Modes of Diversification in Bulgarian Higher Education: Case Studies in four Disciplines

This project was stimulated by the unprecedented speed and scope of changes in Bulgarian higher education since 1989. The rapid growth of the student population and the emergence of a new private sector in higher education led to tightening governmental control and a growing criticism of autonomy and academic freedom. This raised questions about the need for diversification in the field, about the importance of recent innovations in terms of strategic choices for future development and so of how higher education governance could maintain diversity without the system deteriorating. The group first traced the extent of spontaneous processes of innovation at the level of content, of institutions, and the organisation of teaching and learning processes. They then identified the different parties in the struggle for institutionalisation and against diversification, and promising mechanisms for maintaining diversity in higher education. On this basis they outlined a basis for a wide-ranging public discussion of the issue which may serve as a corrective to the mechanisms of state control. Their work included analysis of the legislative framework laid down in the Higher Education Act, which effectively dispenses with the autonomy of universities. They then surveyed the views of both high-level executives in the field and the academics actually involved in the process, as well as of the "consumers" of the educational product, i.e. the students. In considering diversification, they focused on four different types of programmes, including those where diversification is largely limited to content level (e.g. Law), those where it operates mainly on structural levels (e.g. Industrial Management), those where it is often feigned (e.g. Social Work), and those where it is at best formal and sporadic (e.g. Mechanical Engineering). They conclude that the educational system in Bulgaria has considerable internal resources for development. The greatest need is for adequate statutory regulation of academic life which will provide incentives for responsible academic development of higher education institutions and create conditions for the institutionalisation of academic self-organisation and self-control, which will in turn limit the pathological trends in the diversification processes.

An Elaboration of the Psycho-Physiological Method and its Application on the Process of Socialization of Mentally Handicapped People

The socialisation of mentally handicapped people is a long-term process during which the disabled person learns new habits and abilities step by step through education and training. Anxiety and neuroses due to an inadequate social environment can place obstacles in the path of the disabled person's integration into society. A method of regulating the psycho-physiological condition of mentally handicapped people (MRPC) was developed in order to reduce anxiety and neuropsychological tension and to establish positive social attitudes. Both verbal and non-verbal means of manipulating the psycho-physiological condition were used and experimental and control groups were formed from among the clients of Israelian's institute. The experimental groups applied the new method for six months, leading to a significant shift in the response of the clients involved. Expressed anxiety and defensive responses to mental tasks were transformed into orienting responses after 30 psycho-regulative exercises. Cognitive functions such as attention and memory also improved significantly. EEG examinations of the actual process of psycho-regulation revealed a tendency towards a change of brain activity by increasing the fast pulse frequency values in the alpha zones. Israelian concludes that the application of the MRPC creates better functional conditions for the socialisation of mentally handicapped people.