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Proiect de Lectie Educatie Civica Clasa A IV A
Proiect de Lectie Educatie Civica Clasa A IV A
Proiect de Lectie Educatie Civica Clasa A IV A
Thus, the terms ‘Globalization’ and ‘Internationalization’ are to be seen as distinct but
linked concepts so far as the higher education is concerned. Globalization is the cause and
the internationalization is the effect in response. With this perception of these terms in
focus, an attempt has been made in this article, to outline in broad terms the strategies to be
followed to internationalize the higher education at the national level and to respond to the
various demands rising out of the globalization of economies and related activities.
Developing this strategic plan and implementing it speedily is crucial for any nation to
succeed in the highly competitive knowledge driven global economy.
The globalization of economies brings in the mobility of knowledge workers and seekers
across the world in volume unprecedented in the history. If a particular country cannot
produce the graduates with the skills that employers want, especially in areas like
information technology, then the employers in that country may seek the employees from
wherever they are available. This need not necessarily mean an influx of skilled labor into
that country. There are already examples of employment in the ‘knowledge based industries’
moving to the workers rather than the workers moving. Whether the employer moves or the
potential employee moves, the mobility will be dependant on the quality and standards of
the qualifications offered by the educational institutions. Ensuring the quality and standards
of the educational offering will constitute the first step towards internationalization of
higher education. This in turn would involve restructuring of the contents, duration, quality
and standards of educational offerings in line with the broad frame of higher educational
systems in vogue in most of the countries of the world. Fortunately, ensuring the parity of
the content and the duration of studies with those of others may not be a major problem
since the qualification framework followed in most of the countries by and large fall into a
common pattern, though there may be some extent of contextualization to the national
culture, language and values. This is largely due to the fact that the higher education system
- universities and colleges- through out the world are patterned after the medieval European
model by the historical accident. All most all the third world countries have had their
institutions built on the pattern in vogue in the countries of their European rulers. On the
other hand, the issues of quality and standards are the main concerns, and they need to be
ensured to internationally acceptable levels through careful planning.
In this context, national level External Quality Assurance (NEQA) mechanism becomes
important. The National Quality Assurance processes, whether it is assessment, academic
audit or Accreditation used to assess and accredit the educational institution/programs
should also conform to the international practices. In addition, they should broaden their
focus to the international norms instead of the national context to which they are presently
oriented. With an effective and acceptable mechanism of Quality Assurance at the national
level in place, re-orienting them towards assessing the educational system for the
international stakeholders may not be difficult. The reorientation of the quality assurance
exercises and the outcome would in turn ensure the recognition of the qualifications across
the national borders in the long run.
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corresponding figures of the developed nations, the absolute number of well trained people
in this region is substantially higher and the trend continues. The annual compounded
growth rate in both India and China is maintained at about 5-6% over the last two decades.
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economically well-developed countries of the region like Malaysia, Thailand, and
Singapore and to some extent Philippines.
v. Through Diversification:
Consequent to the phenomenal growth of knowledge and the emergence of many multi-
disciplinary subject areas, the range of educational offering have also increased
substantially. Computer and computer related information technology area denote the
domain of new knowledge emerging as a key sector of education. Areas like,
Biotechnology, Management, New material sciences, Bio-medical engineering and the like
are the examples of inter and multi-disciplinary areas. Besides, diversity also comes from
the variety of new delivery system by the educational providers. In fact, the universities
have become only one of the many actors in providing higher education. Examples of other
providers include: 1. Telecommunication, cable and satellite companies, 2. Publishers
including News paper groups, who are designing and delivering course materials,
sometimes in partnership with established universities. 3.‘Corporate’ Universities and other
units run courses and 4.The Virtual Universities.
All these trends seen in higher education like, Expansion, privatization, Diversification,
Emergence of non-traditional and non-university type of educational provisions and the
growing relevance of transnational education brings in the concern for quality and standards
of the education offered for both local and international consumption. This concern has
resulted in the establishment of national Quality Assurance mechanisms as a part the higher
education system.
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economies in the world, it is making plans to protect its economic interests by assuring
world-class professional preparations through its institutions of higher learning. In 1996,
Center for Quality Assurance in international Education together with the People’s Republic
of China and Hong Kong, the regions first conference on Quality Assurance in higher
education was held. Couple of years earlier, based on the recommendations of the New
National Policy on Education, India had established its National Assessment and
Accreditation Council (NAAC), in 1994 as an autonomous body to assess and accredit all
the universities and colleges, numbering nearly 12000. Already, Japan, New Zealand and
Australia have their national units wholly devoted for this purpose. It is clear, therefore,
that the region is discovering the economic fruits of co-operation in assuring quality
education at the tertiary level. In this they are not lagging behind any other region in the
world. The second major conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education under the
auspices of International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education
(INQAAHE) was organized at Bangalore, India, in March, 2001, where significant progress
has been made to have a Asia-Pacific network of quality Assurance Agencies to promote co-
operation in assuring quality and mutual recognition among the countries of the region.
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one has to realize that doing more or better of what one has been doing all along may not be
enough to be accepted as international education. There must be a certain elements of
educational provisions and the institutional basic infrastructure to make the grade as the
provider of education for the international clientele. Many institutions are using several
generic strategies for this purpose. Implementation of certain activities such as reorienting
the curriculum focusing on the international needs and expectations, students and faculty
exchanges, technical assistance from others to raise up beyond the national standards and
having international students in the campuses to enhance the international ambience for the
education they offer are some specific examples. Likewise, emphasis on the development
of new skills, knowledge, attitudes and values in students and faculty that will lead to the
development of certain identified global/international competencies, promotion of
international/intercultural activities in the campus must be given priority. These may be
implemented through either integration or infusion into teaching, research and services
related activities. These initiatives should be backed up and supported by appropriate
policies and processes at the institutional and/or at government level.
Nearly all the countries of the world have or in the process of developing quality assessment
systems based on the four stage model of external evaluation of higher education, i.e., 1. A
dedicated coordinating agency, 2. Submission of self-study and self-evaluation report by the
institutions to the agency, 3. A peer review visit, usually on-site and 4. The preparation of a
report accrediting on a two-point scale or on multi-point grade. Apparently, it would appear
that this uniformity might provide a basis for a strong system of comparable quality
assurance leading to the recognition of the studies and qualifications. However, there are
many variations among countries in the details at each stage. Unless due emphasis is
focused on the specific elements required to internationalize the higher education units, the
outcomes of the national quality assurance mechanisms may not be indicative of the
international quality. However, this should not be construed as implying that the national
quality assessment is not important for each country. As of now, however the fact remains
that most of the NQA agencies use the method that is not designed for assessing the
elements that contribute to the international character of education provided.
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that expansion and diversification efforts are done without affecting certain minimal thresh
hold levels of quality and standards as it always happen which such rapid expansion occurs
particularly in the third world nations. While expanding, focus must also be on certain
generic and specific skills, competencies and knowledge that are transferable and therefore
usefully applicable anywhere in the world. Internationalization of higher education also
involves certain conscious policy formulations at both the government and institutional
level to integrate or infuse elements that add to the international character of education as
outlined earlier. These include the efforts to attract foreign students and faculty, encourage
collaborative teaching and research and accelerate diversification of academic programs that
cut across international and inter cultural domains.
Some of the specific initiatives that need to be taken in this regard are to evolve a regional
accord or formal agreement among the governments to have a common educational
structure (e.g., compatible Qualification Framework) and certain level of quality and
standards. The regional cooperative bodies like UMAP and UCTS, SEAMEO RIHED,
AUN, AUAP, AND ASAHIL, etc., can play an important role in formalizing this accord at
the inter-governmental level.
Like wise Quality Assurance Agencies at the national level should focus on the efforts of
internationalizing the education through assessing the seriousness of purpose, extent of the
efforts taken so far at the policy and implementation level and above all the facilities and
ambience in place to promote the international education culture. These agencies should be
able to interact with those of the member countries in evolving co-operatively the
instruments and methods of assessment that are applicable across the region. This may
include, shifting the emphasis from specific to generic parameters, revising the benchmarks
and performance indicators used so far to serve the national mandate. The entire Quality
Assurance process should be made open, transparent and interactive with their counter parts
from the other countries of the region. This should lead to the evolution of arrangement for
Mutual Recognition among National External Quality Assurance agencies on the line of
Washington Accord for the technical and engineering education.
It must also be possible to evolve entirely different quality assurance strategies for
international education, like the International Quality Review Process (IQRP) project pilot
tested in a number of countries including a one from the region. The main objective of the
project was to ‘promote the awareness of the need for quality assessment and assurance in
the context of internationalization of higher education, to develop a review process where
by individual institutions can adopt and use a set of guidelines to make self-assessment and
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enhance the quality of the efforts and to strengthen the contribution that internationalization
makes to the quality of higher education.’ In fact, the Quality assurance agencies can
effectively function as an instrument for catalyzing the infusion of the elements that make
the higher education truly international.
It may not be out of place even to consider the option of having a common regional
Accrediting body with its own set of instruments and methods for assessing the institutions
offering of not only transnational but also the national education.
Recognition of Qualifications:
The term, ‘Recognition’ in the higher education context relates to reciprocal understanding
between two or more parties to accept the awards and qualifications of each other as equal
or substantially equal to those of their own for a variety of academic and professional
purposes. The mutual recognition may be accorded to short courses for credit transfer or to
the institution as a whole covering the entire range of its offering such as bachelors or
masters degrees. As mentioned earlier, ultimately, in practice, all such recognition narrows
down to the recognition of the Qualifications. When once quality education is ensured and a
set of elements that make the quality education as an international education are
implemented, recognition of the qualifications across the borders become easier. This can
however be hastened and ensured by the National External Quality Assurance agencies
seeking mutual recognition among their counter parts through appropriate modalities like
what is being done by the signatories of the Washington Accord by agreeing to certain
rigorous conditions for compliance.
Mutual Recognition (MR) of the NEQA agencies is the necessary first step towards the
ultimate recognition of the qualifications or any other academic outcomes globally.
Therefore, the efforts to develop the appropriate protocol should be undertaken for evolving
the mutual recognition among NEQA agencies of the region. The international organization
like the INQAAHE or its regional unit is the best to initiate the work. The regional
cooperative bodies like UMAP and UCTS, SEAMEO RIHED, AUN, AUAP, AND
ASAHIL, etc., can also play an important role in promoting mutual recognition among the
NEQA bodies of the region.
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information exchange through appropriate modalities. A beginning has already been made
in this regard in the American Continent and in Europe with success and their experiences
can be adapted to the Asia-pacific region as well. Mutual Recognition of National External
Quality Assurance agencies of the region can only be a workable answer to the emerging
needs for the recognition of qualifications from a particular country by the others.
Reference:
3. Gnanam, A and Antony Stella. EQA Agencies: A case for Mutual Recognition.
Proceedings of the International INQAAHE conference at Bangalore, India.
2001.
5. Knight, J and Hans de Wit. An Introduction to the IQRP Project and Process. In
Quality and Internationalization in Higher Education. 1999.
6. Peace Lenn. M. The globalization of the Professions and higher education: Trade
agreements, new technologies and the Quality imperatives. Higher Education in
Europe. Vol. xxi. No. 4. 1996.
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