Higher Education Policy Analysis Research Articles

How do higher education policies influence the shaping of sustainable development values in China: a three-dimensional framework

IntroductionIn the face of global challenges, higher education is regarded as an important force to promote the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has focused on articulating and analyzing the impact of value shaping for sustainable growth in higher education, although articulation and systematic analysis of higher education policy remain lacking.MethodsBased on the policy tool perspective, this paper constructed a three-dimensional analysis framework by using content analysis and the PMC index model to undertake a thorough analysis of higher education policies published at the central level in China from 2009 to 2024.ResultsThis study found that current higher education policies had multiple impacts on the formation of sustainable development values: (1) In the four dimensions of sustainable development proposed by the United Nations, China's higher education policy had shown clear guiding ideology and action direction; (2) In shaping sustainable values, China's higher education policies showed clear progress in three key dimensions; (3) The value and innovation of this study in shaping the values of sustainable development in higher education policies were primarily expressed in the following aspects.DiscussionThis paper suggested a way for optimizing the design of China's higher education policies, providing empirical data and theoretical support for China's higher education policies to better promote the ideals of sustainable development.

Enhancing Inclusion, Equity, and Access: An Analysis of Higher Education Policies in Nepal

Higher education is the backbone for the human resource development which are crucial for the economic and socio-cultural development of any country. Unlike other sector, higher education is imperative not only for the welfare of the human beings but also fundamental for nation building through innovation in areas that concern the society. The aim of this paper is to critically analyze the policy arrangements of higher education in Nepal and its impact on enhancing inclusion, equity and access. Adopting Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) research method which is combined with policy review, it is found that though commendable efforts by the government and the commission have been continuing, the issues of access, equity, and inclusion remain still lacking in some areas. Therefore, more policy and programmatic actions are necessary for improvement the situation. If the policy recommendations outlined above are seriously considered by the Government of Nepal, the commission, universities, and other relevant bodies, it is possible to further promote and improve the state of access, equity, and inclusion in Nepal’s higher education.

How institutionalisation of a movement fosters protest: The case of student protests in France

ABSTRACT This paper explains how institutionalisation can go hand in hand with the use of more disruptive tactics by social actors. Inspired by a feminist conceptualisation of the social movement institutionalisation process, we adopt a fluid definition of the state-society division and attend to show how institutional actors and groups negotiate their relationships at different scales of protest. To illustrate our argument, we take a closer look at the student movement in France. Based on the analysis of higher education policies between 2005 and 2016, and 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors, we identify a process of partial institutionalisation whereby student organisations are regulated by different material conditions depending on the scale of protest. These material conditions, translated trough institutional arrangements, shape the ways in which student organisations build identity boundaries among them, thereby leading to the use of different tactics of protest.

Negotiating Indigenous higher education policy analysis at the cultural interface in the Northern Territory, Australia

ABSTRACT Policy analysis can be useful for learning about ‘what works’ in policy. Contemporary policy studies literature highlight that such learning is influenced by power relations in government that shape our ways of knowing the world. This paper offers a critically reflexive narrative account of power relations present during Indigenous higher education policy analysis research conducted in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia to shed light on how to effectively negotiate policy analysis. We reflect on tensions that arose by applying Nakata’s concept of the ‘cultural interface’, which accounts for the complexity of meaning making across diverse knowledge spaces. Narratives from an Indigenous Project Reference Group member are included to provide a perspective on these tensions from an Indigenous standpoint. The paper concludes by describing enabling conditions and strategies that were necessary for effective policy analysis, and considers implications for Indigenous higher education policy analysis in the NT.

The rebirth of the Chinese higher education: analysis of higher education policies from the economic reform to date

PurposeThere have been regular policy enactment and dynamism to ensure progress and sustainability in the development of higher education (HE) in China after the Cultural Revolution. This study was purposed to reveal the processes of the Chinese higher education (CHE) development through series of policy implementations from the epoch of economic reformation and opening-up policy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed document analysis, and selected and critically analyzed documents that include published articles and books, the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Education, and historical documentaries of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and their HE aftermath. Again, a semi-structured interview was utilized with a sample size of 20 academics vested in the CHE history. Five academics from four universities in China were interviewed to analyze the historical events of the CHE transformation and current policies about the CHE development.FindingsThe authors established that enrollment in the CHE has increased since the economic reformation; there has been the enhancement of the CHE internationalization in recent decades and the emergence of world-class universities and programs in the CHE as a result of the world class policies and projects. For consistency of the innovative programs toward HE development, the authors have posited some challenges, future goals and the global impacts of the CHE development and its sustainability.Originality/valueThe utilization of document analysis cements the claims by the interviewees, which enriches the value of the results. This study would provide literature guidance to international researchers to critically concoct theoretical assumptions from the findings to critically investigate the developmental policy pattern of HE institutions.

Higher Education Policy Analysis: the Transformation of IAIN to UIN for the Period 2002-2017 in the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

This article examines the transformation policy of IAIN to UIN by the Directorate of Islamic Religious Higher Education (Dit. Diktis) of the Directorate General of Islamic Education (Ditjen Pendis) of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) of the Republic of Indonesia. Specifically, this article describes in depth the background and policy objectives of Dit. Diktis in the transformation of IAIN to UIN; and the implementation of the transformation policy of IAIN to UIN at Dit. Diktis of the Ministry of Religious Affairs from 2002 to 2017. This study used a qualitative method with the type of case study research. Data collection techniques consist of observation method, in-depth interview, and documentation. While data analysis techniques include: data reduction, data presentation, verification, and concluding. Checking the validity of the data consists of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The results of this study found that the basic policy formulation for the transformation of IAIN to UIN occurred in different contexts and situations for three periods. They are: 1) the first period, 2002-2005 (6 UIN), 2) the second period, 2013-2015 (5 UIN), and 3) The third period, 2017 (6 UIN).

China's higher education governance during COVID: a mixed-methods study of policy analysis and student perspectives

PurposeThis study analyzed Chinese higher education (HE) governance policies during the first four months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, providing insight into HE management, policymaking and governance. This study also illuminates Chinese student experiences and real-time policy impact, providing insight into the effectiveness of HE crisis management.Design/methodology/approachUsing frameworks of real-time policy evaluation, this paper analyzed theoretical and realized policy impacts through the theoretical framing of temporality. Using real-time evaluation methods, this paper first identified HE policy priorities and then used a mixed-methods approach of “policy as discourse” analysis and a quantitative survey from Chinese HE students to assess the theoretical and realized impact of policies.FindingsAn analysis of HE policies identified three priorities: pastoral care, graduate employment and ideological education. Discourse analysis revealed each priority of HE policies was intrinsically linked to mitigating societal, economic and political consequences of the epidemic. Survey data revealed the perceived effectiveness of policies mirrored China's top-down government structure. Additionally, students expressed strong support in the central government's crisis management, despite relatively little realized policy impact.Originality/valueThis paper presents a timely review of HE governance during a global pandemic by offering a snapshot of HE crisis management and contributing to the literature surrounding China's ongoing HE centralization. This paper also provides unique insight into HE's role in state development, variations between prescriptive and realized policy impact and the “crisis as opportunity” paradox in a contemporary setting.

The living university in relation to popular classes in Brazil. A critical analysis of higher education policies

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the relationship between university and popular classes as an alternative to the privatist tendencies of higher education policies, as well as science and technology, in Brazil, in this period of transition from the neo-developmental project to the deepening of counter-reforms, which started in the 1990s. The subject is developed from bibliographical and documental research (Brazilian legislations), besides testimonies from Brazilian researchers who have worked together with family farmers, smallholders, settlers, and recyclable material collectors that are organised in cooperatives and associations. Our analyses are structured in dialogue with the hypothesis of dysfunctionality of the university. A review of higher education and science and technology policies is carried out and considered in regard to inclusion and the relationship with the popular classes. Our focus is on the first decade of the twenty-first century, a brief period of neo-developmentalism that ended with the deepening of the current counter-reforms. Initially, it is analyzed the higher education. Then, it is discussed the trends in Science and Technology policy. This is followed by analyzes of the relationship between university and popular classes, an alternative that is carried out contradictorily. It is concluded that the University recreates itself by contributing to popular classes.

A Literature Review on Higher Education Policy in Turkey and Policy Transfer as a Key Term for Analysis

In this study, the concept of policy transfer that have a profound effect on Turkish higher education policy will be used as a key term. New public management and governance approaches will form the basis of this research. Therewithal evaluations will be made in the context of similarities between different countries’ higher education policy. First of all, the concept of policy transfer is explained and neo-liberal policies and effects on higher education are questioned. To that end, literature review of how neoliberalism affects higher education policy in Turkey will be discussed. It is expected that this study may provide a vision for future analysis of higher education policies.

Qualitative Methods in Higher Education Policy Analysis: Using Interviews and Document Analysis

This article is the second of a short series of works designed to articulate the results and research approach I utilized in my study Analysis of Background Check Policy in Higher Education. This second article focuses on the research development, design, and overall approach I utilized in addressing my research question which aimed to examine the history and experiences of Georgia Institute of Technology’s adoption of background check policy. This was achieved through interviewing relevant constituents and analyzing all available/related official policy documents associated with Georgia Tech’s Pre-employment Background Check Policy and Program. In my research approach, my conceptual framework consisted of considering four important policy dimensions, including the normative, structural, constituentive, and technical dimensions. This framework served as a basis and focus, shaping my research process, informing the methodological design, and influencing the selection of data-collection instruments. Using four very specific research design questions, I conducted my research through the lens of the social constructivist adopting an interpretivist approach utilizing a qualitative policy analysis methodology which included the use of interviews and document analysis to address my research question.

Academic Freedom and University Autonomy: A Higher Education Policy Perspective

This article reflects upon three seminal articles published in Higher Education Policy (HEP) on academic freedom and university autonomy. The reflections indicate that HEP research contributes to a sophisticated and systematic understanding of the complexity of academic freedom, addressing both the original theoretical issues and burning current issues in policy and practice, as well as in legislation. In particular, HEP has gone beyond academic circles and reached a broad readership, making a real difference to policy development to safeguard academic freedom. For broader comparative reflection, an epistemological dimension has been added to the HEP understanding and analysis of the concept of academic freedom.

Comparing HE policies in Europe

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for a comparative analysis of Higher Education policies that enables us to investigate the explanatory power of structural characteristics of politico-administrative systems. The policies that are studied aim at improving the efficiency and quality of institutional performance. The paper focuses on policy trends in higher education in the eight countries in the study. It discusses how the literature on comparative political and administrative systems can help formulate assumptions about public policy making and policy change. The ideas that are developed are then applied to public reform policies in general and in the area of higher education in particular, followed by a test of the assumptions on available data on reform outcomes in the countries involved. The data indicate that a comparative politico-administrative perspective is potentially useful with regard to explaining cross national variation in higher education reform policies in Europe.

Instruments as empirical evidence for the analysis of Higher Education policies

This paper focuses on policy implementation in Higher Education (HE) analysed through the evolution and transformation of policy instruments related to government funding and evaluation. We investigate how steering and governance tools have been put into action, in order to analyse how original policy rationales and justifications have evolved and are affected by context and instrument characteristics. The research questions are: what do policy instruments reveal about the evolution of policy rationales and justifications? To what extent and why do they evolve in unpredictable ways? We look at two types of instruments, funding and evaluation that are tools widely diffused in European HE systems. We adopt a diachronic perspective spanning the last 15 years, and a comparative approach across eight European countries. Our findings show that the form and evolution of instruments are related to factors such as the existing mix of instruments and policy paradigm, of the features of the policy process and of the instruments themselves.

Does Educational Preparation Match Professional Practice: The Case of Higher Education Policy Analysts

This study compares the extent to which higher education policy analysts and master’s and doctoral faculty of higher education and public affairs programs match on a set of competencies thought to be important to higher education policy analysis. Analysts matched master’s faculty in three competencies while analysts and doctoral faculty matched in five competencies. The findings suggest possible reasons why analysts and graduate faculty agree or differ on various competencies. Also, the findings raise important questions regarding the preparation of higher education policy analysts and the graduate programs that educate them. This study is an addition to the body of competency literature.

Converge or not converge: the European Union and higher education policies in the Netherlands, Belgium/Flanders and Germany

This article examines the impact of European integration on higher education policies of the Netherlands, Belgium/Flanders and Germany. The analysis of higher education policies in the three countries is part of a broader project, which focuses on a majority of E.U. member states. The selection of the three countries for this paper is not based on any methodological considerations. The question addressed is if higher education policies of member states are converging, diverging or not changing at all, and whether such developments are a consequence of the policies of the European Union (E.U.) or of other factors (e.g., the globalization of the market or of institutions imitating each other). A preliminary assessment leads to the conclusion that a number of important indications of convergence are present in national policy arrangements in the field of higher education (in particular student mobility and quality assurance, but less in the structure of higher education systems My attention will be focused on the structure of higher education systems, on quality assurance and on student and teacher mobility. These domains appear to cover most relevant issues pertaining to higher education policies in the European Union member states (funding of higher education is sometimes considered as a separate domain, but it can also be regarded as an element of the structure of higher education systems, while it is also related to the issue of quality assurance).). The European Union, however, does not have much legal authority in the policy sector in question. Thus, an explanation for converging national policies may lie elsewhere, in part in the concept of “institutional isomorphism”.

Higher education and attainment of policy goals: Interpretations for efficiency indicators in Israel

This study concerns identification of policy aims and goals in Israeli Higher Education (HE) and an analysis of efficiency indicators to determine the extent and nature of HE policy goal attainment at the Israeli universities. Overall, these indicators, be they quantitative or qualitative, point to major developments in the Israeli HE system in both national and international comparative terms. The aims and related efficiency performance indicators identified and used in this study are normative and their analysis follows conceptualizations of efficiency assessment. They are in line with orientations of quality as bound up with values and fundamental aims relating to fitness for purpose (Ball 1985; Williams 1991; Barnett 1989, 1992; vanVught 1994) and pertain mainly to the individual universities' perceptions and priorities. The analysis model also adopts conceptual approaches used in studies of HE quality by the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Israeli HE Council, as well as those conducted in England, Scotland, and the Netherlands, and by the OECD. As such, the analysis model as well as the findings identified in this study lend themselves to comparative HE policy analysis in a global perspective.

FACTORS LEADING TO GAINS IN MATHEMATICS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE: AN ANALYSIS BY GENDER AND ETHNICITY

Research studies generally focus on mathematics achievement in college across various ethnic and gender subpopulations and have suggested that various factors such as mathematical ability, persistence, anxiety, attitudes, backgrounds, and exposure have been explanatory factors of mathematics achievement. This study explores nontraditional associating factors for the accruement of mathematical skills during the first year of college, including the role of factors pertaining to academic and social involvement, student study behavior, student perceptions of the quality of teaching, financial support, and awareness of prejudice. It involved testing a model of mathematics gain on a nationally representative sample of first-year college students by both gender and ethnicity. Results indicate that although many of the factors tested contributed to math gains for the entire sample, there were many marked differences when analyzed by gender or ethnicity. Measures of commitment and enrollment in higher level mathematics courses was found to best explain gains in mathematics. An interesting link between gains with full-time enrollment and commitment to completing the degree was also found. Another finding was that an environment perceived to be free of racial and gender related prejudices had positive implications toward mathematical gains for most students. Contains 50 references. (JRH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Gains in First Year College Mathematics 1 File=c: \my document\nctla\valifin: date of last revision: November 20, 1996 Factors Leading to Gains in Mathematics During the First Year of College: An Analysis by Gender and Ethnicity* Linda Serra Hagedorn Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis University of Southern California School of Education Waite Phillips Hall 701 E Los Angeles, CA 90089-0031 M. Vali Siadat Department of Mathematics Richard J. Daley College 7500 S. Pulaski Chicago, IL 60652 Amaury Nora College of Education Farish Hall 401 University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-5872 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY At ./ TO THE EDUC IONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTIVENT OF EDUCATION (Mice of Educational Research and Improvement UCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION I CENTER (ERIC/ document has been reproduced as received from the person Or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality o Points of view or opinions stated in thiS docu. ment do not necessarily represent Offic.al OERI position or policy Ernest T. Pascarella University of Illinois at Chicago Policy Studies ('M/C 147) 1040 W. Harrison St. Chicago, IL 60607-7133 * This investigation was conducted as part of the National Study of Student Learning (NSSL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. NSSL was supported by Grant No.: R117G10037 from the U.S. Department of Education to the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York City, April 1996. Running head: Gains in First Year College Mathematics BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 Gains in First Year College Mathematics 2