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What Happened to the Soviet University? explores how one of the largest geopolitical changes of the twentieth century-- the dissolution of the Soviet Union-- triggered and inspired the reconfiguration of the Soviet university. The reader is invited to engage in a historical and sociological analysis of radical and incremental changes affecting sixty-nine former Soviet universities since the early 1990s. The study departs from traditional deficit-oriented, internalist explanations of change and illustrates how global flows of ideas, people, and finances have impacted higher education transformations in this region. It also identifies areas of persistence. The processes of marketisation, inter...
This volume revisits the book edited by David Phillips and Michael Kaser in 1992, entitled Education and Economic Change in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (https://doi.org/10.15730/books.42). Two and a half decades later, this volume reflects on how post-socialist countries have engaged with what Phillips & Kaser called ‘the flush of educational freedom’. Spanning diverse geopolitical settings that range from Southeast and Central Europe to the Caucasus and Central Asia, the chapters in this volume offer analyses of education policies and practices that the countries in this region have pursued since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This bo...
A human right to higher education was included in the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which came into force in 1976. Yet the world has changed significantly since the ICESCR was drafted. State legislation and policies have generally followed a neoliberal trajectory, shifting the perception of higher education from being a public good to being a commodity able to be bought and sold. This model has been criticized, particularly because it generally reinforces social inequality. At the same time, attaining higher education has become more important than ever before. Higher education is a prerequisite for many jobs and those who have attained higher educat...
"This book offers the first significant examination of the rise of neo-nationalism and its impact on the missions, activities, behaviors, and productivity of leading national universities. This book also presents the first major comparative exploration of the role of national politics and norms in shaping the role of universities in nation-states, and vice versa, and discusses when universities are societal leaders or followers-in promoting a civil society, facilitating talent mobility, in researching challenging social problems, or in reinforcing and supporting an existing social and political order"--
The higher education industry might seem like it’s booming, with over 200 million students in universities and colleges worldwide and funds flowing in like never before. But the truth is that these institutions have never been unhappier places to work. Corporate-style management, cost-cutting governments, mobilisations by angry students and strikes by a disgruntled workforce have taken their toll — in almost every country around the world. It’s no wonder that there is talk of ‘universities in crisis.’ But what should a ‘good university’ look like? In this inspiring new work, Raewyn Connell asks us to consider just that, challenging us to rethink the fundamentals of what universities do. Drawing on the examples offered by pioneering universities and educational reformers around the world, Connell outlines a practical vision for how our universities can become both more engaging and more productive places, driven by social good rather than profit, helping to build fairer societies.
This edited volume represents a collective contribution to the current debates on developing university research capacity. The chapters in this volume offer empirical case studies from post-Soviet countries which share a common history, common policies and practices of higher education. These commonalities make the regional focus meaningful and analytically valid. At the same time, the case studies demonstrate divergence from the shared Soviet tradition and offer historical, sociological, and political analyses of how and in what ways universities in former Soviet countries internalised their research mission and developed the capacity to carry out this mission. This volume is the first of its kind to examine national and institutional resources, political will, and individual agency to understand how these influenced universities’ motivation, expertise, and opportunities of undertaking research since the early 1990s, and how universities changed their structures and practices under these influences. The book will appeal to students and scholars in the fields of education, sociology, political science, and economics.
Education in Eastern Europe and Eurasia provides an essential reference resource to education development and key education issues in the region. Academics and researchers working closely in the field cover education and educational development in Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Israel. Each chapter provides an overview of the development of education in the particular country, focusing on contemporary education policies and some of the problems these countries face in implementing educational reform. The book also covers the social and political issues which impact on the education system and schooling and governments' responses to recent local, regional and global events.
This volume provides a critical perspective on the Soviet legacy of global competition and status anxiety in international higher education. Investigating tensions generated by the traditional power instruments of coercion, money and attraction, the book looks into the dynamics of multi-level forces that either advance progressive university policies and practices or lead to hyper-centralization, indoctrination and unfreedom of inquiry in higher education. The volume provides insights into political sources that champion the anxiety about superpower status over the agenda of social equality, fairness, and freedom in universities and their communities. The manuscript offers an excellent colla...
In an increasingly globalised educational landscape, this book examines whether the principle of educational equality can be applied across nation state borders. Exploring the tension between the theory of educational equality and the reality that most educational institutions are rooted in local communities and national frameworks, the author thus probes the consequences for institutions, individuals and communities as the number of international students grows exponentially. A topic that has previously received limited attention, the author draws upon theoretical literature and an empirical study of how universities in the United Kingdom conceptualise and promote principles of educational equality for international as compared with home students. This pioneering work will be interest and value to students and scholars of international education, international students, educational equality and globalisation, as well as practitioners and policy makers.
This book explores European student migration from the perspectives of Eastern European students moving to Western Europe for study. Whilst most research on student migration in Europe focuses on the experiences of Western European students, this book uniquely casts a light on Eastern European student migrants moving to the ‘West’. Mette Ginnerskov-Dahlberg deploys a novel approach to the subject by drawing on insights gleaned from a longitudinal study of master's students pursuing an education abroad and their multifaceted journeys after graduation. Thereby, she brings their narratives to life and highlights the changes and continuities they experienced over a period of seven years, fos...