committee for Higher Education and Research (Linköping, 12‐14 May 1976) (see article in this issue page 4).     

美国营利性高等教育的特征

过去,教育与营利似乎是一对相斥的概念教育属于公立机构,通过政府财政预算获得经费,而营利活动则属于企业行为。在新的经济和社会环境下,这种格局开始发生变化,一方面部分大学组织的性质发生了变化,营利性机构渐渐涉足过去公立机构的职能范围;另一方面公立大学不再完全依靠政府拨款,开始向学生收取学费,并且从事一些营利性的活动。《民办教育促进法》在制定过程中,也无法绕开教育与营利性这对矛盾。为了解决《教育法》对教育机构属性的规定与现实情况之间的矛盾,《民办教育促进法》对于教育机构的营利问题进行了模糊处理,“合理回报”就是妥协的结果。目前人们在“教育产业化”认识问题上依然存在着较大的分歧。在国外虽然没有“教育产业化”这样的提法,但遇到的问题却是相同或相似的,因此高等教育市场化、商品化、私有化等是学术界十分关心的问题。特别是营利性高等教育机构的出现和迅速发展,更引起人们的高度关注。为此,本刊特别组织了这次笔谈,邀请国内外研究者分别从各个角度发表自己的看法。     

AUTOMATION WITH BLCMP IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

BLCMP is the major supplier of British‐designed integrated library systems with fifty ‐installations in the UK. It was formed in 1969 as the result of the interest of three Birmingham libraries in co‐operative cataloguing through the use of MARC tapes. Since then it has developed an integrated library system, BLS, which incorporates modules for cataloguing, acquisitions, circulation, online public access catalogues, serials control, and most recently, inter‐library loans. The interest in the BLCMP systems centres not only on BLS but on the central BLCMP database of 7.5 million bibliographical records comprising UK and LG MARC tapes, Whitaker's Books in Print, the British Library Document, Supply Centre database, and the BLCMP Union File. This is held in an IBM mainframe at BLCMP headquarters at the University of Birmingham and linked to members by telecommunications lines. BLCMP is a co‐operative organization with a well‐defined structure consisting of a Board of Directors, a Council of Chief Librarians, and a series of User Groups. Through these means, the company is able to respond well to the demands of its users and, as a result of responses to a question naire, is presently reviewing both its systems documentation and training courses for its members.     

STUDENT NUMBERS AND UNIVERSITY FINANCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The numbers of students in the United Kingdom have grown without interruption for more than twenty years, and this trend is expected to continue until 1982/83. We give below information on this issue and on its budgetary implications for expenditure on higher education.     

A “CLEARINGHOUSE ON HIGHER EDUCATION” IN THE UNITED STATES

The ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education is part of the Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), which is the world's largest gathering and dissemination system of education literature. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education was established under contract to the George Washington University in September 1968. The information below explains the background and main activities of this institution.     

SITUATION AND FINANCING OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The situation of university research is a central issue in many current discussions on the role of the university. This problem was one of the themes of the 35th Meeting of the Council of Europe's Committee for Higher Education and Research which was held from 27 to 29 April 1977 in Athens. The information below is based on a report prepared for the meeting by the United Kingdom delegation to the Council.     

THE TESTING OF SPOKEN ENGLISH IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Ten boys and ten girls in a nursery class, who were matched in age and in nursery experience, were each observed for a complete school day. Every response uttered by and to them was recorded in longhand. Their activities and the time spent on each were noted. The behaviour of the staff and the entire nursery environment were scrutinized. The responses and activities were categorized and analysed in relation to their social class and intellectual and verbal ability. However, no association appeared to exist between the use of certain language forms, such as the question, and certain types of behaviour and any of these dimensions. It was suspected that this was due to the minimal interaction between children and staff, for the same children, in a more structured situation, appeared more ready to use a variety of linguistic forms to explore and to seek to understand their environment. The result would suggest a re‐orientation of aims and a more structured approach to nursery activities, if pre‐school education is to have a beneficial effect on the linguistic and cognitive development of the young child.     

MODELS OF GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM*

The author traces recent aspects of the movement of higher education in the United Kingdom from emphasis upon a largely autonomous set of institutions operating in the internal academic market through a phase of strong central management and only subsequently onto the external market. The professional values of academics and of professional, market‐oriented managers are not necessarily incompatible, for academe has always been highly competitive. Thus, it should be possible to retain and build upon a vibrant academic core.

     

ENROLMENT TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES

A statistical report, “The Condition of Education 1976”, prepared by the Planning Office of the US National Centre for Education Statistics and submitted to the Congress of the United States in March 1976, also analysed the developments in US higher education concerning: - present and projected educational attainment of the labour force

- enrolment in higher education and its pattern

- age structure of students in US higher education institutions.

Data on these problems, presented mainly in graphical form, serves as the basis for the information below.     

HOLOCAUST AWARENESS AND EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Experimentation in Holocaust education began in American schools in the mid‐1970s. After construction of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the subject gained momentum. The last two decades have seen continuous development. In five states, Holocaust education is required at all school levels; in sixteen others, it is highly recommended. Serious teaching of the Holocaust started in earnest only long after World War II, when the horrors were at a distance and survivors started breaking the silence. Only then did systematic research begin. Teaching about the Holocaust developed as a result of Holocaust consciousness and of the growing feeling of its relevance to American culture. Such instruction also developed against a background of ongoing public debate concerning the Holocausts uniqueness, a controversy that has found its way into various teaching programs.