Taiwan's commercial high schools are 3-year institutions that students enter after successfully passing a rigorous vocational, technical, or commercial school admission examination. Although commercial high schools date from the early days of Japanese occupation in 1895, the modern-day Chinese commercial high school did not come into being until…

The participation of Australia's indigenous peoples in vocational education and training (VET) and the outcomes of their participation were examined in a national study that involved four major data collection activities: investigation of statistics in the national VET collection and results of the Graduate Destination Survey; review of literature…

This study examined publication trends in periodicals related to the study of higher education, examining articles on educational finance in seven leading periodicals from 1982 through 1993. A total of 98 articles on educational finance were identified. The study found that 51 percent of the articles were written by faculty, and that 81 percent…

This paper offers a comparative analysis of the organization of higher education research in Russia and the United States. It notes that in the United States higher education is generally viewed as a field of study, whereas in Russia higher education is considered to be an area of emphasis associated with individual disciplines. The paper first…

Taken from an international conference organized by the Swedish National Board of Universities and Colleges, the report consists of six overview papers, five reports from discussion groups, and a transcript of the concluding discussion. The conference was designed to allow an informal exchange between researchers and practitioners in the field of…

The emergence of interest in the quantitative, structural, and administrative aspects of higher education as a field of study is chronicled, and comparisons are made in the ways the institutional research field developed in the United States and Western Europe. (MSE)

A survey of Canadian universities identified six offering graduate students credit courses on university teaching/learning. Limited resources restrict the numbers who take the courses. Half are sponsored by graduate schools. Benefits of the courses are noted and factors to consider in initiating similar courses are suggested. (Author/MSE)

The Japanese university system has been evolving gradually from more traditional patterns to more modern ones in terms of increased efficiency and participation, as well as from an elite to a mass enrollment system. However, the basic patterns of control and decisionmaking have changed little. The universities have been able to resist intrusions…

We need conceptual assistance in thinking about access to higher education, systematic categories that will help us analyze and compare the national academic structures that condition problems of access and solutions thereto. An approach that centers on basic structure directs attention to the heavy historical momentum of massive systems of higher…

This annual report defines three broad areas in which the Southern Education Foundation supports research. The first looks to what kinds of teachers will be needed in the future; the second asks how our best thinking can be translated into effective action; and the third asks how seamless education can be. Programs subsumed under education and…

A special Research on Higher Education Program in Sweden is described, and a bibliography of approximately 450 studies of higher education and research is presented. Studies sponsored by the program cover four main fields: higher education and society; the content and organization of higher education; the research function; and the educational…

The history of universities in their social context is not a merely antiquarian study; it is the soundest basis for consideration of the contemporary university and its problems. The most frequent debate, that of the ivory tower, is really a question of the form and efficiency of the university's articulation with society at large. The…

A survey of Canadian agencies and institutions collecting materials on higher education is reported. Four problem areas are identified: definitions, collection policies, accessibility, and collection coordination. Further information exchange and the compilation of a more complete directory of collections are recommended. (MSE)

A study of Dutch universities from 1974-93 examined factors in the emergence of new academic programs and specializations, particularly the effects of government funding mechanisms (external factor) and level of paradigmatic development (internal factor), drawing on social exchange and resource dependency theory. Results indicate these two factors…

Examines concerns about teacher education's future in light of developing policies in England and Wales. The article calls the university a center for free, open, and independent inquiry, suggests that preservice education is the application of such inquiry, and notes that such inquiry is endangered by current policies and practices. (SM)