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Although talent management is widely discussed in large for - profit organisations and multinationals, it has been little discussed in relation to higher education. This paper examines one aspect of talent management, recruitment, in academia in accounting, in two different countries, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. It frames the study around three dilemmas - transparency versus autonomy, the power of human resources versus the power of academics, and equality versus homogeneity. It considers the recruitment context and drivers, what this tells us about how talent is defined, and the insights that can be gained from comparing recruitment across different disciplines and geographical contexts. By examining recruitment in one discipline across different contexts, we show that recruitment is influenced by a complex interplay between subfield and context which can be linked to the strategic priorities of universities in the three contexts, resulting in different definitions of talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication skills are highly sought after by employers, as industry reports repeatedly show. At the same time, those reports also reveal that many employers are dissatisfied with their newly hired graduates' communication skills. In addition, increasing globalisation has led to the call for 'global graduates' who can function well in culturally diverse contexts. Considering both aspects, it is important, to explore which factors help foster students' global communication skills. This paper investigates this issue, testing the impact of potential factors identified from previous literature. Data was collected from 2359 students in seven different institutions located in five different countries. A linear regression model was tested to identify those factors which most contribute to global communication skills development. Results show that motivation to improve communication skills and the experience of social and academic integration into the campus community made the most significant contribution to participants' higher levels of global communication skills development. Besides, students who were presented with relevant opportunities and support from their respective institution and those engaged with foreign languages also demonstrated higher levels of global communication skills development. The paper concludes that for students to acquire the communication skills needed for working successfully in diverse contexts, and hence to become 'global graduates', it is essential that they venture out of their comfort zones and engage with the diverse campus community. At the same time, this engagement requires universities' guidance and support to help maximise the learning gains from such intercultural encounters.

Much research on adults in higher education has focused on issues of access and participation. As a result little is known about what happens to working-class students after leaving university even though employability is high on the agenda HE research on this topic in relation to such students is sparse. This research focuses on the voices of working-class students and their aspirations in relation to employability. Using two student narratives this paper draws on the findings of two countries, England and Ireland, from a six-country European project on employability of non-traditional students using biographical research methods. Their stories reveal an awareness of class inequalities in the labour market in relation to cultural, economic and social capital and issues of locality, gender and age. The stories also indicate a sense of precarity in their lifecourse in a society which has become highly reflexive and fluid (Alheit, P., and B. Dausien. 2002. "The 'Double Face' of Lifelong Learning: Two Analytical Perspectives on a 'Silent Revolution'." Studies in the Education of Adults 34 (1): 3–23). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite over 60 years of research on leadership, few attempts have been made to ensure that the models of leadership are inclusive of women or other ‘outsiders’. This paper explores variation in the constructions of leadership at a time of institutional change in higher education. Drawing on a purposive sample, including those at presidential/rector, vice presidential/vice rector level in Irish and Portuguese universities, it compares and contrasts such senior managers' conceptions of leadership, as reflected in their descriptions of a typical president/rector and those characteristics that they see as valued in senior management in their own university. Attention is particularly focussed on the identification and gendering of collegial/managerial characteristics, and the extent to which it reflects variation in these university contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The 'National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030' in the Republic of Ireland (universally known as the Hunt Report) represents the latest and most assertive attempt by the Irish state to re-construct higher education in accordance with economic utilitarian objectives. This paper sets out to analyse the historical context, key themes and theoretical underpinnings of the report, locating it within a European and international context shaped by a dominant 'knowledge based economy' paradigm. This study draws upon broad narratives of public service refonn to offer an initial theoretical insight into contemporary higher education policies in Ireland. The report reflects long-term trends in Irish higher education policy, which promote a reorientation of higher education to serve economic objectives. We argue that the Hunt Report is much more a synthesis of existing policies and previous expert group reports than a manifesto for radical transformation of Irish higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 global financial crisis cast a long shadow over Ireland's higher education and research system. The IMF said Ireland experienced an ‘unprecedented economic correction’, while Ireland's National Economic and Social Development Office said Ireland was beset by five different crises: a banking crisis, a fiscal crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis and a reputational crisis. Despite a return to growth, these circumstances provide the best explanation for the policy choices being undertaken as key actors struggle to sustain the publicly funded mass system, and reassert the country's position as a globally competitive knowledge society attractive to mobile capital and skilled labour. Whatever the outcome, it is unlikely that public funding for higher education will return to levels previously enjoyed. This paper examines the background and policy challenges confronting the government and higher education, and discusses the role of higher education researchers in helping shape options. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As higher education (HE) comes under increasing pressure from policy-makers, nationally and internationally, to contribute more directly to economic development, tensions between more traditional missions of universities and their more recent entrepreneurial makeovers create major dilemmas for academic staff regarding their roles and responsibilities. Using the lens of professional responsibility and accountability, the paper takes Initial Teacher Education as an instrumental case study to illustrate how these tensions, in terms of policy documents, and perceptions of teacher educators unfold. Analysis strongly suggest that when external prescription is increased, and reforms under-resourced, pressures for accountable conformist compliance render the exercise of professional responsibility extremely difficult if not impossible, compromised rather than finding "legitimate compromise." The paper argues that HE has significant lessons to learn from this case while signalling that current challenges within teacher education are already becoming a gauntlet that the entire HE community needs to consider seriously.

This paper focuses on a generational change taking place in the Polish academic profession: a change in behaviors and attitudes between two groups of academics. One was socialized to academia under the communist regime (1945-1989) and the other entered the profession in the post-1989 transition period. Academics of all age groups are beginning to learn how tough the competition for research funding is, but young academics ("academics under 40"), being the target of recent policy initiatives, need to learn faster. Current reforms present a clear preferred image for a new generation of Polish academics: highly motivated, embedded in international research networks, publishing mostly internationally, and heavily involved in the competition for academic recognition and research funding. In the long run, without such a radical approach, any international competition between young Polish academics (with a low research orientation and high teaching hours) and their young Western European colleagues (with a high research orientation and low teaching hours) seems inconceivable, as our data on the average academic productivity clearly demonstrate. The quantitative background of this paper comes from 3704 returned questionnaires and the qualitative background from 60 semi-structured in-depth interviews. The paper takes a European comparative approach and contrasts Poland with 10 Western European countries (using 17,211 returned questionnaires).

During the last eight years, over 8000 academic faculty and professional services women working in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have participated in a women-only leadership in higher education programme called Aurora. The organization that designed and delivers the programme (Advance HE) sees it as an important force for change in the sector. However, the potential for meaningful change in traditionally male domains through greater representation of women may be undermined by organizations that remain gendered. To address these issues this article outlines findings from a longitudinal, mixed-methods study on women working in higher education (HE), drawing on data from 1094 research participants. Women completed online surveys at different time points before and after participation in Aurora, with a smaller sample of participants taking part in in-depth interviews and diaries. Analysis of these data shows that the leadership programme is perceived to have a significant impact on some behaviours and attitudes of women and this impact does not on the whole diminish over time. This research is important as it is the first longitudinal study of its kind that includes both professional services and academic women. The findings will be of interest to higher education institutions (HEIs) globally that wish to develop organizational contexts in which women go on to lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing rates of mental ill-health among students in higher education has led to rising demand for campus counselling services and longer waiting times, while considerable unmet need also exists. To design more effective services, it is important to understand what aspects of service provision are most valued by students. We present results from a choice experiment using a survey of over 5,000 students in Ireland. Waiting time is the most important attribute for students, which has implications for the funding of services and we discuss ways in which this could be addressed. We also find considerable preference heterogeneity for attributes across students and we consider how this can be incorporated in the design of effective services. Finally, we address the issue of how any changes in the provision of campus counselling services might be financed, which is a particularly important issue within resource-constrained education sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of a study of advanced standing practices in higher education in two European countries-Ireland and the Netherlands. A description is given of practices currently undertaken in the two countries, from the standpoint of educational institutions (both university and non-university) and other relevant bodies-validating bodies, equivalence centres, government ministries. These practices are then discussed in the context of developments in the United Kingdom. It is concluded that in all three countries the perceived need for overall course coherence forms a formidable barrier against significant growth in the number of individuals granted advanced standing. Nevertheless wider policy considerations seem to be providing an impetus which may well ensure that advanced standing will become a much more common feature of European higher education admissions policies over the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research on adults in higher education has focused on issues of access and participation. As a result little is known about what happens to working-class students after leaving university even though employability is high on the agenda HE research on this topic in relation to such students is sparse. This research focuses on the voices of working-class students and their aspirations in relation to employability. Using two student narratives this paper draws on the findings of two countries, England and Ireland, from a six-country European project on employability of non-traditional students using biographical research methods. Their stories reveal an awareness of class inequalities in the labour market in relation to cultural, economic and social capital and issues of locality, gender and age. The stories also indicate a sense of precarity in their lifecourse in a society which has become highly reflexive and fluid (Alheit, P., and B. Dausien. 2002. "The 'Double Face' of Lifelong Learning: Two Analytical Perspectives on a 'Silent Revolution'." "Studies in the Education of Adults" 34 (1): 3-23).

This study provides a systematic review on the Critical Thinking (CT) intervention studies reported in the national literature of the countries involved in the CRITHINKEDU project. The aim of this paper is to characterise critical thinking intervention studies in higher education institutions across different fields. The review process has been carried out by applying content analysis and it is comprised of five stages. A rubric was built in conjunction with a literature review on CT interventions and data analysis. Slight differences were identified among the examined fields. The main results show that immersion is the most frequent approach in all of the fields, followed by infusion, which is only implemented in STEM and social sciences. All of the interventions are short-term and address either CT skills exclusively, or deal with skills and dispositions together. Further research is needed in order to explore which aspects of the CT interventions are successful in the promotion of CT in higher education (HE), as well as the CT components, which are targeted during instruction.

This paper investigates the components and causes of sabotage among tenured University academics. The study uses a collective intelligence methodology, Interactive Management (IM), to explore the components and causes of sabotage. Across a series of three workshops, participants generated, selected, categorised, and structured ideas to develop a model of sabotage components and causes. Six components of sabotage behavior were identified: intentional anti-collegial behavior, professional dishonesty, abuse of power, negativity, non-compliance, and underperformance. Causes of sabotage included leadership and structures, intrinsic self-interest, and personality traits. Suggestions are presented for performance management and the curtailment of sabotage by Academics. This study is the first study to examine sabotage behavior among tenured academics. Importantly, the collective intelligence methodology provides a novel approach to eliciting employee attitudes, and to explore interdependencies between discrete causes of sabotage.

The changing nature of doctoral education over the past three decades has taken on a triadic relationship constructed around expectations-process-purposes and has generated much commentary and critique. The intention of this paper is to focus on the notion of "purpose" from the perspective of doctoral supervisors which we have collated into four themes labelled "knowledge generation," "recognition," "positionality" and "instrumentalism". The themes were generated via the analysis of semi-structured interviews undertaken with 50 doctoral supervisors as part of the SuperProfDoc project investigating their practice.

This paper explores supervisor development in the light of information generated by the Erasmus-funded project on the modern doctorate. It is structured in four phases. Firstly examining interview data to isolate some distinguishing features of the modern doctorate. Secondly re-examining that data to see if these distinguishing features can be mapped on to an existing framework of approaches to research supervision. Thirdly looking at the survey responses relating to that same framework. Fourthly, having found coherence with the five approaches, the initial outcomes from a Norwegian project are examined. The project worked with experienced academics nominated to 'support and develop their colleague supervisors' primarily by designing and leading supervisor development programmes. The findings show that the original framework is also appropriate for supervisors of the modern doctorate and that there are some important organisational factors that need to be taken into account when developing the developers of supervisors.

Although talent management is widely discussed in large for-profit organisations and multinationals, it has been little discussed in relation to higher education. This paper examines one aspect of talent management, recruitment, in academia in accounting, in two different countries, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. It frames the study around three dilemmas--transparency versus autonomy, the power of human resources versus the power of academics, and equality versus homogeneity. It considers the recruitment context and drivers, what this tells us about how talent is defined, and the insights that can be gained from comparing recruitment across different disciplines and geographical contexts. By examining recruitment in one discipline across different contexts, we show that recruitment is influenced by a complex interplay between subfield and context which can be linked to the strategic priorities of universities in the three contexts, resulting in different definitions of talent.

While there has been a long history of modelling the economic impact of higher education institutions (HEIs), little research has been undertaken in the context of Ireland. This paper provides, for the first time, a disaggregated input-output table for Ireland's higher education sector. The picture painted overall is a higher education sector that adds considerable gross value to the national economy, whether via state or other income. In 2010-2011, the gross income of Irish HEIs, as a total of €2.6 billion, generated gross output nationwide of €10.6 billion. This study also contributes to the major challenges facing the sector in a post-Bailout environment.

The "National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030" in the Republic of Ireland (universally known as the Hunt Report) represents the latest and most assertive attempt by the Irish state to re-construct higher education in accordance with economic utilitarian objectives. This paper sets out to analyse the historical context, key themes and theoretical underpinnings of the report, locating it within a European and international context shaped by a dominant "knowledge based economy" paradigm. This study draws upon broad narratives of public service reform to offer an initial theoretical insight into contemporary higher education policies in Ireland. The report reflects long-term trends in Irish higher education policy, which promote a reorientation of higher education to serve economic objectives. We argue that the Hunt Report is much more a synthesis of existing policies and previous expert group reports than a manifesto for radical transformation of Irish higher education.

Despite over 60 years of research on leadership, few attempts have been made to ensure that the models of leadership are inclusive of women or other "outsiders". This paper explores variation in the constructions of leadership at a time of institutional change in higher education. Drawing on a purposive sample, including those at presidential/rector, vice presidential/vice rector level in Irish and Portuguese universities, it compares and contrasts such senior managers' conceptions of leadership, as reflected in their descriptions of a typical president/rector and those characteristics that they see as valued in senior management in their own university. Attention is particularly focussed on the identification and gendering of collegial/managerial characteristics, and the extent to which it reflects variation in these university contexts.

Similar to many other advanced capitalist societies, Irish higher education policy is in the process of constructing a new role and identity for doctoral students which has at its core the desire to produce what have been referred to by the Irish Universities Association as ‘knowledge entrepreneurs’. This conception of doctoral education meshes with, at least in policy terms, the desire for a knowledge-led economy, in which all forms of knowledge can potentially become commodified. This study examines interview data from 27 professional doctoral students regarding the relationship between their motivations to undertake advanced study and their conceptions of and purposes for academic and professional knowledge. The authors argue that current Irish policy is underpinned by a restrictive and narrow understanding of doctoral education, as it marginalises those students who in their professional practice neither wish to view themselves or be positioned as knowledge entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 global financial crisis cast a long shadow over Ireland's higher education and research system. The IMF said Ireland experienced an "unprecedented economic correction", while Ireland's National Economic and Social Development Office said Ireland was beset by five different crises: a banking crisis, a fiscal crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis and a reputational crisis. Despite a return to growth, these circumstances provide the best explanation for the policy choices being undertaken as key actors struggle to sustain the publicly funded mass system, and reassert the country's position as a globally competitive knowledge society attractive to mobile capital and skilled labour. Whatever the outcome, it is unlikely that public funding for higher education will return to levels previously enjoyed. This paper examines the background and policy challenges confronting the government and higher education, and discusses the role of higher education researchers in helping shape options.

A comparative study of the works, particularly with regard to the purpose of education, of J. H. Newman and Fukuzawa Yukichi serves to bring out the necessary complementarity, rather than exclusivity, of the liberal and utilitarian positions. The study places their work in the respective socio-economic and educational contexts of mid-nineteenth century Ireland and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The learning environment of teaching institutions is increasingly coming under scrutiny as an important determinant of educational process and outcome. This study examined medical students' perceptions of the learning environment of their medical schools. Substantial differences between the 25 participating schools in Britain and Ireland were found on some dimensions (e.g. vocational as opposed to 'scientific' orientation; level of student involvement in curricular affairs; perceived intensiveness of the course). Slight differences only were noted as to schools' administrative flexibility, the extent to which concepts are emphasised rather than factual detail (they are not), and the enjoyability of courses (high). Profiles of medical schools as perceived by the students are described and the validity and consistency of the findings reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparison of the works of Newman and Yukichi focuses on the complementarily, rather than exclusivity, of the liberal and utilitarian positions on the purposes of education. Their work is placed in the respective socio-economic and educational contexts of mid-nineteenth century Ireland and Japan. (Author/MSE)