U 68 — A reform proposal for Swedish higher education

The Swedish 1968 Educational Commission (U 68) completed its main report in 1973. The Commission recommends a very wide definition of the concept of higher education so as to include any qualified education or training for adults, whether academic or vocational in nature. Higher education should be seen in the context of an overall educational planning, with the aim of distributing educational resources to meet the needs of every citizen. As a consequence, U 68 proposes a numerus clausus for higher education as a whole. The geographic distribution of higher education is also being stressed, and the creation of one comprehensive institutional organisation for the main part of all higher education is proposed.The proposals of the commission should be seen in the perspective of recurrent education. The author points to the possible, development of a new educational structure, the main feature of which is the division into compulsory and post-compulsory education.Formerly Secretary of the 1968 Educational Commission.     

“Trickle-down” reform: Hispanics,higher education,and the excellence movement

The current excellence-in-education movement has dealt a heavy blow to the advancement of Hispanics seeking degrees in higher education. Attempting to reform education while ignoring the concerns of minorities who traditionally have not fared well in schools strongly suggests that reformers expect the benefits of reform to trickle down to minorities after first benefiting mainstream students. The result is that reform measures such as the raising of college admission standards, the restructuring of financial aid, curriculum changes, and competency tests for teachers have added additional hurdles for Hispanic students, placing greater restrictions on their access to higher education. Reconceptualizing the definition ofexcellence to include not only higher standards, but educational equity, is a demographic imperative as the nation moves to a minority majority.     

A “model” proposal for reform in teacher training

The present paper uses as a point of departure two of Benton and Hoyt's (1990) survey items concerning undergraduate teaching and their finding that Holmes Group and Division 15 members favored more sweeping changes in teacher education whereas TESCSU members favored more incremental changes. It: (a) suggests that reform is unlikely to succeed without change in the behavior of those who teach prospective teachers; (b) suggests ways in which educational psychologists can improve the effectiveness of teachers and teacher training; and (c) questions whether moving teacher training to the graduate level will in fact improve such education.     

The “field plot”; model for instructional research in higher education 1

As means of providing bridges between the learning laboratory and the classroom “field plots”; have been established in art history, second language learning, poetry, hematology, ophthamology, pediatric cardiology and law school courses. Professors from each of these disciplines are joined by research specialists from the Consulting Group on Instructional Design and the Center for Research in Human Learning at the University of Minnesota to make up the particular task‐oriented groups. To be successful the subject matter specialist must see value in the various levels of concern which the basic researcher, evaluation specialist and instructional designer have for issues of subject matter structure, comprehension, competency, sequence and mode of instruction. Similarly, the researchers and developers must see value in the association with knowledgeable specialists and an ecologically valid research environment. These cooperative ventures have produced worthwhile practical results for particular courses, generalizations for applications in other instructional areas and the challenge of ecological validity to the laboratory researchers.     

Growth or steady state? A bibliometric focus on international comparative higher education research

The study combines a bibliometric approach with a content analysis of abstracts of articles to explore the patterns of international comparative higher education research in leading international journals. The overall data set covers 4,095 publications from the Web of Science for the period 1992–2012 and the amount of international comparative articles in this data set is analyzed utilizing a geographical coding. Contrary to a general proliferation of international and global trends in higher education, the results of the analysis most importantly reveal a relatively steady state of international comparative higher education research over the past 20 years. Further patterns examined show that international collaborative articles have a much higher share in international comparative research compared to non-comparative research, small-scale country clusters are preferred for comparison and there is a dense network of comparative clusters between Europe and the US. Finally, rationales for these patterns are discussed, as well as potential implications.     

Dual learning — a challenge for higher education in the new landscape of governance

Tertiary Education and Management - In many countries, practice-oriented programmes have been recast as university programmes, fuelling debate on the purpose of higher education. We highlight two...     

A conducive learning environment in international higher education: A systematic review of research on students’ perspectives

Higher education institutions (HEIs) strive to meet international students' needs and expectations regarding their learning environments. Current literature covers a wide range of needs, expectations, and HEIs' responses. However, there doesn't seem to be a consensus about the needs and expectations to be addressed. A coherent theoretical framework may help HEIs identify areas of need and provide additional resources and comprehensive services. We performed a systematic review to obtain an overview of international students' needs, expectations, and experiences regarding their learning environments as described in the literature. We categorized students' perspectives into dimensions. Subsequently, we investigated whether these dimensions related to the three key domains outlined in the theoretical framework and the coverage of these key domains by HEIs. Sixty-three studies were eligible for inclusion. We identified 18 dimensions of international students' needs, expectations, and experiences that could be mapped onto the framework. Based on these results, the content of the three domains could be summarized as goal direction, relationships, and supporting services. Thirteen studies covered one domain, 14 covered two domains, and 36 covered three domains. To provide optimal support, HEIs should cover all three domains. Our study may help to better understand and optimize learning environments for international students.     

How “similarity” in higher education can improve assessment quality

Higher education is the product of three constituents, the policy makers or government, the executors or faculty and the recipients or the students or scholars. Steadiness among different constituents in given social interaction can act as facilitating motive and it could make higher education more smooth and productive. The “steadiness” in the pilot study is “a parameter that helps the three constituents of higher education to communicate to each other without ambiguity or say on a same frequency” and is very close to the factor “similarity”. Studies prove that “similarities” help group cohesion, improve performance and social relations etc. So to assume that the presence of like-mindedness or “similarity” or say “steadiness” in the field of higher education has the potential to decrease the amount of stress and to increase the productivity or outcome （successful policies, objective assessments, scholars, research, utility etc.）, is justified. And the assumption possesses the testable potential to study policy, assessment, implementation and other allied issues objectively. Many methods of social research and experimental designs are feasible for such study. A pilot study of a biography proves that the study of “similarity” in higher education for quality and assessment is viable and possesses the potential to produce better scholars, can enable the government to improve economy, can help to produce a strong next generation, can positively contribute to strengthen the social institutions and society and above all can bring a positive change in higher education that has been merely claimed for last many years. It is recommended that the proposed “similarity” may be studied in the field of higher education to help the government to formulate and execute policies based on social psychological evidence to enable the executors to best utilize their potential to help the recipients and learners to grow as per their full potential.     

Study on life education for college students —a survey on students in Guangzhou

Due to the social environment of China’s reform and opening up, as well as China’s education system with knowledge impartation as its focus, some college students lack the humanistic care and education of value and significance of life. Universities should plan effective activities to make students realize the importance of life. They should provide students with such education as life conscience, failures in life, the ability to make a living and the values of life in order to have a clearer knowledge of life education, so that the students can set up a positive, healthy and correct life view, realize the value and meaning of life, and finally learn to respect life.     

Demands and design principles of a “heterodox” didactics for promoting critical thinking in higher education

Higher Education - Following on from the already wide-ranging academic discussion about fostering critical thinking in students as an important component of a university’s educational...     

Choices of destination for transnational higher education: “pull” factors in an Asia Pacific market

Traditional assumptions favouring native English language countries in transnational higher education (TNHE) overlook experiences of international students in new emerging Asian education hubs. Specifically, there has been limited research relating to international students’ choice for studying in Malaysia. Drawing from the “push-pull” model of factors influencing the movement of international student destination choice, this study identifies determinants of student destination decision for TNHE. While acknowledging perceived qualities and values of individual institutions as important criteria, findings from interviews with students that are currently enrolled at international branch campuses also indicated key influences driven by “pull” factors of country image – attractive features of Malaysia, i.e. comparatively low cost of living, low tuition fees, safe country for living, stable government, modern amenities, proximity in culture and religion and freedom from discrimination – as focal motives in their choice decision. These findings provide implications for policy-makers to deploy their educational resources as well as develop effective promotional and marketing strategies in promoting the local reputation and amenities in order to attract more international students.     

An immanent social class effect on participation in higher education? A rejoinder to Harrison and Waller

This article responds to criticisms, put forward by Harrison and Waller in this issue, of an earlier paper by Noble and Davies. In particular, we argue that our interpretation of earlier quantitative research is correct, that Harrison and Waller have misconstrued the purpose of our previous paper and the analysis it contains, and that they (mis‐)attribute to us a series of propositions and standpoints that are not in our paper. In the light of increasing policy interest in the extent to which providing information can lead to ‘more well‐informed choices’ about participation in higher education, we remain of the view that researching the role of cultural capital in the students’ immanent choices is a matter of considerable importance.     

A futile search for values and pedagogy? A discursive analysis of the marketing messages of branch-campuses in higher education hubs

Higher education has become a key strategy for the economic development of certain city-states that are positioning themselves as higher education hubs, recruiting both students and foreign providers. This article presents the findings of a research study that examined the online messages of foreign branch-campuses in education hubs (Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore). The project adapts and expands on Fairclough’s notion of critical discourse analysis to include virtual discursive space in order to understand how foreign providers address context, and what values are central to their programming, as they construct their virtual presence in new locations. The findings identify that the dominant themes on institutional websites reflect key issues facing higher education, including quality, leadership, international connections and technological advancement. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework that assists institutions in moving beyond these themes to re-consider context in their overseas operations.