Age and ageing in higher education: exploring the benefits and costs of higher education distribution over the lifecourse

On 5 December, Professor Tom Schuller, Director of Longview, a UK ‘think-tank’ promoting the value of longitudinal and lifecourse research, delivered a lecture entitled Changing demographics of higher education: policy implications for research, teaching and learning. This was the seventh in a lecture series hosted by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) DCU, with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA). The welcome address was given by the President of DCU Professor Brian MacCraith. The event was chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, with participants and expert panellists Professor Brendan Whelan, Research Advisor, the Longitudinal study on ageing (TILDA), Professor Mark Morgan, Cregan Professor of Education and Psychology, St Patrick’s College Drumcondra and Trudy Corrigan, Lecturer in the School of Educational Studies and DCU Intergenerational Learning Programme Coordinator.

Professor Mark Morgan, Trudy Corrigan, Professor Brendan Whelan, Professor Maria Slowey, Professor Tom Schuller, Professor Brian MacCraith

At the times of economic uncertainty, public concerns and youth unemployment, a strong case should be made for a lifecourse perspective with its focus on both individual and societal wellbeing. This was an opening remark of Professor Schuller. The demographics, as the overall theme of the lecture was approached from two angles: i) ageing of population and its overall impact on higher education, ii) sociological implications of ageing on universities as expressed in changing patterns of gender enrolment trends, access policy and curriculum provision. Reflecting on massification of higher education Professor Schuller remarked that, while an investment in education is considered to be a good thing on the individual level, there are at least three important questions that arise. These include the ‘lag’ question (change in relative advantage), the distribution question (of benefits and costs of higher education) and the generation question (issues of equality, efficiency and tension)’.

Speaking of ageing and higher education Prof. Tom Schuller highlighted that the current focus should not be just on older students but also consider the lifecourse as a whole. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to explore issues around paid/unpaid work across the lifecourse, family systems and the extent of their provision of financial and caring supports to both older and younger relatives and, new understandings of pathways from one life stage to another. Supporting his last point Professor Schuller has given an example of an alternative mapping of the key lifecourse transition stages. To note, this was also one of the recommendations of his recent co-authored publication Learning Through Life, namely a proposed new model of ‘educational lifecourse’: ‘up to 25’, ‘25-50’, ’50-75’ and ‘75+’ years. Reflecting on this important Report, Prof. Schuller raised another question: Considering the current trends of younger people staying longer in education and staying at home, could one of the priorities be rethinking the employment regarding the work entry?

The theme gender and higher education was the second identified in the talk. The speaker has argued that one of the broad social trends relates to ‘performance’ - the fact that the women make up of the most of entrants and graduates of higher education institutions in OECD countries. Additionally, young women seem to be more likely than men to finish upper secondary education in every OECD country (with the exception of Germany and Switzerland). In turn, the monetary ‘reward’ of completing the higher education seems to be higher for men across a number of OECD countries.      

Speaking of the general challenges and issues facing higher education nationally and abroad in the times of demographic changes, Professor Tom Schuller spoke of ‘rebalancing’ of resources over the lifecourse and possible changes in curriculum content and provision to match demographics. He concluded the event stressing that research on transitions and trajectories of people over their lifecourse to understand patterns and variation is now high on the agenda, in addition to a need of a greater experimentation in the use of the human capital in the workplace.

Professor Tom Schuller is currently Director of Longview, a UK ‘think-tank’ promoting the value of longitudinal and lifecourse research, and a consultant on social and educational research. He is a visiting Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London and the Institute of Education; a Senior Research Fellow with the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education; Research Associate with SKOPE (University of Oxford); and a Visiting Research Fellow with the UK Commission on Employment and Skills.    

Changing demographics of higher education: policy implications for research, teaching and learning

HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHALLENGING TIMES: QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONED

Professor Tom Schuller, Director of Longview, London
Monday 5 December
12.00 to 14.00 (Tea and coffee from 11.30, light lunch available after seminar)
Gallery Room, The Helix, DCU
[Seminar Flyer PDF]

The main speaker for this event is Professor Tom Schuller. Professor Schuller is Director of Longview, a 'think-tank' promoting longitudinal and lifecourse research, and a consultant on social and educational research. From 2008-2010 Tom directed the independent Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning, sponsored by the UK's National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. With Sir David Watson, he co-published the Inquiry's main report, Learning Through Life, in September 2009 to a warm reception from researchers and from all political parties. From 2003-2008 he was Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) at OECD, with responsibility for CERI's projects relating to some 30 countries. Before that Tom was Dean of the Faculty of Continuing Education and Professor of Lifelong Learning at Birkbeck, University of London; and co-director of the Research Centre on the Wider Benefits of Learning. He chairs the Governing Board of the Working Men's College in London, Europe's oldest adult education institute. He is a Visiting Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London and the Institute of Education; a Senior Research Fellow with the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education; Research Associate with SKOPE (University of Oxford); and a Visiting Research Fellow with the UK Commission on Employment and Skills.

ABSTRACT
Almost all OECD countries have ageing populations. This has major implications for education and lifelong learning, some of which are more obvious than others. Professor Schuller will argue that the implications are not only to do with how to cater for the learning needs of older people. We need a fresh look at the lifecourse as a whole, and the relationships between age groups and generations. We also need to take more seriously the research challenges - and opportunities - posed by such a fresh look.

The lecture will be introduced by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU with expert panellists Professor Brendan Whelan, Research Advisor, the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and previously Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Professor Mark Morgan, Cregan Professor of Education and Psychology, St Patrick's College Drumcondra and DCU and Acting Director 'Growing up in Ireland' and Trudy Corrigan, Lecturer in the School of Education Studies DCU and DCU Intergenerational Learning Programme Coordinator.

There is no fee for attendance, but booking is required as places are limited to facilitate discussion. A light lunch will be provided. Please confirm your attendance for this event by registering at the following page
http://www4.dcu.ie/ovpli/herc/tom_schuller_register.shtml

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HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHALLENGING TIMES: QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONED is a lecture series organised by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) at DCU and co-sponsored by the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA) and the Higher Education Authority

IHERD - OECD Programme on Innovation, Higher Education and Research for Development

IHERD (Innovation, Research and Higher Education for Development) is a recently launched four-year OECD programme supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). The main objective is to increase strategic and coherent investments in innovation, higher education and research relevant to development on a global level.

Advisory Committee and Secretariat of IHERD

The programme spans two Divisions within OECD: the Country Studies and Outlook (CSO) Division in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (DSTI) and the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) in the Education Directorate (EDU). The work of IHERD is supported by an International Advisory Committee, of which Professor Maria Slowey from DCU is a member.

‘The primary objective of the IHERD programme is to increase the policy relevance of research and to promote evidence-based policy making in higher education, research and innovation for development. This will be achieved through stimulating a shift in the research agenda by reviewing existing research, by commissioning new research and by fostering links with leading researchers and research institutions in the IHERD field.’ (OECD Programme on Innovation, Higher Education and Research for Development, 2011).

‘Has the state really retreated from direct regulatory interventions in higher education in exchange for ‘steering from a distance’- or is the emperor only changing his clothes?’

This was the central question posed on 3 October by Professor Dirk Van Damme, Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) of OECD in his lecture Governing Higher Education: the limits of public regulation and institutional autonomy in a connected world. This event was the sixth in a lecture series hosted by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) DCU, with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA). The welcome address and introduction was given by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU and the lecture was followed by discussion chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, with inputs from Tom Boland, Chief Executive of the HEA, Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa and participants drawn from the policy community, researchers and higher education leaders.

Working out the balance between state regulation and institutional autonomy is an important topic internationally for universities and other higher education institutions. The debate is particularly lively just now when higher education is going through a period of major reforms (including the Bologna Process, EU’s Lisbon Agenda, EU2020, and the EC’s modernisation policy). It can be argued that, on one hand, universities are social institutions supported to a significant extent by public funds and therefore, should be accountable. But on the other hand, universities have a number of distinctive missions which require a high degree of autonomy from the state. Speaking of the general trends in the state policy developments internationally, Professor Van Damme drew attention to a series of new policy instruments-output funding, quality assurance, accreditation and accountability- are more likely to increase state regulatory intervention in higher education research and innovation policies. This is primarily evidenced by initiation of reforms on performance-oriented funding, increased competition and introduction of accreditation processes.

Dr Pat Phelan, Associate Registrar, University of Limerick posing a question to (R to L) Professor Dirk Van Damme, Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) of OECD, Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, Tom Boland, Chief Executive of the HEA and Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa

Elaborating on the notion of a ‘distant state’ Prof. Dirk Van Damme stressed that ‘public policy rationales for state intervention and regulation have become very powerful in an age where higher education has moved to the centre of gravity in modern knowledge societies’. These rationales are indeed very well known - ‘massification’ of higher education, the notion of contribution of research and innovation to countries’ economic growth and the role of higher education in social progress.

Why have public policies in higher education remained so strong and interventionist? The reasons in his view are that higher education remains a public policy field precisely because the stakes are so high ‘that no government is willing to allow universities to depart from public policy objectives which are seen as crucial for a nation’s future prosperity and progress. Effective and equitable systems of knowledge production, knowledge transfer and knowledge distribution are key to societies’ progress’. But also, Professor Van Damme continued, it is essential that universities continue to use the opportunity for autonomy in effective and productive ways. He further identified some of the areas where institutional autonomy could be more strongly exercised: academic staff policies, human resource, research priority setting and programme and curriculum development. Highlighting the profound consequences of state regulation on higher education research agenda, government and leadership, Dirk Van Damme spoke of the need to increase an institutional ‘connectedness’, to develop strong strategic leadership and vision and developed the concept of ‘network governance ‘.

Professor Van Damme is currently Head of CERI (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation) in the Directorate for Education at the OECD in Paris, where he is also responsible for the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). He holds a PhD degree in educational sciences from Ghent University and has been professor of educational sciences in the same university (since 1995). He has been professionally involved in educational policy development in a range of senior roles at European and national levels including, deputy director of the cabinet of the Flemish Minister of Education.

SAGE/EERA early research career award for Dr Ekaterina Kozina, a HERC postdoctoral researcher

The EERA (European Educational Research Association) comprises more than 20 national and regional Educational Research Associations from all parts of Europe. Each year EERA awards a small number of scholarships to support talented new researchers to attend the annual European Conference on Educational Research (ECER).

This year, SAGE Publishing supported one of these competitive scholarships. Following a three-stage selection process, the SAGE-funded Conference Bursary was awarded to Dr. Ekaterina Kozina, a postdoctoral researcher in the Higher Education Research Centre, Office of the Vice-President for Learning Innovation, Dublin City University.

The winner was honoured in the Opening Ceremony of the Annual Conference on Educational Research Early Researchers’ Conference on 12 September in Freie Universität, Berlin at which Ekaterina presented her paper: “Towards a Sociology of Teacher Socialisation: National Study into First Year Professional Experiences of Primary Teachers”.

EERA was founded in 1994 with the purposes of:

• encouraging collaboration amongst educational researchers in Europe,
• promoting communication between educational researchers and international governmental organisations such as the EU, Council of Europe, OECD and UNESCO,
• disseminating the findings of educational research and highlighting their contribution to policy and practice.

Colloquium on Lifelong Learners in Higher Education, University of Western Cape, 1-2 September

Increasing numbers of students have to seek employment opportunities in order to support themselves; they are enrolled either as ‘full-time’ or ‘part-time’ students, attending classes in the cracks of their work, community and family lives. They may attend in the day-time, after-hours, or in block periods. They are juggling multiple responsibilities of home, work and studies. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are often not equipped to support them adequately. The purpose of the colloquium was to understand the issues of working, ‘non-traditional’ students more deeply and raise questions about ways in which HEIs, both locally and internationally, are responding to their needs in order to promote and support lifelong learners.

Professor Brian O'Connell, Rector, University of Western Cape, Professor Maria Slowey, DCU, and Dr George Openjuru, Dean, School of Distance and Lifelong Learning at the launch of a Colloquium on 'Lifelong Learners in Higher Education', University of Western Cape, 1-2 September.

This colloquium brought together researchers, policy makers, employers and practitioners over two days on 1 and 2 September 2011 and was hosted by Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division of Lifelong Learning in the University of Western Cape (UWC). The first day took the form of an extended lunch time public lecture by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development from Dublin City University, Ireland, who situated the issues in wider international contexts in her paper Lifelong Learners in Higher Education: International Trends.

The second day focused on one critical aspect of the topic, that is,  Lifelong Learners and part-time studies in Higher Education. This included experiences from students, institutional case studies, debates, and discussions both from South Africa and further afield. The two case studies were of Makerere University, Uganda, which was led by Dr George Openjuru, Dean, School of Distance and Lifelong Learning, and UWC, which was led by Jos Koetsier, DLL and Ms Sally Witbooi, Library and Information Systems, UWC. Rapporteurs from various sectors, included Ms Lynne du Toit, CEO, Juta (Publishing) and Co. Ltd, Mr Mark Espin, Student and Lecturer, Dr Mark Abrahams, UWC with a final summing up by Brian Williams, Chair of the Council of UWC.

This colloquium also served to promote collaboration between Dublin City University and the University of Western Cape in South Africa and to enhance existing research links between Professor Maria Slowey, Higher Education Research and Development, DCU and Professor Shirley Walters, Director of the Division for Lifelong Learning, University of Western Cape, South Africa. Professor Walters will visit DCU to participate as an expert panellist in the forthcoming HERC seminar on 3 October at the Helix in DCU. The main speaker for this event is Professor Dirk Van Damme, Head of CERI who will present a lecture entitled 'Governing higher education: the limits of public regulation and institutional autonomy in a connected world'. For more information on this event please visit our seminar page.

Date for your diary - 3rd October 2011

The next event in the seminar series HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHALLENGING TIMES: QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONED will take place on Monday 3rd October, 2011 in the Helix at DCU.

Professor Dirk Van Damme will give a presentation followed by a panel discussion and audience questions. Professor Dirk Van Damme is head of CERI (Centre for Education Research and Innovation ) at OECD . We will post the time, lecture title, abstract and panellist names as these become available.

Reform of higher education in the Atlantic Isles: ‘like watching a slow motion car crash’?

On 16 May, Professor Sir Peter Scott, Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, London delivered a lecture Higher Education Reform in the Atlantic Isles: Similarities and Differences. This event was the fifth in a lecture series hosted by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) DCU, with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA). The welcome address was given by the President of DCU Professor Brian MacCraith. The event was chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, with participants and expert panellists Dr Mary Canning, Deputy-Chair of the HEA, Professor Mike Grenfell, Chair (1905) of Education and Head of School, Trinity College Dublin, and Professor Richard O’Kennedy, Vice-President for Learning Innovation, DCU and current Chair of the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance.

Professor Richard O'Kennedy, Vice-President for Learning Innovation, DCU, Dr Mary Canning, Deputy Chair, HEA, Professor Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London, Professor Mike Grenfell, Head of School of Education, TCD, Professor Maria Slowey, Director, Higher Education Research and Development, DCU

Peter Scott set the scene for the comparative perspective by outlining the structure of the higher education systems in Ireland and the four jurisdictions of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Of particular interest is the fact that all five recently launched major policy reform initiatives: National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 (Republic of Ireland, 2011), Building a Smarter Future: Towards a Sustainable Scottish Solution for the Future of Higher Education (Scotland, 2010), Review of Higher Education in Wales (Wales, 2009), Consultation Document on the Development of a Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland, 2011), Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education (Browne Report) (England, 2010) and New Coalition Government’s Proposals (England, 2010).

The almost simultaneous publication of these important reports raises a number of key questions. “To what extent do the commonalities (past and present) of these five higher education systems limit the scope for different solutions to similar problems? Are these different solutions best explained in terms of national or structural differences? Are these general lessons about processes of HE reform can be applied more widely?”

Peter Scott identified drivers of change and reform of higher education at three different levels. First, the generic drivers, which apply across all five systems, including, in particular those associated with the ‘massification’ of higher education. Second, important mid-range/regional drivers, which are common to all five systems, such as language and similar higher education governance structures. Third, specific drivers, which are distinctive to each system, including differences in scale and wider political cultures.

Internationalisation was one of nine themes identified in the talk. International engagement was particularly highlighted in the Irish National Strategy (Hunt Report) document and Peter Scott emphasised key points to keep in mind are the maintenance of quality of teaching and learning experience and appropriate supports for international students.

Speaking of the general lessons about processes of higher education reforms that can be applied more widely, Peter Scott highlighted that, as always, a combination of deep structural factors in each of the countries and regions set the context for development and change in higher education systems. Concluding his presentation, Peter Scott stressed the importance of comparative studies of higher education for both policy and practice.

Sir Peter Scott, is Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, London. Prior to that Professor Sir Peter Scott was Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University from January 1998 to December 2010, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, and Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement. He has published extensively in the field of higher education.

Higher Education Reform in the Atlantic Isles

Professor Sir Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London

Monday 16 May 2011
12.00 to 14.00 (Tea & coffee served from 11.30)
The Helix, DCU

The main speaker for this event is Sir Peter Scott , Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, London. Professor Sir Peter Scott was Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University from January 1998 to December 2010. Previously he was Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Education at the University of Leeds. He was also the Director of the Centre for Policy Studies in Education and Chair of UALL (Universities Association for Lifelong Learning). From 1976 to 1992 he was Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement. Before that he was a reporter and then a leader writer for The Times. In January 2011 Professor Sir Peter Scott joined the Institute of Education as Professor of Higher Education Studies.
Professor Scott will present a lecture entitled 'Higher Education Reform in the Atlantic Isles'. The lecture will be introduced by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU and followed by an open discussion chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research, DCU, with participants and expert panellists Professor Mike Grenfell, Chair (1905) of Education and Head of School, Trinity College Dublin, Dr. Mary Canning, previously of the World Bank Higher Education Division and Professor Richard O'Kennedy, Vice-President for Learning Innovation, DCU and current Chair of the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance.

Please feel free to forward this flyer to interested colleagues. There is no fee for attendance, but booking is required as places are limited to facilitate discussion. A light lunch will be provided. RSVP to: HERC@dcu.ie.

‘Igniting Potential’ – New Zealand approach to innovative policies and strategies in research development - Di McCarthy

On Monday 7 March, Dr Di McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand delivered a lecture at the Royal Irish Academy entitled R&D – The New Zealand Way: Funding and Prioritisation in Higher Education. This event was jointly hosted by the Royal Irish Academy and the Higher Education Research Centre, Dublin City University. It was chaired by Professor Nicolas Canny, President of the Royal Irish Academy, and introduced by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development at DCU and coordinator of the seminar series Higher education in challenging times: questioning the unquestioned.

Professor Nicholas Canny, President of the Royal Irish Academy introducing Dr Di McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand and Professor Maria Slowey, Director Higher Education Research and Development, DCU

Dr McCarthy, previously Professor and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Equality) at Auckland University, commenced with reference to the long and proud history of tertiary education in New Zealand. Since the establishment of the first university just about 140 years ago, the universities became key contributors to New Zealand’s social and economic well-being. But numerous changes are taking place in this small island state, including: the search for more business investment, the need for available research funding to be used more effectively, support for fundamental research, increasing international connections and settling new priorities for higher education. In the course of her lecture, Di McCarthy explained how the need for prioritisation and adaptation of innovative strategies and policies in regard to R&D in higher education was gradually triggered by a number of factors. She highlighted, in particular, low business investment in R&D, an overly complex system, poor connection across science and innovation, gaps in important infrastructure and the loss of talented researchers.

More specifically, Di McCarthy described new systems of organising research funding, which maintained an important role for the Royal Society of NZ as a channel for funding basic research across all disciplines.

The event attracted wide interest with up to 70 representatives from civil society, researchers and those engaged in policy and practice in higher education. The discussion drew parallels and differences with Ireland and centred around the questions “How might greater collaboration or merger  of institutions change things? What are the best mechanisms of allocating funding to maintain a competitive element yet reduce bureaucracy? What does success look like in terms of economic measurement of outputs of research? How to ensure that research investment is not distorted by the search for narrow, short-term indicators” and many more.

Concluding the event, Di McCarthy stressed that the ideas and creativity are at the core of knowledge creation, cultural innovation, social well-being and economic and technological development. The expectations of research are high and there is a need for encouraging more integration into interdisciplinary research locally and worldwide.

New ways for universities to engage with regions and communities - Hans G. Schuetze

On 4 March, Hans G. Schuetze, Emeritus Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada delivered a talk entitled Regional Engagement and Service Mission of Universities: North American Perspectives. This was the third of a lecture series co-sponsored by the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) DCU, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance (DRHEA) The event was chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research and Development, DCU, with participants and discussants Professor Ronnie Munck, Head of Civic and Global Engagement, DCU, and Dr. Elaine Ward, Higher Education Policy Research Unit, DIT. 

Professor Maria Slowey,  Professor Ronnie Munck,
Dr. Elaine Ward, Professor Hans G. Schuetze

In the changing environment of international competitiveness, economic globalisation, trends towards commercialisation of university research and teaching, there is also an increased demand to demonstrate ‘relevance’ and ‘impact’ of universities on local and regional communities. While the pursuit of knowledge transcends national boundaries, historically, the identity – and mission- of universities is strongly associated with the town, city or region in which they are located.  Universities are therefore both embedded in regional environments, yet also international in relation to the pursuit of knowledge. Sitting alongside the classic two missions of teaching and research, internationally there are new attempts to recognise the ‘third mission’ of higher education variously entitled civic, community or regional engagement: a theme highlighted in the recent Hunt report on Higher Education.

Professor Hans G. Schuetze

Throughout the course of the seminar, however, the speaker demonstrated that community engagement can be undermined by the “reinforcement of research function by international rankings and ‘academic drift’ by new universities and non-university institutions”.  He continued that it is essential that communities of researchers and policy makers continue to pose questions such as: “How do we measure community engagement? Should all universities have to prove relevance and impact, including some degree of community engagement? Should community engagement be made mandatory and carry equal importance and prestige as research and teaching?”

    

Speaking at the event Professor Schuetze added: “Because of the wide variety of forms of engagement and the different objectives of evaluation, outcomes of community engagement and community-based learning can rarely be precisely defined, assessed, quantified and compared”.  A major part of the challenge lies in finding ways of promoting genuine dialogue and interaction between institutions of higher education and the wider community in order to bridge the gap: “communities have problems, universities have departments”.  

Professor Hans G. Schuetze, is a Fellow and former Director, Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and also a Senior Honorary Research Fellow, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. 

Questioning the role and future of higher education - Simon Marginson

On February 21^st, the Higher Education Research Centre (HERC) at DCU hosted Professor Simon Marginson’s talk entitled “Does higher education create public good(s) and should it be publicly funded?” This was the second event in the seminar series Higher education in challenging times: questioning the unquestioned and saw the series, coordinated by Professor Maria Slowey at HERC, really get into its stride.

The UK government recently elected to withdraw public investment from most higher education teaching- including the whole of the humanities and social sciences- undermining longstanding assumptions about the value of higher education to the individual and to society. Politicians and educators in Ireland and elsewhere must surely watch with interest the consequences of this decision. Professor Marginson put the following series of questions to his audience of higher education policy makers, practitioners and researchers:

“But what are the costs of moving to a fully marketized system of higher education? Is higher education nothing more than a producer of status and earnings benefits for individuals? Should public funding for higher education be withdrawn in tough times? Will that change the nature of higher education? Is the notion of public good(s) and common global benefits empty rhetoric generated by self-serving institutions? Or are there fundamental social qualities at stake in this debate? What are the public good(s) created by higher education, can they be measured, can they be expanded and enhanced, and what is the relationship between public goods and private goods?”

It is vital that these issues are fully and publicly debated in an Ireland in economic crisis.

Responding to Professor Marginson’s commanding and historically contextualised talk were expert panellists Professor Patrick Clancy, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at UCD, Professor Ellen Hazelkorn, Director of Research and Enterprise at DIT, and Professor Shinichi Yamamoto, Director of the Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, Japan. Their contributions were followed by an open Q&A session which gave rise to an engaged debate between panel and audience. 

Professor Brian MacCraith, President, Dublin City University
Professor Patrick Clancy, University College Dublin
Professor Maria Slowey, Dublin City University
Professor Simon Marginson, Melbourne University
Professor Ellen Hazelkorn, Dublin Institute of Technology
Professor Shinichi Yamamoto, Hiroshima University

Professor Marginson is a frequent public and media commentator on higher education and an advisor to the OECD and the governments of Ireland, Australia and several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. He is based at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Regional engagement and service mission of universities: North American perspectives. Friday 4 March, 2011

Hans G. Schuetze, University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver, Canada
Friday 4 March, 2011, 12.30 to 14.00.
Blue Room, Second Floor The Helix, DCU

The main speaker for this event is Hans G. Schuetze, University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver, Canada. Professor Hans G. Schuetze is a fellow and former director of the Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training, UBC, and also a senior honorary research fellow, University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. He has worked as a consultant on educational policy for the OECD, UNESCO, the EU, the Canadian government, the British Columbia provincial government as well as several other education policy bodies. His fields of research and expertise encompass the economics and the organization of post-secondary education and training, comparative education, lifelong learning, and, more generally, the role of education and training in cultural, social and economic development.

Professor Schuetze will present a lecture entitled 'Regional engagement and service mission of universities: North American perspectives'. This will be followed by an open discussion chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research, DCU, with participants and discussant Professor Ronnie Munck, DCU in the Community.

Does higher education create public good(s) and should it be publicly funded? Simon Marginson, 21 February 2011

We are pleased to announce that the second seminar in the HERC seminar series will take place on Monday 21 February, 12.00-14.00 in DCU. The main speaker for this event is Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Professor Marginson provides advice for the OECD and the governments of Ireland, Australia and several countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and writes principally about globalization, higher education and education policy.

He will present a lecture entitled 'Does higher education create public good(s) and should it be publicly funded?'. This will be followed by an open discussion chaired by Professor Maria Slowey, Director of Higher Education Research, DCU, with participants and expert panellists including Professor Patrick Clancy, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, UCD, Professor Ellen Hazelkorn, Director of Research and Enterprise, DIT and Professor Shinichi Yamamoto, Director, Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, Japan.

This series is co-sponsored by the Higher Education Research Centre at DCU, the Dublin Region Higher Education Association and the Higher Education Authority

Please feel free to forward this flyer to interested colleagues. There is no fee for attendance, but booking is required as places are limited to facilitate discussion. A light lunch will be provided. RSVP to: HERC@dcu.ie.