A Comparative Study on Higher Education Acts in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Russia

The original aim of this project was to describe and analyse the higher education acts in force in five Central and Eastern European countries at present, trying to understand the dependence of higher education on the historical traditions, national peculiarities and all-European tendencies. The description and comparison of the main aspects of higher education was supplemented by a study of the possibilities of transferring experience in the field between the five countries and possible solutions to implementing foreign structural and functional models. Questions covered included the role of the state in the management of higher education, the structures of the higher education systems and the organisation of institutions, academic autonomy and the classifications of academic teaching staff, the main trends in the recent development of research, academic degrees, the accreditation of higher education institutions, and the financing of higher education. Popov found that it was almost impossible to understand the dependence of higher education on historical traditions and national peculiarities purely through a study of the relevant legislation. Education traditions in these countries have twice been broken, once with the start of communism (1917 in Russia and 1944-45 in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania) and for a second time at the beginning of the 1990s. The most recent higher education acts in all five countries studied have abandoned many of their historical and national traditions, following instead all-European trends as determined by Western Europe, and the project included a study of the dependence on these trends. There were also difficulties in comparing some aspects of higher education as it depended on how far a given aspect has different or common features in the different countries and to what extent the application is comparable. While many possible areas for transferring experience between the five countries were identified, Popov concentrated on those where he felt that there was a real practical possibility of application in view of national academic differences. He concluded by defining some of the challenges facing each country in the field of higher education and by making some predictions as to the developments in the different countries.

Christina Higgins. 2009. English as a Local Language

Christina Higgins credibly presents the situation of English in East Africa as scrutinized from four areas, which she investigated in the field: the newspaper journalism, annual beauty pageants for young women, the hip hop music of the youth, and advertisements. For me, as a Tanzanian, it has been a pleasure to review a book that illuminatingly documents the language situation, the cultural conceptualization and the localization of English that is taking place in the multilingual society in Tanzania.

Prospective EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Teachers’ Perceptions of Learner Autonomy

This study investigated prospective EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy. Main aim was to see whether the education they receive on how to teach English make any difference in prospective EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding learner autonomy. A researcher-developed questionnaire was administered to 179 students studying in the program of ‘Teaching English as a Foreign Language’ at Anadolu University in Turkey. Results of the study indicated that generally there is not much difference between the first and fourth year participants of the study in terms of their perceptions of learner autonomy.

Flexibility and Academic Credits within Higher Education trends

La globalización en la Educación Superior y el nuevo marco de mercado dentro del sistema universitario ha introducido el concepto de flexibilidad. Uno de Ios instrumentos principales en el desarrollo de este proceso ha sido el Sistema de Crédito Académico (el Marco de Crédito), que es un modo de reestructurar el currículum hacia la Flexibilidad de Suministros. Muchos países en el mundo entero han introducido este modelo, después del Sistema de Crédito americano. Este trabajo explorará conceptualmente los eslabones entre las tendencias principales en la enseñanza superior y este nuevo concepto.

An exploratory study of cultural understanding in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading in Argentina

Fil: Porto, Melina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

An exploratory study of cultural understanding in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading in Argentina

Fil: Porto, Melina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

An exploratory study of cultural understanding in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading in Argentina

Fil: Porto, Melina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

Integration of cooperation for development in Survey Engineering curricula at the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework

Survey Engineering curricula involves the integration of many formal disciplines at a high level of proficiency. The Escuela de Ingenieros en Topografía, Cartografía y Geodesia at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Survey Engineering) has developed an intense and deep teaching on so-called Applied Land Sciences and Technologies or Land Engineering. However, new approaches are encouraged by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This fact requires a review of traditional teaching and methods. Furthermore, the new globalization and international approach gives new ways to this discipline to teach and learn about how to bridge gap between cultures and regions. This work is based in two main needs. On one hand, it is based on integration of basic knowledge and disciplines involved in typical Survey Engineering within Land Management. On the other, there is an urgent need to consider territory on a social and ethical basis, as far as a part of the society, culture, idiosyncrasy or economy. The integration of appropriate knowledge of the Land Management is typically dominated by civil engineers and urban planners. It would be very possible to integrate Survey Engineering and Cooperation for Development in the framework of Land Management disciplines. Cooperation for Development is a concept that has changed since beginning of its use until now. Development projects leave an impact on society in response to their beneficiaries and are directed towards self-sustainability. Furthermore, it is the true bridge to reduce gap between societies when differences are immeasurable. The concept of development has also been changing and nowadays it is not a purely economic concept. Education, science and technology are increasingly taking a larger role in what is meant by development. Moreover, it is commonly accepted that Universities should transfer knowledge to society, and the transfer of knowledge should be open to countries most in need for developing. If the importance of the country development is given by education, science and technology, knowledge transfer would be one of the most clear of ways of Cooperation for Development. Therefore, university cooperation is one of the most powerful tools to achieve it, placing universities as agents of development. In Spain, the role of universities as agents of development and cooperation has been largely strengthened. All about this work deals to how to implement both Cooperation for Development and Land Management within Survey Engineering at the EHEA framework.