Conference:
ECER 2009
Format:
Paper
Session Information
SES F8, Pre Conf Parallel Session
Time:
2009-09-26
09:00-10:30
Room:
HG, HS 16
Chair:
Meinert Arnd Meyer
Contribution
This paper analyses the similarities and differences within the processes of higher education (HE) policy borrowing in Russia and Ukraine. Here, 'borrowing' refers to a clearly enunciated intention to adopt a way of doing things observed elsewhere. We use an education policy borrowing framework (Phillips and Ochs, 2003) and the Bologna Process as a case study of policy borrowing. The Bologna Process, started in 1999, aims to establish a European Higher Education Area by 2010 through implementing a three-cycle framework that corresponds to bachelor, masters and doctorate qualifications. Russia joined the Bologna Process in 2003, whereas Ukraine joined in 2005. As of 2009, both countries are far from establishing the three-cycle system nationwide. This paper looks at the following three questions: (1) How and why were the ‘decision’ stages in ‘borrowing’ EU education policies different within the HE systems of Russia and Ukraine, given that the contextual framework was similar in the two countries? (2) What was the role of national/local support and/or resistance in the success of the implementation stage? (3) How can we measure the degree of indigenization of the policy borrowing in Russia and Ukraine by 2008? We will identify policy making actors, their motivations, the constraints on transfer and the methods for policy appraisal. The research uses the following indicators of policy implementation: the rate of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) adopting the Bologna system, the composition of the top universities in the national ratings before and after the countries joined the Bologna Process, and the relationship between policy implementation at different levels of government. Research in education policy borrowing is important in light of the present situation of greater labour mobility and integration of some of the post-socialist states into the EU HE system. Moreover, the compatibility and recognition of Russian and Ukrainian HE qualifications is vital in the context of internationalization of Higher Education.
Method
The Phillips and Ochs model for policy borrowing in education.
The official website for the Bologna Process.
The websites of the Ministries of Education in Russia and Ukraine.
Expected Outcomes
While the first phases of the cycles have been implemented in some HEIs in Russia and Ukraine, there are difficulties in applying the third (doctorate) cycle. The rate of transition to the Bologna Process has been slow, and the effect on the quality of Higher Education has been mixed. There are strong sentiments among students that the Bologna-style qualifications are less respected in the domestic labour markets. Although initial conditions for policy borrowings were similar, the Bologna Process outcomes differ. The speed, degree and success of the implementation depend on the commitment to policy implementation, communication between central policy-making authority and regional authorities, and clarity in monitoring reports submitted to the Bologna Process.
References
Phillips, D. and Ochs K. (2003) Processes of Policy Borrowing in Education: Some Explanatory and Analytical Devices, Comparative Education, 39(4) Phillips, D. and Ochs K. (2004) Researching Policy Borrowing: Some Methodological Problems in Comparative Education, British Educational Research Journal, 30(6) http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/ http://mon.gov.ru/ http://www.mon.gov.ua/
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.