Report: “The Bologna Club: What U.S. Higher Education Can Learn From a Decade of European Reconstruction”

A new report written by Clifford Adelman at the Institute for Higher Education Policy indicates that the United States Higher Education System needs to adopt some of the features of the Bologna Process. Today, Scott Jaschik’s article at the Insider Higher Ed offers a compelling overview of the report and Adelman’s argument.

Adelman argues that Bologna may push colleges much further toward defining learning outcomes than the Spellings Commission ever tried. While the education secretary’s panel urged colleges to adopt systems to measure outcomes, the emphasis of Bologna — both in defining degrees and credits — is focused on specific outcomes. A bachelor’s degree in engineering should mean that a graduate possesses specific skills X, Y and Z, and so forth.

Link to report here

From the Chronicles of Higher Education News Blog, by Beth McMurtrie, Wed, May 21 2008:

A new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy argues that the United States, in its quest for accountability in academe, could learn a lot from its neighbors in Europe.

The report, “The Bologna Club: What U.S. Higher Education Can Learn From a Decade of European Reconstruction,” examines in detail the efforts of 49 European nations to harmonize their higher-education systems. The report was written by Clifford Adelman, a former research analyst at the U.S. Department of Education who is now a senior associate at the institute.

Mr. Adelman argues that the Bologna Process, as this decade-long effort is known, offers some common-sense solutions to the struggle to define what students should be learning and to create a better pathway through the higher-education system.

 

Resource: The UNESCO Portal on Higher Education Institutions

From UNESCO:

This portal offers access to on-line information on higher education institutions recognized or otherwise sanctioned by competent authorities in participating countries.

It provides students, employers and other interested parties with access to authoritative and up-to-date information on the status of higher education institutions and quality assurance in these countries.

Currently, information can be accessed on the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States of America. In the next stage of the project, the number of countries covered will be expanded.

The country information on this portal is managed and updated by relevant authorities in participating countries. More information on the national processes for recognizing or otherwise sanctioning institutions is available on the country pages.

Users are encouraged to consult several sources of information before making important decisions regarding matters such as the choice of an institution, course of study or the status of qualifications. Individuals wishing to have their qualifications recognized for work or further study are advised to consult the competent authorities of the country in which they are seeking to have their qualifications recognised. It is also important to note that some institutions not on the national lists may offer quality programmes. Users are encouraged to contact the national contact point(s) for each country, if necessary, for further information.

Link here

 

State-istics and the challenges of representing global higher ed

A great post by Kris Olds at the Global Higher education blog on new forms of graphic representation of the global  flows and networks in higher education policy.

From Globalhighered:

The globalization of higher education and research is starting to become represented in some insightful graphic formats, as we hinted in our November entry ‘Global geographies of R&D‘. This said the creators of graphic representations are stymied by what Peter Taylor at Loughborough University deems state-istics; the fact that many of the statistics analysts use are created by national governments (for even multilateral agencies like the OECD or the World Bank need to draw out their data from member nations). As Taylor notes, though in relation to the challenges of acquiring data on the relations between ‘global cities‘:

The common term for social data is ‘statistics’ a term that derives directly from the word state. This is, of course, no accident: large-scale data collection on human activities has its origins in state needs and continues to be dominated by states: hence my portrayal of it as state-istics.

Unlike the natural sciences, within social science there is little or no ‘big science’ where very large sums of money are committed to solving theoretical problems. The latter enables natural scientists to concentrate on developing measurements specifically designed for their theoretical purposes. In social science, most data that is collected relates to small-scale cumulative scientific activity. To get an evidential handle on big issues, researchers normally rely on the statistics that are available, that is to say, already collected. Collection is carried out usually by a state agency for the particular needs of government policy, not, of course, for social science research. But the problem is much more than the possibility of having to use unsuitable data. Basing ‘big social science’ on state-istics means that the state defines the basic dimensions of the leading edge ‘macro’ social research and therefore the framework within which most social research is conducted.

Transnational higher education challenges us all, for networks and flows cross national borders, in often untracked ways, and many of the key movers and shakers in this unsettled context are select institutions, or city-regions, but certainly not national spaces.

 

Resourcer:Worldmapper

Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. There are now nearly 600 maps. Maps 1-366 are also available as PDF posters. Use the menu above to find a map of interest.

An example is the following map on Tertiary Education Spending Growth (1990-2001).

The territory size shows the proportion in spending in tertiary education between 1990 -2001.

The site informs that:

There have been spending increases in tertiary education in 135 of the 200 territories in the world, between 1990 and 2001. North America and Southern Asia are the only regions where there has been a spending increase in every territory. In Eastern Asia there has been a spending increase in every territory except for Mongolia. In Central Africa there has been a spending increase in every territory except for Burundi.

The size of spending increases varies hugely between places. Increases in spending per person in North America and Western Europe are over 4 times those in the next highest regions of Eastern Europe and Japan.

 

Article: Maths teacher shortage ‘will get worse’

This article refers to a wider trend affecting not only the UK but most countries around the world. The shortage of skilled labour force in certain strategies areas, related to the quality provision of health and education, such as it is the case of teachers in math and sciences.

From the Guardian, form Anthea Lipsett ,May 7, 2008:

“the shortage of qualified maths teachers in schools in England and Wales is set to get worse, according to new research.

Figures produced by Education Data Surveys today reveal that only 2,000 maths teachers are likely to be trained this year, with even fewer next year, meaning there will not be enough trainees to fill all the vacancies advertised by schools.

An analysis of job advertisements for main scale maths teachers placed by secondary schools since the start of 2008 showed some 1,650 adverts by state schools across England and Wales.

With three months left for schools to advertise teaching posts before the end of the school year, the number of adverts is around 75% of total trainee numbers.

But once the needs of the private sector, those who drop out of training courses, and those who decide not to enter teaching are factored in to the equation, recorded vacancies for the first four months of 2008 exceed the likely number of trainees available.

Prof John Howson, who conducted the analysis, said: “Once again the government’s failure to recruit enough trainee maths teachers means that some schools will be short of properly qualified maths teachers.

“Parents should ask what the government is doing about this issue. All the focus on so-called poor teachers must not disguise the fact that the government has continually failed to provide enough teachers.

“What is even more alarming is that recruitment to training courses for 2008 is falling behind the levels seen last year and is well below the record highs recorded in 2006.”

The government must ensure that every school has its fair share of qualified maths teachers, regardless of whether it has to introduce rationing or use incentives, he added.”

 

Changing IMF Policies: Is the IMF responsible for the shortage of doctors, nurses and teachers in developing countries?

From Eldis:
Title: Changing IMF policies
Authors: R. Rowden
Publisher: IFIwatchnet, 2008

Full text of document

This paper highlights the shortage of doctors, nurses and teachers hired in developing countries. It critically addresses current International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies with a focus on the need to change its practices in order to improve the situation.

The authors argue that 57 countries, most of them in Africa and Asia, face a severe health workforce crisis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that at least 2.4 million health professionals and 1.9 million health workers, or a total of 4.3 million health workers, are needed to fill the gap. Without prompt action, the shortage will worsen. Mounting evidence suggests policies promoted and enforced by the IMF may be preventing developing countries from spending more in their national budgets. This has important consequences for health and education budgets being constrained at unnecessarily low levels when major increases are needed. Although rich countries have provided some debt cancellation, too little has been made available for too few countries in need.

The paper calls for four key courses of action:

• to demand that the IMF change and widely publicise revised macroeconomic restraint policies
• to demand that other policy options for increased public spending be fully vetted and explored
• to demand greater public stakeholder involvement in such explorations of alternative spending options
• to call on governments to raise this issue of changing IMF policies through the Executive Board of the IMF, which approves the IMF loan programs for borrowing countries.

 

HOUSEKEPING NOTES

Our regular blog posting will be interrupted until next Week.

 

Progress for children: a world fit for children statistical review

From Eldis:

An overview of progress made in attaining the millennium development goals with regard to children

Title:Progress for children: a world fit for children statistical review
Authors: ; UNICEF
Publisher: United Nations [UN] Children’s Fund , 2007

Full text of document

This paper provides an overview on progress made in attaining the millennium development goals (MDGs) with regard to children.

On the way towards the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1), underweight prevalence has declined even if low weight or height for children aged under 5 remains common in many developing regions.

With regard to MDG 2, universal enrollment in primary schools has been successfully promoted and more than 85 per cent of primary-school-age children attend school. However, the provision of secondary education lags behind.

 

Audio/Video: Bruno Latour

A very complete list of Bruno Latour Audio/Video lectures available online.

From ANTHEM:

• Listen to audio: “The Tarde/Durkheim Debate” with Bruno Karsenti as Emile Durkheim, Bruno Latour as Gabriel Tarde, and Simon Schaffer as the Dean, at the Tarde/Durkheim: Trajectories of the Social Conference at Cambridge University, 14 March 2008
• Listen to audio: “The Harman Review: Bruno Latour’s Empirical Metaphysics,” a symposium with Bruno Latour, Graham Harman, Lucas Introna and Noortje Marres, chaired by Edgar Whitley, at ISIG, London School of Economics and Political Science, 5 February 2008
• Listen to MP3: “Another European Tradition: traceability of the social and the vindication of Gabriel Tarde,” lecture by Bruno Latour, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, 4 February 2008
• Listen to RealPlayer Audio: “Episode 5 - Ulrich Beck and Bruno Latour,” How to Think About Science, CBC Radio, 12 December 2007
• Listen to audio: “Is there a cosmopolitically correct design?” Manchester Architecture Research Centre, University of Manchester, 5 October 2007
• Watch the video or listen to MP3: “From Object to Things: How to Represent the Parliament of Nature?” A lecture by Bruno Latour, The Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium, UC Berkeley’s Center for New Media, 17 October 2005
• Watch the video: “Nature Space Society” by Bruno Latour, with Olafur Eliasson, Doreen Massey and Dominic Willsdon at the Tate, London, 19 April 2005
• Watch the video: Bruno Latour on the Issue Ticker, at “Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy.” Exhibition. ZKM_Museum for Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe, Germany, March 2005

• Watch the video: “Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy.” Exhibition. Opening speech by Bruno Latour, ZKM_Museum for Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe, Germany, 19 March 2005
• Watch the video: “Assembly or Assemblage? Politics and Polytechnics.” A lecture by Bruno Latour, Politecnico di Milano, 17 November 2003
• Listen to RealPlayer Audio: “Why has the Critical Spirit Run Out of Steam?” A lecture by Bruno Latour, Stanford Humanities Centre, 7 April 2003
• Watch the video: “What is Iconoclash?” A lecture by Bruno Latour given at the symposium “Image Wars and Image Floods,”12 July 2002
• Watch Flash presentation: “Iconoclash” by Bruno Latour given at CCA Kitakyushu, 1 July 2002

 

Report: UK-China-Hong Kong Transnational Education Project (British Council, 2007)

From globalhighered :

Both China (PRC) and the Hong Kong SAR offer an expanding and highly competitive market opportunity for overseas higher education institutions (HEIs). As noted in a recent report commissioned by the British Council (UK-China-Hong Kong Transnational Education Project), a number of UK HEIs are providing hundreds of new ‘international’ degree programmes in Hong Kong and China.

According to the Hong Kong Education Bureau, in January 2008 there were over 400 degree programmes run by 36 different UK HEIs in Hong Kong. On the one hand, UK HEIs can be seen to work as independent operators, offering a number of courses to local students registered with the Hong Kong Education Bureau under the ‘Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance’. At the same time, UK HEIs have also initiated a series of collaborations between UK and Hong Kong HEIs. These collaborations are exempted from registration under the Ordinance. In January 2008 there were over 150 registered- and 400 exempted-courses run by 36 different UK HEIs in Hong Kong.