Laboratories of reform? The Europeanization and internationalization of higher education in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Outside of North America, most higher education research comes from other disciplines or departments and is pursued on a part-time or short-term basis. Higher education scholars engage a wide range of theories, methodologies, and research designs. Higher education researchers and their work are perhaps best described by the metaphor "tribes and territories." The field covers such disparate areas as academic cultures and identities, academic development, doctoral education, internationalization, knowledge validation, leadership and management, quality, teacher education, and teaching and learning. Although this breadth of research is impressive, researchers often tend to study the same topic in different silos. (100 ref)-

Unintended Outcomes of the EHEA and ASEAN: Peripheral Members and Their Façade Conformity

“…In the early 1990s, higher education reforms took place in the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), the post-Soviet countries and newer members of ASEAN in the context of major political and economic transformations in each country (Dakowska and Harmsen 2015;Rany et al 2012). Generally, these transformations entail the move from authoritarian regimes to democratic ones, and from a closed planned economy to an open market economy.…”

“…The attitude of "returning to Europe" or "catching up with the West" in Eastern Europe was a strong impetus for reforms and it was reflected in their efforts to replace the former educational policies and practices with Western ones as quickly as possible in order to meet the needs of the market economy (Dang 2015; Dobbins 2011; Dobbins and Leišyte 2014; Silova 2011). The CEEC became "laboratories of reform" for experiments on different ideas in reshaping the higher education sector (Dakowska and Harmsen 2015). In many CEEC, higher education reforms took place during the period of their accession to the EU and continued at different stages depending on the national context.…”

“…Many of the current 28 EU states, especially the Central and Eastern European countries, joined the Bologna Process during their accession to the EU. The Bologna Process structural reform in these newer EU members has become a significant part of their regional integration after their admission to the EU which, in most cases, took place in 2004 and 2007 (Dakowska and Harmsen 2015). Within the EHEA, the 48 members share a converged degree structure of three cycles of bachelor, master and doctorate, a joint credit system-the European credit transfer and accumulation system (ECTS) and ratification of the Lisbon Recognition Convention for recognition of study periods and qualifications, a cross-border student mobility platform, and a European set of standards and guidelines for quality assurance.…”

European higher education policy

“…This observation does not imply that all member states share the same outlook on OMC benchmarks and perspectives on education. While new member states such as Slovenia, which has experienced strong pressure to reform its public administration during the EU accession process, are more open to adopting the European discourse, the United Kingdom has always been more reluctant to comply with the common objectives (Alexiadou et al 2010, Dakowska andHarmsen, 2015). Instead, UK officials have constructed the image of a perfect "fit between the UK and OMC objectives" and claimed to being a standard-setter for other countries (Alexiadou and Lange 2013).…”

“…For instance, they had markedly different experiences with communism, regime change, and relationships with the EU (i.e., accession, association, or other kinds of connection). As a result, these countries, which are particularly open to European recommendations, serve as "laboratories of reform" that help to elucidate the interplay of external and domestic influences in the reshaping of higher education systems (Dakowska and Harmsen 2015). Some of them eagerly adopt European policy prescriptions, while others prefer a more selective approach to the European reform program.…”