HO als muze

Nieuws | de redactie

2 november 2009 | “Hoger onderwijs is de muze van de globalisering.” Het nieuwe boek van Berkeley’s HO-stelsel specialist John Douglass zorgt daarbij voor ontnuchtering voor “foreign observers who have a sense of romanticism about the strength of the U.S. higher education system.” Hét boek voor de commissie-Veerman kortom.

Universities and national higher education systems have becomeGlobalization’s Muse: in essence, a widely recognized and worshipedroute for full participation in the knowledge society. Researchuniversities, in particular, serve as an unparalleled source ofknowledge production and artful innovation, a foundation for modernscience, an unequaled generator of talent, and a nearly requiredpath for socioeconomic mobility in the post-modern world.

The path to build, nurture, and sustain internationallycompetitive higher education systems with productive researchuniversities is now a major focus of national, supranational, aswell as regional and local policymaking throughout the world.

Globalization’s Muse: Universities and Higher EducationSystems in a Changing World describes and analyzes thesechanges in the global landscape of higher education, with specialattention to the themes of convergence, competition, and congruityof policies and practices. To this end, this book draws upon thevaried perspectives and experiences of a combination ofinternational and U.S. authors.

The intention is to help inform lawmakers and the highereducation community, students, scholars, and practitioners alike,of these profound efforts of governments and institutions, and tosuggest that the United States needs to take stock of a newlycompetitive landscape and learn from the reform efforts of others.At the same time, this glimpse into a rapidly changing world offersan informative and useful comparative perspective on the strengthsand weaknesses of tertiary systems both in the U.S. and across theglobe.

Many foreign observers have a broad sense of romanticism aboutthe relative strength of the U.S. higher education system, and thatof its varied colleges and universities. Here you will find arefreshing dose of comparative reality – a glimpse into a complexand evolving story rooted in a new paradigm in which the U.S. is nolonger the clear leader.

Meer over de auteur/editor John Douglass vindt u hier. Zijninterview met ScienceGuide over de kijk van veel Europesebeleidsmakers op de USA en het hoger onderwijs aldaar leest u hier. “Kijk niette veel naar de Harvards. 80 % van de studenten in de USA zit oppublieke universiteiten en die sector kent veel van dezelfdevraagstukken als bij u: demografie en migratie, toegankelijkheid enexcellentie, autonomie en kwaliteit dilemma’s.”