TOWARDS LIFELONG EDUCATION FOR ALL — HIGHER EDUCATION AND SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT

1988 UNESCO Permanent Collective Consultation of NGOs on Higher Education, established, Paris. Topic: ‘Problems and challenges for what future?’ 1989 International Conference on Education (41st session) on ‘Diversification of Post-secondary Education in Relation to Employment’, UNESCO/IBE, Geneva 1991 Launching of the UNESCO Plan of Action for Reinforcing Inter-university Co-operation and Mobility through twinning arrangement (UNITWIN Programme and UNESCO-Chairs)

Professional mobility The third objective of UNESCO’s action has been to promote international co-operation in the area of the recognition of studies and qualifications. In 1965 a contract was concluded with IAU to undertake a comparative study of methods of establishing equivalences between degrees and diplomas. Several expert meetings and complementary technical and legal studies recommended specific measures within the framework of a long-term plan of action. On this basis, one inter-regional and five regional Conventions were adopted (from 1974 to 1983). And, about ten years later, an International Recommendation on the Recognition of Studies and Qualifications in Higher Education was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO at its twenty-seventh session in 1993. Furthermore, a Draft Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel will be elaborated in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) for submission to the General Conference of UNESCO at its twenty-ninth session (1997).

Thus a global framework has been created that can also serve to enhance academic co-operation. The on-going processes of economic, cultural and political integration were taken into account in activities geared towards implementation of these conventions. However, the practical significance of these standard-setting instruments depends on the efficacy of the activities carried out by the regional committees and national bodies entrusted with the task of pursuing and facilitating the application of their provisions. Consequently, UNESCO will continue to support the activities of those bodies and to promote various forms of student and staff mobility through evaluation of study programmes and degrees, development of data bases, assistance in building-up national accreditation mechanisms and issuing publications such as Study Abroad and the World Guide to Higher Education.

HIGHER EDUCATION INDICATORS: AN EXERCISE IN INTERPRETATION by Colin N. Power Current political and economic imperatives imply that policy decisions in the field of higher education can no longer be made on the basis of the limited information – mainly input measures – available at present. Performance indicators are needed, covering costs and participation rates as well as progress and graduation rates. Practices and progress vary in the countries examined (among which Australia, the United States, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom), but the difficulties of establishing meaningful reference points and guidelines for proper use are widely recognized. Nevertheless, experience has shown that if the debate is open and the objectives agreed upon, a fruitful dialogue can take place. Types of Higher Education Indicators There has been sufficient international interest in the development of new types of educational indicators to lead the Institution Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme of OECD-CERI to seek to develop performance indicators for use at the institutional level. This project has constituted an important source of reference in recent years for policy makers in a number of European countries. [...] In mid 1988, CERI began a new project on International Educational Indicators, and out of this project may emerge indicators which are useful for monitoring aspects of the performance of higher education systems at a national and international level. Information on costs and on student numbers in most countries is readily available from UNESCO and OECD publications. To be interpretable, indicators must have a reference point against which performance of the system being monitored is to be judged. In itself, knowing that about 26 percent of Italian 17- to 21-year olds participate in higher education or that the percentage of the GNP devoted to education in Japan in 1984/85 was 6.8% is of no more value than knowing that a student scored 123 on a test. In evaluating student achievement, we do need a reference point if we are to make sense of a score. In educational testing, the reference points used may be: (a) some agreed standard (criterion-referenced interpretation), (b) the performance of other students (norm-referenced interpretation), or (c) previous performance (developmental interpretation). Indicators are useful in that they raise questions and force us to pay attention when sudden shifts of large differences or shortfalls appear; but they simply point, they do not explain. Unfortunately, too often users jump to premature and ill-informed conclusions. In fact, the use of higher education indicators is tricky, both technically and politically. If one is using a criterion of standard as the reference point, this must be explicit and agreement must be gained over the benchmarks to be applied. If one is using international statistics to create a norm, one does need to understand the nature of the education systems being compared. If one is looking at trends across time, one does need to know about changes in policy and other events which may account for anomalies. Moreover, we need to be aware that estimates of costs and participation differ depending on how, when and why they are calculated. Conclusions One of the striking features of recent history of higher education has been the move towards monitoring systems and institutional outcomes: the almost total reliance on input measures of plant, human resources and students to determine its quality or prestige is probably a thing of the past. The common imperatives mean that performance indicators will be developed. The problems of misinterpretation and misuse are greatest when comparisons are made, particularly when the systems or institutions being compared have developed in very different cultural contexts and the nature of the differences and their consequences for higher education are not understood. The media and policy makers at times focus selectively on one or two indicators and one or two countries, particularly if doing so can be used to support their position or generate a good story. But indicators simply point to the need for further investigation: they do not explain. In the end, it seems that carefully developed performance indicators can contribute a great deal to higher education by facilitating focused dialogue about what is important, how key aspects of performance might be monitored, and by pointing to areas which may need further investigation. Whether they do depend on how they are developed, who controls them, how well they are interpreted, and the uses to which the results are put. International Journal of Education Research, Vol.14, No. 4, 1990.

René Ochs (France) Director of the Division of Higher Education and Training of Educational Personnel, UNESCO, from 1976 to 1980 Activities meant to establish equivalencies were included in the very first programmes of the Organization. They appeared in the measures earmarked for ‘immediate action in favour of international comprehension’ which were adopted at the first session of the General Conference. In particular, they envisaged the creation of an Information Centre and a Clearing House on international exchanges of personnel. ‘The Recognition of Studies and Diplomas of Higher Education: the Contribution of UNESCO’, Higher Education in Europe, UNESCO/CEPES Bulletin, Vol. XI, No. 4, 1986 Walter J. Kamba Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, President of the International Association of Universities The social role of a university demonstrates and underlines vividly the inter-relationship of higher education and society – of higher education and development. The social role provides the link between the intellectual and educational role of universities on the one hand and the development of society on the other. [...] In playing this role the university must be guided by excellence in performance and relevance of their work to the environment in which they exist and operate. Some of the questions that arise are: Are universities discharging their responsibilities adequately and satisfactorily? If not, why? How can universities perform their tasks more efficiently and meaningfully? Do we have new ideas to promote better performance? Opening Speech, Second UNESCO/Non-Governmental Organizations Collective Consultation on Higher Education, Paris, April 1991