Pub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP23-49
Sjur Bergan
The goal of the Bologna Process was to develop a European Higher Education Area within a decade. The goal and the process proved to be attractive, new countries steadily applied for accession, and the Bologna Process has brought about substantial reforms. At the same time, the drive and optimism of the early years has given way to more measured optimism and even a sense of disillusion as we approach the 20th anniversary of the Bologna Declaration. The article outlines six phases in the development of the European Higher Education Area and then looks at some of the main challenges the EHEA faces as it approaches its third decade. Structural reforms have been the hallmark of the EHEA, and in this area the main challenges concern implementation rather than the development of new structures even if some policy challenges also remain. In the run-up to the 2018 Ministerial conference, EHEA faced a bitter debate on the character of the EHEA itself, linked to the questions of how to foster implementation of commitments undertaken and what it means to be a voluntary process. The fundamental values on which the EHEA builds are now threatened in some EHEA members, the role of the EHEA in a global context, and its relevance and governance constitute other challenges.Received: 08 April 2019Accepted: 29 April 2019Published online: 29 May 2019
{"title":"The European Higher Education Area: A road to the future or at way’s end?","authors":"Sjur Bergan","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP23-49","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP23-49","url":null,"abstract":"The goal of the Bologna Process was to develop a European Higher Education Area within a decade. The goal and the process proved to be attractive, new countries steadily applied for accession, and the Bologna Process has brought about substantial reforms. At the same time, the drive and optimism of the early years has given way to more measured optimism and even a sense of disillusion as we approach the 20th anniversary of the Bologna Declaration. The article outlines six phases in the development of the European Higher Education Area and then looks at some of the main challenges the EHEA faces as it approaches its third decade. Structural reforms have been the hallmark of the EHEA, and in this area the main challenges concern implementation rather than the development of new structures even if some policy challenges also remain. In the run-up to the 2018 Ministerial conference, EHEA faced a bitter debate on the character of the EHEA itself, linked to the questions of how to foster implementation of commitments undertaken and what it means to be a voluntary process. The fundamental values on which the EHEA builds are now threatened in some EHEA members, the role of the EHEA in a global context, and its relevance and governance constitute other challenges.Received: 08 April 2019Accepted: 29 April 2019Published online: 29 May 2019","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41892200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP97-126
G. Barbato, R. Moscati, M. Turri
University teaching is under pressure to evolve in line with the social, cultural and economic changes of modern society. This process inevitably affects the professional profile of academics since it creates an increasing tension between the traditional modes of teaching and the learning styles and professional expectations of students. This article analyses, both theoretically and empirically, the process of change of university teachers in the face of today’s challenges. The empirical analysis is based on the Italian university system, which has always been characterised by an overall reluctance to reforms. This article presents a theoretical framework based on two dimensions, i.e., the teacher/university relationship and the teacher/student relationship, to investigate the evolution of the professional profile of academics as teachers on the basis of seven teaching practices identified in the literature. The findings show that, besides some limits that are specific to professional bureaucracies, the support of universities is fundamental to promote innovation in teachers’ teaching practices, which are otherwise regulated and shaped only by their disciplinary community.Received: 14 January 2019Accepted: 27 March 2019Published online: 29 May 2019
{"title":"Is the role of academics as teachers changing? An exploratory analysis in Italian universities","authors":"G. Barbato, R. Moscati, M. Turri","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP97-126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP97-126","url":null,"abstract":"University teaching is under pressure to evolve in line with the social, cultural and economic changes of modern society. This process inevitably affects the professional profile of academics since it creates an increasing tension between the traditional modes of teaching and the learning styles and professional expectations of students. This article analyses, both theoretically and empirically, the process of change of university teachers in the face of today’s challenges. The empirical analysis is based on the Italian university system, which has always been characterised by an overall reluctance to reforms. This article presents a theoretical framework based on two dimensions, i.e., the teacher/university relationship and the teacher/student relationship, to investigate the evolution of the professional profile of academics as teachers on the basis of seven teaching practices identified in the literature. The findings show that, besides some limits that are specific to professional bureaucracies, the support of universities is fundamental to promote innovation in teachers’ teaching practices, which are otherwise regulated and shaped only by their disciplinary community.Received: 14 January 2019Accepted: 27 March 2019Published online: 29 May 2019","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43286044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP13-19
L. F. D. D. Rose, Anna Serbati
The present Issue comes to the light in May 2019, exactly twenty years after the signing of the Bologna Declaration on May 19th, 1999. For this important event, the Editorial Team of TJHE planned to edit an Anniversary Issue. Meanwhile, the Tuning Academy has also published an impressive book “REFORM! TUNING the Modernisation Process of Higher Education in Europe”, by Robert Wagenaar, Director of the University of Groningen branch of the International Tuning Academy and cofounder of Tuning. Those interested in knowing more about the last three decades of HE policies in Europe will find real pleasure in reading those pages. In such a context, the present Issue relies on two invited papers, plus some ordinarily submitted manuscripts, which witness a grass-root situation, rich in critical awareness and creativeness.Published online: 29 May 2019
{"title":"20th Anniversary of the Bologna Declaration: From overview of processes to ongoing activities and experiences","authors":"L. F. D. D. Rose, Anna Serbati","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP13-19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP13-19","url":null,"abstract":"The present Issue comes to the light in May 2019, exactly twenty years after the signing of the Bologna Declaration on May 19th, 1999. For this important event, the Editorial Team of TJHE planned to edit an Anniversary Issue. Meanwhile, the Tuning Academy has also published an impressive book “REFORM! TUNING the Modernisation Process of Higher Education in Europe”, by Robert Wagenaar, Director of the University of Groningen branch of the International Tuning Academy and cofounder of Tuning. Those interested in knowing more about the last three decades of HE policies in Europe will find real pleasure in reading those pages. In such a context, the present Issue relies on two invited papers, plus some ordinarily submitted manuscripts, which witness a grass-root situation, rich in critical awareness and creativeness.Published online: 29 May 2019","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48367611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP73-95
L. Nabaho, Wilberforce Turyasingura
Quality assurance of African higher education is at the top of the region’s development agenda. Prompted by the imperative to enhance the quality of higher education, the Africa Union Commission is implementing the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM). The AQRM is a continental tool that affords higher education institutions an opportunity to conduct self-assessment and compare their performance against similar institutions based on a set of common criteria. The mechanism is envisaged to engender institutional cultures of quality and enhance the quality of African higher education. However, a dearth of knowledge exists about the latent notions of quality in higher education that the AQRM aims to assure and the implicit institutional-level quality assurance practices in the AQRM. Therefore, this interpretivist article, based on a review of the AQRM survey questionnaire, answered the following research question: What notions of quality in higher education and the institutional-level quality assurance practices are inherent in the quality standards of the AQRM survey questionnaire? The findings revealed that quality as fitness for purpose and exceptional are the notions of quality in higher education in the AQRM. Nevertheless, fitness for purpose is the dominant notion of quality and this symbolises an imperative to re-direct higher education to serve social and economic ends. Distinguished (excellent) teacher awards, applied research excellence awards, staff professional development, tracer studies, external examination, and the involvement of key external stakeholders in programme development are the latent institutional-level quality assurance practices in the AQRM. These quality assurance practices are in sync with the notions of quality and aim at bridging the gap between the academy and the labour market. Methodologically, the AQRM survey questionnaire is devoid of benchmarks to inform the rating, and quality assurance practices such as student evaluation of teaching, peer observation of teaching and moderation of examination items are unnoticeable in the survey questionnaire.Received: 28 December 2018Accepted: 19 April 2019Published online: 29 May 2019
{"title":"An exploration of the ‘African (Union Commission’s) perspective’ of quality and quality assurance in higher education: Latent voices in the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM)","authors":"L. Nabaho, Wilberforce Turyasingura","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP73-95","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP73-95","url":null,"abstract":"Quality assurance of African higher education is at the top of the region’s development agenda. Prompted by the imperative to enhance the quality of higher education, the Africa Union Commission is implementing the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM). The AQRM is a continental tool that affords higher education institutions an opportunity to conduct self-assessment and compare their performance against similar institutions based on a set of common criteria. The mechanism is envisaged to engender institutional cultures of quality and enhance the quality of African higher education. However, a dearth of knowledge exists about the latent notions of quality in higher education that the AQRM aims to assure and the implicit institutional-level quality assurance practices in the AQRM. Therefore, this interpretivist article, based on a review of the AQRM survey questionnaire, answered the following research question: What notions of quality in higher education and the institutional-level quality assurance practices are inherent in the quality standards of the AQRM survey questionnaire? The findings revealed that quality as fitness for purpose and exceptional are the notions of quality in higher education in the AQRM. Nevertheless, fitness for purpose is the dominant notion of quality and this symbolises an imperative to re-direct higher education to serve social and economic ends. Distinguished (excellent) teacher awards, applied research excellence awards, staff professional development, tracer studies, external examination, and the involvement of key external stakeholders in programme development are the latent institutional-level quality assurance practices in the AQRM. These quality assurance practices are in sync with the notions of quality and aim at bridging the gap between the academy and the labour market. Methodologically, the AQRM survey questionnaire is devoid of benchmarks to inform the rating, and quality assurance practices such as student evaluation of teaching, peer observation of teaching and moderation of examination items are unnoticeable in the survey questionnaire.Received: 28 December 2018Accepted: 19 April 2019Published online: 29 May 2019","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49480960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP51-71
M. Damiani
This paper suggests that, although the Bologna process officially began in the late 1990s, the conditions that made it possible had already been created in the previous decade through the growing practice of international academic cooperation, mainly triggered by EU inter-institutional programmes. As the need for structural reforms in some higher education systems became more evident, in 1999 the Ministers of Education of 29 European countries gathered in Bologna to start a process of voluntary convergence of their systems with the objective of creating a European Higher Education Area. In the last 20 years the participating governments (now 48), with the support of international organizations and major stakeholders, have jointly developed a common framework of principles, actions, policies and tools. Accordingly, different types of structural reforms have taken place in the various countries. At present, however, implementation of the key commitments – full adoption of the three-cycle structure and ECTS, of the Lisbon recognition convention and the Diploma supplement, and of QA systems based on the European standards and guidelines – is still uneven in the EHEA and a peer-support approach was adopted by the ministers last year. Concerning the implementation issue, this paper raises two sets of questions. First: to what extent have the structural reforms implemented by the governments really affected grassroots educational activities? How deeply have the underlying principles – like student-centred learning – been implemented in actual programme design and everyday teaching/learning practice? Second: although inspired by the same basic principles, are EHEA-induced reforms actually being implemented consistently throughout European countries and institutions? Deeper involvement and more international coordination of European academics is advocated in the paper, in order to face these challenges and consolidate the EHEA in the years to come.Received: 03 April 2019Accepted: 02 May 2019Published online: 29 May 2019
{"title":"From 1999 to 2019: 20 years of European debate, development, and achievements","authors":"M. Damiani","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP51-71","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP51-71","url":null,"abstract":"This paper suggests that, although the Bologna process officially began in the late 1990s, the conditions that made it possible had already been created in the previous decade through the growing practice of international academic cooperation, mainly triggered by EU inter-institutional programmes. As the need for structural reforms in some higher education systems became more evident, in 1999 the Ministers of Education of 29 European countries gathered in Bologna to start a process of voluntary convergence of their systems with the objective of creating a European Higher Education Area. In the last 20 years the participating governments (now 48), with the support of international organizations and major stakeholders, have jointly developed a common framework of principles, actions, policies and tools. Accordingly, different types of structural reforms have taken place in the various countries. At present, however, implementation of the key commitments – full adoption of the three-cycle structure and ECTS, of the Lisbon recognition convention and the Diploma supplement, and of QA systems based on the European standards and guidelines – is still uneven in the EHEA and a peer-support approach was adopted by the ministers last year. Concerning the implementation issue, this paper raises two sets of questions. First: to what extent have the structural reforms implemented by the governments really affected grassroots educational activities? How deeply have the underlying principles – like student-centred learning – been implemented in actual programme design and everyday teaching/learning practice? Second: although inspired by the same basic principles, are EHEA-induced reforms actually being implemented consistently throughout European countries and institutions? Deeper involvement and more international coordination of European academics is advocated in the paper, in order to face these challenges and consolidate the EHEA in the years to come.Received: 03 April 2019Accepted: 02 May 2019Published online: 29 May 2019","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41425825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP175-203
M. Rossi, Emilia Restiglian
The article reports on the results of a Design-Based Research path realized through a workshop about the “Visual Storytelling” (VS). The workshop aimed to develop teacher’s professional competences about digital narrative documentation to be certified through the Open Badge system. The interdisciplinary design was developed according to the ICT-TPACK framework between the two courses “Methodologies, Didactics and Technologies for Teaching” and “Educational Research” in the Master’s degree in Primary Teaching. 32 students were involved to deal with the documentation of some real educational experiences observed at school. They were asked to fill a semi-structured questionnaire at the end of the workshop. Other data came from a rubric used to evaluate VS products from three different points of views (students’ self-assessment; university teachers; school teachers). The workshop stimulated the students to use technologies creatively, critically and reflectively to develop an authentic task realizing a VS product. According to the students’ opinion, the workshop also facilitated collaborative processes as well as skills of self-assessment and the personalization of learning.Received: 08 October 2018Accepted: 20 March 2019Published online: 29 May 2019
{"title":"Hybrid solutions for didactics in higher education: An interdisciplinary workshop of ‘Visual Storytelling’ to develop documentation competences","authors":"M. Rossi, Emilia Restiglian","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP175-203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(2)-2019PP175-203","url":null,"abstract":"The article reports on the results of a Design-Based Research path realized through a workshop about the “Visual Storytelling” (VS). The workshop aimed to develop teacher’s professional competences about digital narrative documentation to be certified through the Open Badge system. The interdisciplinary design was developed according to the ICT-TPACK framework between the two courses “Methodologies, Didactics and Technologies for Teaching” and “Educational Research” in the Master’s degree in Primary Teaching. 32 students were involved to deal with the documentation of some real educational experiences observed at school. They were asked to fill a semi-structured questionnaire at the end of the workshop. Other data came from a rubric used to evaluate VS products from three different points of views (students’ self-assessment; university teachers; school teachers). The workshop stimulated the students to use technologies creatively, critically and reflectively to develop an authentic task realizing a VS product. According to the students’ opinion, the workshop also facilitated collaborative processes as well as skills of self-assessment and the personalization of learning.Received: 08 October 2018Accepted: 20 March 2019Published online: 29 May 2019","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45942411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP111-142
Kayo Matsushita, K. Ono, Y. Saito
This paper addresses how to combine the course- and program-level assessments and presents a new method illustrated by a case of dental education program in Japan. Performance assessments are considered effective for evaluating knowledge integration and higher-order skills, while placing a burden on faculty, hence their feasibility as the program-level assessment is regarded lower than standardized tests or questionnaire surveys. We have developed several performance assessments at the course level, such as Modified Triple Jump for the PBL course. Based on this experience, we propose Pivotal Embedded Performance Assessment (PEPA) as a method for combining assessment at the course and program levels. The method limits the range of performance assessment to key courses directly linked to program goals and placed at the critical juncture points of curriculum, while entrusting the assessment of other courses to expert judgment of individual teachers. PEPA consists of the following procedures: systematization of curriculum and selection of key courses; design and implementation of performance assessments by a faculty team; setting passing criteria with incorporating the function of formative assessment; certifying the completion of the degree program. PEPA thus enables maintaining assessment feasibility and compatibility with a credit system, while ensuring assessment validity and reliability.Received: 27 September 2018Accepted: 13 November 2018Published online: 29 November 2018
{"title":"Combining course- and program-level outcomes assessments through embedded performance assessments at key courses: A proposal based on the experience from a Japanese dental education program","authors":"Kayo Matsushita, K. Ono, Y. Saito","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP111-142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP111-142","url":null,"abstract":"This paper addresses how to combine the course- and program-level assessments and presents a new method illustrated by a case of dental education program in Japan. Performance assessments are considered effective for evaluating knowledge integration and higher-order skills, while placing a burden on faculty, hence their feasibility as the program-level assessment is regarded lower than standardized tests or questionnaire surveys. We have developed several performance assessments at the course level, such as Modified Triple Jump for the PBL course. Based on this experience, we propose Pivotal Embedded Performance Assessment (PEPA) as a method for combining assessment at the course and program levels. The method limits the range of performance assessment to key courses directly linked to program goals and placed at the critical juncture points of curriculum, while entrusting the assessment of other courses to expert judgment of individual teachers. PEPA consists of the following procedures: systematization of curriculum and selection of key courses; design and implementation of performance assessments by a faculty team; setting passing criteria with incorporating the function of formative assessment; certifying the completion of the degree program. PEPA thus enables maintaining assessment feasibility and compatibility with a credit system, while ensuring assessment validity and reliability.Received: 27 September 2018Accepted: 13 November 2018Published online: 29 November 2018","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47039154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP21-67
Daniel J. Mcinerney
The U.S.-based American Historical Association (AHA), the largest – and most influential – professional organization for historians, was the first disciplinary society in the world to lead a Tuning project, launching its work in 2012. This essay analyzes a survey distributed to historians on campuses that have taken part in the AHA Tuning project. The purpose is to understand, after six years of work on the project, what practical difference Tuning has made for historians, students, courses, curricula, and departments. Survey data indicate that, under the disciplinary society’s guidance and encouragement, historians have created meaningful learning outcomes, implemented the objectives in courses and curricula, and begun work in the measurement of student learning. Not surprisingly, the project has faced limits and obstacles, particularly with leadership of the work, faculty buy-in, administrative support, follow-up assistance, enrollment concerns, student engagement, and outreach to stakeholders. However, after half a dozen years of activity, U.S. historians have made marked progress not only in articulating disciplinary learning outcomes (as have colleagues in other parts of the world) but also in implementing and assessing those objectives. While precise readings of “impact” remain elusive, a Tuning project under the direction of a disciplinary society has helped generate significant pedagogical, curricular, and cultural changes in the field of history..Received: 03 April 2018Accepted: 12 November 2018Published online: 29 November 2018
{"title":"Historical Study in the U.S.: Assessing the impact of Tuning within a professional disciplinary society","authors":"Daniel J. Mcinerney","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP21-67","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP21-67","url":null,"abstract":"The U.S.-based American Historical Association (AHA), the largest – and most influential – professional organization for historians, was the first disciplinary society in the world to lead a Tuning project, launching its work in 2012. This essay analyzes a survey distributed to historians on campuses that have taken part in the AHA Tuning project. The purpose is to understand, after six years of work on the project, what practical difference Tuning has made for historians, students, courses, curricula, and departments. Survey data indicate that, under the disciplinary society’s guidance and encouragement, historians have created meaningful learning outcomes, implemented the objectives in courses and curricula, and begun work in the measurement of student learning. Not surprisingly, the project has faced limits and obstacles, particularly with leadership of the work, faculty buy-in, administrative support, follow-up assistance, enrollment concerns, student engagement, and outreach to stakeholders. However, after half a dozen years of activity, U.S. historians have made marked progress not only in articulating disciplinary learning outcomes (as have colleagues in other parts of the world) but also in implementing and assessing those objectives. While precise readings of “impact” remain elusive, a Tuning project under the direction of a disciplinary society has helped generate significant pedagogical, curricular, and cultural changes in the field of history..Received: 03 April 2018Accepted: 12 November 2018Published online: 29 November 2018","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42827909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP69-109
Tengteng Zhuang, Xiaoshu Xu
Since becoming a formal signatory of the Washington Accord in 2016, China has outlined an initiative ‘New Engineering Education’ (NEE) to reform its engineering education at university level. This paper elaborates upon the NEE initiative by presenting analysis of its domestic and international context, the goals of the initiative, how the initiative draws upon international standards, major actions under the initiative, and the challenges remaining for NEE to achieve its goals. The paper argues that China views international practices and standards of engineering education in developed nations as highlands to imitate and surpass, and the NEE goals embody an ambitious systematic rather than partial reform of the sector. China has pushed forward the NEE reform with measures such as formulating National Standards for dozens of categories of engineering programs, commissioning 600+ research projects on NEE development, establishing new engineering programs and interdisciplinary courses, strengthening university-partnership, updating accreditation for engineering programs, and improving both external and internal quality assurance mechanism. The sector, however, still faces challenges in achieving systematic quality upgrade due to hindering factors like enlarged uneven resource allocation, downplayed teaching activities and the difficulties in reforming the curricula system. Expected changes are also discussed.Received: 06 March 2018Accepted: 07 November 2018Published online: 29 November 2018
{"title":"‘New Engineering Education’ in Chinese Higher Education: Prospects and challenges","authors":"Tengteng Zhuang, Xiaoshu Xu","doi":"10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP69-109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP69-109","url":null,"abstract":"Since becoming a formal signatory of the Washington Accord in 2016, China has outlined an initiative ‘New Engineering Education’ (NEE) to reform its engineering education at university level. This paper elaborates upon the NEE initiative by presenting analysis of its domestic and international context, the goals of the initiative, how the initiative draws upon international standards, major actions under the initiative, and the challenges remaining for NEE to achieve its goals. The paper argues that China views international practices and standards of engineering education in developed nations as highlands to imitate and surpass, and the NEE goals embody an ambitious systematic rather than partial reform of the sector. China has pushed forward the NEE reform with measures such as formulating National Standards for dozens of categories of engineering programs, commissioning 600+ research projects on NEE development, establishing new engineering programs and interdisciplinary courses, strengthening university-partnership, updating accreditation for engineering programs, and improving both external and internal quality assurance mechanism. The sector, however, still faces challenges in achieving systematic quality upgrade due to hindering factors like enlarged uneven resource allocation, downplayed teaching activities and the difficulties in reforming the curricula system. Expected changes are also discussed.Received: 06 March 2018Accepted: 07 November 2018Published online: 29 November 2018","PeriodicalId":53788,"journal":{"name":"Tuning Journal for Higher Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43152141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-29DOI: 10.18543/TJHE-6(1)-2018PP13-17
L. F. D. D. Rose, Anna Serbati
The title of the present Issue is Academics, programmes, and methodologies for fostering students’ competences. The focus is again “fostering students’ competences”, but – given the complexity of higher education systems – “fostering” may best occur if the several involved actors are accordingly prepared and if the many intermediate steps are properly taken care of. In other terms, as we all know, the winds of innovation may follow quite different paths for new implementations and actual improvements, according to local situations, country- and time- priorities and according to the good will of actors. Indeed, the present Issue starts with the assessment made among some U.S. history academics on the impact of the paradigm shift in teaching and learning brought about by the Tuning and other projects. Next, a quite comprehensive overview of the innovative changes occurring in the field Engineering Education in China in recent years is presented (a most important step at discipline and programme level). The following article deals with the challenge of measuring with a compact operational tool the quality of a degree programme and at the same time the quality of its component units (an innovative step for programme planners and evaluators, carried out in Japan). Then, an experience aimed at re-designing a fourth year of the Bachelor of Education in a South African university on the basis of a constructive alignment methodology is described (again a step at programme planners level). The conclusive article in this issue is quite different from the others and deals with the possible global role to be played by universities as institutions for research, education and any other third mission, in our quickly changing world. We hope that the fundamentals extensively described in this paper may start a fruitful debate among readers and potential future authors.Published online: 29 November 2018
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