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The paper looks at part-time higher educational services for students in the educational systems of Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A comparative examination of the nature and importance of part-time higher education is then presented. (DB)

This article examines differentiation of the German state sector in higher education and the implementation of the vocationally oriented "Fachhochschulen." It then discusses the privately organized "third sector," consequences of German unification, and present tertiary adaptations to new needs and expectations in state and society. (DB)

The roles of specialized, discipline-specific education and interdisciplinary study in German higher education are discussed, particularly as they pertain to the sciences. It is concluded that learning in the individual disciplines should form a basis on which interdisciplinary study builds parallel, social learning. (MSE)

The formulation of priorities in educational policy in the Federal Republic of Germany and their transformation into concrete goals were heavily influenced by the expected demographic change, which is the most important determinant of educational demand (enrollments) and the situation in the labor market and employment system. (MLW)

Government policies are central factors shaping the environment of higher education institutions. European governments have included in their higher education political strategies the principal goal of implementing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The perceptions that key actors of higher education institutions (HEIs) have about political developments are important as they may influence the achievement of government policy. The Bologna Process is at the heart of policy coordination, the instrument selected at European and national levels to establish EHEA. This article seeks to discuss empirically the views of institutional actors about the Bologna Process, taking into consideration the achievement of EHEA. The discussion is based on the analysis of the EHEA implementation in seven HEIs located in four higher education systems--Germany, Italy, Norway and Portugal. This paper draws on the theoretic-methodological approach of the policy cycle to analyse the perceptions of HEIs' constituencies about Bologna. (Contains 1 table and 2 notes.)

There is no doubt that what is generally referred to as "Ph.D education" has undergone dramatic changes in Europe in recent years. Whereas the Bologna Process, launched in 1999, originally had in mind to make it easier for undergraduate students to gain international experience and enhance their employability by facilitating mobility and transparency of higher education in Europe, the idea of a "third cycle" of doctoral studies came relatively late in the discussion (2003). For some academic cultures, the idea of educating doctoral students was and still is perceived as a threat against academic freedom, originality and credibility. Other academic cultures have already long adopted Ph.D training schemes as an integrated part of training future scientists and knowledge workers. This article presents the result of a recent survey on Ph.D training in the Nordic-Baltic Area (Andreas Onnerfors: "Ph.D-training/PGT in the Nordic-Baltic Area", Exploring the North: papers in "Scandinavian Culture and Society" 2006:1, Lund 2006) initiated by the Nordic research organisation NordForsk, which discusses new concepts of doctoral education and training in the five Nordic and the three Baltic countries as well as in Russia, Poland and three northern states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Whereas there is great correspondence in the performance of doctoral training and education in the Nordic countries and changes have been introduced permanently for about 30 years, Poland, Germany and Russia are battling with their academic traditions and the challenge of adapting their academic cultures to joint European standards. This concerns especially the phenomenon of two postgraduate degrees (the Ph.D and a further degree) and the view upon training elements in doctoral studies. After their independence, the three Baltic countries rapidly adapted their systems of higher education to the Nordic model.

Changes in engineering education due to the unification of the European Community are discussed from three perspectives: legal, academic, and industrial-technological. The problem is examined in the context of long-term Community objectives. Specific recommendations are made. The situations of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain are outlined. (MSE)

In Europe, the Bologna and Copenhagen Processes in higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET) are on the agenda, aiming to create a European educational area. Acknowledging important differences between countries, we compare the evolving relationship between HE and VET. We ask whether and how these two distinct organisational fields in France and Germany have changed in recent decades. Comparing institutional shifts, the article analyses whether long-standing differences in postsecondary education and training systems and the education/economy nexus in these two countries have remained stable. We argue that these countries' skill formation systems have begun to converge, departing from their original institutionalisation paths. Thus, while the traditional typologies that contrast France and Germany have served as useful heuristic devices, they require revision to adequately represent incremental institutional change in these skill formation systems resulting from endogenous reforms and exogenous pressures due to Europeanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate distinct national approaches with regard to the internationalisation, globalisation, and Europeanisation of higher education systems. While the university is defined as an organisational actor embedded in the higher education system, the higher education system itself represents an institutional subsystem within the national model of capitalism. An analytical framework is then developed on the basis of the Varieties of Capitalism approach to compare the internationalisation of German and British universities. Findings indicate that the relations between the various actors involved in the internationalisation of universities are based largely on market coordination in the British case. In contrast, this process in Germany relies more on strategic interactions between the various organisational actors in higher education. The development paths in the internationalisation of universities are found to be influenced by and reflect the specific mode of coordination in the respective higher education system and the national model of capitalism more generally. This comparative case study shows that recent conceptions of path dependence as well as conceptual tools developed in the Varieties of Capitalism literature, such as institutional complementarity and comparative institutional advantage, may be fruitfully applied to research on institutional change in higher education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the permeability between vocational and academic education in the education system of Germany. It discusses work-based learning (WBL) and work-based studying (WBS) are conducted in vocational education, training, and higher education (HE) with the help of two case studies. The first study relates to vocational education and training (VET) and information technology (IT), while the other relates to business administration at the HE level. The article further points out that the advantages of permeability is both, for clients as well as education providers. The challenges faced by the permeability are also discussed.

Public debate on higher education reform today is dominated by competing views about what higher education institutions, particularly universities, are or should become. To a surprising extent, these views are based upon highly simplified characterisations of university history. The claims in question have been repeated so often that they have become clichés. Historical research has challenged all these conventional claims. The article aims to acquaint readers with the most important of these challenging results. Central here is an analysis of The Humboldt Myth about the rise of the modern research university in Germany and its alleged export to the US, and of the reasons why that myth remains so powerful, even though it has very little relation to realities on the ground. A second goal is to try to bring out some of the implications that a revision of standard views of higher education history might have for current policy debates, focusing in particular on the Bologna process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the new educational reforms in Germany. The most important question in the recent political debate in Germany is that of educational reforms. German higher education system has been in crisis from a long time and international competition and financial pressures had intensified the need to change these policies and systems. Changes in new educational policies are characterized by incremental steps that reshape the existing institutions and are intended to introduce new ways of thinking regarding higher education's role in modern society. As in other areas of reform, the old system has not been replaced, but new programs are being added to the existing one and the old ones are being updated to reflect new objectives.

Focuses on higher education reforms in Germany and the significance of greater autonomy of higher education institutions through the Bologna Declaration which was signed by European ministers in June 1999. Development of the accreditation system for higher education institutions; Problems and shortcomings in the implementation of accreditation programs; Need to improve the quality of assessment of higher education institutions.

Presents information on a study which analyzed the situation and status of lifelong learning in German universities in the 1990s. Legal regulations; Official bodies involved in preparing decisions for higher education policies; Forms of lifelong learning provisions in German universities.

Focuses on higher education in Germany. Expansion and differentiation; Social changes in student population; Class and individualization; Education and social class.

Focuses on the quality issue in German higher education. Aspects of defining quality; Quality assurance policy in German higher education; Comparative aspects of policies of quality assurance in higher education in highly industrialized societies; Quality in 19th century German universities.