IAU SEMINAR ON THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

The right to education has been solemnly proclaimed by the United Nations and, in many countries, it is explicitly recognized in the constitutions or legislation.

The real problems are: the exercise of this right and the extent to which it can be seen to be a reality in different types of society; the international consequences of inequalities and differences in stages of development between countries in these matters.

Higher education is not a universal right and cannot be so in the foreseeable future, in many countries. An increasingly large proportion of the relevant age group already considers it “normal” to enter higher education and the time may well come when everyone will be expected to receive some post‐secondary education. Pressure may then be exerted to seek the transformation of this “normal” situation into a legal norm so that the right to education will then come to be interpreted as a right to higher education or post‐secondary education. Although this is not yet the case it may be wise to try to foresee the consequences of such an evolution both for the educational system and for society.

In this context the Vth Seminar of the International Association of Universities (IAU) which was held from 29 May to 2 June 1978 in Halle (GDR) concentrated its discussion on the following topics:

• the right to education for professional employment and the right to education for its own sake; the consequences for access to higher education;

• the specific role of the university in the exercise of the right to education;

• international aspects of access to higher education.

We present below an edited version of the Seminar's aide‐mémoire on its discussion.     

REVIVAL OF THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA

The famous library of antiquity, that of Alexandria, is being revived as an ultramodern research library. During the first phase of this revival, the library will concentrate on the cultural heritage of the countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean. During a second phase, its scope will be widened so as to cover the scientific, technical, and economic heritage. The collections will not be limited to books but will include the most modern forms of media: microfilm, cassettes, video‐cassettes, electronic diskettes, etc.

     

UNESCO SEMINAR ON THE USE OF RADIO AND TELEVISION IN TEACHER TRAINING

The UNESCO International Seminar on Experience Gained from the Polish NUHT System in the use of Radio and Television in Teacher Training was held in Warsaw from 24‐28 January 1977.

We give below information on the main elements of the Seminar's activities.     

BUDAPEST: INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

An International Seminar on Educational Technology, organized by the Hungarian National Centre for Educational Technology with the support of UNESCO and the United Nations Development Prograrrme (UNDP), was held in Budapest from 4 to 9 October 1976. The seminar adopted various recommendations concerning the improvement of information exchange on educational technology, the research in this field, and the possibilities for international co‐operation regarding educational audio‐visual material. We give below information on the main topics of discussion and conclusions at this meeting. (For CEPES participation at this meeting see page 33 in this issue.)     

UNESCO SEMINAR ON NEW TYPES OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND PROGRAMMES IN.DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND REGIONS

The rôle of higher education in the process of socio‐economic development is widely recognised, but the particular institutional forms and programmes vary subject to the levels of socio‐economic development, needs and possibilities found in different countries. In this context UNESCO organized a Seminar on the Problems Involved in Setting‐up New Types of Higher Education Institutions and Programmes in Developing Countries and Regions (Paris, 5‐8 October 1976), which was attended by 10 participants from developing countries and observers from several international organizations.

New types of higher education establishment in developing countries were examined, and attention was given to new forms of study programme in existing institutions of higher education (eg. open universities, television universities, workers’ universities, correspondence and sandwich courses, etc.). The main trends and problems were identified and proposals were formulated for further UNESCO activities in this field.

Information on the main issues of the meeting is given below.     

IAU ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD DISCUSS THE PROBLEM OF ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

During the 33rd meeting of the International Association of Universities (IAU) which was held from 4 to 6 April 1977 in Kyoto, Japan, the Administrative Board discussed many problems including that of access to higher education in the context of the preparation to the 5th IAU Seminar to be held in Halle (GDR) from 29 May to 2 June 1978

Below are summarised some of the view‐points presented in the meeting.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS' OPINIONS REGARDING THE VALUE OF THEIR FRESHMAN SEMINAR EXPERIENCE

Students enrolled in a community college freshman seminar course were interviewed to gather qualitative data on their opinions regarding the value of the course. Existing dissatisfaction among students, faculty, and administrators initiated this study . Data analysis revealed that randomly grouping students with wide - ranging levels of academic abilities and life experiences in a freshman seminar class had a number of drawbacks, as older adult learners differ greatly from younger student learners in aptitude, ability levels, maturity, and academic needs. The findings suggest that older adults need a different kind of freshman seminar course than the traditional first - year student, and that "gifted" older students might be used to provide "on - campus apprenticeships" for other first - year students.     

“UNIVERSITY ‐ ENVIRONMENT ‐ SOCIETY”‐A SEMINAR OF EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES

In the spirit of the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference (signed at Helsinki on 1 August 1975) and on the recommendations of the Seminar of Rectors from European Universities on the Cultural and Scientific Aspects of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Co‐operation, 27 to 29 May 1976 at the University of Trieste (Editor's Note: An article on this seminar appeared in the No.4/5 July‐August/ September‐October 1976 issue of “Higher Education in Europe"), a seminar entitled “University ‐‐ Environment Society” was held from 26 to 29 June 1978 at the University of Warsaw. Sixty representatives of universities of twenty European countries participated in this meeting.

During the seminar at Warsaw, three papers were presented by the following speakers:

• Professor Janos Kovacs, Eötvös Lorand University, whose paper was devoted to environmental protection and to the role of universities in their capacity as research and educational institutions, especially in the natural sciences;

• Professor Franz Matcher, University of Salzburg, whose paper treated the legal aspects of environmental protection; and

• Professor Hélène Ahrweiler, University of Paris I, who dealt with the problem of the role of the university in the life of older people who come to study at the university.

The following information was extracted from the first two above‐mentioned papers, which were devoted to these problems and the role of universities in the protection of the environment.     

CRUCIAL NEEDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIFELONG LEARNING ‐ CONCLUSIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON STRATEGIES FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

In the editorial of the Bulletin concentrating on “Higher Education and the Concept of Lifelong Education” (No.4, Vol.IV, October‐December 1979), we pointed òut that “Adaptation of the concept of lifelong education to existing structures in higher education becomes a natural consequence in the wake of technological and scientific progress together with socio‐economic development and the need for new and updated knowledge”. But life shows that in order to achieve a state of “natural consequence” a number of changes have to be made in educational policies, in the attitude of education in the hope of influencing public opinion. This need for change is emphasized in the conclusions which are presented in the following article of the International Seminar on Strategies for Lifelong Learning which was held from 5 to 10 May 1980 at Brandbjerg Folk High School, Denmark.

The article is based on the draft conclusions of the seminar by Dr. John Robinson.     

植物分子育种的研究进展

从我国植物分子育种的研究馆史、研究对象、供体DNA的导入方法、植物分子育种的特点、作物新品种的选育和基础性研究等方面简介了我国植物分子有种的研究进展．提出了5个急待解决的问题，认为中国植物分子育种已经发展到一个新的历史阶段，由此将会给我国创造出巨大的经济效益和社会效益。     

物理学习中的形象思维

从物理学科的特点出发．提出物理系学生应在学习中拓展自己的形象思维的观点，并从物理实验、理解教材、习题训练、知识渗透等方面作了一些探讨．     

清代呼和浩特宁祺寺部分蒙文档案管窥

宁祺寺是清代呼和浩特地区黄教15大寺庙之一。内蒙古图书馆观存该寺清代蒙文档案中有放高利贷和出租土地房屋的契约，收取布施和苏木银的帐簿，对了解研究该寺的经济收入有相当高的史料价值     

GERONTOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES IN ACADEMIC PROGRAMS IN HOME ECONOMICS IN THE UNITED STATES

Some 360 home economics units throughout the U.S. were surveyed in an effort to obtain information concerning the extent to which gerontology has been incorporated into home economics programs. Looked at were such factors as number of courses taught with geron‐tological content, number of qualified instructors and their respective academic backgrounds, and the number of active research programs in which gerontology is a focus. Of the 164 respondents, 141 (86%) reportedly offer academic courses with some gerontological content. Approximately one‐half of the responding institutions offer graduate programs and about 60% were state supported. Eighty‐five of the respondents have at least one faculty member with a minimum of gerontology background, and a total of 57 active research endeavors were listed. Results indicate that gerontology and its related areas are being taught to a large extent in'home economics programs. The diverse nature of gerontology and its applicability to home economics are discussed.