The multi-billion-dollar university rankings industry purports to offer insights into the quality of institutions, but the extent to which it does so has consistently been refuted. Critics argue that problematic proxies, composite indexing, homogenising effects, and several other issues make them both unscientific and neo-colonial. This article…

This paper establishes an understanding of the Saudi National Human Resources Development (NHRD) and proposes effective strategies for improving the NHRD in the knowledge-based economy. Building on the foundations of HRD at the national level, provided by Harbison and Myers and the utilization of Paprock's NHRD model for transitional societies,…

This paper is about the politics of policy knowledge production. It calls for spaces to be forged to allow teachers' voices to have centre stage in knowledge creation and production. Specifically, this paper discusses the need for alternative ways of conducting educational research so that power in research design is utilised as a capacity for…

This article applies the concept of va to reconceptualise and critique the tensions in higher education for Pasifika in Aotearoa New Zealand. We assert that a radical shift is needed within higher education to confront the neoliberal ideals of a knowledge economy that have permeated all levels of the institution, from the politics of academic…

In his writing in the mid-nineteenth century -- "The Idea of a University," John Henry Newman argues that the university provides a platform for human advancement through teaching and research. Over a century later, our public university now hedged on several social, political, ecological and economic factors that bully its traditional…

A major evolution of the research system has taken place in the Asian region. Taiwan, as an emerging economy, has systematically upgraded its knowledge production and international academic collaboration during recent decades. Within this broader context, this research aims mainly to investigate the contemporary development of knowledge production…

The project of establishing a European community since World War II has been further advanced by adding - besides the four freedoms of free movement of goods, persons, services and capital - a fifth freedom -- the free circulation of researchers, knowledge and technology -- that intends to promote community building at the level of higher…

China and the US have responded to the challenges of a knowledge-based society, technological advancement, and global competition by implementing educational reforms to impart skills or competencies required of 21st century students. This study compares the rationales, content, and curricula design of both countries' key competencies frameworks…

Higher education institutions are under pressure to produce employable graduates who are required to contribute to the sustainability of strong economic growth and development. As such, the onus is on the higher education sector to present graduates to the labour market who are both work ready and have attained employability. This article…

Since 1997, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invested in higher education and its expansion as part of its commitment to building a knowledge-based society. Though the UAE has prioritised quality higher education, it still faces challenges in producing graduates who are capable of actively participating in building its knowledge base. The…

The use of big data in smart cities poses new questions about higher education and community-university engagement practices in addressing longstanding social and economic exclusion in urban communities. Drawing on transdisciplinary ideas in higher education, cultural theory, and science and technology studies, primary concerns in the era of big…

It is frequently claimed that the "competition state" responds to external competition by making competition increasingly central to its internal processes as well. This article discusses education reform in Singapore as departing from the opposite position. In Singapore "excessive" competition in education is now targeted by…

Nigerians have always realized that education is the singular factor that brings about national development. The central goal of university education is to prepare one for productive employment. Such employment can be a paid one or a self-employed one. This paper examines the problem militating against university education, its implications for…

Drawing on the theoretical and analytical tools from the sociology of education, in particular the work of Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton, the paper explores the tensions within curriculum reform discourses and how these tensions play out in different global contexts. The analysis focuses on two curriculum reform policies--Hong Kong and South…

The future of Malaysia as a high-income and competitive nation largely depends on its pool of highly skilled human capital. Hence, the issue of human capital development has taken centre stage in numerous reform agendas of Malaysia. This paper seeks to provide examples of policy initiatives aimed at facilitating the management of highly educated…