Presents the 2000 Robert H. Atwell Distinguished Lecture given at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education in Chicago (Illinois), which focuses on the ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville to find lessons for the current condition of higher education. These include American egalitarianism, homogeneity, individualism, and pragmatism.…

Higher education plays a significant role in shaping the culture of societies. As globalization becomes more prominent in all aspects of civilization, higher education must respond and lead in this endeavor. It is incumbent upon postsecondary institutions to train the leaders of tomorrow to lead in a world without boundaries, and to be able to…

A discussion of comparative higher education looks at the types of comparative studies that can be attempted, and whether they must test pre-constructed hypotheses. Some of these hypotheses are outlined. The contributions of a current international comparative study (United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden) are examined. (MSE)

The idea that people committing themselves to lifetime careers in academe should take some coursework in higher education retains its appeal; but that appeal has rarely grown so strong as to cause courses in higher education to become part of the graduation requirement for advanced degrees. (MLW)

Argues that comparative studies in higher education are helpful in conceptual restructuring and in understanding how higher education is shaped by common international trends, reforms based on comparisons, increasing trans-national cooperation, and some supra-national integration of systems. Recommends a semi-structured research design allowing…

Notes that over the quarter-century of the Council for Economic Co-operation and Development's Program on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE), study of higher education has developed considerably. New disciplines have emerged, new ideologies have altered perspectives, and higher education's priorities continue to change.…

The development and contributions of Professor Ruth Eckert are presented in this autobiographical essay. Focus is on higher education as a field of graduate study and changes in higher education throughout this century. The author's experiences are set in the context of wider happenings in higher education. (Author/JMD)

The history of comparative higher education for purposes of policy analysis is chronicled from its origins in comparative political science and public administration. Methodology is discussed, and some recent studies are examined. It is concluded that comparative higher education has not gone far beyond the descriptive stage, and must take…

While most comparative higher education research focuses on the transition from elite to mass education, two other aspects deserve study: substantive academic growth, with roots in the research imperative and the dynamics of disciplines; and innovative university organization, a concern among practitioners as universities seek greater capacity for…

Suggests that the study of contemporary history can provide a vehicle for testing the validity of theories developed in higher education policy studies. Greater attention to the cultural and historic contexts of higher education, particularly in cross-national studies, is urged. (MSE)

Issues concerning the professional development of university administrators in Australia are discussed, including the lack of a body of knowledge about university administration; the need for a well-defined level of expertise, theory supporting administration's role, and political pressures for professionalization; and resistance to change. A slow…

An analysis of the role and functions of the United Kingdom's newly-implemented Higher Education Statistics Agency looks at key features of the data collection and storage system, including its comprehensiveness, new record structure, capability for tracking individuals, data categories and coding, quality of data, and data accessibility. Despite…

International and comparative trends in higher education since the mid-1960s throughout the world are addressed in two essays, and a bibliography of some 7,000 works of higher education worldwide is presented. The essays were commissioned by the European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES), a decentralized unit of UNESCO. Philip G. Altbach's…