Return on investment in higher education : evidence for different subjects, degrees and gender in Germany

Applying an investment perspective to higher education, the paper presents detailed empirical evidence on the rate of return to higher education and its determinants. Employing a sample of 17,180 higher education graduates derived from the German Labor Force Survey 2004, we show considerable variation in the rates of return to higher education across the different subjects, with some subjects on average not representing attractive private investments from an economic point of view. We find that the decision what to study is worth several hundred thousand Euros. Applying regression analysis, we find gender- and degree-specific return advantages only in certain subjects. Comparing the return of an investment in higher education and the production cost of higher education, we show that more expensive subjects (apart from Medicine) yield a lower return. When considering the cost of study, the overall order of attractiveness of the different forms of education remains stable, but the investment in further subjects is no longer clearly attractive. Keywords: Returns to Education, Human Capital, Higher Education Earnings Capacity

Social justice in Australian education : rethinking what we know for contemporary times

In this paper I attempt two things. First I canvass the history of social justice policy in schooling and higher education in Australia, with a view to drawing out ten principles to inform a rejuvenated social justice agenda in education, facilitated at this political moment by the current Australian Government’s financial and education commitments to/for people in low socioeconomic status communities, schools and higher education. I draw primarily on what we have learned from the 1973 Karmel Report and the Disadvantaged Schools Program to which it gave rise, and on the 1990 higher education policy statement, A Fair Chance for All. I then propose three new concepts for rethinking social justice in education, which reflect a new ‘structure of feeling’ (Williams 1961) and new social capacities in contemporary times

Leadership and innovation lessons from professional services firms

This paper compares and contrasts higher education with professional services firms. It considers what (if anything) leaders in higher education may gain from reflecting on how other sectors are evolving and the extent to which lessons can be learned by looking outwards. We structure the paper by outlining the world of PSFs, its many manifestations and some of the current challenges in Section 2. We then move on to compare and interpret one particular leadership framework we developed to understand PSFs, and use this to identify some potential questions for higher education leaders. Finally, we conclude by exploring how, in the light of some of the current drivers of change, our view of the higher education sector may evolve as a new ‘eco-system’ emerges

The effects of higher education programme characteristics on allocation and performance of the graduates: a European view

This paper provides new insight into the role of higher educational programmes in allocation and performance during the transition from education to the labour market. Using a unique data set on the labour market situation of graduates in nine European countries, we investigate the significance of five characteristics of the higher education programmes: (1) The academic versus discipline-specific character of the competencies generated by the curriculum; (2) the level of standardization of the generated competencies; (3) the extent by which working and learning activities are combined, (4) the level of internationalization of the educational programme and (5) the extent to which a programme provides exclusive entrance to particular occupations.First, our results reveal in particular the importance of the competence orientation of the education programme. Allocation of graduates to occupations takes place in a manner that yields a situation wherein the competence orientation of the education is in congruence with the competence orientation of the occupation. Second, we show that the standardization of the education programme with respect to the competencies students acquire plays an important role in both informing the employer, and reducing the adjustment costs. By that, it allows for a higher remuneration of the graduates.education, training and the labour market;

International Capital Market Integration, Educational Choice and Economic Growth

This paper examines the impact of capital market integration (CMI) on higher education and economic growth. We take into account that participation in higher education is non-compulsory and depends on individual choice. Integration increases (decreases) the incentives to participate in higher education in capital-importing (-exporting) economies, all other things equal. Increased participation in higher education enhances productivity progress and is accompanied by rising wage inequality. From a national policy point of view, education expenditure should increase after integration of similar economies. Using foreign direct investment (FDI) as a measure for capital flows, we present empirical evidence which largely confirms our main hypothesis: An increase in net capital inflows in response to CMI raises participation in higher education and thereby fosters economic growth. We apply a structural estimation approach to fully track the endogenous mechanisms of the model.capital mobility, capital-skill complementarity educational choice, education policy, economic growth, wage income inequality

Students' Academic Self Perception

Participation rates in higher education differ persistently between some groups in society. Using two British datasets we investigate whether this gap is rooted in students’ misperception of their own and other’s ability, thereby increasing the expected costs to studying. Among high school pupils, we find that pupils with a more positive view of their academic abilities are more likely to expect to continue to higher education even after controlling for observable measures of ability and students’ characteristics. University students are also poor at estimating their own test-performance and over-estimate their predicted test score. However, females, white and working class students have less inflated view of themselves. Self-perception has limited impact on the expected probability of success and expected returns amongst these university students.Test performance, self-assessment, higher education participation, academic selfperception

Lecturer’s View on Higher Education Performance: A Study at Public Universities in Indonesia

This study aims to describe the performance of higher education organizations based on the views or assessments by lecturers. This research design is in the form of a survey, with research samples coming from five universities in Bangka Belitung, Indonesia. Samples were taken randomly with a total of 155 lecturers. The research results are based on five main dimensions, namely; human resources effectiveness and efficiency (mean= 3.2821/ moderate category), focus on process (mean= 3.0527/ moderate category), structural transformation (mean= 3.3206/ moderate category), teamwork (mean= 3.1811/ moderate category), and organizational strategy (mean= 3.3237/ moderate category). The results suggested to improve lecturers’ performance by strengthening aspects such as organizational leadership, organizational commitment, organizational culture, and organizational quality management

A focus on assessment: a collaborative view from the Higher Education Academy and JISC

e-Assessment is a critical issue for post-16, higher education and the wider education community and is recognised within the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills as fundamental to its success and as an important factor in delivering the emerging 14–19 programmes of learning. JISC recognised the importance of e-assessment for the UK education and research community as long ago as the late 1990’s as part of the groundbreaking work on Managed Learning Environments and work on standards. As software suppliers and test developers become increasingly involved in producing e-assessment tools and content, so JISC is bringing the issues associated with this increasingly complex area to the attention of the Further and Higher Education communities that it serves

Students academic self-perception

Participation rates in higher education differ persistently between some groups in society. Using two British datasets we investigate whether this gap is rooted in students' mis-perception of their own and other's ability, thereby increasing the expected costs to studying. Among high school pupils, we find that pupils with a more positive view of their academic abilities are more likely to expect to continue to higher education even after controlling for observable measures of ability and students' characteristics. University students are also poor at estimating their own test-performance and over-estimate their predicted test score. However, females, white and working class students have less inflated view of themselves. Self-perception has limited impact on the expected probability of success and expected returns amongst these university students.Test performance, self-assessment, higher education participation, academic self-perception