Social Role Of Higher Education Research Articles

Миссия университета как ответ на вызовы времени

This article discusses topical issues of the formation and transformation of the university’s mission in accordance with the needs of society in different historical epochs. It is shown that the main components of the university’s mission were and remain education, scientific research and service to society, to which other concepts were added at different times in accordance with public requests. It is noted that in the twentieth century the mission of the university was formed under the influence of significant conceptual changes in the social role of higher education associated with the transition from an elite model of university education to a mass one. It was aimed at meeting the needs of industry, producing humanitarian knowledge for the development of culture, intelligence and spirituality. It is shown that the mission of a modern university is transformed in accordance with the needs of a global society with a market economy by adding a number of other components related to economic, social and globalization factors to its classical components. It is emphasized that in the current realities, in connection with the conduct of a special military operation, the main task of university education is not only to convey information to students, but also to teach them how to work with it using modern scientific methods. The needs of modern Russian society encourage universities, in addition to scientific and educational, to fulfill a social mission.

University–community engagement as place-making? A case of the University of Fort Hare and Alice

ABSTRACTIn the South African context, the post-apartheid university is deemed a critical contributor towards the national development agenda and community engagement is a significant principle through which universities would bring about social and economic transformation. This is reflective of a growing global movement of networks of universities iterating the civic and social role of higher education and its responsibility to its place. Drawing on notions of place-making, this study briefly recalls the histories of the University of Fort Hare and the town of Alice and evidences the more contemporary engagement policy, design and praxis of both, to surmise the significance the university gives to its place. The findings reveal a disconnect between the University of Fort Hare and the town of Alice and conclude that whilst the University of Fort Hare remains the economic power in Alice, it has no intrinsic commitment towards either the town or place-making.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN SINGLE-INDUSTRY TOWNS: MODELS, PRACTICES, CHALLENGES

This research aims at depicting the main models and the key features of higher education organization in industrial tows, i. e. on the territories, where economic and social development is historically tiedto a large enterprise. The Sverdlovsk region was chosen for the research, and data was mainly collected during a research expedition of NRU HSE. Case analysis was selected as the main research strategy, while methodological approach is based mostly on biographic and expert interviews and statistical analysis of region-related data. A transformed «triangle of coordination» of В. R. Clark was used as a conceptual framework: the actor of government was replaced with city-level governmental administration. The research results include (1) identification and classification of higher education forms in industrial towns (branches, enterprise-founded private engineering university and programs of studies, implemented directly on the territory of the customer); (2) description of the five main research cases, each of them corresponding to one of the industrial towns of the region; (3) classification of the cases according to the «triangle of coordination». Besides, the article includes a description of main interaction practices between the universities and local enterprises: special grants, joint career guidance for school students, joint guidance of course papers and thesis, etc.). We also identify the main problems and challenges for universities in industrial towns. Data collected during the interviews is reaffirmed by statistical data analysis of related indicators - on relatively low research activity of universities, high rates of extra budgetary funds in income structures of universities in industrial tows and high level of the average score of state entrance exam, among enrollees who left the Sverdlovsk region. Finally, we provide five finalizing points, highlighting (1) the importance of social role of higher education in industrial towns as well as (2) the necessity of forming indicators of universities’ performance that would take into account the unique practices of interaction between universities and enterprises, city and local community. The key challenges for higher education in single-industry towns are presented as well.

Editorial: Debating the links between education, training and national growth—An exercise in the design of compelling arguments, or affect versus intellect

The article discusses the social role of higher education in Africa and analyzes debate questions and strategy on the link between education, vocational training, and economic development. Other topics include the economic growth of South Korea, labor skill training in Brazil, and rules and procedures for debates.

Research issues and institutional prospects for higher education studies

This paper explores two new perspectives for the research on higher education. Building on the case of Europe with a special focus on France, it first addresses the trend toward more competition and more differentiation that can be observed in countries that traditionally were more egalitarian and the strong implication of European states in reshaping their higher education and research systems. It also questions the social role of higher education while knowledge economies are engaged in a competitive race. Finally, it looks at the capacity of higher education studies to address such issues and critically questions how should this domain further develop.

Valutare l'università: una sfida non solo per l'Anvur

National system to evaluate universities started in Europe at the very beginning of 80’s. In that period the growing number of students and the consequent changes in their composition moved the universities from «quality as a fact» to «quality as a problem». In the same time, the need for accountability was a challenge both for the governance and for the Governments, that adopted two different model of evaluating: a direct control or a control through a national independent agency. This paper, starting from Italian experience of Anvur, defines the aims of evaluating universities and research, related to the social role of higher education. It presents the actors, contents and methods (the «who, what, how») of the evaluation process, based on quality assurance and internal assessment, enhancing both technical and cultural problems and perspectives of an issue quite new for Italian universities. The recent introduction by law of research assessment in the Italian academic system has triggered a wide debate especially focused on its weakness and paradoxes as well as its potential negative effects on disciplinary autonomy and freedom of research. Contrary to this vision, in this paper I argue that evaluation mechanisms should be welcomed in those disciplinary fields - as sociology in Italy - which for historical, cultural and political causes have not been able to organize themselves as scientific communities, i.e. as communities of practice grounded on peer control and evaluation. The paper offers a brief sociological analysis of the social organization of Italian academic sociology, highlighting the deleterious effects on scientific communication and value recognition fostered by its segmentation in mutually exclusive, sometimes conflicting sometimes colluding, corporate groups (so called «component»). Far from being an assault on its freedom and autonomy, a state-backed system of evaluation may be instrumental to the creation and legitimation of a disciplinary culture of self evaluation and value assessment according to transparent, institutionalized and not provincial quality standards.

The hothouse effect: a model for change in higher education

PurposeTo present a model of innovative change in higher education based on research into the factors behind the performance of highly creative historical communities.Design/methodology/approachThe article diagnoses current pressures under which academia is laboring, explains the hothouse effect, and proposes solutions based on the hothouse effect model.FindingsThe article proposes restructuring of discipline‐based learning, developing new methods of strategic planning, adopting new assumptions about the social role of higher education, exploring modes of perception and cognition that are critical to education, and using digital technology to create learning communities and facilitate accelerated learning models. The model of organizational change emphasizes modest and numerous grass‐roots initiatives as the most efficient generator of broad cultural change.Research limitations/implicationsThe aim is to stimulate pilot initiatives and broad dialog on the issues raised. The research points the way to further work in the dynamics of creativity, the nature of pedagogy, and the future role of the university.Practical implicationsNumerous methods are presented for strengthening the relationship of faculty and administration, utilizing technology to create learning communities and transform pedagogy, stimulating faculty collaboration, and planning for the future.Originality/valueThis paper provides many fresh and practical ideas useful at an individual, department, or institutional level. The goal is not a specific type of institution or mode of operation. Instead, it the model is flexible and adaptable to creative initiatives of any scope. Ultimately, this article can contribute to revitalizing the ongoing dialog about higher education's future.

The Social Dimension of the Bologna Process

The Bologna Follow Up Seminar, which took place in Athens in February 2003, continued discussions that had emerged from the Prague Communique´ of May 2001 to the effect that higher education is a public good. This article focuses on the public good aspect of higher education and calls for broadened access and no tuition fees, for the social role of higher education should be viewed as a value in itself.

Higher Education's Social Role

(2001). Higher Education's Social Role. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 72, The Social Role of Higher Education, pp. 121-123.

Introduction to special section: ``Perspectives on comparative higher education"

In this special section of Higher Education, three leading scholars in the comparative study of education speak to distinctive research questions and methods that stem from three different social science frameworks ‐ postmodernism, feminism, and political economy/political sociology. Bill Tierney, co-editor (with Ken Kempner) of The Social Role of Higher Education: Comparative Perspectives(1996), explores “The Autonomy of Knowledge and the Decline of the Subject: Postmodernism and the Study of Comparative Higher Education.” Nelly Stromquist, author of Women and Education in Latin America: Knowledge, Power, and Change (1992), examines “Gender Studies: A Global Perspective of their Evolution and Challenge to Comparative Higher Education.” And Sheila Slaughter, coauthor (with Larry L. Leslie) of Academic Capitalism: Politics, Policies, and the Entrepreneurial University(1997), analyzes “Problems in Comparative Higher Education: Political Economy, Political Sociology, and Postmodernism.” Each of these contributors draws on considerable literature outside of the field of higher education to pose issues for future research and to identify a range of methods for undertaking such research in studies of higher education. Long time readers of Higher Education may remember a special issue of the journal in 1996 (volume 32, number 4) entitled, “The State of Comparative Research in Higher Education.” How is the current special issue different? Does it simply “update” the state-of-the-art review of 1996, providing a five-year rolling review of current developments? In a word, the answer is no. The contributors in 1996 for the most part work out of organizational sociology and policy sciences conceptual frameworks, which could be seen as the prevailing perspectives characterizing comparative higher education generally and scholarship in Higher Education in particular. The stories that are featured in such studies have to do with the autonomy of higher education institutions relative to national ministries and federal governments, the

Social Implications of the Opportunities for Romanian Higher Education in the New World Order∗

An overview is given of the course of development and the social role of higher education in Romania since the revolution of December 1989. The pros and cons of private higher education institutions are presented with the added note that the existence of these institutions saves money for the Romanian state and subsidizes the salaries of professors teaching in the state institutions. Suggestions are made as to how to improve the teaching/learning environment both for students and for teachers, and a plea is made that higher education in Romania, both public and private, avoid becoming overly market‐oriented. Rather, higher education should contribute to the remaking of civil society. ∗ This article was originally prepared for presentation at a meeting of Romanian university administrators sponsored by the Romanian Union of Jurists on 18 June 1997. It was subsequently presented to the Research Committee on Sociology of Law at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, on 9 July 1997

Development Studies: A Case for New Legitimations of the Social Role of Higher Education?

(1982). Development Studies: A Case for New Legitimations of the Social Role of Higher Education? Journal of Area Studies: Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 3-12.