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Full-Text Articles in Education
Reflections On A Decade Of Global Rankings: What We've Learned And Outstanding Issues, Ellen Hazelkorn
Reflections On A Decade Of Global Rankings: What We've Learned And Outstanding Issues, Ellen Hazelkorn
Articles
Ten years after the first global rankings appeared, it is clear that they have had an extraordinary impact on higher education. While there are fundamental questions about whether rankings measure either quality or what’s meaningful, they have succeeded in exposing higher education to international comparison. Moreso, because of the important role higher education plays as a driver of economic development, rankings have exposed both an information deficit and national competitiveness. Accordingly, both nations and institutions have sought to maximise their position vis-á-vis global rankings with positive and perverse effects. Their legacy is evident in the way rankings have become an …
Systematically Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Quality Assurance Programmes In Leading To Improvements In Institutional Performance, Deirdre Lillis
Systematically Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Quality Assurance Programmes In Leading To Improvements In Institutional Performance, Deirdre Lillis
Articles
Higher education institutions worldwide invest significant resources in their quality assurance systems however little empirical research exists which demonstrates their effectiveness (or otherwise). Methodological approaches for determining effectiveness are also underdeveloped. Self study with peer review is a widely used model for ensuring the quality of the core teaching, research and engagement activities of higher education institutions. This paper illustrates how an established social programme evaluation methodology can be used to determine its effectiveness in leading to improvements in institutional performance. The concept of effectiveness and the particular challenges posed by the higher education organisational culture are considered. An example …
Irish Education And The Financial Crisis, Deirdre Lillis, John Morgan
Irish Education And The Financial Crisis, Deirdre Lillis, John Morgan
Articles
Regardless of economic fortunes, investment in education remains a constant in terms of its perceived value to Ireland and it is seen as critical to the economic recovery of the country. Ireland has one of the highest educational participation rates in the world, is considered to have the ‘most employable’ graduates in Europe and produces more graduates per 1000 inhabitants than any other European country. The degree to which the financial crisis has impacted Irish education is explored here.
Student, Practitioner, Or Both?:Separation And Integration Of Identities In Professional Social Care Education, Fiona Mcsweeney
Student, Practitioner, Or Both?:Separation And Integration Of Identities In Professional Social Care Education, Fiona Mcsweeney
Articles
This paper presents and discusses some of the findings from a qualitative study of identities in work-related learners. The theoretical framework of structural symbolic interactionism is outlined and the two identities of interest, that of student and practitioner discussed. The aim of professional education is viewed as enabling the practitioner to deal with ambiguity and change through critical examination of work practices and location of these within theoretical frameworks. It is argued that for knowledge and behaviour to transfer to the work setting the student and worker identities need to be integrated rather than kept separate. Factors identified as influencing …
The Dynamics Of Human Capital And The World Of Work: Towards A Common Market In Contemporary Tertiary Education, Aidan Kenny
The Dynamics Of Human Capital And The World Of Work: Towards A Common Market In Contemporary Tertiary Education, Aidan Kenny
Articles
The drive for the so-called ‘knowledge society’, and the expected competitive advantage envisioned, has led to ‘power elites’ and vested interests applying pressure on nation states to develop and implement policies that push the balance of national education systems towards the economic imperative and away from the social good. This social inquiry will describe items, strategies and objectives relating to the pursuit of the current higher education change policy agendas, as expressed in key Irish policy documents. The inquiry concentrates on the new ‘world of work’ and the dynamic association with ‘human capital’ in particular the relationship between macro change …
Programme Oriented And Institutional Oriented Approaches To Quality Assurance: New Developments And Mixed Approaches, Deirdre Lillis, Tara Ryan
Programme Oriented And Institutional Oriented Approaches To Quality Assurance: New Developments And Mixed Approaches, Deirdre Lillis, Tara Ryan
Articles
This paper considers the programme validation arrangements in place in one half of the Irish higher education sector. It outlines how responsibility for programme validation can be safely delegated to Institutions within a robust overarching framework for quality assurance. It compares programme validation in Institutions with self awarding status with Institutions that have their programmes validated by a national Awarding agency. The paper concludes that when programme validation in Ireland and (potentially) across Europe is examined more closely, processes that appear to be very different on the surface can be quite similar in reality. From a philosophical perspective it appears …
Learning To Live With League Tables And Ranking: The Experience Of Institutional Leaders, Ellen Hazelkorn
Learning To Live With League Tables And Ranking: The Experience Of Institutional Leaders, Ellen Hazelkorn
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This paper draws on the results of an international survey of HE leaders and senior managers which was supported by the OECD Programme on Institutional Management of Higher Education (IMHE) and the International Association of Universities (IAU). It focuses on how HEIs are responding to league tables and rankings (LTRS), and what impact or influence – positive or perverse – they are having on institutional behaviour, decision-making and actions. The growing body of academic research and journalist reportage is referenced to contextualise this international experience. The paper shows that while HE leaders are concerned about the impact of rankings, they …
Fostering Of Creativity Within An Imaginative Curriculum In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly
Fostering Of Creativity Within An Imaginative Curriculum In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly
Articles
Psychology is frequently used as a foundation discipline in the training of adult educators because it addresses those questions which naturally emerge from an engagement with adult learning and teaching (Tennant, 1997). The professional context which forms the focus of this article is no different. By providing academic support for lecturers in a higher education institution in Ireland, there is a desire to develop a sustainable curriculum model whereby by working with them on designing and developing creative curricula in their various subject disciplines in the arts and sciences they, in turn, pass the benefits of this on to their …