Conceptualizing Harmonization of Higher Education Systems: The Application of Regional Integration Theories on Higher Education Studies

Abstract

There have been various higher education policy reforms at regional level to overcome the challenges and impacts of globalization in the current knowledge based global economy. Universities have already been involved in various internationalization processes establishing both bilateral and multilateral cooperations across borders. Through various integration schemes, regional organizations like the European Union (EU) and its Commission, the African Union (AU) and its Commission are engaging in policy harmonization processes to foster more integration and provide regional remedies for the common challenges of globalization in their respective regions. Researchers also engaged in academic debates and analyze various higher education system integration discourses at professional level. Most of the theories used in higher education discourses however are borrowed from other disciplines and when terms and concepts from other disciplines migrate to the higher education sector and vice versa there is fertile ground for confusion and misunderstanding unless they are conceptually framed and analyzed. This particular article focuses on theories of regional integration and higher education harmonization discourses. It discusses the process of policy harmonization in higher education and interprets the notions of regional integration theories in the interpretive paradigms of informal/formal, top-down/bottom-up, proactive/reactive, gradual/ quantum leap and internally driven/ externally driven relationships in policy formulations. These interpretive paradigms provide a theoretical perspective on conceptual framework of higher education harmonization and integration schemes form the neo-functionalist and intergovernmentalist point of view.

Heutagogy, Africanisation and Learning: Experiences from an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Program at the University of South Africa

“…This article consciously sought to find a way for intellectuals to tease out an African context in education. Woldegiorgis (2013) points out that one of the challenges of applying certain theories to other contexts such as Africa is that from the outset, these theories are created within the context of Europe. This article then sought to search for that harmonization of a UNISA program with Africanisation.…”

Regional Higher Education Reform Initiatives in Africa: a comparative Analysis with Bologna Process

“…Rather, harmonization refers to the coordination of educational programs that have agreements on minimum academic standards and ensure equivalence and comparability of qualifications between and within countries (Woldegiorgis, 2013). Thus, harmonization can be understood as the process of establishing benchmarks for qualifications, program delivery, and certifications.…”

“…In conceptual discussions of higher education integration and regionalization, Knight (2013) and Woldegiorgis (2013) both argued that there are different levels and intensity of convergence or policy integration; these can be explained using different terminologies that subsume integration, cooperation, collaboration, and harmonization, to mention a few. Furthermore, integration is a process that may require various steps, depending on the degree of commitment of the different actors.…”

Internationalization and the Changing Paradigm of Higher Education in the GCC Countries

“…According to some studies (Ogachi, 2009;Woldegiorgis, 2013), the regions engaging thus in cooperation are able "to improve the quality, relevance and accessibility, to facilitate transferability and comparability of degrees among nations and to facilitate the mobility and employability of students." A step in the GCC has been taken toward regional integration with the development in 2007 of Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE) that was established with World Bank support.…”

“…A step in the GCC has been taken toward regional integration with the development in 2007 of Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE) that was established with World Bank support. A solution could be to start with the harmonization of HE as suggested by Woldegiorgis (2013) that is a process, not of standardization but articulation, both horizontal and vertical, between programs and institutions among the HE systems of the region. The author feels that regional integration of the GCC in the HE sector will pave the way forward towards a more strategic decision in the internationalization process.…”