Changing boundaries in Israeli higher education

This paper analyses the main changes that took place in the Israeli higher education system in the last decades, and accounts for the reconstruction of its external and internal boundaries. It also provides a conceptual framework for comparing national higher education systems from a comparative perspective. The paper examines the developments that characterise the restructuring of the Israeli higher education from an international comparative outlook, and relates to the following parameters: (a) expansion in size; (b) diversification of the higher education institutions; (c) the emergence of new academic fields of study; (d) the upgrade of many professions and occupations to an academic status; (e) the redefinition of graduate degrees; (f) the impact of the new information technologies on shaping academic environments; and (g) the influence of the globalisation and internationalisation trends on the development of national higher education systems.peer-reviewe

Des diplomes algeriens parlent de la formation universitaire

This evaluation of higher education in Algeria was performed by means of open-ended interviews with eight graduates of the University of Constantine. From the beginning of the 1980s, it was found that all disciplines, including Economics, Law, Library Science, and Psychology, showed failures in academic training. A change of direction towards making teaching more rigorous and career-oriented is recommended.peer-reviewe

The impact of cultural and economic globalisation on the planning and function of higher education in North Africa and the Middle East

Discusses the impact of globalization on higher education in the Arab World, particularly North Africa and the Middle East. The influence has been positive regarding the university's openness to the world and involvement in global intellectual and scientific activity and culture. However, globalization is also seen in the academia as tantamount to westernization and a source of domination and imperialism.peer-reviewe

Management in the Greek system of higher education

This article aims to outline the relationship between the Ministry of Education and the institutions of higher education in Greece. The co~ordination of this relationship is an issue vital for both the academic institutions - which require a degree of administrative independence to do their work on behalf of society; and for the State - which wishes to assure itself that the institutions of higher education are serving adequately the needs of society. The article concludes by arguing that the Ministry of Education exercises its control in the higher education sector through laws and regulations and intervenes in the day-ta-day administrative work of the academic institutions. The institutions in higher education are entirely subordinate to the State and have a limited voice in the decisions affecting their future development. Therefore. ministerial supervision may be considered as a case of 'bureaucratic overcentralisation' rather than as 'guidance' of the State.peer-reviewe

Higher education and state legitimation in Cyprus

This paper will investigate the state's utilisation of higher education policy as 'compensatory legitimation' within the Cypriot context in the late 1980s. It argues that not only the establishment of the University of Cyprus in 1989 - after thirty years of strong nationalist opposition during the British colonial administration and another thirty years of state hesitation and postponement during political independence - but also the character of the established University (state-based and linked to the international community of scholarship) can be explained mainly as the result of the state's decision to utilise higher education in order to make up for its serious deficit in legitimacy. It also maintains that the state used the policy strategy of expertise and to a lesser extent the policy strategy of participation in order to legitimate the process that determined the character of both the University and the knowledge that it was expected to produce.peer-reviewe

La enseñanza electrónica (e-teaching) en la educación superior: Un prerrequisito esencial para el aprendizaje electrónico (e-learning)

The discourse on the implementation of the digital technologies in higher education settings focuses mainly on students’ learning rather than on professors’ teaching. The little attention paid to the crucial role of teachers in online settings results in a restricted and moderate adaptation of the technologies in higher education worldwide. In most higher education institutions, the new technologies are used mainly for add-on functions and not for substituting face-to-face encounters or for an intensive web-enhanced teaching. This article starts with briefly explaining why most students, particularly at the undergraduate level, are unable and/or unwilling to study by themselves without expert teachers to guide their knowledge construction, discusses the problematics of digital literacy of teachers, examines the main reasons for the reluctance of many academics to utilize the technologies more fully in their teaching, and concludes by recommending some strategies for incorporating more fully the huge array of the technologies’ capabilities in higher education institutions. El discurso acerca de la implementación de las tecnologías digitales en entornos de educación superior se centra principalmente en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes más que en la docencia de los profesores. La poca atención que se presta al papel esencial que desempeñan los docentes en los entornos online se traduce en una adaptación restringida y moderada de las tecnologías en la educación superior a lo largo y a lo ancho del mundo. En la mayoría de las instituciones de educación superior, las nuevas tecnologías se usan fundamentalmente para funciones adicionales y no para reemplazar los encuentros presenciales o para una enseñanza intensiva mejorada a través de la utilización de la web. Este artículo se inicia con un breve explicación sobre por qué la mayor parte de los estudiantes, en particular los de grado, no son capaces o no están dispuestos a estudiar por sí solos sin profesores expertos que guíen su construcción de conocimientos, analiza la problemática relacionada con la alfabetización digital de los docentes, examina las principales razones por las que muchos académicos se muestran reacios a utilizar las tecnologías con más frecuencia en su docencia, y concluye recomendando algunas estrategias para incorporar en mayor medida el enorme abanico de capacidades de las tecnologías a las instituciones de educación superior

Evaluation of a global blended learning MBA programme

This paper evaluates the design and implementation of a UK university’s global blended learning MBA programme which combines e-learning with face-to-face teaching. The primary aim of the research was to investigate the learning experience and perceptions of the students, and to use the findings to evaluate the effectiveness of the course design and delivery system. Action research was used, with longitudinal data collected over a threeyear period (2008–2010). Three survey rounds were conducted focussing on Oman, one of the UK University’s main overseas learning collaborating centres. The three rounds yielded 116 valid responses in total. The first survey showed a fairly high level of student satisfaction with the programme but also indicated areas that needed further improvement. The impacts of subsequent changes in the programme were investigated in the second and third surveys. Feedback from these helped develop further changes in the learning content and delivery approach of the programme. The study contributes to a better understanding of global blended learning initiatives, and offers insights to managers on improving course management, enriching learning content, enhancing teaching quality, and improving students’ satisfaction levels

Choice of outcomes and measurement instruments in randomised trials on eLearning in medical education: A systematic mapping review protocol

Background: There will be a lack of 18 million healthcare workers by 2030. Multiplying the number of well-trained healthcare workers through innovative ways such as eLearning is highly recommended in solving this shortage. However, high heterogeneity of learning outcomes in eLearning systematic reviews reveals a lack of consistency and agreement on core learning outcomes in eLearning for medical education. In addition, there seems to be a lack of validity evidence for measurement instruments used in these trials. This undermines the credibility of these outcome measures and affects the ability to draw accurate and meaningful conclusions. The aim of this research is to address this issue by determining the choice of outcomes, measurement instruments and the prevalence of measurement instruments with validity evidence in randomised trials on eLearning for pre-registration medical education. Methods: We will conduct a systematic mapping and review to identify the types of outcomes, the kinds of measurement instruments and the prevalence of validity evidence among measurement instruments in eLearning randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in pre-registration medical education. The search period will be from January 1990 until August 2017. We will consider studies on eLearning for health professionals' education. Two reviewers will extract and manage data independently from the included studies. Data will be analysed and synthesised according to the aim of the review. Discussion: Appropriate choice of outcomes and measurement tools is essential for ensuring high-quality research in the field of eLearning and eHealth. The results of this study could have positive implications for other eHealth interventions, including (1) improving quality and credibility of eLearning research, (2) enhancing the quality of digital medical education and (3) informing researchers, academics and curriculum developers about the types of outcomes and validity evidence for measurement instruments used in eLearning studies. The protocol aspires to assist in the advancement of the eLearning research field as well as in the development of high-quality healthcare professionals' digital education. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD4201706842