This book is about higher education reforms in the post-socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, seen through the eyes of somebody who has spent the last decade analyzing these reforms as well as negotiating and supervising reform projects in countries from Serbia and Montenegro to Mongolia. Analyzing the reforms in a broader political, economic and social context and relating these to global higher education developments, the book addresses the complexity of the processes and contradictions among the demands on higher education systems, which in many instances impede positive changes.
Contentious debates over the benefits—or drawbacks—of a liberal education are as old as America itself. From Benjamin Franklin to the Internet pundits, critics of higher education have attacked its irrelevance and elitism—often calling for more vocational instruction. Thomas Jefferson, by contrast, believed that nurturing a student’s capacity for lifelong learning was useful for science and commerce while also being essential for democracy. In this provocative contribution to the disputes, university president Michael S. Roth focuses on important moments and seminal thinkers in America’s long-running argument over vocational vs. liberal education. Conflicting streams of thought flow through American intellectual history: W. E. B. DuBois’s humanistic principles of pedagogy for newly emancipated slaves developed in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s educational utilitarianism, for example. Jane Addams’s emphasis on the cultivation of empathy and John Dewey’s calls for education as civic engagement were rejected as impractical by those who aimed to train students for particular economic tasks. Roth explores these arguments (and more), considers the state of higher education today, and concludes with a stirring plea for the kind of education that has, since the founding of the nation, cultivated individual freedom, promulgated civic virtue, and instilled hope for the future.
Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms of its conceptual and methodological rigor, and sets forth an agenda for future research intended to advance knowledge on the chosen topic. The Handbook focuses on twelve general areas that encompass the salient dimensions of scholarly and policy inquiries undertaken in the international higher education community. The series is fortunate to have attracted annual contributions from distinguished scholars throughout the world.
This dissertation is made up of four essays that address major problems in the policy areas of education and immigration in Sweden and an introductory essay that offers an overarching analysis of the results of the four individual studies. The first three essays analyze the significant decline in quality of elementary and secondary education since the late 1990s from three different angles: the decline in teachers’ working conditions and status (Essay I), the deficiencies in the regulatory framework of Sweden’s system of school competition between public and for-profit providers of education (Essay II), and the prescribed view of knowledge in Swedish schools (Essay III). The fourth essay examines the policy of refugee placement in recent years. It shows that peripheral and rural municipalities with declining populations and high unemployment have received greater numbers of refugees per capita than growing urban municipalities offering better employment opportunities. The introductory essay focuses on the common thread in the four essays, namely, policy convergence between the Left and the Right. In fact, the empirical evidence in the individual studies suggests that the Social Democrats and the Moderate Party have a propensity for policy convergence in the two areas analyzed, but that it is unintentional and hard to detect for the actors themselves. This observation runs counter to what is typically assumed in political science, namely, that the Left and the Right are polar opposites with widely divergent policy agendas. Avhandlingen består av fyra artiklar om svensk utbildnings- och migrationspolitik och en kappa som syntetiserar de enskilda studierna. Den första artikeln undersöker hur svenska lärares yrkesstolthet och inneboende drivkrafter att göra ett bra jobb har påverkats av vänster- och högerpolitikers syn på läraryrket. Den andra artikeln undersöker hur marknadsutsättningen av det svenska skolväsendet har påverkat kunskapsnivån bland svenska elever. Den tredje artikeln bygger vidare på de två första studierna och undersöker synen på ämneskunskaper i skolans styrdokument och dess påverkan både på läraryrkets ställning och elevers kunskaper. Den fjärde artikeln undersöker det geografiska mönstret i kommunplaceringen av nyanlända flyktingar i Sverige. Avhandlingens övergripande bidrag är att den, genom att studera två olika politikområden, visar att vänstern och högern i Sverige har en omedveten benägenhet att konvergera politiskt. Trots att man anser sig stå på olika sidor i politiken visar empirin i de fyra studierna att vänster- och högerpolitiker i främst Socialdemokraterna och Moderaterna har dragit åt samma håll i både utbildnings- och migrationspolitiken. Den första artikeln visar att politiker både till vänster och till höger ofta har varit skeptiska till lärarnas inflytande i skolan och sett det som ett hinder för elevernas frihet och lärande, vilket har bidragit till att underminera lärarnas professionella etos. Den andra artikeln visar att både vänster- och högerpolitiker underlät att utforma regelverket för skolkonkurrensen så att privata utförare styrdes mot att erbjuda en undervisning av hög kvalitet. I stället uppstod en konkurrens med höga betyg. Den tredje artikeln visar likaledes att skolans konstruktivistiska kunskapssyn, som både har reducerat lärarnas yrkesroll till förmån för elevernas eget arbete och förstärkt utvecklingen mot en konkurrens med betyg, har stöttats av såväl vänster- som högerpolitiker. Den fjärde artikeln visar att nyanlända flyktingar främst har tagits emot av mindre kommuner i avfolkningsbygder präglade av hög arbetslöshet. I artikeln framhålls att denna kontraproduktiva policy har sin grund i både vänster- och högerpolitikers välmenade idéer om flyktingmottagandet som först lanserades på nationell nivå. Då statsvetare i såväl Sverige som internationellt ofta har antagit att vänster och höger utgör politikens motpoler erbjuder avhandlingens huvudresultat ett nytt perspektiv. Sannolikt kan det generaliseras till ytterligare politikområden. Kappan ger även en nydanande förklaring till politisk konvergens som går ut på att vänstern och högern, åtminstone i en svensk kontext, delar en moraluppfattning som främst betonar individens frihet och rättigheter medan andra, balanserande moraliska värden tonas ned. En implikation av detta är att det skapar utrymme för nya partier som positionerar sig i den nisch som därigenom uppstått.
Some groups participate in politics more than others. Why? And does it matter for policy outcomes? In this richly detailed and fluidly written book, Andrea Campbell argues that democratic participation and public policy powerfully reinforce each other. Through a case study of senior citizens in the United States and their political activity around Social Security, she shows how highly participatory groups get their policy preferences fulfilled, and how public policy itself helps create political inequality. Using a wealth of unique survey and historical data, Campbell shows how the development of Social Security helped transform seniors from the most beleaguered to the most politically active age group. Thus empowered, seniors actively defend their programs from proposed threats, shaping policy outcomes. The participatory effects are strongest for low-income seniors, who are most dependent on Social Security. The program thus reduces political inequality within the senior population--a laudable effect--while increasing inequality between seniors and younger citizens. A brief look across policies shows that program effects are not always positive. Welfare recipients are even less participatory than their modest socioeconomic backgrounds would imply, because of the demeaning and disenfranchising process of proving eligibility. Campbell concludes that program design profoundly shapes the nature of democratic citizenship. And proposed policies--such as Social Security privatization--must be evaluated for both their economic and political effects, because the very quality of democratic government is influenced by the kinds of policies it chooses.
If you have ever wondered why American Catholics and American Protestants in the mainline denominations in 2011 believe and worship in very similar ways; why Democrats and Republicans accept the necessity of governmental intervention to secure the "safety net" of services citizens may need to access at various times in their lives; and why average American workers in their pivotal role as producers and consumers of goods and services "own" the nation's economy; Three Essays and Three Revolutions is the book for you.Author Francis Goskowski argues that Martin Luther, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Karl Marx, three "Founding Fathers" of the modern world, are responsible for the "big ideas" that have shaped current thinking in religion, politics, and economics. By closely examining one important work of each thinker, the author shows how the revolutionary concepts Luther, Rousseau, and Marx advanced, provoked fierce opposition within the prevailing order, but ultimately gained acceptance in all circles, evidenced by the fundamental agreement on religious liberty, civic equality, and economic justice apparent throughout the Western world today.This eloquently written, thought-provoking, and sensibly priced collection of essays...is timely and long overdue. Three Essays and Three Revolutions is the sort of wonderful book of which any aspiring writer might wish to claim authorship. I am sure that it will be wisely read, thoughtfully debated, and much treasured in the years ahead. - John Quentin Feller, Ph.D., K.H.S., former professor of history and historical consultant to the late Cardinal Lawrence J. Shehan and retired Cardinal William H. Keeler, 12th and 14th Archbishops of Baltimore respectively.
