Securing the Future of Higher Education in England

This article reviews the IPPR commissioned report ‘Securing the Future of Higher Education in England’. It is argued that the report identifies key shortcomings in contemporary higher education policy, and develops some important recommendations for shaping the sector in the future. However, several of the proposed recommendations would create new divisions in the sector and reinforce existing ones. Moreover, the report maintains and reproduces the ideological status quo of contemporary higher education policy, which can broadly be described as the organisation and provision of higher education along ‘quasi‐market’ lines. Crucially, although the report advocates reform based on social justice, in the contemporary context of fiscal retrenchment, the majority of recommendations are underpinned by, arguably necessary, economic rationales.     

胡适高等教育思想研究的文献综述

胡适的高等教育思想在理论和实践方面都有杰出的成就,对当今的高等教育有重要的借鉴作用.研究者主要从形成的原因、内容、评价、实践和当代价值等方面进行论述.要实现对胡适高等教育思想全面而深刻的认识,必须采用多种方法和系统研究,使之发挥更大的借鉴作用.     

后危机时代河南省高等教育境外消费服务贸易的现状与对策

作为国际高等教育服务贸易的最主要形式,后危机时代,国际高等教育境外消费服务贸易(留学生教育)保持持续增长,竞争愈加激烈,中国高等教育国际竞争力、境外消费出口吸引力日益增强。调查了河南省2008年以来的高等教育境外消费服务贸易发展情况,分析了存在的问题。在此基础上,提出转变观念,政府主导,加快制定完备政策措施,高校参与,培育特色等对策建议。     

The Civil Service Reform Plan One Year On,and the International Evidence

In July 2013 the UK's coalition government published “The Civil Service Reform Plan – One Year on”, reporting on progress against minister Frances Maude's objectives to shake up the civil service. This followed various reported disagreements between ministers and civil servants over policy implementation, and a research report commissioned by the government from think tank IPPR into lessons from overseas for civil service reform. This trio of short articles reviews the government's proposals from three perspectives: that of the lead author of the IPPR report, a former senior civil servant, and the chair of the House of Commons Public Administration Committee (PASC) which oversees the civil service. The authors take differing views on the proposals, which include introduction of ‘extended ministerial offices’, and greater control by ministers over choosing their civil servants. Should these be seen as useful next steps, worrying developments, and/or large and important enough to merit a Commission on the civil service, as PASC has suggested?     

Accountability and Leadership in Twenty‐First Century Whitehall

In July 2013 the UK's coalition government published “The Civil Service Reform Plan – One Year on”, reporting on progress against minister Frances Maude's objectives to shake up the civil service. This followed various reported disagreements between ministers and civil servants over policy implementation, and a research report commissioned by the government from think tank IPPR into lessons from overseas for civil service reform. This trio of short articles reviews the government's proposals from three perspectives: that of the lead author of the IPPR report, a former senior civil servant, and the chair of the House of Commons Public Administration Committee (PASC) which oversees the civil service. The authors take differing views on the proposals, which include introduction of ‘extended ministerial offices’, and greater control by ministers over choosing their civil servants. Should these be seen as useful next steps, worrying developments, and/or large and important enough to merit a Commission on the civil service, as PASC has suggested?     

Civil Service Reform—Trust on Trial

In July 2013 the UK's coalition government published “The Civil Service Reform Plan – One Year on”, reporting on progress against minister Frances Maude's objectives to shake up the civil service. This followed various reported disagreements between ministers and civil servants over policy implementation, and a research report commissioned by the government from think tank IPPR into lessons from overseas for civil service reform. This trio of short articles reviews the government's proposals from three perspectives: that of the lead author of the IPPR report, a former senior civil servant, and the chair of the House of Commons Public Administration Committee (PASC) which oversees the civil service. The authors take differing views on the proposals, which include introduction of ‘extended ministerial offices’, and greater control by ministers over choosing their civil servants. Should these be seen as useful next steps, worrying developments, and/or large and important enough to merit a Commission on the civil service, as PASC has suggested?     

As Good as Policy Gets

In June 2014, the think tank IPPR published a report, The Condition of Britain, widely seen as important source material for Labour as the party geared up for the 2015 General Election. This is an echo of another report—that of the Commission on Social Justice, published in 1994—which also made an important contribution to the thinking of Labour in opposition. A comparison between the two documents provides insights into the evolution of mainstream progressive thought over the past twenty years.     

中国高等教育顾客满意度指数模型的构建

办人民满意的教育是我国高等教育的宗旨,对高等教育质量进行评估是受教育者的权利.根据我国高等学校的具体情况,在借鉴美国顾客满意度指数模型(ACSI)的基础上,尝试建立了由高校形象、顾客期望、感知质量、顾客满意、顾客忠诚和顾客信任等结构变量构成的中国高等教育顾客满意度指数模型(CHE-CSI).依据顾客满意度测量理论,设计了包括自我发展、专业课程设置、教师队伍、教学质量、图书馆、文娱活动和校园服务等质量因子和通行的满意度测量因子的指标体系,并编制了相应的问卷.总量表信度达到0.8999.因子分析表明,学生对高校教育质量的感知主要包括教学质量和校园服务两个方面.利用结构方程分析软件LISREL8.7对沈阳市六所高校的596名学生样本数据进行了模型验证分析.各项拟合系数均表明数据与模型拟合良好,其中RMSEA达到0.064.     

Success and Excess: The Contours and Character of American Higher Education Since 1960

Higher Education in the United States during the six decades from 1960 to 2010 has been a success story characterized by expansion, prosperity and prestige. These characteristics, however, were inseparable from problems of excess and lack of clear educational purposes. Furthermore, these problems remain unresolved early in the 21st century, creating a crisis of confidence for colleges and universities.     

Individual Ambidexterity and Performance in the Public Sector: A Multilevel Analysis

In this study, we examine individual ambidexterity (i.e., individuals’ balanced pursuit of exploitative and explorative activities) in a public management context. In particular, we combine survey data from junior scholars and secondary data from the Center for Higher Education to investigate the role of individual ambidexterity in an academic context. We conduct multilevel analyses and find that individual ambidexterity is positively related to research performance, indicating that individual ambidexterity positively influences individual performance in the public sector. In addition, we observe a negative relationship between the supervisory ratio and research performance, indicating that having a lower number of employees supervised by a single person leads to lower performance in the public sector.     

Nurturing knowledge: the UK Higher Education Links scheme

This article examines the development of academic networks and expertise through the UK Higher Education Links scheme, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development, managed by the British Council and supported by the principals of UK higher education institutions. The links are established between UK and overseas universities primarily to enhance research and/or teaching capacity, with the ultimate aim of alleviating poverty and promoting sustainable development. This article draws on data gathered for a large‐scale, multiple‐method evaluation which endorsed the scheme's continuation. It is argued that a crucial factor helping to make individual links a success was good relationships between respective co‐ordinators, although the nature of these relationships varied. The article discusses the extent to which the formation of fruitful academic networks and partnerships enabling knowledge transfer were encouraged. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An income-related loans proposal for drought relief for farm businesses

In 2004 the Commonwealth government is undertaking a review of its drought policy. This follows expenditure in excess of $1 billion on drought relief during 2002 and 2003 and comes only a decade after similarly large expenditure on support for farmers during the drought of the 1990s. Drought support for farm businesses has been provided within the framework of the National Drought Policy (NDP) agreed by Commonwealth and state governments in 1992 and at present is in the form of interest rate subsidies. This article suggests an alternative form of drought relief for farm businesses based on the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, which is more equitable between farmers, less regressive in its impact on tax payers and less open to politicisation.     

The Power of the Purse: Supranational Entrepreneurship,Financial Incentives,and European Higher Education Policy

This article shows how the European Commission cultivates policy shifts toward a particular idea of a common European Higher Education Area by using its considerable financial leverage. By making European Union (EU) funding dependent on grant recipients meeting certain strategically selected conditions, the Commission creates new incentive structures for domestic actors, in this case higher education institutions (HEIs), with two important consequences. First, the Commission turns universities into agents for its policies: Universities lobby governments to pass legislation, which would allow them to conform to Commission requirements. Second, HEIs try to comply with the Commission's requirements even in the absence of compatible national frameworks, thereby leapfrogging policy decisions on the national level. Describing this as a “soft” mechanism for achieving convergence, as Open Method of Coordination accounts posit, overlooks the fundamentally non‐negotiable nature of the process from the participants' perspective and considerably underestimates the Commission's real influence. We examine this argument through a case study of an EU‐funded higher education program, Erasmus Mundus.     

BOOK NOTES

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K.N. T oms , Urban Government Politics and Planning: A Study of the Administration of the Brisbane Town Plan
J ack B rand , Local Government Reform in England 1888–1974
B ruce M itchell , Teachers, Education and Politics: A History of Organisations of Public School Teachers in New South Wales
G rant H arman and R oger S cott (eds), Teaching Politics in Colleges of Advanced Education
Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration, (Compiler), Directory of Universities and Other Institutions of Higher Education in the Commonwealth of Nations Offering Qualifications and Courses in Educational Administration
J ohn D. M illett , Politics and Higher Education
R.G.S. B rown , The Management of Welfare: a Study of British Social Service Administration.
R oy B ailey and M ike B rake (eds), Radical Social Work
A lan M aynard , Health Care in the European Community
R aymond N ottage , Financing Public Sector Pensions
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D.H. B orchardt , (Compiler) with the assistance of J. M onie , Checklist of Royal Commissions, Select Committees of Parliament and Boards of Inquiry: Part IV, New South Wales, 1855–1960     

Environmental Activism of Teacher-Scholars in the Neoliberal University

This article takes a case study approach to examine social justice-oriented environmental activism of faculty in the context of neoliberalism. As an evolving trend, university corporatization places new economic burdens on universities and their students and has contributed to a tenuous landscape for faculty in terms of academic freedom and job security. In particular, we examine a faculty-led response to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. Drawing on participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and campus-wide survey data, we document this response as a “tempered grassroots leadership” approach to workplace inquiry and activism. We discuss both the opportunities and limitations of promoting more transparent, informed, and inclusive decision-making on campus via internal and tempered activism strategies. Ultimately, this case presents lessons learned regarding social change practices of teacher-scholar-activists on college campuses. These experiences are especially germane in the “Trump era” of top-down and socially regressive decision-making.

Abbreviations: IHE: Institutions of Higher Education, TGL: tempered grassroots leadership, UNCO: University of Northern Colorado, HFTF: Hydrofracturing Task Force, NAS: National Association of Scholars.     

读报教育:新时期大学生思想教育手段的探索

首先通过与媒介素养教育的联系与区别、国内外发展现状及对"读报教育"的概念进行阐述,然后描述了当前我国大学生的发展特点与高校思想教育手段存在的问题,进而提出"读报教育"对我国新时期大学生思想教育手段的探索.     

大学生党员先进性教育长效机制建设的实践探索

大学生党员是党和人民事业接班人的重要力量,构建大学生党员先进性教育长效机制,是高校党建的重要任务,也是实现高校人才培养目标的必然要求。分析了构建高校大学生党员先进性教育长效机制的重要性及特点,并从实践上提出构建大学生党员先进性教育的工作机制。     

任务型教学在高职院校学生英语写作中的教学浅探

由于招生生源原因,目前高职院校学生英语处于大学生水平中的最低层次,这就导致学生在写作练习中遇到多方面的困难。因此,要结合其实际来选择恰当的学习方式才能有效。那么,任务型教学因其自身特点和内涵,有可能成为高职院校英语写作有效教学的一种具体运用模式。为此,探讨关于高职院校的任务型英语写作教学就显得很有必要。     

如何依法培养我国的新型农民

在当今实施依法治国方略的时代背景下,培养我国“有文化、懂技术、会经营”的新型农民也应该依照法律规定进行。我们应在农村大力实施“五五”普法,树立和加强农民的法律意识;实施《职业教育法》,锻造农民的就业能力;施行《科学技术进步法》和《可再生能源法》,提高农民的科技素质;贯彻《村民委员会组织法》,提高农民的自治能力;严格推行《义务教育法》,培养新型农民从娃娃抓起。     

陈独秀体育教育思想探微

体育教育思想是陈独秀教育思想的重要内容。针对中国传统教育的弊端,陈独秀提倡取西洋之法,采用"兽性主义"的教育以改造国民性;主张德、智、体三者并重,培养身心全面发展的人才。陈独秀体育教育思想具有重要的历史意义和现实借鉴作用。