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2. Federal Government v. Universities: The Battle for Authority.
- Author
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Weinstein, Matthew
- Subjects
- *
EDUCATION policy , *HIGHER education , *UNIVERSITIES & colleges - Abstract
?The advantages of decentralization are realizable, however, only if there are good reasons for the players to believe that others will generally abide by the terms of the federation. That is, all must believe?that the center will not try to usurp power from the regions.? - Bednar, Eskridge, and Ferejohn (2001) As Bednar et al. assert in the quote above, federalism only works if there is trust among the players within the decentralized political structure. In particular, the political actors at the sub-national level must feel confident that the actors at the national level will not ?usurp (their) power? (223). Unfortunately trust is not a feeling currently being held by the sub-national actors in the higher education systems of both the United States and Europe. The American and European academic communities are feeling threatened by the recent policy proposals made by their national governments. These similar concerns voiced by the American and European higher education communities raise the question ? will any of the higher education systems be able to withstand this threat to their autonomy by their national government? I will attempt to answer this crucial question by using Jenna Bednar, William Eskridge, and John Ferejohn?s ?a political theory of federalism? (it will be referred to as the Bednar theory for the rest of the paper), which declares that federalism can only succeed if there are ?structural restraints? that force the national and sub-national units to respect each other?s authority (226). I will apply the theory to five higher education systems (France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, and the United States) and examine each one to see if it has the necessary ?structural restraints? to withstand the threats from the national government as prescribed by Bednar et al. My hypothesis is that the Bednar theory will prove accurate and only those higher education systems with strong structural restraints will have the capacity to protect their independence. To test my hypothesis, the paper will be divided into five main sections. The first section will be a brief explanation of the debate between President Bush and the American academic community, highlighting the positions of both sides. The second section will be a description of the Bologna Declaration, the problems that the Education Ministers believe it will address, and the response to the Declaration by the European University community. The third part of the paper will be a summary of the Bednar theory and an explanation on how it will be applied in this paper. The fourth section will be an examination of the six case studies. Particular attention will be on the relationship between the universities and their national government, and specifically how financial assistance is allocated to the institutions. The last section will look at the preliminary results of the Bologna Declaration and the Bush proposal. A brief overview at how successful (or unsuccessful in some cases) the national government has been in implementing its policies, and observing if my hypothesis has been proven accurate at this early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. A Comparative View On Policy Trends In Western European Higher Education.
- Author
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Huisman, Jeroen and Kaiser, Frans
- Subjects
EDUCATION policy ,HIGHER education ,EDUCATIONAL change - Abstract
This paper gives an overview of the most relevant policy developments (1999-2001) regarding higher education in a number of Western European countries. The focus is on Austria, Denmark, Finland, Flanders, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The following issues are addressed. Firstly, which issues are major issues in these countries in this three-year period? Secondly, can we explain why these issues are on the agenda? Thirdly, do the policy developments suggest increasing convergence in policies? We maintain that current policy issues reflect the existence or emergence of five global trends in and around higher education. The ubiquitousness of these trends explains why Western European governments are considering similar policy issues. However, this does not necessarily imply that governments in practice are offering similar policy solutions. It would be more accurate to state that the similar trends challenge governments to find policy solutions most suitable to reach specific national solutions in specific national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2002
4. The Shifting Relationship between Vocational and Higher Education in France and Germany: towards convergence?
- Author
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Powell, Justin J. W., Graf, Lukas, Bernhard, Nadine, Coutrot, Laurence, and Kieffer, Annick
- Subjects
BOLOGNA process (European higher education) ,HIGHER education ,VOCATIONAL education ,EDUCATION policy ,EDUCATIONAL change - Abstract
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]
- Published
- 2012
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Lifelong learning in the Bologna process: European developments in higher education.
- Author
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Jakobi, Anja P. and Rusconi, Alessandra
- Subjects
EDUCATIONAL change ,HIGHER education ,EDUCATIONAL planning ,EDUCATION policy ,EDUCATIONAL evaluation - Abstract
Since 1999, European education ministers have discussed and further implemented the 'Bologna process', a wide-ranging framework for the reform of higher education. Lifelong learning was added as a goal of the process in 2001. This article evaluates the extent to which the development of lifelong learning has progressed and examines whether the Bologna process has facilitated lifelong learning opportunities in a sample of countries. The evaluation of legislative instruments and policy positions of different stakeholders in Germany, France, Italy and the UK shows that countries link quite different strategies to lifelong learning in higher education. Specific national approaches exist which facilitate or restrict its development. Thus far, the impact of the Bologna process on this issue has been modest. The process has mainly had an impact on the discussion regarding lifelong learning, not necessarily whether and how such policies and programmes are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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