Pavel Zgaga

Reconsidering the EHEA Principles: Is There a “Bologna Philosophy”?

After the Bologna decade it is now assumed that there are certain fundamental principles of the EHEA. They should not be commingled with the principles of higher education in general. The “EHEA principles” are rooted in a particular European context of a given period. In the most direct and widely known way, they are recognised as the “commonly agreed Bologna objectives”. These are relatively procedural principles. Yet, a principle can also be understood as a value and a responsibility that someone has towards a certain issue; in our case, towards (the European) Higher Education (Area). In this sense, the “EHEA principles” comprehend a rule of action; rules which make action possible and its outcomes feasible and sustainable. They also comprehend a standard by which to judge and value the “EHEA-ness”. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that, while using the term “EHEA principle”, we need to differentiate between several aspects, horizons and rationales. But they are not always and not necessarily congruent. Therefore, it is important to differentiate among them and, then, to try to systematise and reconsider them.

The future of European teacher education in the heavy seas of higher education

The aim of this paper is to reconsider recent pan-European developments in teacher education and to discuss some aspects of its future. Teacher education across Europe has been largely ‘universitised’; therefore, both its present and future should be discussed within the context of the general changes in European higher education deeply marked by the Bologna Process and the emerging European Higher Education Area. The author relies on Goodlad’s and Clark’s discussion of teacher education from a higher education perspective and tries to continue in the context of European higher education reforms of the past decade. The central controversy of these reforms has concerned the length of traditional undergraduate courses at universities in most continental countries (4 to 5 years), particularly with regard to the relationship between ‘academic’ and ‘professional’ higher education. Until today, most teacher education institutions have adapted to the new system of two ‘Bologna’ cycles (Bachelor and Master). However, the reforms have led to different interpretations and their implementation has varied in different countries, thus opening new dilemmas about the future of European teacher education.

Global Challenges, Local Responses in Higher Education

History of the social sciences could be followed via keywords that characterize each period of its development. Globalization is a term that suddenly appeared at the end of the last century pushing its brand in the forefront where it still insists. Depending on the viewing angle it is invoked once as a “solution” and other time as “destruction.” At the same time it opens up yet other perspectives; one of them is articulated as glocalization.

Higher education research and higher education policy in South-East Europe

This article deals with the past, present and future of higher education research from a regional perspective. South-East Europe has not been noticeable in this respect during the last two or three decades. However, development of higher education and the problems that are associated with it raise many questions that require a response from both researchers and policymakers. This is all the more necessary because of the great diversity of the region and the complexity of the issues raised. In comparison with other European countries, changes in higher education have been really dramatic. During the period of social and political ‘transition’ the impression was given that the region is completely lacking human resources as well as traditions in this area. This impression was strengthened under the influence of policy transfer from world ‘centres’ to ‘peripheral’ regions. However, the imported patterns and recommendations often do not work in local circumstances or are being interpreted and adapted in sometimes surprisingly idiosyncratic ways. In recent years, the number of specialized researchers on higher education is increasing gradually in South-East Europe, but is still relatively low. Without further development of a specialized sub-discipline in this area, it is hard to imagine a systemic approach to resolve problems in the area of higher education policy in the region.

Slovenia: The Slow Decline of Academic Inbreeding

In a country with only one major university for a long time, academic inbreeding was necessary and inevitable. As part of socialist Yugoslavia, Slovenia was its most developed region and professors of Slovenian universities were rarely graduates of the Yugoslav universities. Further, due to the “non-aligned” character of Yugoslav foreign politics, borders with Western Europe were open and study at foreign universities was not impossible, especially in science, technology, and medicine. Nevertheless, the possibilities for study abroad were fairly limited due to economic conditions. Moreover, study abroad has often led to brain drain. Despite rising enrollments since the 1990s, Slovenia is still a small higher education system (with only four universities) and academic inbreeding is a recognizable feature.

The Role of Higher Education Centres in Research and Policy: A Case from a European Periphery.

This article focuses on higher education research and policies in small and/or peripheral countries that usually occupy a marginal position in contemporary international debates. The region discussed here is South-eastern Europe and especially the Western Balkans. First, an outline of emerging research centres and the developments in higher education research over the past two decades is given. The original survey carried out in 2012 is discussed and the problems that have occurred in the policy transfer from ‘centres’ to the ‘periphery’ (i.e. this region) and the policy transformation in local contexts are analysed. In the final section, specific problems in the development of higher education in the region arising from the dichotomy between the ambition for the nation-building and pressures of the global market are discussed.

Education for “a better world”: is it still possible?

The belief in continuous progress towards a “better world” and the conviction that good is associated with knowledge and learning have a long tradition. On these bases, expectations have arisen that education substantially contributes to a “better world”. The paper reconsiders this contribution from the aspect of modern progress made in the internationalisation and globalisation of education. The concept of education is discussed in relation to the cosmopolitanism of the Enlightenment, 19th and 20th century nationalisms, 20th century internationalism, the “Europeanisation”process and the contemporary age of globalism. Against the “monocausal view” of globalism, the author reaffirms the recognition of a full range of educational purposes.

Researchers and research ethics: Between fears of the expansion of controversial practices and the strengthening of ethical awareness

In 2015, the European Educational Research Association (EERA) initiated a study to examine education researchers’ experiences with and attitudes towards research ethics reviews. This paper is not a result of this study; nevertheless, it is related to it while critically reflecting upon the issue of research ethics reviews. It starts with an analysis of observations and comments provided by the interviewees in their questionnaire replies. In them, some key dilemmas can be identified, which have been discussed in various academic circles in recent decades. The main part of the paper is intended to review these discussions and to determine their relevance for the debate in the specific field of education research. In the conclusion, attention is drawn to a gradual shift from the sphere of legitimacy to the sphere of legality, resulting from the current attempts of regulating research ethics, while pointing to a potential conflict between the two key research principles, which are also key academic values: ethical conduct in research and academic freedom.

European Teacher Education in the Grip of ‘Academic Tribes and Territories’

The aim of this paper is to reconsider European developments in teacher education and to discuss some aspects of its future. Teacher education has been largely ‘universitised’; both its present and future should be discussed within the context of the broad changes in European Higher Education deeply marked by the Bologna Process and the emerging European Higher Education Area. We rely on J. Goodlad’s and B. Clark’s discussion of teacher education from a higher education perspective (1999) and try to comment on it in the context of European higher education reforms of the past decade. The central controversy of these reforms has concerned the length of traditional undergraduate courses at universities in most continental countries (4–5 years), particularly with regard to the relationship between ‘academic’ and ‘professional’ higher education. Until today, most teacher education institutions have adapted to the new system of two ‘Bologna’ cycles (Bachelor and Master). However, the reforms have led to different interpretations and their implementation has varied in different countries, thus opening new dilemmas about the future of European Teacher Education. This paper argues that the central part of these dilemmas relates the position and identity of teacher education “in the grip of ‘academic tribes and territories’”, a concept borrowed from Becher and Trowler (2001).

Massification and Diversity: Has the Expansion of Higher Education Led to a Changing Composition of the Student Body? European and German Evidence

One of the most important changes in higher education after the Second World War has been the massive expansion in social demand for and in participation in higher education – in Europe as well as on other continents (see section 2). Many countries show growing entry rates, sometimes more than half of the age cohort. Many debates in higher education research and policy focus on the structural and institutional consequences of this development, such as further differentiation or diversification in national higher education systems at different levels – e. g. in the provision of programs, courses and degrees or in the structure of the system, between or within institutions (Trow 1974; Guri-Rosenblit/Sebkova/Teichler 2007; Teichler 2008). The thesis is widespread that the expansion and massification of higher education have been (or will be) accompanied by a process of differentiation in different forms. Expansion and differentiation are often considered as complementary paths in the development of higher education (Windolf 1990). Or, as Peter Scott wrote: “growth is now conceived of in terms of ‘difference’” (Scott 2013).