International Organizations And Higher Education Policy

Higher Education operates in an increasingly global context, and yet the examination of what drives and moves the field has remained largely focused on domestic campus leaders, national governments and institutional actors. International Organizations and Higher Education Policy expands the analysis to include the global drivers behind higher education policy, including a full array of influential organizations such as the World Bank, UNESCO, OECD, WTO, bilateral aid agencies and major private foundations. The significance of these organizations is especially pronounced in the developing world, where the expansion of higher education is happening in conjunction with the broadening influence of globalization. International Organizations and Higher Education Policy critically analyses the impact that these influential organizations have at different levels of policy development and implementation around the world. It examines their role in higher education institutions, examines the strength of these relationships, and exposes both the positive and negative implications. This edited volume is composed of scholars and members of these organizations from around the world. They address: How international organizations represent the interests of the developed world and subsequently have an impact on the developing world. How these organizations drive and shape the global agenda for higher education How higher education as an international industry is subject to a myriad of influences, from the international to the regional level What ethical issues emerge when international organizations intervene in national policy-making processes.

International Organizations and Higher Education Policy critically analyzes the impact influential organizations have at different levels of higher education policy development and implementation.

International organisations play an important role in the development of education around the world. The Role of International Organisations in Education provides an introductory background to the operation of organisations that have had a direct impact on educational policy.

Tremendous changes are affecting the structure and funding of higher education in many countries. This volume attempts to identify and analyze the principles, structural features and modes of work of the different higher education policies operating in eleven countries, as well as their commonalities and differences in the light of both general international trends and country-specific factors. In order to gather the relevant information for the project, national correspondents were provided with an overarching framework to guide them in their work and to ensure maximum comparability of the resulting reports. Each country report is broken down into four sections: the structure and goals of higher education systems; authority in the system; higher education policy; and the impact of each on institutional governance and management. The final chapter draws together the general trends which have emerged: a move towards less state control; a strengthening of institutional autonomy and increased governance; competition between institutions; privatization of funding; greater market orientation and growing institutional accountability for quality and service.

In this open access volume, the editors identify the trajectories and patterns displayed by education systems and investigate the causes of change from a global and historical perspective. The contributors argue that the emergence and development of education systems can be traced back to inherent national factors, as well as to the international diffusion of ideas. The research presented in this volume is a wide-ranging analysis and explanation of the dynamics of emergence, diffusion, and change in relation to state education systems. The chapters offer an empirical investigation into whether the global diffusion of Western-rational educational content and organizational forms occurs as expected by neoinstitutionalist theory, or whether culturally specific developmental paths dominate in different parts of the world. The book will be of interest to students and researchers in various social science disciplines, including social policy, education, sociology, political science, international relations, organizational theory, and economics.

What does it take to work for an international organization and to succeed there? How can universities prepare their students for a career in international organizations? Answers to these questions come from in-depth studies at selected international organizations (EU, OSCE, ESA, UNEP, World Bank) and a comparative survey of degree programs and professional schools in the United States and Europe. The results are of interest to human resources managers at international organizations, faculty and program managers at institutions of higher education, and last but not least to students who aim for a career in international public service.

Education policy-making has become a 'hot topic' in many industrialized countries today. Through initiatives by international organizations, such as the OECD's PISA study or the consequences of the GATS negotiations for the marketization in education, this policy field has moved up the political agenda. Few studies, however, have actually tackled these changes in a comprehensive way. This volume provides the most detailed overview of current phenomena in education policy-making and fills a major gap in the academic literature.

In recent years lifelong learning has become one of the most prominent education policy goals. This book shows how international organizations have promoted this idea and disseminated the need for it to countries all over the world. As a consequence of their activity, lifelong learning has become a central element of modern education policy.