This contribution examines recent transformation in the institutionalization of a new mode of governance in the field of Higher Education. We identify three characteristics of the institutional design of public Quality Assurance Agencies (QAAs) that operate at the national level in the field of higher education. In order to do so, we examine three…

How and why do some ideas attain agenda status while others do not? This paper seeks to explore these questions in the context of the policy changes observed in European education policy. By drawing from the literature on agenda-setting and employing process tracing, the paper develops a theoretical argument to investigate the causal mechanisms…

This study examines the emergence and evolution of madrasa as a specific organizational form of higher learning from a comparative-historical perspective. The article begins by discussing how the madrasa emerged and which factors contributed to its rise and spread among the Islamicate political regimes during the Middle Ages and afterwards. Then,…

Europe is, in many ways, of central importance to discussions about higher education. Various European initiatives, such as the Bologna Process and the Erasmus mobility programme, have had a direct and material impact on the shape and nature of higher education across the continent. They have also been linked to wider political objectives, such as…

This research looked at the growing space that Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is gaining in educational policy worldwide, and at the role Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) played in GCE agenda setting and policy implementation. Based on a comparative policy analysis carried out in 10 European countries, the political agency of NGOs was…

This article illustrates and discusses some elements of the "problematique" 'Southern Europe'. The themes stressed include its configuration and the criteria for its conceptualisation. A number of ways to think about 'Southern Europe are discussed -- of course with particular emphasis on the development and theoretical elaboration of…

The authors contend that the impact of the Cold War on multilateral organizations (especially UNESCO) as well as on the academic programs in Comparative and International Education or Development Studies in Education has been largely understudied. Both world-systems (USA and its allies, Soviet Union and its allies) laid claim on the project of…

Characterizes influences of the economic and political climate on universities and students in western Europe. As a result of university budget cuts, unemployment among educated youth, and increases in the cost of living, university students are experiencing a sense of uselessness, lost status, and confused identity. (Author/DB)

This paper outlines a heuristic framework for understanding basic patterns in the efforts of nation-states to achieve some degree of integration of ethnic minorities to the dominant culture. Four case studies, from Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, illuminate the basic typology: Assimilation, Cultural Pluralism, Socialized Isolation,…

This seminar report focuses on school legislation reforms in Central and Eastern Europe. The seminar was part of the "Secondary Education for Europe" project. The aims of the seminar included: (1) to outline legislative reforms concerning the school systems in Central and Eastern countries; (2) to highlight questions; and (3) to compare…

The evolution of development studies as a formal academic teaching and research endeavor is traced. "Development" is related here to "decolonialization." Attention is directed to: the sociopolitical and economic aspects of the society; the cultural (educational and historical) aspects or frameworks within which particular…

Foreign study is examined from different perspectives, especially comparative ones, in 15 articles. Attention is directed to: the significance of foreign study for developing countries, national and regional policies and trends, development strategies, political and institutional dilemmas, a bibliography and a literature review. Titles and authors…

The vocational education and training (VET) reforms currently under way in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States are distinguished by the breadth, range, depth, and speed of the reforms proposed or already initiated. The European Union has assisted the reform process through its Phare and Tacis programs. The following have been…