Search

The development of key competences for lifelong learning has been an important policy imperative for EU Member States. The European Reference Framework of key competences (2006) built on previous developments by the OECD, UNESCO and Member States themselves. It defined key competences as knowledge, skills and attitudes applied appropriately to contexts. Now most Member States have incorporated key competences, or similarly broad learning outcomes, into their school curriculum frameworks. This is a necessary but insufficient step towards implementation; for the effective development of learners' key competences, assessment must also change. This article focuses on the challenge of assessing cross-curricular key competences in primary and secondary education. It is based on a major study for the European Commission (Gordon, et al., 2009), which drew on information gathered and validated with the help of experts in each of the 27 EU Member States. The study's typology of assessment provides a basis for reviewing some recent developments in Member States. Present challenges and innovative responses are addressed, including 'unpacking' key competences, 'mapping' them to contexts and 'accessment' of their full scope and range. Policy developments are considered in the context of the author's work with the European Commission's Thematic Working Group on the assessment of key competences. The article concludes with considerations for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contextualises the use of accreditation for prior experiential learning (APEL) in European higher education by analysing the notions of desert and merit. We propose that the credentialising of certain types of knowledge can lead to a narrow definition of education which merely endeavours to serve consumer imperatives so as to market the individual in the work place rather than develop the essence of their being. The article advocates judgement not rules, codes or descriptors in making assessments of the worth of the personal and professional knowledge , experience and practices of claimants. We then argue that without such mechanistic criteria desert rather than merit should hold sway in the making of assessments. Moreover, we propose that desert more fairly represents an individual's achievements for the purposes of the owner of the achievement and for those would wish to make decsions based upon them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution in Europe towards more competence-based curricula in the last ten years or so is the result of several exogenous factors and a determined European policy. The Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, a Recommendation approved by the European Parliament and the Council in 2006, and the work carried out within the Open Method of Coordination as well as by European research bodies have had a significant impact on Member States' curriculum reforms. This article shows that some terminology issues, both conceptual and practical, may explain, together with other causes, the diverse formulations of key competences and the way in which they are being integrated into the compulsory education curricula by the Member States or at intra-national levels. The focus of the article is on cross-curricular competences because these are the key competences which require the most significant innovations in teaching and learning practices, on assessment tools and procedures, and school organisation. The analysis illustrates the main differences and convergences in policy formulation and implementation strategies among the EU Member States. It also identifies key obstacles that must be overcome for an effective implementation before suggesting some policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the evidence from the 2009 PISA survey on the distribution of skills amongst 15-year-olds in different regions and country groups and explores how education systems in these regions contribute to different levels of inequality. In the second part, it presents evidence from surveys on adult skills and attitudes on how skills inequality affects social attitudes and social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the EU commitment to alleviating the high rates of poverty in Europe there is widespread agreement among policy-makers that it is crucial to include the voices of those who are living in poverty in order to fight exclusion most effectively. Similarly, those studying ways to address poverty and inequality are increasingly required to seek dialogue with those who are the focus of their research. These policy-makers and researchers need procedures that will allow them to move from the principle of including the voices of the most vulnerable social groups to specific ways of undertaking such a dialogue. Research using the critical communicative methodology (CCM) sheds some light on this. By examining aspects of the Integrated Project INCLUD-ED, the largest research on school education in the Framework Programme, this article argues that three elements of the CCM - egalitarian dialogue, successful actions' approach and informing effective policies - facilitate the engagement between researchers, end-users, and all the other involved stakeholders and therefore the move from principles to action in the process of overcoming poverty in Europe. As this article and the special issue demonstrate, through those elements, INCLUD-ED has already provided scientific knowledge that is instrumental to shorten the distance between the present situation and the horizon of a Europe which is free from poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past 20 years, researchers worldwide have shared a consensus that tracking leads to failure in school. But educational systems continue to use this practice for many reasons. One argument used to support the practice is that students who enter the vocational track early in their careers tend to enter the labour market more quickly. Data show, however, that when these people are in their 40s, they become the most vulnerable to poverty, especially during periods of economic recession. In addition to moving towards more comprehensive educational systems as the best long-term way to improve the chances of all future adults, our research demonstrates that schools can play a key role in preventing and reversing the risk of unemployment and poverty of low educated youth. The INCLUD-ED project has analysed effective actions in eight European countries (Slovenia, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Romania, Belgium, Finland, and Spain) that respond to the educational needs of those who have experienced tracking. These effective alternatives are vocational programmes that include an academic-type of curriculum and allow students to move to higher education, as well as adult education programmes in schools which meet families' training needs, improving their opportunities in the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How effective is EU cooperation in higher education? This article treats the issue as one of effectiveness in policy-making. What are the policy ideas which the EU wishes to feed into a policy domain where it has to operate largely through political cooperation and a modest degree of incentive funding? What outcomes are possible? The question is of interest since Europe has two processes which aim for a better regional integration of higher education in order to boost the quality of European higher education and to make a global impact. These are the world- famous Bologna Process and the EU process to drive Europe's universities to make better use of their interlinked roles of education, research and innovation, part of a larger strategy (EU 2020, Lisbon) for European Union growth to support employment, productivity and social cohesion. Building on the theoretical insights of an institutionalist literature concerned with the dynamics of European policy-making in the knowledge domain (Maassen & Olsen, 2007; Gornitzka, 2006, 2010) and complementary theories of historical institutionalism (Pierson, 2003, Thelen, 2003) and agenda setting (Kingdon, 1995), this article examines policy-making on higher education cooperation in the European arena since the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992. It seeks answers to two questions. Why did the Bologna Process dominate the agenda from 1999 to 2004? How did the European Commission acquire the power to shape the issue of European higher education cooperation? Rejecting simple spillover explanations, it theorises in terms of policy entrepreneurship why the EU has latterly been effective in shaping European cooperation in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of education cooperation in Europe seen though some of the major initiatives of international organizations (IOs) active in this field. The purpose of the article is two-fold: Six modes of cooperation are identified and reviewed in the article, namely (i) promoting universal, normative values among the education community, (ii) setting and monitoring common (or shared) goals for education systems, (iii) developing comparable quality standards and performance indicators, (iv) enhancing a policy dialogue and disseminating good practices at country and regional levels, (v) providing financial aid for system governance through institutional development and (vi) promoting the European dimension of education through student/staff mobility and institutional networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its creation in 1958, the European Social Fund (ESF) has played a major role in supporting the development of vocational training in the Member States. However, compared to other, more recently launched, EU programmes and initiatives in the area of education and training, the ESF has not made a significant contribution to the debate about European cooperation in this field. This article argues that the ESF has made a mistake in this respect. It also seeks to illustrate and analyse the important changes that the ESF has undergone over the years in addressing the issue of vocational education and training (VET) and to demonstrate that it has substantial resources, in terms of money and experience, that can be used to adapt education and training systems to labour market requirements and to the needs of a knowledge-based economy. The article places a deliberate, though not an exclusive, emphasis on vocational education and training for young people and on the extension of transnational cooperation within the framework of the ESF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many European countries and in North America, home education is a viable alternative for education at school. Parents who want to home school their child are legally allowed to do so, although some countries impose rather strict conditions. This article concentrates on the way authorities supervise or inspect the quality of home education. A comparison is made of inspection regulations in 14 European countries. Substantial differences were found, regarding among other things the function of inspection, inspection methods and the outcomes. Most countries do not have data on the effectiveness of inspection. It is recommended that governments screen their procedures for the inspection of home education using criteria such as transparency, consistency, and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a horizontal perspective on the dynamics of governance sites currently active for the European of Knowledge and places the Bologna process in this wider European level context. It introduces two dynamics of change in political organisation: a) institutional differentiation and specialisation and b) the interaction between institutional spheres and sectors. Signs of sectoral differentiation are identified in the history of European integration that is relevant to the Europe of Knowledge. The argument is that the nature and sequence of the differentiation process are key to understand current governance processes. It is illustrated by showing how a horizontal dynamics has been played out in the case of the EU's Lisbon strategy and in particular the cooperation taking place in the framework of the EU's 'Education and Training 2010' work programme. The analysis shows how the Bologna process, although perpetuated as a sector internal governance site, has co-evolved and interacted with this strategy, partly as an object of emulation and source of support and partly as a competing governance site. A horizontal dynamics of change is also evident in the larger Lisbon strategy as it lifted research and higher education policy to the centre of the European integration project. It resulted in the development of several governance sites with different foci targeting European higher education. A more prominent place on the political agenda came together with demands that research and education should be integrated with the overall political and economic objectives of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the 20th century, integration with the Western world has been a determining driver of higher education policies, as well as many other policy areas in Turkey. Becoming a signatory country of the Bologna Process in 2001 brought a new impulse to the higher education policies in this direction. The Bologna Process reforms introduced necessary changes and set new challenges. This article discusses the main implementation activities in the context of the Bologna Process in Turkey and the governance of the reform at the national level with a focus on the roles of the key national bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roads of incoming information to the US higher education system about the Bologna Process are varied and numerous. They include not only the on-line and traditional trade press, but also conferences of national organisations. Whether anyone remembers much of that information, on the other hand, is an open question, as a limited survey undertaken by the author reveals. The mainstream media are not interested in Bologna, governance authorities are exclusively focused on internal issues, and the US research literature on Bologna, while growing, is still minimal. However, some of the research was picked up by the Lumina Foundation for Education, which sponsored the first US experiment with Bologna-related reforms through a Tuning project involving three state systems and six disciplines; and a second round of this venture should begin soon. Out of this effort came Lumina's sponsorship of the first rounds of discussions concerning the potential for a national degree qualifications framework. This evolution indicates another mode of communication in the US system: a combination of personal relations and private foundations with a bold enough agenda to elevate and move both Bologna knowledge and practice to the centre of US consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses one of the most important aspects of the journey towards the vision of a European Higher Education Area, namely the development of a 'new architecture' in which compatible qualifications frameworks are one of the main building blocks. The overall question addressed concerns how and whether signatory countries of the Bologna process, although committed to this 'new architecture', share the same understanding of the intentions of the qualifications frameworks. The article shows that, while the main policy documents of the Bologna process cling to the saga of successfulness with regard to the implementation of compatible qualifications frameworks at national levels, our analysis demonstrates major shortcomings which cannot be explained within a rational approach. Rather, our study indicates that the shortcomings are better understood as the lack of a shared epistemic as well as cultural understanding of the aim of a qualifications framework. By employing a theoretical lens based upon different perspectives on institutionalism and governmentality, we argue that qualifications frameworks can be understood as part of a rapidly-expanding myth of rationality which offers global scripts to follow. On the other hand, the translation process of the qualifications frameworks shows that there are different 'windows of opportunities' which offer the different countries a space to manifest national mindsets and institutional practices. This becomes evident when looking into the self-certifications reports on national qualifications framework of three countries. Finally, to understand what is at stake, the issue of power needs to be taken into account. As we suggest, it comes as no surprise that the countries in the 'leading group' of introducing national qualifications frameworks are all 'well-established' members of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) for Quality Assurance has been seen as an important step towards realising the European Higher Education Area by creating more transparency and accountability in the area of quality assurance. The ESG also include standards as to how quality assurance agencies should be reviewed. In a meta-analysis of the reviews undertaken of quality assurance agencies, this article explores to what extent the ESG is having an impact on the reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the work of the Bologna Follow Up Group as the main institution of the Bologna Process and the perceptions of the policy actors involved concerning the character of the process in terms of its functioning in contrast to similar multi-level multi-actor European processes, its modes of communication and consensus seeking, as well as its effectiveness in terms of policy formation and implementation. It argues that the Bologna Process is a unique multi-level multi-actor process shaped by its informality, the actors' political commitment and the participation of stakeholders. Its format seems to be more effective and suitable for purposes of policy formation than for those of policy monitoring or coordination of implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning Cities and Learning Regions are terms now in common use as a result of the growing importance of lifelong learning concepts to the economic, social and environmental future of people and places. Why ‘learning’ regions? Why not intelligent, creative, clever, smart or knowledge regions? In truth, all of these can, and some do, also exist, but we argue that this is not a semantic debate. The basis of intelligence, smartness, cleverness, creativity and knowledge is effective learning and its intelligent application in creating a better future. We can, we believe, only learn our way into the future and the same is true, in developmental terms, of cities, towns, regions and communities. What therefore is a learning region? Definitions tend to differ according to perception, situation, occupation and objective. Where the focus is on technology a learning region will emphasise the advantages of hi-tech for the development of a physical infrastructure that will assist regeneration and be useful for more efficient behaviour and learning by people and organisations. Hence the growth of ‘smart cities,’ mainly in North America. Where it is on employment, employability, organisational management and training for industry, the development of human and social capital for economic gain and competitive edge tends to predominate. Most regions concentrate on this aspect. Where the motivation is based on the use of valuable resources, it will concentrate on volunteering, active citizenship and the building of social capital. Such an approach is not well developed in many regions and the optimum balance between economic, community and personal growth is poorly understood. Where the goal is the competent use of organisational potential a learning region will mobilise all its stakeholder institutions as partners in the service of the region as a whole. Here, very little is understood or implemented. This article argues that all of these approaches and others in the fields of environment, personal and cultural growth, innovation, diversity and communication are a holistic part and parcel of learning region development. Its meaning and its characteristics will become clear as it charts the development of ideas about learning regions, particularly those that have occurred during the past 20 years. It suggests the existence of a paradigm shift at work — the age of education and training, which has served us well in the late 20th century in satisfying the needs of a growing, upwardly mobile proportion of the population, has now given way to the era of lifelong learning, in which the means, the tools and techniques are employed to target and motivate everyone in a city, town or region. Those regions that achieve this nirvana will be the winners in the apparent paradox that intelligent local action leads to success in a globalised world, a version of the concept of ‘glocalisation’ coined by Robertson (1995) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

15 European countries were classified into four types in an international comparative study. The country profiles are based on indicators of the key concepts' funding, governance and choice. This research attempts to answer the question of how the quality of schooling of these types of education systems progressed as from 1995 and what explanations an expert panel of educationalists and researchers can provide for the outcomes. We observe significant differences between the performance trends of the four types of education systems. Also, comparisons between the different years show relatively high and significant correlations, especially between the original sample of countries in 1995 and future performances in TIMSS and PISA measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School networking is increasingly important in a globalised world, where schools themselves can be actors on an international stage. This article builds on the activities and experience of the longest established European initiative in this area, European Schoolnet (EUN), a network of 31 Ministries of Education. First, we offer an introduction covering school networks. We then describe the case of European Schoolnet, its history, role, and relationship with other school networks in the world. We then describe the underlying structure of EUN school networks and their basic characteristics. Using these basic characteristics as a framework, we consider a number of eTwinning, European Schoolnet networks: Network of Innovative Schools (ENIS) and myEUROPE. Last, we identify key features of network literacy, potential future trends in school networks, and areas where further research is needed in this field, and offer some recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers are often confined to their classrooms with limited or no time to share with colleagues the difficulties they face, their concerns, and their successful initiatives. This leads to a situation where they end up teaching in ways and approaches they believe to be best with no chance to know how others may be approaching similar difficulties in different and potentially more effective ways. Teachers do not have the opportunity to share and collaborate on projects with other education professionals, as their daily routine confines them to their school premises. This article discusses how the Comenius 3 project ‘Hands on Science’ has helped to create a network through which regular meetings in the forms of conferences on science for teachers were and are still organised to promote good practice in science teaching. The method used for connecting so many teachers across Europe was through key persons strategically chosen across the different partner countries. The conferences organised by the network differed from academic conferences in that they provided a platform for teachers to share their successes in teaching different aspects of science, particularly through the promotion of the use of experiments and other hands on approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses whether individual reflection and collective reflection mode together effectively fulfil the interest of the employer, the individual and the university, considered as the three party knowledge interests. The concept of experimental learning or individual reflective mode is identified as an effective process by the European University Lifelong Learning Network (EULLearN). In Great Britain, Assessment of Prior and/or Experiential Learning (APEL) is used as a process of identifying experimental learning. The concept of productive reflection is developed by D. Boud, P. Cressey and P. Docherty. It attempts to solve the conflicting demands of the employer and the learner and give an opportunity to the university to access organizational knowledge production.

The article discusses the features of the common European framework for work-based learning (WBL) of the project Developing European Work Based Learning Approaches and Methods (DEWBLAM). It highlights the point that education and training have the main role in responding to the challenges faced in Europe including globalization, an ageing population and emerging new technologies. It states that the European Union initiatives have brought changes in the structure, purpose, methodology, conduct and delivery of higher education in response to globalization. WBL is stated to possibly help higher education institutions to establish sustainable partnerships with workplace organizations, create more appropriate qualifications and improve employability.

The article discusses the theories of experiential learning and how they relate to work-based learning (WBL). It says that knowledge-based work-based environment provides a conducive environment to individuals for learning. The development of WBL in Europe is stated to be a part of the wider social, economic and political changes associated with the growth of a mass tertiary education system. The article further states that experiential learning in the workplace can help all countries to move more successfully towards a mass education system. The theories of experiential learning and their relation with WBL are presented. They focus on the single, double and triple loop learning process.

In this overview of non-vocational adult education and the training of its professionals we seek to provide a map of existing provision through secondary analysis of existing data. The territory is a complex one with a range of providers and considerable blurring of the vocational and non-vocational divide. Further, because of devolution within the four countries of the UK, there are certain relatively minor differences in the four administrations. Where these are of some significance, they are noted, but in general the specific focus is on England. Our analysis is based on data gathered as part of the Europe-wide ALPINE survey. Our secondary data are augmented by personal interviews with key informants representing different parts of the adult education sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the information society discourse in the European Union in relation to the European Commission's eLearning programmes, based on selected academics' conceptualisation of the term. It reveals a mixed picture of the perceptions that academics have of the information society in their respective countries. The findings indicate a convergence of these perceptions with the indicators of a presumed information society in various quantitative studies. This study considers that an integrated European Information Society, promoted by the European Commission partly through its eLearning programmes, is a concept destined to remain a motivational instrument for driving ICT policies throughout Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on recent trends in quality assurance initiatives, analyses how the European Higher Education Area promotes quality enhancement mechanisms and their implications for quality cultures in universities. It presents and discusses two approaches towards quality enhancement both at the institutional and programme level: 1. Quality Enhancement at programme level: the Tuning approach and 2. Scottish Enhancement-led Institutional Review. It also argues that current approaches towards quality culture are reorienting the focus from quality assurance towards contextual quality enhancement and that quality enhancement becomes the primary responsibility of universities and university stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents empirical results of explorative case studies that examine whether the New Public Management mechanisms have improved the academic performance of PhD education in selected German and European economics departments. Our data rely on document analyses of organisational variables and in-depth semi-structured interviews with professors in Germany and several European countries. We propose a typology of departments along their PhD production technology and suggest that organisational improvements should look at the processes through which new professional standards gain acceptance in departments and at the means by which long-term incentive problems of collective action in a department are solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in the year 2000, higher education policies all over Europe were transformed by the launching and evolution of the Bologna Process, otherwise known as the process of creating a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Initially, this process was flexible and informal, which makes the rapidity and scope of the changes it brought about surprising: why did European governments commit themselves to achieving the Bologna Objectives, and why so quickly, when there was no legal obligation to do so? I will argue the following: to understand the development of such a sense of obligation, we must take into account the special interests at stake when Bologna objectives are implemented at a national level. We must also consider the legitimacy lent to the process by the Bologna ideals of a knowledge-based economy and society. These elements are present in other studies on this topic. However, and this is rarely considered, we also have to take into account the specific dynamics of the process of creating an institutional coordination and monitoring mechanism. This mechanism has a formal institutional structure and tools for evaluation and monitoring. Our analysis of the way in which it was developed and formalised enriches previous research on the topic and also sheds light on how a flexible European process of voluntary participation became a monitored system of coordinated national higher education policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allocating and managing resources have always been important cornerstones of institutional leadership. Institutional resources include financial, physical and human components. Even in the best of times, it is a challenge to do this effectively. In times of diminished and shrinking resources, distributing these precious commodities across the institutions in the most equitable and productive manner is fraught with complications. As higher education funding streams expand and present more options, they also create new challenges. Leaders today must be well-versed in the emerging realms of philanthropy and entrepreneurialism. Beyond monetary resources, leaders and senior managers must monitor and understand the external environment in order to make discerning decisions about the viability of further infrastructure investments because of changing student demographics or the complexities of personnel within the dynamic culture of social organisations. This article will stress the need for leadership and an institutional planning process as essential prerequisites to effective resource allocations. Portugal will also be discussed as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on some of the conceptual and empirical issues relating to the links between education and well-being. Recent research has made progress in this area, despite the complexity and the limitations of available measurements and other observations. The first part discusses the ill-defined nature of education and the negative implications this has on research and policy. The second part outlines some of the major relationships that are being explored around the theme of education and well-being. This is not exhaustive but provides an overview of distinct theoretical explanations for the potential causal links. Reference is made to available evidence so as to provide an overview of what is known empirically about some of these possible explanations. The third section discusses some of the empirical limitations and challenges to building up a robust evidence base in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that, despite globalisation forces, national education and training systems have kept their particularities. Policies of convergence, enhanced by supranational organisations such as the European Commission, have not yet led to a homogenisation of national education and training systems. The latter are still influenced by the political, economic and social framework. Thus, no single model of lifelong learning prevailed in Europe. There were countries close to the demand-led model of ‘voluntary partnership’ (e.g. UK), countries representative of the ‘formalised social partnership’ model (e.g. Sweden) and countries adhering to the ‘statist’ model (e.g. Greece). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents elements of a future vision of learning in the knowledge-based society which is enabled by ICT. It is not only based on extrapolations from trends and drivers that are shaping learning in Europe but also consists of a holistic attempt to envisage and anticipate future learning needs and requirements in the KBS. The ‘learning spaces’ vision puts learners at the centre of learning, but, at the same time, conceives learning as a social process. The potential of ICT-enabled learning spaces can only be realised, however, if it is embedded in a social and institutional context that is open to innovation and supported by a favourable policy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article first describes the state-of-the-art of model building and empirical research in the field of self-regulated learning (SRL) and then focuses on self-regulated learning in Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments (TELEs). We present recent research results obtained in a European project (TELEPEERS) in the context of which we evaluated TELEs in a peer review manner with respect to their potential for supporting self-regulated learning. In addition, data were obtained on a sample of TELEPEERS students working in these environments and comparative analyses were made across the European project partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is changing in academic research? What has changed over the past decades and what might change in the coming ones? Could the research mission of universities be carried out in slightly or radically different ways in the medium term? This article aims to cast light on the trends and driving forces that can be observed in academic research over the past two decades in the OECD area. It gives an outlook of the main current characteristics of academic research at a macro level in terms of funding and activities in comparison with research performed by other sectors. It also highlights future challenges and sketches a few possible futures scenarios in a 20-year time frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces series of articles published in the June 2006 issue of the "European Journal of Education." Some authors investigate the relation between the producer and the user of research knowledge. One author focuses upon England and Scotland and their different legislative, political and cultural contexts in order to examine recent debates on the connection of disconnection of research and teaching at universities. The driving forces of the rise and fall of neo-liberal university is also described.

This article examines three examples of cross-border higher education collaboration in Europe in order to throw light on one European region where such collaboration is only in its early stages of development. The main region examined is the Öresund region covering the Skåne area of Southern Sweden centred on Malmo and the Zealand region of Denmark which incorporates the Copenhagen region. Additionally, and more briefly, the Upper Rhine collaboration of the EUCOR universities and the ALMA collaboration (Netherlands, Germany and Belgium) are considered. Lessons from these examples are then used to assist in the assessment of existing collaboration between higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and the possibilities for further collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss the recent evolutions of science and engineering doctoral and postdoctoral education in Europe. Indeed, Ph.Ds are crucial to the conduct of research and innovation in the national innovation systems, as they provide a large amount of input into creating the competitive advantage, notably through basic research. First, we show that Asia, and notably China, is producing more Ph.Ds than the United States and Europe. In many EU countries, the number of Ph.Ds has levelled off or even declined recently in many natural sciences and engineering fields. Second, we discuss the European situation in the international competition for talents. We study the European brain drain question, mainly at the doctoral and postdoctoral level. We find that there is an asymmetry in the flows of Ph.D students and postdoctorates between Europe and the United States, at the advantage of this latter country. These two points — production of Ph.Ds, international flows of doctorates and postdoctorates — lead us to be concerned about the future growth and innovation in Europe. In conclusion, we outline some European policy responses in the perspective of building the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the publications of academic journals specialized in education and training policies in Europe. Accessibility of information on education, research, policies and practice; Quality of journals that are specialized in several aspects of education and address different audiences in various languages; Implications of the progress made in on-line publication for research and education.

Research on higher education grew in European countries from scattered individual activities towards a certain degree of visibility in the 1970s, largely as consequence of growing public problem awareness. In the 1980s, it experienced a set-back due to declining public interest in higher education as a key issue of societal policies. From the late 1980s onwards, research in this domain again drew attention and support in the wake of debates about the knowledge society, new modes of steering and management and the increasing internationalisation of higher education. However, growth and consolidation of this research were accompanied by a more rapid growth of policy-geared information collection and dissemination in the framework of evaluation, consultancy, expert commissions and the daily work of the growing number of higher education professionals. Research on higher education often does not have a solid institutional base and it both benefits and suffers from the fact that it is a theme-base area of research, drawing from different disciplines, and that the borderline is fuzzy between researchers and other experts on higher education. But a growth and quality improvement of research on higher education can be observed in recent years — certainly to some extent due to growing cooperation of researchers across Europe and to increasing cooperation in comparative projects. In the future, the first steps undertaken to establish study programmes for higher education experts could turn out be beneficial not only for the dissemination of research findings, but also for the quality of young researchers in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greater transparency improves the understanding and interpretation of qualifications and competences. This article asks whether transparency of qualifications has become a reality in Europe. It begins by outlining the three main strategies that were adopted at Community level between 1957 and 1999 to address the problem of transferring qualifications from one country to another. It then describes recent Community action on transparency and recognition of qualifications at both VET and higher education levels. The outcomes of the European Forum on Transparency of Vocational Qualifications are outlined, and in particular the new Europass framework for transparency of qualifications is described, and issues about its implementation are discussed. Some of the main tensions that are observed between the approaches to transparency in VET and in higher education are highlighted. Finally, there is a brief case study on the approaches that have been adopted in recent years to achieve transparency of qualifications in Ireland, against a background of extensive reform of the national qualifications system. In summary, the article is primarily a reflection on the practical aspects of making transparency of qualifications a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the relationship between higher education and job satisfaction in Europe. Increase in the explanatory power of the simple human capital earnings model as the non-wage variables were added to the earnings; Influence of education on quality of job; Analysis on monetary and non-monetary aspects of job satisfaction.

Focuses on student life and the roles of students in Europe. Result of changing concepts toward students; Evaluation of differences in monetary support given by states to students; Assessment of social conditions; Determination of the percentage of part-time students; Prospects for the creation of a unified European Higher Education Area; Assertion on the need for modifications in terms of social and financial support afforded to students.

The article discusses implementation of comparable degrees in order to implement the Bologna process. Adopting a system of easily readable and comparable degrees, essentially based on two main cycles, was one of priorities of the Bologna Declaration. And to achieve this, governments and higher education institutes have to cooperate closely so that they can ensure that the implementation of the new degree structures is not done superficially but is accompanied by the necessary curricular reform, taking into account the ongoing European discussions on descriptors for Bachelor-level and Master-level degrees, learning outcomes and qualification profiles. It will also be essential that they elaborate national qualifications frameworks based on external reference points that are in tune with a common European Qualifications Framework.

Whereas supra-national higher education policies in the past decade have been criticised for their possible harm to the national governments’ autonomy, the Bologna process — as an international agreement — has received much more positive reactions from national governments, at least in the rhetoric sense. Nevertheless, a variety of approaches of governments can be noted to do justice to the agreements made in the . In this article, we shall try to explain the (gradual) change from Euroscepticism to acceptance of harmonisation attempts in higher education. We shall furthermore exemplify this change process by looking at developments in a number of European countries: UK, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Austria and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the student loan mechanism in tertiary education in European countries. Justification on the revision of tuition fee policies; Practicability of implementing a public loan system and a commercial credit-based system; Assessment of the demand for student financing schemes.

Focuses on the implementation and development of Information and Communication Technologies in the education sector in Europe. Implementation of public-private partnership for the delivery of electronic learning; Impact of computers on the learning process; Analysis of the recourse to the private sector to support infrastructure projects.

Focuses on the European Community (EC) policy-making in education and the conceptualization of policy processes in the creation and development of EC policy activity in higher education. Changes and development in EC Higher Education Policy from 1955-1987; Impact of the agreement between France and Italy on the principle of EC educational cooperation and on the European University issue; Development in the policy design for EC education from 1973-1976; Characteristics of the process launched by the EC at the meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in 2000.

Focuses on the relationship between internationalization and quality in higher education and on the effect of European educational programs on its quality of education as of September 1, 2003. Need to improve European collaboration in the development of quality and effectiveness of education; Basis on which education quality should be compared; Reason for the difficulty in evaluating the contribution of internationalism to the quality of education.

Focuses on quality assurances of higher education in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland before and after the Bologna Declaration which was signed in June 1999 by European ministers to strengthen the institutional autonomy in teaching and in the curriculum of higher education in Europe as of September 1, 2003. Objectives of the Bologna Declaration; History of higher education in Europe; Quality assurance methods followed in Central and Eastern European Countries.

Presents a European overview of widening participation in higher education. Association of the purposes of initiatives to widen participation with economic instrumentation, social justice and pragmatism; Classification of higher education into four strata.