Search results for "Higher education policy"
showing 10 items of 34 documents
Modeling and Measuring Competencies in Germany
2016
In order to meet the challenges facing higher education policy and practice, and initiate the necessary fundamental assessment-research, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) established the Modeling and Measuring Competencies in Higher Education (KoKoHs) research program in 2011. The program was part of the BMBF funding priority Research on Science and Higher Education aimed at building a capacity for empirical research in higher education.
Finnish mergers : Change in the Context of Continuity
2016
This chapter focuses on three prominent university mergers in Finland which took place during the last decade. In order to understand the mergers and the developments that led to them, we highlight broader higher education policy change, most notably the making and implementation of the new Universities Act (558/2009). The changing discourse around the role of higher education (Nokkala, 2016) and the changing of the Universities Act took place in parallel to the merger processes, thus forming the broader political context which the structural development took place. In our analysis, we take as our central perspective the roles of the national actors to introduce national translations and so…
Position of text and discourse analysis in higher education policy research
2008
The article sets out to address the position of text and discourse analysis in higher education policy research, both from theoretical and methodological points of view. Theoretically, the article presents policy processes as discursive processes, arguing that higher education policies are constructed discursively. Methodologically, the article suggests that when policy documents are used as data, as is often the case in higher education policy research, text analytical tools should be applied more systematically than is the case now. To support these views, the article presents two cases of applications of a textual approach in higher education policy studies.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Quality
2010
ABSTRACT During the 15 years that Quality in Higher Education has held a focal position in the field of higher education assessment, the concept of quality has evolved from a debatable and controversial concept to an everyday matter in higher education. The author takes a personal look into the development of the field by first tracking the discursive changes in the debate, and then reflecting on the shift of the quality discussion from a matter of political substance debate to a matter of technical implementation. The article finishes with a look into possible futures of the quality revolution.
National Stories, Convergent Trends and Divergent Paths: Discursive Construction of the Higher Education and Knowledge Society – Nexus in Higher Educ…
2016
Higher education policy texts construct the relationship between higher education and knowledge society. The higher education discourse in Finland, Portugal, Germany, United Kingdom and United States over the last two decades typically presents the knowledge society as either an existing fact or as a desirable development towards which countries should aspire. The convergent discourse emphasises the importance of information and communication technologies, internationalisation, globalisation, and international context for policy making; the importance of research, science and technology, but also education, learning and skills and their role in bringing about the knowledge society. At the s…
Higher Education as Modulator of Gender Inequalities: Evidence of the Spanish Case
2015
Raising educational levels may help to reduce inequalities between men and women in certain social and economic aspects. Using statistics for Spain, we analyse labour market behaviours such as the rates of activity and unemployment by sex according to the educational level. The results reveal that the differences between men and women decrease as the educational level increases. In particular, the modulator effect of education is very important at the higher level, where differences in labour market behaviour between men and women with an university education almost disappear, except in terms of salaries. Nevertheless, it can be seen that the current economic crisis has reduced the modulato…
Whose quality? Social actors in the interface of transnational and national higher education policy
2008
The article analyzes the construction of national reactions to a transnational higher education policy from the point of view of the representation of social actors in policy documents. The data are provided by the so-called Bologna Process, particularly the development of comparable quality assurance systems, and Finnish responses to those demands. Who is represented as active and who as passive, as European policies are discursively translated into national policies? How are those ‘quality actors’ represented in the policy documents directed at a transnational audience (i.e. the Bologna Process communiques, as well as national reports on its advancement) as opposed to documents directed a…
Persuasive presuppositions in OECD and EU higher education policy documents
2008
The article analyses presuppositions in higher education policy documents of the OECD and the European Union from the point of view of their persuasiveness. Presuppositions set the assumed common ground, which in turn sets the frame of interpretation of texts. However, by presenting something as common ground, presuppositions also shape our views of the reality. Used in this way, presuppositions can be used to present contested views, which would be open to criticism if they were asserted explicitly. The analysis does not evaluate the actual success of persuasion, but rather how policy documents are construed in a persuasive way.
«I Can?t Get the Practical Hours» : Care, Course Choice and Role Conflict Among Student-Mothers in Higher Education in Scotland
2021
Mothers who study at a higher education level face many challenges that traditional students do not. They have less time to study and must negotiate their different commitments and responsibilities, which includes taking care of their children. This article reports on qualitative research conducted with a small group of mothers that study at a prestigious university in Scotland to understand their experiences of belonging to the space of the institution and their perceived learning challenges. Four interviews and one focus group were organised, voice recorded and their transcripts were thematically analysed and engaged with the research questions. It has found that they experience limited s…
To Achieve the Same as the Others? Policy Preconditions for Successful Higher Education Governance
2021
Higher Education (HE) Institutions in different European countries have been steered towards an increased level of quality and performance through a comparable market governance approach. Despite t...