Education Policy Commons^™

Ideas, Power And Agency: Policy Actors And The Formulation Of Language-In-Education Policy For Multilingualism, Susanna Nocchi, Iker Erdocia, Mary Ruane

Articles

The processes of formulation of language policies have not been researched thoroughly. This paper aims to explore the relationship between ideas, power and agency in language policy-making and specifically with reference to the formulation of language-in-education policy for multilingualism in Ireland. Through an argumentative approach to language policy and using a discursive institutionalist framework, the paper examines data from policy documents and interviews with policy actors in the Department of Education and Skills. The paper reports on the ways in which agentive discourses are constrained and enabled by institutional structures. The analysis shows how power resulting from asymmetric internal forces …

Perspective Chapter: Reflections On The Future Of Higher Education In The United Kingdom, Jonathan Blackledge

Books/Book chapters

The problems being faced in the UK university sector are considered, how these problems have arisen, what needs to be done about them, and, how the future of the UK’s knowledge economy will be influenced by the strategies currently being implemented by the UK government. This is done by revisiting some examples of problems from the past, and how they were solved. This is undertaken using a framework that is characterised by the following fundamental issues: (i) educational philosophies; (ii) ethics in educational provision; (iii) knowledge economies, and; (iv) the goals of education. In this context, the chapter discusses the …

Arts And Humanities Research, Redefining Public Benefit, And Research Prioritization In Ireland, Andrew Gibson, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

This article looks at the effects of a national policy of research prioritization in the years following Ireland’s economic crisis. A national research prioritization exercise initiated by policymakers redefined the purpose of higher education research, and designed policies in line with this approach. Placing research for enterprise to the fore, it emphasized the economic value that subjects could return on state investments. This article examines the post-crisis policy of prioritization, its relationship with and effects on arts and humanities research, and how the notion of the benefit of research can be broadened while still addressing economic needs. It draws on …

Report On The Survey Of Governance And Adaptation To Innovative Modes Of Higher Education Provision (Gaihe), Andrew Gibson, Ellen Hazelkorn, Barry Colfer

Reports

Higher education around the world is undergoing significant change. Globalisation and competition from new modes of provision have sparked a strong debate about how to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education. These developments challenge the “traditional” model of university education and its future. How does the management of European universities adapt to these innovations? What are the new modes of education provision across Europe? What is the role of university governance and government policy in establishing and regulating innovative modes of education provision? What are the motivations, barriers and drivers for innovative education provision?

The definition of innovation …

Restructuring Irish Higher Education Through Collaboration And Merger., Siobhan Harkin, Ellen Hazelkorn

Books/Book chapters

Irish higher education has been undergoing significant change, provoked by the global financial crisis and its particular manifestation in Ireland. The demand for higher education is rising at the same time that public funding is declining. In response, mergers and strategic alliances, including regional clusters, of higher education institutions has become a key component of the strategy to better position Irish higher education for greater efficiency, enhanced quality, improved competitiveness and visibility, and clearer alignment with national policy objectives. This chapter traces these developments. It describes the socio-economic and policy context underpinning developments in Irish higher education since the 1970s, …

Skills Needs Of The Ict Sector In Tanzania, Deirdre Lillis, Fredrick Mtenzi, Diana Mauricaite, Said Jafari, Peter Manifold

Reports

Information and Communication Technology will play a critical role in sustaining the high growth rates experienced by African economies in the last decade. Investment in the ICT sector enables the creation of high quality jobs and acts as an enabling technology for other key industries such as agriculture, mining, finance, health and education. ‘New Software Economy’ models mean international location and company scale are less relevant and enable small organisations to compete globally in niche markets. Unlike many traditional industries which have heavy infrastructure requirements, the key resource of the ICT Sector is its people and the knowledge, skills and …

Working With Parents In Early Years Services, Anne Fitzpatrick

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Who Benefits From Early Childcare Subsidy Design In Ireland?, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Noirin Hayes

Articles

Best Newcomer Article

The design of policy tools reveals underlying biases that are not easily identified in policy documents. A review of two early childhood education and care subsidies in Ireland aimed at different target populations exposes differential treatment of children, parents and service providers. It also demonstrates how in a split system ‘early education’ is prioritised over ‘childcare’. The designs serve to reinforce stereotypes that enable the powerful and advantaged to accrue benefits while those perceived to be less deserving are burdened through the maldistribution of resources.

Building A World-Class System In Ireland’S Financial Crisis, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

Irish higher education faces particular difficulties given the severity of its economic crisis. Like other countries, it is engaged in significant system restructuring coupled with managed policy direction. Where Ireland does differ is in its emphasis on a 'whole of country strategy' and commitment that teaching and research go hand-in-hand. This paper looks at the fortunes and mis-fortunes of Irish higher education.

World-Class Universities Or World-Class Systems? Rankings And Higher Education Policy Choices, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

Is it always a good thing when a university rises up the rankings and breaks into the top 100? Do rankings raise standards by encouraging competition or do they undermine the broader mission to provide education? Should rankings be used to help decide educational policy and the allocation of scare financial resources? Should policy aim to develop world-class universities or to make the system world-class?

University rankings have dominated headlines and the attention of political and university leaders wherever or whenever they are published or mentioned. Politicians regularly refer to them as a measure of their nation’s economic strengths and …

An Evaluation Of The Community Childcare Subvention Scheme Using Policy Design Theory, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Noirin Hayes

Articles

This paper utilises Policy Design Theory to evaluate policy tool design and selection in Ireland in order to look beyond policy goals and rhetoric to the meanings and assumptions within policy design. A review of the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) reveals it to be an ‘incentive’ tool that is structured around a negative social construction of the target populations as ‘dependants’ with little capacity to solve their own problems. While immediate policy objectives are met through the design of the CCSS, if viewed in a wider context of overall national policy objectives a range of negative side-effects are evident …

Vocational Education And Universities: Building Collaboration And Pathways For Local/Regional Development, Ellen Hazelkorn

Conference Papers

This presentation discusses the characteristics of a world class higher education/post-secondary system based upon encouraging greater collaboration between vocational/further education and universities.

Teaching, Research And Engagement: Strengthening The Knowledge Triangle, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

The presentation looks at the the changing mission of higher education, and how the Knowledge Triangle can be used to help formulate a new understanding of higher education's interaction with society and the economy.

A Tale Of Two Strategies For Higher Education And Economic Recovery: Ireland And Australia, Ellen Hazelkorn, Vin Massaro

Conference Papers

As Dirk van Damme suggested (van Damme, 2009), the effects of the global financial crisis (GFC) have been manifold and complex and affected countries differently. Australia and Ireland have fared very differently in the GFC so choices will inevitably have been influenced by their relative capacity to spend on higher education. Since 1988 Australia has had a unitary, government-regulated but independent higher education system with block funding from a combination of government allocations and student contributions. In contrast, Ireland retains a government-regulated binary system dependent upon public investment and direct government control of staffing budgets. In recent years, both countries …

Handle With Care, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

This article discusses the impact of rankings on higher education.

The Imperative For Achieving Diversity, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

Diversity is seen as a basic norm of higher education policy because it best meets educational and labour market. This presentation examines the concept of diversity as it applies to institutional mission and differentiation, and to research. It argues that in response to rankings and the global financial crisis, policymakers are tending to make a simple correlation between rankings, elite higher education and global competitiveness. There is increasing emphasis on selective excellence and focusing on the 'economic value of research outputs'. However, pursuit of ‘world class’ is skewing policy and institutional priorities.

International Comparisons: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

The presentation addresses the question of why international comparisons, e.g. rankings and benchmarking, have become so important for higher education. It looks at the thinking behind making comparisons, what kind of evidence we need to make valid comparisons and explore the basic questions of indicators, data, whether the process is fit-for-purpose, and the pitfalls in using comparative data.

What Have We Learned About And From Rankings?, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

The presentation discusses the pros and cons of higher education rankings, and examines the impact and influence that rankings are having.

Ireland: The Challenges Of Building Research In A Binary He Culture, Ellen Hazelkorn, Amanda Moynihan

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Contribution Of Tertiary Education To Human Capital Development, Labour Market And Skills In The State Of Victoria, Australia, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

This chapter examines how effectively TAFE Institutes and universities in the State of Victoria contribute to meeting the social and economic needs of the population in terms of opportunities to study and relevance of the qualifications offered. It identifies some key achievements and areas for improvement. The chapter closes with a series of recommendations that include the need for a greater system approach to tertiary education in order to support sustainable regional development and the role that the State of Victoria can play in this strategy.

The Discursive Construction Of ‘Children’ And ‘Rights’ In Irish Early Childhood Policy, Rachel Kiersey, Nóirín Hayes

Conference Papers

This paper explores the construction of knowledge about ‗children‘, ‗rights‘ and ‗ECEC‘ in Irish early childhood policy discourses. This research forms part of a wider thematic research project exploring Irish early childhood policy design from a number of angles; this strand of the research is concerned with ―revealing meaning‖ from Irish ECEC policy texts through a critical discourse analysis study. The theoretical goal of a critical discourse analysis study aims to understand how specific realities have come into being in the policy area; how they are reproduced through policy literature, how language use is an integral facet of social processes, …

Higher Education At A Time Of Economic Crisis: Is It Good-Bye To The Celtic Tiger?, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

This presentation provides an overview of the effect of the global economic crisis on Irish higher education.

Trends In Higher Education: What’S Happening In Ireland, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

This presentation provides an overview of trends in higher education policy worldwide, and their implications for Ireland.

A Strategy For Small Nations In A Time Of Economic Crisis, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

This presentation presents a higher education strategy for small nations.

The Impact Of Policy Tool Selection On Early Childhood Education And Care (Ecec) In Ireland, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Noirin Hayes

Conference Papers

This paper looks at the range of policy tools selected by the Irish State to fund and develop Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The choice is influenced by cultural norms and ideological predisposition with Ireland demonstrating a pro-market bias and relying on a range of interdependencies and third parties for delivery of services. The tools selected by the Irish State are typically those associated with States that promote a liberal agenda, sometimes referred to as the Anglo/American model (Salamon 2002). However, a closer review of the tools characteristics in Ireland reveal a tendency to adopt a conservative corporatist (Dean …

Global Positioning Of Irish Higher Education: The Way Forward, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

This presentation addresses the question as to how Ireland should globally position itself, and what are the appropriate policies and processes that should be adopted to best enable Ireland to respond.

Do University Rankings Measure What Counts, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

The article discusses the impact of rankings on higher education.

The Impact Of Global Rankings On Higher Education Research And The Production Of Knowledge, Ellen Hazelkorn

Reports

This paper examines the extent to which rankings shape our understanding of what constitutes research and the contribution that individual higher education institutions (HEIs) can and should make.

Attitudes To Rankings: Comparing German, Australian And Japanese Experiences, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

Drawing on an international survey of HE leaders during 2006, and interviews with HE leaders and stakeholders in Germany, Australia and Japan during 2008, it describes and compares the reaction and response to rankings by HEIs in Germany, Australia and Japan, with particular attention to institutional strategy and planning, benchmarking and quality assurance, student admissions and faculty recruitment and morale. The chapter argues cross-national comparisons/global rankings are an inevitable feature of globalisation, the international battle for talent, and strategies for national competitiveness.

Exploring Early Childhood Education And Care Policy In Ireland: Critical Discourse Analysis As A Methodological Tool, Rachel Kiersey

Conference Papers

The Irish government have invested considerably in the broad early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector over the last decade. However, a distinction persists within Irish policy between childcare and early education, both structurally and conceptually. Early education frequently refers to intervention based pre-school services; conversely childcare frequently refers to the broad spectrum of care services for 0-12 year olds, from family based child care through to centre-based provision (Hayes & Bradley, 2006; NESF, 2005; OECD, 2004). As a result of this, ‘early childhood services in Ireland are fractured across the welfare (childcare) and educational (early education) domains and … …