Equity in Access to Higher Education for Special Needs and Socially Deprived Students in Georgia

This paper examines the relative importance of upper secondary subject choice and attainment in explaining social inequalities in access to higher education ( HE ) in Scotland and Ireland. These two countries differ in the extent of curriculum differentiation, in the degree of standardisation in school examination and in HE entry criteria. In particular, in Scotland subject choice in upper secondary education is more differentiated (both in terms of number and type of subjects taken) and allocation of places in HE is less standardised and more dependent upon the subjects studied at school than in Ireland. Given these institutional differences, we expected subject choices to be more important for explaining social origin differences in HE entry and access to prestigious institutions in Scotland than in Ireland. Because of increasing student competition for HE places, we further hypothesised the growing importance of school subjects over time in mediating social inequalities in HE entry in both countries, more so in Scotland than in Ireland. Our results confirm that subject choice is a stronger mediator of social inequalities in HE entry and access to prestigious universities in Scotland while attainment is more important in Ireland. Contrary to our expectations, the role of subject choice in HE entry has not become more important over time. However, in Scotland subject choice continues to be a strong mediator for social inequalities in HE entry.

ПРОФЕСІОНАЛІЗМ ВИКЛАДАЧІВ ВВНЗ ЯК СКЛАДОВА ВНУТРІШНЬОЇ СИСТЕМИ ГАРАНТУВАННЯ ЯКОСТІ ВИЩОЇ ВІЙСЬКОВІЙ ОСВІТИ

QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: STORIES OF ENGLISH AND CZECH ACADEMICS AND HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS

The prestige and values of higher education are traditionally high in Russia and overseas countries. For several generations, there has been a youth orientation towards higher education. Higher education and diplomas are perceived by a person primarily as a means of social mobility. Profession sets a certain “social background” for people’s life. At the same time, however, over the past few decades the assessment of the prestige associated with certain professions and specialties has dramatically changed and the labor market has changed, too. The the desire for higher education among young people continues to grow in Russia. Today’s students, future specialists, face new challenges of the labor market: firstly, availability of desired and demanded professions acquisition on the labor market; secondly, disappearance of old and the emergence of new professions; thirdly, digitalization of the labor market; fourthly, the formation of specialist competencies that are in demand both on the local and global labor markets. The major research objectives were to study the issues of students’ profession choice and their opinion on the demanded / non-demanded professions on modern labor market. The research methodology combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The primary data was collected using questionnaires and indepth-interviews. 250 freshmen of the Ural Federal University and 250 freshmen of Saint-Petersburg State University were questioned on the basis of quota sampling. In depth-interviews (15) were organized for the educators engaged in the system of higher education. The study has revealed the issue of inequality in access to higher education as well as of inequality in access to getting prestigious and demanded professions on labor market.The majority of the respondents look for occupation suited to abilities and to their own interests. For young people the main thing is that the profession should not only make profit, but also a career progress and give new professional knowledge. The research has fixed that the majority of the students believe that they have made the right choice of specialty and they are well aware of how their future professional activity will be. About 30.0% of young people do not often choose those professions that they would like to be trained at the university, but those that are possible due to their “accessibility”. The students’ professional choice does not correspond to their ideas about their future profession and their psychological characteristics.
 Keywords: Higher education, students, freshmen, Russia, labor market, future profession choice, digitalization

This article explores ways of decolonising higher education for social justice to prevail. The study begins with a description of, decoloniality, as a framework informing higher education systems in Africa. Challenges confronted by African governments as they endeavour to decolonise ingrained systems are, discussed in the paper. The study employed a descriptive research design informed by qualitative research methodologies to create and come up with a comprehensive and accurate representation of, decoloniality in Africa’s higher education. The study is, guided by the assumption that almost all Southern African States have similar challenges of social injustices in Education. The findings of the research are that, higher education in Africa is fraught with challenges emanating from inequalities, access equity and quality education. The poor who cannot afford affluent schools and universities remain disenfranchised while the rich are able to send their children to expensive universities with adequate teaching and learning resources. If principles of justice and freedom were, observed as tenets of, decoloniality in Africa’s universities, the racial and ethnic conflicts that characterised the universities could not have taken place. The #RhodesmustFall of 2015 by the students is one such example of the violent underlying demand of freedom from the students largely motivated by colonial legacies in education. Among the demands by the students was, “the decolonisation of the curriculum, and socially just pedagogies and equity of access” (Postma, 2019, p. 7). Decoloniality as a democratic philosophy appears to be, weakened in higher education by alarming incidences of violence, corruption and lack of resources.

This study examines the emerging forms of social and spatial inequalities in access to higher education opportunities in India. Based on large-scale macro level data sets and field-based studies, the study reveals that expansion of higher education in India has improved the availability of higher education institutions, and access of the disadvantaged social groups to higher education has been promoted through affirmative action policies. But it has been accompanied by inter-regional inequalities in higher education opportunities; and social inequalities in access to elite institutions, high value academic subjects like science and engineering, and the learning outcomes. It is a combination of socio-economic-spatial factors that determines social inequalities in access to higher education opportunities in India. Regional inequalities in higher education development and socio-spatial differentiation in enrolment is a result of the economic processes reflected through the mechanism of establishment of private higher education institutions and their distribution across states. The students belonging to socially disadvantaged groups such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Castes and women lacking social capital formation and cultural capital accumulation face substantial barriers accessing elite higher education institutions and high value academic subjects. Further, geographical, social and pre-college educational pathway handicaps, including regional language as medium of instruction, negatively impact the academic performance and learning outcomes of students from the socially disadvantaged groups. The progressive and inclusive public policies and higher educational strategies can make higher education a catalyst for the creation of more equal societies.KeywordsHigher educationEquityRegional inequalitiesSocial inequalitiesEducational pathwaysIndia

This article focuses on the connection between fi nancial aid systems in higher education and the development of inequalities in access to higher education. Although the student fi nancial aid system is just one of a number of factors that infl uence a person's chances of studying in higher education, its role in a person's decision to pursue higher education may be of funda- mental signifi cance for those with lower socio-economic status. Therefore, the authors of this article focus on the effect of the fi nancial conditions of study on the chances that individuals from families with low socio-economic sta- tus have obtained higher education. The analysis looks at developments in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, because Czech and Dutch student fi nancial aid systems have been evolving in very different directions over the last two decades, while their secondary school systems continue to share very similar features. The analysis reveals that student fi nancial aid based prima- rily on direct fi nancial support (as in the Netherlands) was accompanied by a decline in inequalities in access to education, even though students had to pay tuition, while a system of fi nancial aid primarily involving indirect sup- port (as in the Czech Republic) applied over the same period did not inhibit increasing inequalities, despite the fact that during the period under observa- tion students were not required to pay tuition.

Relevance: Inclusion in higher education is a key area of transformation of modern educational systems aimed at creating equal opportunities for students with special needs. Therefore, the study of the adaptation of curricula for students with special needs in the education system is a relevant area for further scientific explorations. Objective: The purpose of the preset academic paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of inclusive education in Ukraine, to identify problems and challenges related to the adaptation of curricula for students with special needs. Methods: Several methods were used in the course of the qualitative research: synthesis of literature sources, comparative legal method as well as methods of systematization and generalization. In addition, statistical analysis was applied to assess the dynamics of accessibility of educational services as well as quantitative analysis methods to calculate the overall inclusiveness index based on weighting coefficients and normalized indicators. Results: According to the results of the research, it should be noted that the support of teachers (X2) has a statistically significant positive impact on the overall satisfaction with educational services of students with SEN (r = 0.142, p = 0.007), while the availability of resources (X1) does not demonstrate such an impact (r = 0.264, r = 0.037). Conclusions: The results of the research confirm the need to develop inclusive education in Ukraine, in particular, through the adaptation of the educational environment and curricula to the individual needs of students with special educational needs. The novelty of the conclusions lies in the detailed justification of the need for flexible adaptation of educational programs and integration of digital technologies (in particular, the expansion of inclusive infrastructure through the introduction of specially equipped spaces for students) to support students with special needs in martial law, as well as the development of recommendations for improving inclusive practices in Ukrainian educational institutions based on European experience.

This paper aims at studying the dynamics of inequalities in access to higher education (HE) both in a historical and a comparative perspective. It uses Bulgaria as a case study and places it among five other countries such as Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The adopted approach differentiates between equity in HE and inequalities in access to HE, and stresses the qualitative side of inequalities. The analysis is based on data from the European Social Survey (2006–2010), complemented by data from EUROSTUDENT III (2007). It is argued that, despite the expansion of HE before and especially after 1989, Bulgaria is among the countries where inequality in access to HE caused by socio-economic disadvantages is most salient. In general, our findings lend support to the effectively maintained inequalities hypothesis. The capability approach is applied in the analysis of these changes inasmuch as it provides a social justice framework for conceptualizing and evaluating inequalities, including taking into account their qualitative side.

Research of The Combination of Production and Education In Higher Vocational Education In The Period of Economic Transition

Education is a fulcrum for achieving progress in all aspects of human life. This is in consonance with the 1998 World Conference on Education Commitment that higher education should be geared towards development and progress. Therefore, it is expected that higher education is equally accessible to all, all persons seeking higher education have optimal range of choice and participation of women in higher education should be emphasized. This paper, therefore, examine the meaning of gender inequality, access and equity, as well as the rationale to ensure gender equitable access in university education in Nigeria. Also, the paper highlights the trends in male and female enrolment in university education and the factors that give rise to gender inequality in equitable access to university education in Nigeria. Finally, the paper examines measures to enhance gender equitable access to university education in Nigeria. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n7p129

Admission systems to higher education are the key point for determining which students go into which type of higher education institution. Based on how admission systems are designed, they will allow access to a smaller or larger number of students, but they will also shape participation by social background. However, the admission system is neither simply the transition point between upper secondary schooling and higher education nor simply a matter of procedures and regulations. This paper argues that who gets into which part of a higher education system is determined by three aspects: how the schooling system is organised, how higher education institutions (can) recruit students, and how prospective students make choices about where to go. Each of these three aspects also affects who ends up in a higher education programme, so they are relevant for any discussion on the social dimension of higher education participation. This perspective is operationalised through a four-field typology of admission systems. Understanding how each aspect ‘works’ and how they interact opens up the opportunity to review and change higher education admission policies to make higher education more inclusive.

In England and Wales the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, and the role of the special needs coordinator, are well established at statutory level, but they are neither universal nor well established in the higher education (HE) sector. Where disability services do exist in HE, they vary in staffing, policy and practices, and disability coordinators have many concerns about the service they provide. In Australia the tertiary sector has recently developed a code of practice for students with disabilities, and in the USA the Association on Higher Education and Disability has developed a code of ethics for its members. A survey of HE disability coordinators on the issues and dilemmas experienced in their work and their views on the need for a code of ethics was undertaken in February 1998 by Skill (National Bureau for Students with Disabilities) and the University of East London. The findings and proposed strategies are discussed in the light of current initiatives for disability services in HE.

Abstract: Special need individuals’ participation in various sectors including education has gained full attention and support from the government. However, they remain underrepresented in getting access to tertiary education. Higher education is committed in providing inclusive campus environment for special need students. Currently, there are several issues faced by higher education administration in providing inclusive campus. Studies that systematically review the literature on issues and challenge in providing inclusive campus for special need students (SNS) remain insufficient. Hence, this article intends to present a systematic literature review on the challenges in creating inclusive campus environment among higher education administrators. The review was based on the publication standard, namely ROSES (RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses). Two leading databases of Scopus and Web of Science, and five supporting databases were selected. Based on the thematic analysis, this review has four main themes namely 1) special need student; 2) inclusive campus; 3) challenges; 4) faculty member. The study offered several significant contributions for practical purposes. Findings from this review offer an insight for the higher education administrator to strategize in creating an inclusive campus for the SNS. To be more certain, future studies on SNS inclusively especially in Malaysia context are recommended. Keywords: Higher Education, Inclusive environment, Special need student

У статті здійснено науково-теоретичний аналіз підходів та обґрунтування методологічного концепту побудови та функціонування системи якості вищої фармацевтичної освіти.