Search

The activities of the European Educational Research Association (EERA) and the yearly European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) are mainly organised in standing networks. Through the example of the Policy Studies and Politics of Education network, this article takes a closer look at network activity and the ways in which it contributes to the development of educational research. Since most network activity is focused around the yearly conferences, the first part of the article discusses the conference session space, its forms and its links to the broader community of educational researchers. The second part of the article traces the origin and development of the Policy Studies and Politics of Education network, emphasising how the network has provided a space for critical analysis and discussion of education policies and forms of governance being pursued by national and trans-national actors in and beyond Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper seeks to answer the question of what motivates governments to introduce and implement reforms in higher education (HE). The political and economic reasons why some governments in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), for the period 1990 and 2015, have invested resources in order to facilitate cooperation between employers and universities, and have introduced quality criteria in HE finance while others have not, are identified. Use of a comparative perspective on Poland and Hungary revealed important differences in HE regulations in these seemingly otherwise very similar cases, showing that what drives regulations, at least in part, is the governments’ responses to the labour market, i.e. the dynamic between students – future workers – and employers – largely multinational companies. Moreover, differences in HE regulations in the two countries are responsive to voters’ concerns. The paper thus contributes to the literature on skill formation in Central and Eastern Europe and to the literature on political economy focusing on this part of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geography of education, especially at subnational level, is a huge black box. Little is known about the distribution of educational attainment and inequality across regions in Europe. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by mapping educational attainment and inequality in 102 regions in Western Europe, using data extracted from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) covering more than 100,000 individuals over the period 1995–2000. The results of this Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) reveal a strong correlation between levels of educational attainment and inequality across regions in Europe. Regions with similar educational conditions tend to cluster, often within national borders. In addition, a North–South and an urban–rural dimension are evident. Northern regions and large European metropoli have not only the most-educated labour force but also the lowest levels of inequality. Educational inequality seems to be, in any case, a fundamentally within-region phenomenon: 90 percent of the educational inequality in Europe occurs among individuals living in the same region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The so-called ‘Bologna process’ is an effort to standardize higher education in Europe. Among journalism educators in particular, the goal is a harmonization of best practices in order to establish common training protocols. Contrary to assumptions, however, best practices often conflict with cultural values. Specifically, there has been little attention paid to on-camera behavior of TV journalists. Denmark is a case study where standard Anglo-American on-camera presentation styles violate deeply held cultural values. This paper argues that cultural differences matter and have serious consequences for European TV journalism educators in the age of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can educational mechanisms lower social tension and help achieve social cohesion? If so, how are these mechanisms defined and measured? What is the experience to date with the social utility of education mechanisms? How can one differentiate between an education system that is doing a good job of reinforcing social cohesion and one that is doing a poor job? In this paper; I attempt to respond to these questions by (a) briefly reviewing some concepts of institutional and organizational economics so that the economic implications of education's social cohesion functions can be more clear, (b) reviewing the origins of public schooling so that the reader may place today's educational challenges in historical context, (c) reviewing the anecdotal and field experience to date in the European and Central Asian (ECA) region in meeting the challenges of social cohesion, and (d) drawing some comparisons between the social cohesion performance of education systems in the ECA region and that of the US. In sum, I argue that social cohesion has significant economic benefits; that since its invention in the 17th century, public education has been one of the main contributions to social cohesion in the west; but that countries of the ECA region are having a difficult time replicating the western education experience. In fact, when compared to other pans of the world, the U.S. school system seems to perform rather well with respect to its social cohesion functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political science has long viewed education as an instrumental factor in developing support for democracy and beneficial for democratization. However, governments, both democratic and authoritarian, have substantial control over the curriculum and develop education institutions with the specific aim to instill in students the norms and values that underpin the regime. With this in mind, this study asks, does the effect of education vary by the political regime in which education was undertaken? We use a quasi-experimental approach exploiting European compulsory schooling reforms, implemented under both democratic and authoritarian regimes, to answer this question. We find that education has no effect on principle and functional support for democracy, but that education's effect on satisfaction with democracy is conditional on regime type. For those educated under a democratic regime, education led to greater satisfaction with democracy, whereas those educated under an authoritarian regime became less satisfied with democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NERIS is the European platform on preparedness for nuclear and radiological emergency response and recovery. Created in 2010 with 57 organisations from 28 different countries, the objectives of the platform are to: improve the effectiveness and coherency of current approaches to preparedness; identify further development needs; improve 'know how' and technical expertise; and establish a forum for dialogue and methodological development. The NERIS Strategic Research Agenda is now structured with three main challenges: (i) radiological impact assessments during all phases of nuclear and radiological events; (ii) countermeasures and countermeasure strategies in emergency and recovery, decision support, and disaster informatics; and (iii) setting up a multi-faceted framework for preparedness for emergency response and recovery. The Fukushima accident has highlighted some key issues for further consideration in NERIS research activities, including: the importance of transparency of decision-making processes at local, regional, and national levels; the key role of access to environmental monitoring; the importance of dealing with uncertainties in assessment and management of the different phases of the accident; the use of modern social media in the exchange of information; the role of stakeholder involvement processes in both emergency and recovery situations; considerations of societal, ethical, and economic aspects; and the reinforcement of education and training for various actors. This paper emphasises the main issues at stake for NERIS for post-accident management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 era lockdown measures resulted in many workers performing their employment tasks remotely. While identifying individual-level predictors of COVID-19 era remote work, scholarship has neglected heterogeneity based on contextual characteristics. Using the first COVID-19 module (2020) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 8,121) and multinomial logistic regression analyses, this study examined how country-level digitalization, stringency of government COVID-19 containment measures, and COVID-19 era excess mortality moderated how individual-level age, health, education, and income affected working partly or fully remotely among older Europeans (50-89 years) continuing to work through the pandemic. The central findings are that higher societal digitalization reduced the positive association between education and fully remote work, and greater country-level excess mortality accentuated how more education and poorer health increased the probability of fully remote work. These findings are interpreted through the fundamental cause theory of health and the health belief model. They further lead to recommendations that during future epidemics, policies and programs should address the remote working capabilities of older persons with fewer years of education, with fewer skills with modern digital technologies, and in worse health, especially within nations that are less digitally developed and harder hit by the epidemic in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hospital waiting times are established instruments to ration healthcare when resources are scarce. However, higher educated patients may be better able to influence access to, and exit from, hospital care when waiting times are long. Methods Based on a representative sample of 11 European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) collected in 2004/2005, this paper investigates whether the relationship between individual educational background and hospital utilization depends on the prevalent hospital waiting times in a country. Logistic regression with interaction effects between individual education and average waiting times per country are conducted. Results Primary education is significantly associated with a lower probability of visiting a hospital overnight (OR = 0.88) compared to secondary and tertiary education. Patients in countries with long waiting times had shorter stays (OR = 0.92), and the significant interaction effect indicates that lower educated patients have longer hospital stays than higher educated patients in countries where waiting times tend to be long (OR = 1.06). Conclusions While the findings imply that educational differences exist with regard to hospital care, future research should investigate potential underlying mechanisms, i.e. patients' perceived access barriers and the perceived quality of hospital treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most Canadians use some form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and most Canadian physicians are not able to address their patients' use due to inadequate training. Integrative Medicine (IM) in the medical profession has grown over the last 20 years and is now recognized as a sub-specialty in the United States. Canada is lagging behind. The current state of CAM and IM education for physicians in Canada is described, using the United States' experience in comparison. The landscape and obstacles for Integrative Medicine for Canadian physicians is reviewed. A case is made for recognition of Integrative Medicine by Canadian Medical Colleges in order to advance this field in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reflective essay on the papers in this special issue of EERJ on Northern European curriculum analysis discusses issues of comparison and scale, and the significance of global and local specificities in curriculum research. Drawing on comparative examples from outside Europe, the essay draws attention to some commonalities of the European positioning from which these analyses begin, in particular the questions about governance, policy process and constructions of citizenship engendered today both by the formation of the EU and by the impact of OECD activities on it. The article argues the need to recognize different types of curriculum analyses and purposes, and particularly the salience of both big picture and closer-up detailed perspectives, and discusses the contribution these articles make to addressing both. It considers further issues about two matters raised by these contributions: the significance of moves to more competency and outcomes-centred curriculum forms, and the usefulness of a focus on constitutional origins as a basis for understanding the citizen-formation curriculum agendas of different nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on non-COVID-19-related healthcare need further investigation. Methods: Using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe's COVID-19 module (2020) (N = 57,025), country-level data from the European Social Survey (2008) and OECD (2020), and logistic regressions, this study examines predictors of older Europeans' forgone, postponed, and denied healthcare during the pandemic. Results: Country-level availability of physicians, healthcare systems' generosity, and beliefs that older persons burden healthcare systems all increased forgone healthcare. Healthcare system generosity increased postponed and denied healthcare. Greater medical resources decreased denied healthcare. Furthermore, missed healthcare varied by individual-level gender (higher rates among women), age, education, and health. Discussion: This study reveals predictors of missed healthcare during the pandemic. To decrease unintended health consequences of a pandemic, both individual-level determinants, such as gender and health, and contextual-level determinants, such as healthcare systems' characteristics, should be considered in research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of the EERA has taken place over the last twenty years and it has accumulated practices and organizational procedures. The core principles of the Association were about inclusivity, represented through membership of national associations in the Council, and European identity, safeguarded by ECER regulations and the EERJ. The founding question of the Association, and a constant and useful heuristic device. was’ what does it mean to be a European educational research association’ and a related question question, ‘who are its members? The paper suggest that these questions should be used to review the work of the EERA again as they are in danger of becoming lost. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article deepens the analysis of the effects of immigration on the vote for Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe, focusing on education levels of both natives and immigrants. By analysing the immigrant population in 101 regions from 11 European countries, we show that in contexts with a large immigrant presence, the low-educated voters tend to support Populist Radical Right Parties to a greater degree than those who are more educated. However, when the ratio of skilled immigrants is high, also the more educated population tends to support these parties. Hence, our analysis adds insight into the relationship between immigration, education and Populist Radical Right Parties voting, highlighting the need of focusing at lower levels of aggregation and combining the characteristics of both foreign-born and host populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of initiating and sustaining a research-based dialogue on social justice and intercultural education in Europe requires both flexibility and focus. This article highlights the challenges facing convenors of one network, who wish to include researchers from diverse backgrounds, while at the same time enhancing the academic quality of the papers presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER). This article presents a brief history of 15 years of networking with a view to discussing some of the main issues which have emerged over the years. The work of Network 7, Social Justice and Intercultural Education, raises significant questions. Is it necessary or desirable to develop a common theoretical language and/or a body of knowledge? And, if so, how can this be done in a scientific world governed by the English language and Anglo-Saxon research traditions? How should differences in research interests and traditions from different parts of Europe be included taking asymmetric power relations into account? Other issues include the incorporation within social justice of discourses on gender, ethnicity, disability and religion. The article defines the interlinked key concepts of social justice and intercultural education which guide the work of the network. A brief history follows, describing the challenges facing the network. These include the issue of language, the discussions during the ECER, the image of the network and the choice of network descriptors. As research is influenced by scientific traditions and cultural, political and financial contexts, it is difficult for the network convenors to influence or direct the research agenda. The article is based on network archives, including documents such as conference programmes; memos; letters; network descriptors and reports; discussions about the selection and acceptance of proposals as recorded in emails and letters; convenors' reflections; and analysis of participants' formal and informal evaluations of network sessions. The issues raised in this article will continue to be debated at the ECER. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper I argue that increasingly neoliberal forms of governmentality are evident in the educational sector of the European Commission. This is especially the case vis-à-vis the institutional philosophy of how immigrants and second-generation 'minorities' should be best integrated into European society. Both the policies and the programs associated with education and training are becoming more oriented towards the formation of mobile, flexible, and self-governing European laborers and less oriented towards an institutionalized affirmation of personal development and individual or group 'difference'. This represents a fairly substantive philosophical and practical transformation over the past five to ten years, with significant implications for conceptions of European citizenship, multiculturalism, and social belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of articles which appeared in the February 2002 issue of the 'Journal of Planning Literature.' 'Lives Lived and Lives Told: Biographies of Geography's Quantitative Revolution'; 'Medieval Towns With Grid Plan and Central Marketplace in East-Central Europe: Origins and Diffusion in the Early Thirteenth Century'; 'Shaping the Planning Profession of the Future: The Role of Planning Education.'

This paper reports on a survey of perceived problems in the provision of orthodontic education at the stages of undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional education (CPE) in 23 European countries in 1997. A questionnaire, together with an explanatory letter, was mailed to all members of the EUROQUAL II BIOMED project. Answers were validated during a meeting of project participants and by further correspondence, when necessary. The topics covered in the questionnaire were adequacy of funding, numbers of orthodontic teachers, availability of equipment, regulations, training centres, numbers of orthodontists, availability of books, journals, and information technology. Completed questionnaires were returned by orthodontists from all 23 countries. Respondents from seven countries did not answer all questions. Respondents reported a perceived almost universal lack of adequate funding for postgraduate orthodontic training (from 18 out of 20 countries) and, to a lesser extent, at undergraduate (13 out of 20 countries) and CPE levels (17 out of 21 countries). Respondents from 12 of the 20 countries reported adequate numbers of qualified teachers at undergraduate level, but only seven out of 18 at postgraduate level and eight out of 19 for CPE. Lack of suitable equipment was reported as a more frequent problem by central and eastern European countries (six out of 20 countries at undergraduate level, eight out of 20 countries at postgraduate level, and 12 out of 19 at CPE level). Too few or too many regulations were only perceived to be a problem by the respondent from one country out of 19 at undergraduate level, by seven out of 19 at postgraduate level, and by eight out of 16 at CPE level). Lack of training centres was more frequently reported as a problem by respondents from central and eastern European countries, but was generally not perceived as a problem by respondents from west European countries. Respondents from seven countries reported a lack of training centres for CPE. Respondents from six countries reported that they perceived there to be too many orthodontists at postgraduate level, from seven countries that there were an appropriate number, and from seven that there were too few. A lack of books, journals, and information technology was reported to be a problem by respondents from four out of 19 countries at undergraduate level, eight out of 20 at postgraduate level, and 10 out of 20 at CPE level. At both undergraduate and postgraduate level, the majority of respondents from central and eastern European countries reported problems with books, journals, and information technology. The results of the survey confirmed many anecdotal impressions and provided an extremely useful background against which to formulate quality guidelines for orthodontic education in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a survey of teaching contents and time allocation within the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum in European countries in 1997, and on whether or not these countries set a formal undergraduate examination in orthodontics. A questionnaire and an explanatory letter were mailed to all members of the EURO-QUAL BIOMED II project. Answers were validated during a meeting of project participants and by fax when necessary. Completed questionnaires, which were subsequently validated, were returned by orthodontists from 23 countries. They indicated that orthodontics was taught in all undergraduate curriculums of the countries surveyed. The number of hours in the undergraduate curriculum devoted to orthodontics was reported as varying from 135 to 500 hours with a mean of 245 hours. The time reported as allocated to theory, clinical practice, laboratory work, diagnosis, and treatment planning varied widely. In general, clinical practice and theory were reported as being allocated most curriculum hours, whilst diagnosis, laboratory work, and treatment planing were reported as receiving relatively less time. Removable appliances were reported to be taught in 22 of the 23 countries, functional appliances in 21 countries and fixed appliances in 17 countries. An undergraduate examination in orthodontics was reported by 20 countries. It was concluded that orthodontics occupies a small proportion of the undergraduate curriculum in dentistry in most countries, the emphasis is on theory and clinical work, and that removable appliances, functional appliances, and certain aspects of fixed appliances are taught in the majority of countries that responded to the questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a survey of the duration, funding, and assessment of postgraduate specialist orthodontic training, the requirement for postgraduate training prior to entering specialist orthodontic training and registration of specialist orthodontists in Europe. A questionnaire and explanatory letter were mailed to all members of the EURO-QUAL BIOMED II project. Answers were validated during a meeting of project participants and by fax, when necessary. Completed questionnaires which were subsequently validated, were returned by orthodontists from 23 countries. The results indicated that a period of postgraduate training, prior to entering specialist orthodontic training was required in 12 of the responding countries. Specialist orthodontic training was reported as lasting 2 years in three countries, 3 years in 17, and for 4 years in three. Part-time training was reported as a possibility in four countries. In 21 of the 23 countries specialist training was reported to take place in full or part within universities, with some training taking place in government clinics in four countries. In five countries some or all training was reported to take place in specialist practices. Training was said to be funded solely or partially by governments in 15 of the 23 countries, to be solely self-funded in five countries, and partly or solely funded by universities in six countries. A final examination at the end of specialist training was reported to be held in 21 of the 23 countries. The nature of this examination varied widely and there was no such examination in two countries. Twelve of the 23 countries reported that they had a specialist register for orthodontics; 11 that they had no register. In none of the countries surveyed was there a requirement for those on a register to undergo periodic reassessment of competence once they are on the register. It was concluded that there was wide diversity in all aspects of specialist orthodontic training and registration within the countries surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Academy of Anaesthesiology was founded in 1978 as a means of meeting the challenges resulting from the introduction of the Medical Directives permitting the free movement of doctors within the European Community. The Academy is a scientific forum for anaesthetists throughout Europe - not just the EC countries - and has established its own English-language journal and multi-lingual Diploma examination. It is now embarking on a system of hospital recognition linked to intraining examinations. With the help of industry and a professional communications organization, it is also exploring the production of multi-lingual educational packages. It is believed that for effective evolution of hospital practice in Europe, medical specialties need to have their own academic organizations which will develop specialist training and which are in a position to provide appropriate advice to relevant national and European bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contrasts adult and child perspectives on divorce and separation. Based on harmonized retrospective life history data from eight European countries, we study the risk of divorce and separation from the perspective of adult unions and the perspective of children born into these unions. The analysis connects adult and child perspectives, focusing on union cohort changes (1945 to 2005) in the associations between parenthood, education, and (parental) separation. Our findings show that trends differ substantially between adult and child perspectives. First, the cohort surge in divorce and separation is stronger in adults than in children. Second, inequality in the risk of divorce and separation grows faster in children than in adults. For both trends, disparities between adult and child perspectives grow across cohorts due to increasingly negative associations between parenthood, education, and separation. In several countries, the separation surge has been trivial for children of higher-educated couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suggested guidelines for the provision and assessment of Orthodontic education in Europe, which are introduced, set out, and discussed in this paper, resulted from the work of the Professional Development Group (PDG) of the EURO-QUAL BIOMED II project. They were published in the final report of the project, after comments had been received from a range of national and European bodies and societies, including the British and the European Orthodontic Societies, Royal Colleges, and the General Dental Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Since 2000, approximately 500,000 refugees have settled in the Nordic countries, about a third of them being children and young people. To identify general trends, and to detect gaps in the existing knowledge about the socioeconomic and health status of these young refugees, this review discusses the literature regarding three key areas related to welfare policy: health, education and employment. Methods: A systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, SocINDEX, Sociological Abstracts, Embase and Cochrane, and a search for publications from relevant institutions were undertaken. All publications had to be original quantitative studies published since 1980. The total number of studies identified was 1353, 25 publications were included. Results: Young refugees had poorer mental health than ethnic minority and native-born peers. Mental health problems were related to pre-migration experiences but also to post-migration factors, such as discrimination and poor social support. Refugees performed worse in school than native-born and few progressed to higher education. Experiencing less discrimination and having better Nordic language proficiency was associated with higher educational attainment. A higher proportion of refugees were unemployed or outside the labour force compared with other immigrants and native-born. Assessment instruments varied between studies, making comparisons difficult. Conclusions: The study suggests pre-migration factors but also post-migration conditions such as perceived discrimination, social support and Nordic language proficiency as important factors for the mental health, education and employment outcomes of young refugees in the Nordic countries. Further Nordic comparative research and studies focusing on the relationship between health, education and employment outcomes are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The provision of high-quality palliative care in nursing homes (NHs) is a major challenge and places demands on the knowledge and skills of the staff. Aim: This study assesses the palliative care knowledge of staff in NHs in Europe. Design: Cross-sectional study using structured survey. Setting/participants: Nurses and care assistants working in 322 representative samples of NHs in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Finland, Poland and Italy. Palliative care knowledge is measured with the Palliative Care Survey. Scores on the scales range between 0 and 1; higher scores indicate more knowledge. Results: A total of 3392 NH-staff were given a questionnaire, and 2275 responded (67%). Knowledge of basic palliative care issues ranged between 0.20 in Poland (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19; 0.24) and 0.61 in Belgium (95% CI 0.59; 0.63), knowledge of physical aspects that can contribute to pain ranged between 0.81 in Poland (95% CI 0.79; 0.84) and 0.91 in the Netherlands (95% CI 0.89; 0.93), and knowledge of psychological reasons that can contribute to pain ranged between 0.56 in England (95% CI 0.50; 0.62) and 0.87 in Finland (95% CI 0.83; 0.90). Factors associated with knowledge were country, professional role and having undertaken formal training in palliative care. Conclusions: Knowledge of nurses and care assistants concerning basic palliative care issues appears to be suboptimal in all participating countries, although there is substantial heterogeneity. Education of nursing staff needs to be improved across, but each country may require its own strategy to address the unique and specific knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over half of all deaths in Europe occur in hospital, a location associated with many complaints. Initiatives to improve inpatient end-of-life care are therefore a priority. In England, over 78,000 volunteers provide a potentially cost-effective resource to hospitals. Many work with people who are dying and their families, yet little is known about their training in end-of-life care. Aims: To explore hospital volunteers’ end-of-life care training needs and learning preferences, and the acceptability of training evaluation methods. Design: Qualitative focus groups. Setting/participants: Volunteers from a large teaching hospital were purposively sampled. Results: Five focus groups were conducted with 25 hospital volunteers (aged 19–80 years). Four themes emerged as follows: preparation for the volunteering role, training needs, training preferences and evaluation preferences. Many described encounters with patients with life-threatening illness and their families. Perceived training needs in end-of-life care included communication skills, grief and bereavement, spiritual diversity, common symptoms, and self-care. Volunteers valued learning from peers and end-of-life care specialists using interactive teaching methods including real-case examples and role plays. A chance to ‘refresh’ training at a later date was suggested to enhance learning. Evaluation through self-reports or observations were acceptable, but ratings by patients, families and staff were thought to be pragmatically unsuitable owing to sporadic contact with each. Conclusion: Gaps in end-of-life care training for hospital volunteers indicate scope to maximise on this resource. This evidence will inform development of training and evaluations which could better enable volunteers to make positive, cost-effective contributions to end-of-life care in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 2008 financial crisis in Europe came abruptly and surprisingly. Many countries also suffered a second recession during the period 2010–2012. We examined the impact of the crisis on life satisfaction (LS) by country and individual socioeconomic level. Method: We used a representative sample from the European Social Survey (2002–2014) with data from 26 countries (N = 294,407). LS was measured with a single question with 11 response alternatives. Time from start of crisis (either 2008 or 2010-2012) was determined separately for each interview. Data were analyzed by multilevel analysis Results: There was a sharp decrease in LS in the beginning of the crisis in 2008, and another, but not so severe, decline in 2011, each of them of short duration. However, there was also a slight and progressive yearly decrease in LS that continued one to at least 3 years after either financial crisis that was independent of the effect of being unemployed. Associations varied considerably between countries. A negative decline after the financial crisis was especially evident among those in the most educated groups, and in those in the higher occupational levels. Conclusions: The 2008 financial crisis had a double effect on LS: (1) a sharp short-term decrease consistent with the Easterlin paradox; (2) a slighter long-term progressive decrease that was over and above the strong negative relationship with unemployment that lasted several years. The long-term decline in LS after the start of the financial crisis tended to occur especially in the higher socioeconomic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The financial crisis that hit Europe in 2007–2008 and the corresponding austerity policies have generated concern about increasing health inequalities, although impacts have been less salient than initially expected. One explanation could be that health inequalities emerged first a few years into the crisis. This study investigates health trends in the wake of the financial crisis and analyses health inequalities across a number of relevant population subgroups, including those defined by employment status, age, family type, gender, and educational attainment. Methods: This study uses individual-level panel data (EU-SILC, 2010–2013) to investigate trends in self-rated health. By applying individual fixed effects regression models, the study estimates the average yearly change in self-rated health for persons aged 15–64 years in 28 European countries. Health inequalities are investigated using stratified analyses. Results: Unemployed respondents, particularly those who were unemployed in all years of observation, had a steeper decline in self-rated health than the employed. Respondents of prime working age (25–54 years) had a steeper decline than their younger (15–24) and older (55–64) counterparts, while single parents had a more favorable trend in self-rated health than dual parents. We did not observe any increasing health inequalities based on gender or educational attainment. Conclusions: Health inequalities increased in the wake of the financial crisis, especially those associated with employment status, age, and family type. We did not observe increasing health inequalities in terms of levels of educational attainment and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this article is to study to what extent European variations in differentials in disability by education level are associated to variation in poverty. Method: Using the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for 26 countries, we measure the prevalence of activity limitation (AL) and the rate of economic hardship (EH) by level of education. We measure the increased AL prevalence (disadvantage) of the low-educated relative to the middle-educated and the reduced AL prevalence (advantage) of the high-educated groups, controlling or not for EH. Results: The rate of EH and the extent of the AL-advantage/disadvantage vary substantially across Europe. EH contributes to the AL-advantage/disadvantage but to different extent depending on its level across educational groups. Discussion: Associations between poverty, education, and disability are complex. In general, large EH goes along with increased disability differentials. Actions to reduce poverty are needed in Europe to reduce the levels and differentials in disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the article is to analyze past and present developments of working life expectancy (WLE) at age 50 by age, sex, and education in Europe. WLE is also compared with life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE). Method: WLE is calculated with the Sullivan method. Labor force participation is based on the European Union (EU) Labor Force Survey. Results: WLE at age 50 has been increasing since the mid- to late 1990s in most European countries. Increases were more pronounced among women than men. Differences in WLE by education are substantial. The comparison of WLE, LE, and HLE for the year 2009 reveals that the correlation between WLE and LE is smaller than between WLE and HLE. Discussion: The analysis of trends in WLE at age 50, particularly when set in relation to remaining LE, provides useful insights about the development of the distribution of economically active and inactive years in Europe’s aging societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has stated that business games can and should be used for business school Assurance of Learning (AoL) programs. There is no direct objective evidence that business games are valid for such applications.Aim. The purpose of the study presented in this article was to examine the extent to which a business game could be used for such applications.Method. The validity of THE GLOBAL BUSINESS GAME was examined by assessing the degree to which it was available, accessed, used, engaged in and otherwise demonstrated internal validity in a large European university program.Results. The recorded data for the game revealed that many of its enrolled players either did not directly engage in the experience, or were only minimally involved. Those who were completely engaged in the experience obtained superior economic results and created strategies and implementations that were rational, goal-oriented and correct for the simulation’s modeled competitive environment.Conclusions. A large-scale business game can serve as an assurance of learning device, but it is only an incomplete evaluator due to subject non-involvement.Recommendations. Game publishers that state their games are valid for assurance of learning purposes should present objective evidence of their validity claims. Those engaged in assurance of learning programs should employ other methods for measuring outcomes than those used in this study. Those using business games should take measures to insure their participants are engaged and are accountable within its teaching structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher professional education in Europe has changed from teaching-only institutes to hybrids of teaching and research. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence the judgements of lecturers about new organisational goals and perceptions of their new research-related competencies. Lecturers’ judgements of new organisational goals and self-efficacy related to newly expected competencies were modelled in a bio-ecological model. Findings show that lecturers’ perceptions of self-efficacy can be influenced by an open organisational culture, while lecturers’ judgements of new organisational goals can be influenced by decision-making systems. The professional development of lecturers through formal education and participation in research influences both self-efficacy and judgements. Hence, direct executive managers have three steering mechanisms by which they can influence lecturers’ perceptions during the implementation of new organisational activities: a) Educational Policy, b) Management Policy and c) Developmental Policy. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until recent events intervened, Eastern European Studies found themselves under attack at my home university and other institutions for being, among other things, “non-strategic.” We see the same notion, if not the same terminology, applied increasingly to the humanities and non-quantitative social sciences, which lose ground daily to the so-called STEM disciplines in both educational policy and practice. How do we defend the study of Eastern European literature and culture in the current academic climate? This essay defends the centrality both of literary and Eastern European studies in the twenty-first-century curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the European situation in education. This is a paper prepared for a gathering of philosophy teachers at Harvard University honoring Professor Maurice de Wulf of the University of Louvain. It presents a hopeful view of the crisis happening that it may have a positive outcome on education just like the international conflicts which South America has gone through.

Aims: To explore inequalities in total mortality between small areas of 16 European cities for men and women, as well as to analyse the relationship between these geographical inequalities and their socioeconomic indicators. Methods: A cross-sectional ecological design was used to analyse small areas in 16 European cities (26,229,104 inhabitants). Most cities had mortality data for a period between 2000 and 2008 and population size data for the same period. Socioeconomic indicators included an index of socioeconomic deprivation, unemployment, and educational level. We estimated standardised mortality ratios and controlled for their variability using Bayesian models. We estimated relative risk of mortality and excess number of deaths according to socioeconomic indicators. Results: We observed a consistent pattern of inequality in mortality in almost all cities, with mortality increasing in parallel with socioeconomic deprivation. Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality were more pronounced for men than women, and relative inequalities were greater in Eastern and Northern European cities, and lower in some Western (men) and Southern (women) European cities. The pattern of excess number of deaths was slightly different, with greater inequality in some Western and Northern European cities and also in Budapest, and lower among women in Madrid and Barcelona. Conclusions: In this study, we report a consistent pattern of socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in 16 European cities. Future studies should further explore specific causes of death, in order to determine whether the general pattern observed is consistent for each cause of death. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an open forum focused on incorporating gender studies to the universities in Europe. It offers information on a European consortium that inspires, graduates in Transnational Memory Studies (TMS) and Cultural Heritage Management related to feminism. It mentions that the fragmentation intellectual life can be analyzed by psychoanalytic concept that signifies the pleasure for illegitimate body parts.

This article asks: what is the significance of design history within higher education? It reviews the practice and purpose of design history, in the education of historically aware and critically engaged designers, as an emerging independent discipline, and in terms of what the subject has to offer allied fields such as history, sociology, cultural studies, history of technology, area studies and anthropology. It considers the development and current state of design history as it is taught in the UK and non-Anglophone Europe (including France, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Turkey and Greece), in the US, Australia and East Asia. The argument that follows is grounded in recent design historical scholarship, combined with the views of design historians working in the abovementioned countries, in order to provide both a contemporary perspective on current practice and suggestions about possible futures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Young people leave the parental home at different ages, and differences exist both between and within societies. International comparisons have emphasised the importance of institutions, in particular the welfare regime, the educational system, and the labour market, as well as of long-standing cultural differences. Here we focus on subjective age norms ('age deadlines') for leaving home-a key determinant of actual behaviour. We analyse the data of a unique multicountry dataset, the third round of the European Social Survey, through a series of multilevel regression models where simultaneously country, regional, and individual-level factors come into play. We find strong normative differences between countries, and significant, though lower, regional-level variation. Norms are significantly influenced by country-level 'institutional' factors, as well as by regional-level 'cultural' factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of international communication within Europe in the medical education of Swedish physicians during the nineteenth-century. The author highlights the Swedish government's financing of Swedish physicians' study at foreign universities, professional medical associations and journals that allowed an exchange of ideas, and Sweden's willingness to import medical knowledge from a number of European countries with varying international reputations as keys to the integrated nature of Sweden's medical education system in the nineteenth-century. Various accounts of Swedish physicians traveling abroad through government funding are provided and their motivations are discussed.

The article traces the fundamental incoherency that structured the Danish Missionary Society’s work at a boarding school for low-caste ‘heathen’ children in South India in the 1860s and 1870s. Through elaborate disciplinary methods, the missionaries set out to Christianize and civilize the Indian children’s morality, social behaviour and bodily comportment. Yet, the missionaries’ perceptions of ‘the Indian child’ also reflected the contemporary bolstering of racial thinking in Indian colonial society, resulting in doubts whether Indian children could in fact become true Christians. This paradoxical endeavour shows how children became a site for the production of difference that sustained colonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Current Sociology is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since the publication of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), scholarly interest in analysing the effectiveness and performance of education policy has risen again. The present article follows this path and presents the first empirical evaluation of the influence of national education policies on educational inequality in the European Union member states. We examine whether the availability of preschool education, an all-day school tradition, tracking during secondary education, a large private school sector, average class size and education expenditures moderate the relationship between individual social background and educational success. As a main finding, our multi-level analyses show that education policy affects educational inequality very differently, an outcome that is most visible when comparing West European and post-communist countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, educational homogamy among married and cohabiting couples in selected European countries is examined. Using data from two waves (2002 and 2004) of the European Social Survey, this article compares three cultural and institutional contexts that differ in terms of institutionalization of cohabitation. Evidence from log-linear models yields two main conclusions. First, as cohabitation becomes more common in society, marriage and cohabitation become more similar with respect to partner selection. Second, where married and unmarried unions differ in terms of educational homogamy, married couples have higher odds of overcoming educational barriers (i.e., intermarrying with other educational groups). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) around the world has been accompanied by a concomitant growth in the number of education and training programs developed to provide management training to the leaders of these organizations. This article reports on the current configuration of international academic programs in nonprofit and philanthropic studies in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and the Americas (apart from the United States), describing the various forms of education and training programs from county to country and continent to continent. The authors examine the similarities and differences in nonprofit management education programs in different parts of the world, seeking to explain why education programs have a range of forms in different parts of the world, according to different historical, institutional, and cultural contexts, thus furthering understanding of the asymmetries and complexities of existing NPC and NGO education and training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article on student mobility data in Europe has a double objective: First, it investigates which data on international mobility of students are being compiled and made available—and which are not—both at the international, the national, and the programme level. Second, it presents some of the student mobility data identified, and—based on an analysis of these data—it tries to depict a picture of the main trends in international student mobility into and out of 32 European countries. Next to analysing and presenting the availability and quality of data on international student mobility, the article also makes recommendations for the improvement of student mobility statistics both at the national and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates about geographical practice in Europe are explored through the spaces and practices of an undergraduate field-course in the Costa Blanca in Spain. Students encounter ‘Spain’ and ‘Europe’ through diversely embodied engagements and material encounters with familiarity and difference, inclusion and exclusion, which offer possibilities for de-centring dominant Anglo-American geographies and understanding the diverse practices which produce geographical knowledges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how the concept of narrative has entered social work over the past 15 years, with special emphasis on research applications. Approaching our task from distinctive standpoints and locations, the article reviews definitions of narrative, criteria for `good' enough narrative research, and patterns in social work journals. Our evaluation uncovered few studies, in contrast to the volume of narrative research in education, nursing and other practicing professions. Three exemplars of narrative inquiry – model research completed by social workers – show the knowledge for practice that can be produced with careful application of narrative methods, in all their diversity. Drawing on our respective locations and experiences, we cautiously suggest some reasons for the paucity of quality research in the USA, and greater representation in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in the use of information and communication technologies (1CT) in history teaching and an increase in the deployment of ICT for history teaching and learning have been reflected in all European countries, albeit with varying degrees of success. Developments in the university and school sectors are characterized by a growing integration of specific ICT facilities and tools. The growing importance of ICT in history teaching and learning has been fostered by national government investment and a variety of cross-Europe support initiatives; however, research indicates that its potential has yet to be fully realized. Research into the impact of ICT on teaching and learning in Scottish schools shows a similarly patchy picture to that in other European countries; however, the evaluation of a series of CD-ROMs confirms the arguments of history educators that effective history software must problematize the past, so helping pupils develop their research and thinking skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares European approaches to management education, training and development. Managerial competencies and skills are increasingly attracting the attention of practitioners and policy makers. With the increasing emphasis on the use of knowledge and skills, countries have, over a period of time, built strong systems of training and development, have generally performed well and as a consequence, particularly during the 1990s, many European countries expanded their training infrastructures.