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Course: Higher Education (8625) Semester: Autumn, 2021
Level: B.Ed
Assignment No.1
Q.1 Evaluate the nature, need and scope of higher education. Give references from your own context to support your views.
Ans
Higher education has never mattered so much and to so many as a means of social mobility, an engine of economic growth, and a defender of democracy. In order for higher education to fulfill its promise as a great equalizer, we need continued innovation that can move us toward increased access, affordability and equity.
Nature is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, Nature features peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and technology. It has core editorial offices across the United States, continental Europe, and Asia under the international scientific publishing company Springer Nature. Nature was one of the world’s most cited scientific journals by the Science Edition of the 2019 Journal Citation Reports (with an ascribed impact factor of 42.778),[1] making it one of the world’s most-read and most prestigious academic journals.[2][3][4] As of 2012, it claimed an online readership of about three million unique readers per month.[5]
Founded in autumn 1869, Nature was first circulated by Norman Lockyer and Alexander Macmillan as a public forum for scientific innovations. The mid-20th century facilitated an editorial expansion for the journal; Nature redoubled its efforts in explanatory and scientific journalism. The late 1980s and early 1990s created a network of editorial offices outside of Britain and established ten new supplementary, speciality publications (e.g. Nature Materials). Since the late 2000s, dedicated editorial and current affairs columns are created weekly, and electoral endorsements are featured. The primary source of the journal remains, as established at its founding, research scientists; editing standards are primarily concerned with technical readability. Each issue also features articles that are of general interest to the scientific community, namely business, funding, scientific ethics, and research breakthroughs. There are also sections on books, arts, and short science fiction stories.
The main research published in Nature consists mostly of papers (articles or letters) in lightly edited form. They are highly technical and dense, but, due to imposed text limits, they are typically summaries of larger work. Innovations or breakthroughs in any scientific or technological field are featured in the journal as either letters or news articles. The papers that have been published in this journal are internationally acclaimed for maintaining high research standards. Conversely, due to the journal’s exposure, it has at various times been a subject of controversy for its handling of academic dishonesty, the scientific method, and news coverage. Fewer than 8% of submitted papers are accepted for publication.[6] In 2007, Nature (together with Science) received the Prince of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanity.
Scope Research in Higher Education is directed to those concerned with the functioning of the post-secondary education, including two-year and four-year colleges, universities, and graduate and professional schools. It is of primary interest to institutional researchers and planners, faculty, college and university administrators, student personnel specialists and behavioral scientists. Generally, empirical studies are sought which contribute to an increased understanding of an institution or allow comparison between institutions, which aid faculty and administrators in making more informed decisions about current or future operations, and which improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the institution.
Increasing graduation rates and levels of educational attainment will accomplish little if students do not learn something of lasting value. Yet federal efforts over the last several years have focused much more on increasing the number of Americans who go to college than on improving the education they receive once they get there.
By concentrating so heavily on graduation rates and attainment levels, policy makers are ignoring danger signs that the amount that students learn in college may have declined over the past few decades and could well continue to do so in the years to come. The reasons for concern include:
- College students today seem to be spending much less time on their course work than their predecessors did 50 years ago, and evidence of their abilities suggests that they are probably learning less than students once did and quite possibly less than their counterparts in many other advanced industrial countries.
- Employers complain that many graduates they hire are deficient in basic skills such as writing, problem solving and critical thinking that college leaders and their faculties consistently rank among the most important goals of an undergraduate education.
- Most of the millions of additional students needed to increase educational attainment levels will come to campus poorly prepared for college work, creating a danger that higher graduation rates will be achievable only by lowering academic standards.
- More than two-thirds of college instructors today are not on the tenure track but are lecturers serving on year-to-year contracts. Many of them are hired without undergoing the vetting commonly used in appointing tenure-track professors. Studies indicate that extensive use of such instructors may contribute to higher dropout rates and to grade inflation.
- States have made substantial cuts in support per student over the past 30 years for public colleges and community colleges. Research suggests that failing to increase appropriations to keep pace with enrollment growth tends to reduce learning and even lower graduation rates. While some college leaders are making serious efforts to improve the quality of teaching, many others seem content with their existing programs. Although they recognize the existence of problems affecting higher education as a whole, such as grade inflation or a decline in the rigor of academic standards, few seem to believe that these difficulties exist on their own campus, or they tend to attribute most of the difficulty to the poor preparation of students before they enroll.
Seven things that could help you promote good research integrity, and contribute to
improving research culture:
1. Small steps can make a big difference
Facilitating open discussions can help foster a more collaborative environment, by giving researchers the chance to share their experiences of not only their successes, but also their “failures”. This helps to build respect and trust within the research team, by talking openly and giving support when things don’t always go right. The Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, based at the University of Bristol, have a range of different communication channels to support their work, with one focused specifically on “triumph and disaster”, which dispels the assumption that senior academics have had continuous successes to get to their esteemed positions.
- Establishing support systems can boost morale and enhance a positive research
Providing and promoting career counselling, coaching and support services available to staff may help to reduce pressures within a research environment, which is imperative to staff well-being. This can help in limiting stress and time pressures, and connect researchers to other resources available at their institution, such as forms for deadline extensions, assistance programmes, career services and mental health and well-being services. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center provides a career-counselling service solely to their scientists, providing the opportunity to discuss their career paths and the steps they need to take to progress. - Ensure everyone is on the same page
Research teams could openly discuss, amend and build on existing guidelines, to develop a consensus on their collective and individual behaviours and attitudes. This could be used to develop a group standard or pledge, ensuring all team members are aware of what is expected in the research environment. This helps to enhance a positive culture by refining standards and “norms”. The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park developed a code of good scientific practice, which sets out the expectations of individuals and the collective research team. - Research culture “cafes” are an excellent way to share best practice
Encourage researchers and support staff to find time and space to meet to share ideas and experiences. By involving other departments, institutions and sectors, discussions can focus on improving research integrity and culture, to share best practice on what has worked, what hasn’t and its impact. The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park is one example of where this has been put into practice.
Q.2 Explain different modes applicable to the universities? Which mode do you think is the most appropriate in Pakistani Context and why?
Ans
Modes of Study
Our courses fit your lifestyle. Find out what all the different modes of study are and what they mean: full time, part time, distance, and more.
Full time study
Full time means you spend the full amount of hours per week on your programme of study. Almost all courses are available full time.
Part time study
Part time means you spend fewer hours per week on your programme of study. Sometimes part time hours are during nights and/or weekends to accommodate those who work full time. Many courses are available both full time and part time, so you can get the same degree if you wish to study only part time hours.
Distance Learning
Distance learning is for students who perfer to study on their own at home. At the beginning of the course, you receive self-paced, self-instructional learning materials, either hard copies or via the internet. You meet their tutor and other students occasionally for workshops and tutorials.
Classroom Based Learning
Classroom based programmes take place both on NUI Galway’s campus and at our outreach locations. Classroom based learning is part time and combines time in the classroom with time spent alone studying and doing project work.
Blended Learning
Blended learning is an extension of distance learning. It’s a combination of self-instructional learning materials , traditional face-to-face lectures and workshops, online discussions, self-assessment activities, assignments and formal examinations.
Returning to Learning
Returning to learning is for students starting late on their education or who have had an interruption in their education. You must be over 23 years of age and you can apply to NUI Galway as a mature student.
Q.3 Critically examine the role of Higher Education Commission in the development and growth of higher education in Pakistan.
Ans
The Higher Education Commission (colloquially known as HEC) is a statutory body formed by the government of Pakistan which was established in 2002 under the Chairmanship of Atta-ur-Rahman. Its main functions are funding, overseeing, regulating and accrediting the higher education institutions in the country.
The Higher Education Commission (colloquially known as HEC) is a statutory body formed by the government of Pakistan which was established in 2002 under the Chairmanship of Atta-ur-Rahman. Its main functions are funding, overseeing, regulating and accrediting the higher education institutions in the country. It was established in 1974 as University Grants Commission (UGC) and came into its modern form in 2002 after Atta-ur-Rahman’s reforms, which received international praise. The commission is responsible for formulating higher education policy and quality assurance to meet the international standards as well as providing accrediting academic degrees, development of new institutions and uplift of existing institutions in Pakistan.[4]
The commission also facilitated the development of higher educational system in the country with main purpose of upgrading the universities and degree awarding institutes in the country to be focal point of the high learning of education, research and development. Over several years, it plays an important and leading role towards building a knowledge based economy in Pakistan by giving out hundreds of doctoral scholarships for education abroad every year.
1947–1971: Genesis and development
At the time of establishment of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, the country had only one institution of higher learning, University of the Punjab and among forty colleges expanded to four provinces of Pakistan.[6] Education policy revised by Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan, the government established various universities and colleges in all over the country. The same year, Mohammad Ali Jinnah held a National Education Conference (also known as Pakistan Education Conference) of academicians and state holders to revise the policy of higher education in the country, as he stated:
… The importance of education and the type of education cannot be over-emphasized … There is no doubt that the future of our state of Pakistan will and must greatly depend upon the type of education we give to our children and the way in which we bring them up as future citizens of Pakistan…. We should not forget that we have to compete with the world which is moving very fast in this direction.
Many recommendations were directed and accepted by the government to established the University Grants Commission as a federal regulatory institution in.[8] Efforts led by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy led to the imposition of Soviet-oriented first five-year plans which explained the first official education policy in 1956.[9] The first plan was an attempt to make education development suitable for the socio-economic development in the country.
In the 1960s, the financial policies and economic programs introduced by President of Pakistan Ayub Khan greatly emphasized to importance of higher education in the country.[10] A significant proportion of the budget was actually spent to promote higher education efforts in the country.[10] Thesis written by Usman Ali Isani pointed out that 912 million rupees were spent annually for the fiscal period of 1960–65 in a joint collaboration led by Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (the then called Ministry of Education), University Grants Commission and Planning Commission.[10] Colleges were transformed into full-scale research universities and special research institutes were established in all over the country.[10] According to the calculations performed by the Statistics Division and published by Isani, around 430,000 students were enrolled in different universities to pursue their higher education over the fiscal period of 1960–65.[10] From 1965 to 1971, the government spent 173.8 million rupees on the education sector as opposed to actual allocations of ₨. 278.6 million.
1971-2000s:Revision and policies
After the 1971 war with India which saw the separation of East Pakistan as Bangladesh, the new education policy was announced with the implementation of nationalization program in 1972, by the Pakistan Peoples Party.[11] Under this policy, all two-year colleges were transformed to university status under the state-controlled policy; privatized universities were nationalized. During this time, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had spent 70% of natural resources on higher education efforts; enrollment in the universities increased to 56%.[11] Prime Minister Bhutto’s period saw the sought to integrated social change; thus economic progress through nationalization.[10] In 1974, University Grants Commission was officially established by the act of parliament.[12]
In 1979, President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq‘s policies announced “The National Education Policy, 1979” (NEP-79) which saw the harmonization of higher education in Pakistan with Islamic concepts and the national ideology.[10] President Zia’s policies led to the fundamentalist ideas flaring in the higher education system in the country.[10] In 1992, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a “National Education Policy 1992” (NEP-92) to streamline the process of higher education.[10] This was followed by the Eighth Plan launched by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1993 which focused on primary education.
Q.4 Critically discuss different function of universities. Elaborate the nature and need of every function with the help of examples from Pakistan context.
Ans
The main functions of higher education and universities are predominantly two-fold. One is as educational establishments and the second as generators of knowledge and technology. As educational establishments, their function is to provide able, self-directed learners that are independent and confident, and will go out into society and give to society through leadership or through civic duties. As knowledge generators, they are research institutions there to provide new knowledge, to change paradigms, to aid society in its development and in meeting new challenges as they come along.
Professor Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds: The main function of the university, really, is to make a significant contribution to civil society. Obviously, the education that we provide to our students, preparing them for their contribution to society is a key function. We create new knowledge. That is a key and important part of any research-led intensive university. The link between the two is particularly important to us here at the University of Leeds. We think they feed off each other, and of course, interpreting all of that into things that are of use, and that have an impact on society. Those, to me, would be the key functions of any university.
Obviously, the education that we provide to our students, preparing them for their contribution to society is a key function. We create new knowledge. That is a key and important part of any research-led intensive university.
How can higher education best serve the interests of the national community?
Professor Eric Thomas: By supplying it with a substantial output of skilled, educated, independent, self-directed learners who are going to be confident leaders in society, in all of its areas. The second thing that higher education can do is provide new technologies and new knowledge that will help society deal with the issues that it’s facing. And of course, in the local community, higher education is now hugely important as an economic, social and cultural powerhouse.
Professor Michael Arthur: Now, in 2011, we need to help drive forward the economy of the nation, and I think investment in us, in terms of funding for our teaching and also funding for our research, translates into highly skilled graduates that contribute to the economy and also to research that in turn leads on to innovation. One can point to several major discoveries that were disruptive and led to major economic developments from British research-intensive universities, and that’s exactly where we see ourselves.
What changes would you make to higher education to increase its relevance to society?
Professor Eric Thomas: I think the most important change that we could make to higher education to increase its roles in society is to be increasingly sensitive to the needs of the students, and the skill sets that they will require to face the challenges that they’re going to go out into in society. I mean, previously, our pedagogy was probably not as student-centred as it should be. Our students are now very aware of what’s going to be needed from them in the future, and the skill sets that they’re going to need, and I think we have to come along side them in our education, giving them those skill sets.
Professor Michael Arthur: The changes I’d make to higher education would have to include some very careful thinking about the funding structures, whether or not they provide the right incentives, and whether or not they provide adequate resource. That’s a key set of issues. It’s a set of issues that we’ve been heavily involved in discussion with our government about. I do absolutely feel that investment in higher education is an incredibly important thing to do, probably more important at a time of poor economic growth. So I think investment into teaching will help us produce those graduates that our economy needs. We’re crying out, aren’t we, for engineers and scientists, for example. Also, investment into the research base. I’m not very keen on changing structures. I don’t think that necessarily helps. Universities are about the people that are in them, what they do, the conditions that they find creative, so creating conditions that promote creativity are the sort of things that I would emphasise as being crucially important.
Special needs
A special need is a challenge that interferes with one’s learning. It requires support that goes beyond the norm.
There are different types of special needs and challenges. For instance, there are learning, developmental, behavioural, and physical challenges. Moreover, these challenges can differ in their severity, or in how much they impair learning.
Click here to view a list of special needs schools
Special education
Special education is for students who have challenges or disabilities that can interfere with their learning.
Normally, students who meet this criterion have needs that can’t be met in a regular classroom. Learning environments, teaching approaches, and curricula may need to be adapted to support them. This tailored approach isn’t normally offered in general education.
Not every student is entitled to a special education, though. To qualify, your child must have an identifiable disability. And this disability must interfere with their school performance.
In Canada (as well as the US and Britain), students with a disability can receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP spells out a child’s learning needs, services the school will provide, and how progress will be measured. The IEP is a legally binding document: a school must provide everything it promises in the IEP.
Canada has an inclusive approach to special education. Every child with a special need has a right to free public education. Most of the funding for this is allocated at the provincial or local level.
However, not all public schools in Canada have special education programs. Private schools in Canada also vary in their special needs programs and support. Like public schools, though, many provide well-designed programs for kids with different kinds of special needs.
Below, we break down the types of special needs support provided by private schools profiled on OurKids.net.
Q.5 Explain the higher education system in Japan. What are the major implications of this system for higher education system of Pakistan.?
Ans
The higher education system in Japan is an integral part of the country’s culture and political status. In fact, the academic accomplishments of students in Japan are the highest in the country and in the world. For that reason, the ministry of education controls public policy and management and organization in Japan.
Higher education in Japan is provided at universities junior colleges of technology and special training schools and community colleges Of these four types of institutions, only universities and junior colleges are strictly considered postsecondary education providers.[1] The modern Japanese higher education system has undergone numerous changes since the Meiji period and was largely modeled after Western countries such as Germany, France, Britain, and the United States with traditional Japanese pedagogical elements to create a unique Japanese model to serve its national needs.[2][3] The Japanese higher education system differs from higher education in most other countries in many significant ways. Key differences include the method of acceptance, which relies almost entirely on one or two tests, as opposed to the usage of GPAs or percentages or other methods of assessment and evaluation of prospective applicants used in Western countries. As students only have one chance to take this test each year, there is an enormous amount of pressure to do well on this test, and the majority of senior high school education is dedicated to doing well on this single test. Japanese students are faced with immense pressure to succeed academically from their parents, teachers, peers, and society. This is largely a result of a society that has long placed a great amount of importance on higher education, and a system that places all of its weight upon a single examination that has significant life-long consequences towards one’s socioeconomic status, promising marriage prospects, and a respectable white-collar professional career path.
Another major difference is graduate school, as very few non-science undergraduate students go to graduate school in Japan. This is because graduate schools for non-science students are generally considered useful only to those who want to work in academia. This has changed a little since the turn of the 21st century. The law has changed to require those who want to become lawyers to attend a graduate school the Japanese government has designated a law school. Previously, lawyers only had to pass the bar exam, which undergraduate students could take. Major universities have also opened business schools, though few Japanese students attend these because most Japanese corporations still don’t regard graduate students as much more qualified than undergraduate students. For this reason, they are mostly attended by foreign students from neighboring East Asian countries, particularly South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Unlike higher education in some other countries, public universities are generally regarded as more prestigious than private universities, especially the National Seven Universities (University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Tohoku University, Kyushu University, Hokkaido University, Osaka University, and Nagoya University).
As the Japanese economy is largely scientific and technological based, the labor market demands people who have achieved some form of higher education, particularly related to science and engineering in order to gain a competitive edge when searching for employment. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the percentage of Japanese going on to any higher education institution in the eighteen-year-old cohort was 80.6 percent, with 52.6 percent of students going on to a university, 4.7 percent to a junior college, 0.9 percent to a college of technology and the remaining 22.4 percent attending a correspondence school, the University of the Air or a specialized training college.
The modern Japanese higher education system was adapted from a number of methods and ideas inspired from Western education systems that were integrated with their traditional Shinto, Buddhist, and Confucianist pedagogical philosophies. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, many major reforms were introduced in the field of higher education across Japan, which contributed to individual work of students as well as the nation’s overall originality, creativity, individuality, identity, and internationalization of higher education. Plunging itself through an active process of Westernization during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan sought to revitalize its entire education system, especially at the higher education level to transmit Western knowledge for modern industrialization. Many Japanese students were sent abroad to Europe to study as were a number of foreign scholars from Western countries were introduced to Japan as well.[3] During the 1880s, Japan sought to search for a higher education system prototype to model in order to suit its national needs. In 1881, the government decided to convert its institutional model, influenced from a variety of Western countries such as Great Britain, the United States and France, to a strictly German model as the Prussian-oriented model of higher education greatly interested the Meiji government at the time.[2]
Germany served as the largest inspiration for the modern Japanese higher education system, as German universities were regarded as one of the most innovative in all of Europe in addition to 19th-century Germany being close to Japan in its goals for industrialization. Furthermore, the Meiji government greatly admired the German government bureaucracy, largely dominated by law school graduates, and it sought to absorb the German prototype into the unique Japanese model. Inspired by the American, British, and French models on top of a predominantly-German prototype, its modern higher education system became a catalyzing impetus that propelled Japan’s development as a major world power during the late 19th and the early 20th centuries.[2]
At the higher education level, Japan sought to incorporate a number of higher education ideas to suit its national needs. Many books, manuscripts, and documents from the West were translated and foreign professors were common during the Meiji era to disseminate Western knowledge in the arts and sciences as well as Western pedagogical teaching methods. For a modern university model, Japan incorporated many Prussian elements found in that of Germany as the German Empire at the time was similar to Japan in terms of goals for colonial expansion and national development. The German model continued to inspire the Japanese higher education system until the end of World War I. During the American occupation of World War II, Japan incorporated higher education ideas developed in the United States to modernize its higher education for the contemporary era. The contemporary Japanese higher education system now boasts elements incorporated from the United States on top of its European origins.[3] The expansion and development of modern higher education in Japan has contributed to its economic growth after World War II which continued on until the late 1980s.