The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is increasingly depended upon by education policy makers to provide reliable measures of their country's education system against international benchmarks. PISA attempts to provide efficient, scientific and technical means to develop educational policies which achieve optimal…

This monograph describes the historiography of language ideologies that led to the politicisation of Arabic and the Arabicisation of politics in the Sudan, starting from British colonial rule until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that was a precursor to the separation of the South as an independent state. The monograph shows that the…

"Internationalisation" is generally defined as increasing cross-border activities amidst persistence of borders, while "globalisation" refers to similar activities concurrent to an erosion of borders. Study mobility is viewed as the most visible component in this framework in Europe with ERASMUS as the largest scheme of…

This descriptive study, drawing on a unique database, seeks to understand the current level of internationalization of the U.S. academy and what factors dispose individual academics to see their work as internationally linked. It finds that there is only a weak link between the disposition of academics to engage in international teaching as…

The reform of a system that is interconnected with other systems and factors demands that its stability be assessed constantly, both as a whole and in its components. This was the purpose of a survey designed to discover, in connection with education, the perceptions, expectations, and attitudes of parents of upper-grade students in four regions…

This article considers the impact of the New Public Management culture on Irish education and calls for a debate in relation to the prevailing bureaucratic model of accountability. The influence of the Lisbon Agenda (2000) on education planning is identified and the 2005/7 Education Strategy Statement is analysed using the relevant OECD framework.…

For several years Portuguese higher education institutions have been waiting for the legislation framework necessary for the implementation of the Bologna process. Such legislation was passed quite recently (2006) and has resulted in an unexpected flood of proposals presented at very short notice by higher education institutions to the Ministry.…

Higher education plays a fundamental role in the construction of a European citizenship that demands the development of plurilingual competences. Although the Bologna Process highlights that development (relating it to mobility, employability and lifelong learning), language education does not seem to be a priority in the agenda of higher…

One effect of the Bologna Declaration is that teaching staff and students are becoming more mobile, increasing linguistic diversity in the European Higher Education Area. This multilingual internationalisation is especially noticeable in bilingual universities such as the University of the Basque Country in Spain, where English-medium instruction…

The development of degree profiles is an important art which has become quite specialized in recent years. This article concentrates on the analysis of the importance of the role of degree profiles in the design of degrees and, as a consequence, in Higher Education in general. It analyses, particularly, the work of the Tuning Project and its main…

This case study uses post-colonial and dependency theoretical lenses to investigate the forces influencing policy, procedures, and participation in international activity in the post-colonial African university environment of Kenya's first national public university-the University of Nairobi (UoN). The research addresses (1) the approaches and…

This article contributes to the debate about e-learning as a form of adult education. It is based on the experiences of South African students, describes and analyses group interaction in an intercontinental Masters in Adult Education Programme which uses a computer electronic platform as the primary medium for learning and teaching. The article…

There is an urgent need to address the social dimension of higher education more forcefully and coherently, particularly in view of the economic downturn across Europe. This is the conclusion of the new Eurydice report, which looks at national policies on access to higher education, funding and student support. The report, covering EU Member…

This article provides an overview of education cooperation in Europe seen though some of the major initiatives of international organizations (IOs) active in this field. The purpose of the article is two-fold: (i) mapping out IOs' most significant programmes according to their objectives and modes of cooperation as a pre-requisite to understand…

Theories of the "knowledge economy" view knowledge, and particularly new knowledge, as a critical resource to enhance a nation's economic growth. Governments around the world have invested in doctoral education expansion. Reforms in doctoral education are being shaped by the changing needs of society, of research modes, and of a changed…