The implementation of the Bologna process

Abstract

This study identifies the responsibilities of the bodies and institutions involved in the implementation of the Bologna Process. They include the levels of Europe, nations, higher education institutions, departments, degree programmes, teachers and students. The future planning is analysed using the Balanced Scorecard approach designed for the communication and implementation of the strategy. The approach is used to analyse the objectives of European education policy from the different perspectives. Strategic planning and quality assurance are most efficient when they are transformed into action at the closest possible point to teaching and learning.     

The Bologna Process in Italy

Italy was among the promoters of the Bologna Process and the early adopters of the reform. If one looks at its impact on the formal structure of curricula and study programmes, the reform undertaken under the Bologna banner seems to have been one of the major educational reforms ever achieved in Italy. This article describes how the Bologna Process has unfolded in Italy, looking at the reasons why a reform that for long eluded Italian policymakers and higher education managers finally succeeded. The theme is approached from the point of view of the contemporary theories of institutional change, looking at the actors and interactions that made this reform possible despite strong opposition. In fact, it was a series of contingent events that weakened the balance of powers governing Italian HE, thus making institutional change possible.     

“博洛尼亚进程”的背景、历程及发展趋势

"博洛尼亚进程"是在欧洲政治经济的一体化、世界高等教育国际化和欧洲跨文化学习和研究的背景中产生的,也是20世纪60年代以来最重要、涉及面最广的高等教育改革,是欧洲高等教育一体化的进程。其前期准备、初步探索、正式启动三个阶段以及布拉格会议、柏林会议、卑尔根会议以及"伦敦公报"等历程显示,"博洛尼亚进程"的发展趋势是进一步完善三级学位制度、加强高等教育质量保障、促进学历学位相互承认,力争在2010年建立欧洲高等教育区,实现欧洲高等教育的国际化。     

Survey on the implementation of the Bologna process in Portugal

For several years Portuguese higher education institutions have been waiting for the legislation framework necessary for the implementation of the Bologna process. Such legislation was passed quite recently (2006) and has resulted in an unexpected flood of proposals presented at very short notice by higher education institutions to the Ministry. It is possible that such fast implementation rate corresponds to implementation “in form” rather than “in substance”, thus softening tensions between the European and the national and local levels. This hypothesis will be tested by analysing the outcomes of a survey conducted in all higher education institutions that have presented proposals of Bologna-type degree programmes or adaptations of old degree programmes to the new Bologna-type structure.     

欧洲高等教育一体化改革:博洛尼亚进程的结构与过程分析

为应对全球竞争的挑战,顺应欧洲一体化的大趋势,29个欧洲国家于20世纪末启动了旨在整合欧洲高等教育体系的博洛尼亚进程。博洛尼亚进程以可比较、兼容、透明原则构建高等教育系统框架,以达成多样性与一致性的统一;注重整体设计,系统推进;在政策的制定上注重利益相关者的参与,为其顺利推进赢得了广泛的社会支持。博洛尼亚进程的设计、组织与管理,对我国实施系统的高等教育改革具有重要的启示和借鉴意义。     

推进欧洲高等教育一体化的博洛尼亚进程

迄今为止，博洛尼亚进程划分为四个阶段，其标志分别为1998年欧洲四国签订索邦宣言、1999年29国签订博洛尼亚宣言以及此后召开的布拉格会议和柏林会议。越来越多的欧洲国家加入该进程，共同致力于实现到2010年建立欧洲高等教育区的目标，从而大大推进了欧洲高等教育一体化的进程。     

The e-balanced scorecard (e-BSC) for measuring academic staff performance excellence

This research paper is a pilot study that investigated the suitability of adopting an automated balanced scorecard for managing and measuring the performance excellence of academic staffs in the higher education setting. A comprehensive study of related literature with requirements elicited from the target population in a selected premier university in Malaysia through document analysis, interviews and survey questionnaires provided the foundation for the system development. By adopting the balanced scorecard, the proposed system provided a means for top down alignment of organisational objectives while creating a medium of communication between the lecturers and management. Though the method suggested in this study primarily focuses on the academic staff, it addresses the lack of a representative form of performance measurement for lecturers that accommodates the complexities of the profession while providing the potential adoption of an unconventional method to encourage excellence and development amongst all levels of employees in the industry.     

The Impact of the Bologna Process in Ibero-America: prospects and challenges

The Bologna Process is one of the major developments to have taken place in higher education in recent centuries. It has had an impact beyond European borders and repercussions in other parts of the world. Ibero-America has also sat up and taken note, even though scholars agree that there would be difficulties with its direct implementation in the region. Specialised opinions like these might suggest the initiative could not be implemented elsewhere. There can be no doubt, however, about the influence of the Bologna Process. On the one hand, the European Union has promoted and sponsored projects which involve transferring specific instruments (like Tuning) to the Ibero-American region. On the other, Latin America faces integration and globalisation challenges that are similar to Europe's and these, in turn, call for the development of approaches and instruments that will facilitate academic mobility and increase the transparency of degrees and qualifications. The recent impetus injected by the Ibero-American Summits into the Ibero-American Knowledge Space also seeks to help build common ground in higher education, scientific research and technological development.     

The systematic evaluation of a strategic management program in an Irish Institute of Technology

Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) worldwide are investing significant resources in strategic planning and self-evaluation programs to improve institutional performance and to meet external stakeholder demands. Little empirical evidence exists however which demonstrates that these programs are effective in leading to improvements in institutional performance, let alone shed light on the reasons why. This paper reports on the systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of a strategic planning program in an Irish HEI over a 5-year-period in leading to improvements in institutional performance.     

Goals, components, and factors considered in university development

It is generally known that the general goals of universities are to produce high-quality graduates for the job market, to continuously advance the frontier of knowledge in all the disciplines, and ultimately to advance human civilization. There can, however, be numerous specific goals which differ from one university to the other. Whatever it is, in order to achieve the desired goals, universities need to design a realistic strategic development plan, which must include, among others, the important logistical components and factors of university development. In Malaysia, little is known about university development planning process as a subject area. Annual reports and calendars published by universities do not provide sufficient information about the elements and aspects of high priorities in their strategic development plan. As such, we decided to conduct a study on eleven (11) foremost public universities in Malaysia—a country with a centralized education system—in order to examine the goals, components, and factors considered by university top-management in planning university development. We administered a checklist to 296 respondents, comprising deputy vice-chancellors or deputy rectors, registrars, deans, and directors. The checklist required the respondents to rate the consideration level on a scale of 1 (least considered) to 5 (highly considered) for each of the items on goals, components, and factors. This article reports the main findings of our study. Among other things, the most obvious result revealed by the study was that universities were very concerned with the relevancy of academic programs offered and their performance in research. It was rather surprising, however, that the top-management of public universities in Malaysia placed the goal of providing quality infrastructure and facilities at the lowest ranking. Also, this study revealed that the government, as a factor, exerted its prominence only in terms of university budget and research grants and the execution of some policies of national interest, but university expansion and development was largely driven by the university organization itself, i.e., on where, what, and how it wants to expand and grow. In this regard, public universities in Malaysia still enjoy a large degree of academic autonomy and a strong support by the government.     

高校“非理性”办学定位的理性省思——基于教育学类CSSCI论文的统计与分析

对教育学类CSSCI（1998-2008年）文献来源库中关于高校办学定位的论文做深入统计与分析研究后发现：学界近来对高校定位研究的关注度显著提高,相关研究自2002年以来大幅增加,研究主题与范围得到拓展和深化;研究中的问题比较突出,具体包括高校对此的重视程度仍显不足且规划专业化程度不高、研究方法与理论视角运用有待规范、研究者的立场单一、高校办学定位问题的严重程度和范围被过度夸大等方面。     

博洛尼亚进程中的法国高等教育改革研究

博洛尼亚进程对欧洲各国,特别是以法国为代表的高等教育体制高度集权的国家产生了重要的影响.法国在博洛尼亚进程框架内进行的高等教育改革对原有的高等教育体制产生了巨大冲击.法国通过进行高等教育体制结构调整、实行欧洲学分转换系统、建立专门的质量评估机构等措施增强了大学之间的合作,推动了学生的流动性,密切了高等教育领域与社会经济部门的联系.法国这次的高等教育改革增强了高等教育体制的开放性和流动性,提高了高等教育体制对社会发展的反应能力,促进了法国高等教育质量的提高.     

新时代教育评价改革背景下高校质量文化建设的路径

教育评价是高校质量文化建设的价值导向,对高校质量观的形成和质量行为的产生起着重要的引导作用。在新时代教育评价改革背景下,高校质量文化建设应立足大学使命,从被动接收外部评价转化为主动拓展内部自发自觉的质量文化,从宏观的外部评价、中观的学校自评价和微观的师生评价三个层面探索高校质量文化建设的新路径。     

标准之思——对高等教育质量内涵的审视

标准是评价的依赖。开展高等教育评价、分析高等教育质量,首先要分析高等教育质量标准,但高等教育质量标准面临着市场化、数字化、权力化的反思和批判。教育的质量标准不是一种社会经济标准,更不是权力角斗场、数字游戏和表演。解析高等教育质量标准,离不开对教育本身意义的追寻,更离不开对教育具体情景的反思。     

博洛尼亚进程中意大利高等教育学位制度改革

"采用以两个层次为主的学位体系"是"博洛尼亚进程"改革中的重要内容.为融入欧洲高等教育区,继续推行高等教育自治和克服传统高等教育学位制度的弊端,意大利政府在<博洛尼亚宣言>颁布后实施学位制度改革,引入了"3+2"双层学位制度.本文在分析意大利实施学位制度改革的背景与动因的基础上,阐述了其改革措施、改革成效、改革中遇到的问题与解决方法,以期对我国高等教育学位制度改革有所借鉴.     

Gender and Management in HEIs: Changing organisational and management structures

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi‐country study examining cross cultural perspectives of gender and management in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It examines the broader labour market context and legislative frameworks for higher education in each country and then analyses the literature on women in university management. The paper presents the findings of research with male and female senior managers about their perceptions of women as HEI managers within changing organisational and management structures. It concludes that although HEI’s are now largely aware of barriers to women getting into and on in senior management, they have not addressed the organisational structures and cultures that perpetuate this inequity.     

利用平衡计分卡理念重构三门峡市政府绩效目标管理

将平衡计分卡引入政府部门,建构合理、有效的指标体系来评估政府绩效,有利于提高政府绩效评估质量。本文从平衡计分卡的理论出发,探讨平衡计分卡在地方政府绩效管理实施的可行性,以三门峡市为例探讨在地方政府的绩效评估中如何设置平衡计分卡四个方面维度的战略主题和政府使命的关键绩效指标和要求,最后利用平衡计分理念对卡三门峡市政府绩效管理目标重构。     

高等教育大众化过程中值得研究的几个问题

我国自1999年高等学校扩大招生规模后,高等教育很快就跨 进了高等教育的大众化时代。过去高等教育实施的是精英教育,现在是大 众教育;大众教育并不排除精英教育,但已经不能用实施精英教育的办法 来实施大众教育。我们在高等教育扩大招生时,没有深入考虑高等教育大 众化对高等教育带来的各种变革,高等教育现还在发展中,有必要重新思 考这个问题。     

Translating norms from Europe to Turkey: Turkey in the Bologna Process

This article focuses on the structural changes Turkish higher education is going through as a result of Turkey’s integration into the European educational space. The focus of the article is the process of policy transfer. For this purpose, the article outlines the changes in Turkish higher education comprehensively to explain the dynamics of the policy transfer. Creation of a national qualifications system and establishment of a quality assurance system are given as examples of policy transfer. The article concludes that while the system is becoming more student-centred, change in higher education is happening in a very top-down fashion, where participation of relevant stakeholders is not ensured.     

'Quality' in the Bologna Process: from 'competitive edge' to quality assurance techniques

The theoretical premise of this article is that policy is constructed and presented discursively. The Bologna process presents us with an example of such a policy construction process where the quality policy goals are set jointly in transnational settings, requiring different kinds of negotiations and discursive strategies. Discourse analysis of policy texts can be useful in tracing policy changes and describing them, but also in explaining and understanding some of the developments that lead up to the implementation of the policies and the (political) views which are embedded in the debates. In this article, some discourse analytical methods are used to analyse the potential meanings of ‘quality’ at the European and national level of the Bologna process. The linguistic analysis focuses on the different meanings of ‘quality’ and the value assumptions attached to it from the point of view of word choice, metaphors and argumentation strategies. The data used are the official declarations and communiqués of the Bologna process; the central background reports of the process; and brief national follow‐up reports prepared for the Berlin meeting of 2003 from Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands.