Finnish higher education in transition: Perspectives on massification and globalization.

Finnish higher education in transition: Perspectives on massification and globalization. Edited by Jussi Valimaa Jyvaskyla, Finland: University ofJyvaskyla, Institute for Educational Research, 2001. People in the Australian higher education higher educationStudy beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. community probably seldomthink of Finland. However the Finnish and Australian higher educationsystems have many similar characteristics. Both nations have a strongcommitment to social equity shaping education policy, very much in theScandinavian tradition for the Finns. As a result, the universities ofboth systems are predominantly public institutions. Both nations haverelatively small systems in international terms, yet both provideeducation for rural and remote regions of low population density. Bothnations are small and their economies are exposed to the potentiallynegative effects of globalization globalizationProcess by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation . The Finns are particularly alert tothese forces, wedged wedged - 1. To be stuck, incapable of proceeding without help. This is different from having crashed. If the system has crashed, it has become totally non-functioning. If the system is wedged, it is trying to do something but cannot make progress; it may be capable of doing a few as they are between Sweden and Russia and with aturbulent national history as a borderland bor��der��land?n.1. a. Land located on or near a frontier.b. The fringe: a shadowy figure who lived on the borderland of the drug scene.2. and intermittent intermittent/in��ter��mit��tent/ (-mit��ent) marked by alternating periods of activity and inactivity. in��ter��mit��tentadj.1. Stopping and starting at intervals.2. battlegroundfor more powerful neighbors. Finnish higher education in transition is edited by Jussi Valimaaof the Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyvaskyla, andis co-authored by his Institute colleagues. The book is written inEnglish with the international community in mind. Valimaa contributesfive (two co-authored) of the ten chapters, including a briefintroductory history of Finland The land area that now makes up Finland was settled immediately after the Ice Age, beginning from around 8500 BC. Finland was part of Kingdom of Sweden from the 13th century to 1809, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire becoming the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. . The chapters are loosely linked aroundthe themes massification and globalization, but the book is bestdescribed as an account of current domestic issues in Finnish highereducation. Education is highly valued in Finland. Attending university hashigh social status and there is excellent access and participation.Finland's massification began in the 1960s, supported by awelfare-state agenda with the objective of fostering social andgeographical equality. Now, close to 70 per cent of school leavers areoffered a tertiary place, one of the highest rates in the world. In2001, Finland had twenty higher education institutions: tenmulti-faculty institutions; three schools of economics; three technicaluniversities; and four art academies. With 31 polytechnics as well, runby local municipalities, Finland has excellent tertiary provision forits population of only a little over five million people. The trends in Finnish universities during the past decade resonate res��o��nate?v. res��o��nat��ed, res��o��nat��ing, res��o��natesv.intr.1. To exhibit or produce resonance or resonant effects.2. with the Australian experience. The quality and evaluation of teachingare major issues. Finnish academics are experiencing changing patternsin student involvement that are familiar to Australian academics.Students now talk of going to 'school' rather than'university', a trend related to new patterns of part-timework and the reduced engagement with university life for many students. Finnish universities are squeezed for resources. The recession ofthe early 1990s hit the Finnish economy hard (though Nokia, onesuspects, may have given a boost to the Finnish GDP GDP(guanosine diphosphate): see guanine. in recent years).Government funding for higher education has been in decline. In 1999,Finnish universities received 65 per cent of their revenue fromgovernment, down from 84 per cent in 1990. Despite this fall, theycontinue to do a little better on this score than their Australiancounterparts. Massification in Finland has created a risingstudent--teacher ratio, which climbed to above 20 by 1999, with anassociated escalation es��ca��late?v. es��ca��lat��ed, es��ca��lat��ing, es��ca��latesv.tr.To increase, enlarge, or intensify: escalated the hostilities in the Persian Gulf.v.intr. in the apparent stress levels of academic staff. In parallel with the decline in public revenue, the Finnishgovernment has given institutions greater autonomy. In the new publicmanagement tradition, however, universities are now steered bynegotiated outcomes and 'management by results'(tulosjohtaminen). Institutional management has been modernized mod��ern��ize?v. mo��dern��ized, mo��dern��iz��ing, mo��dern��iz��esv.tr.To make modern in appearance, style, or character; update.v.intr.To accept or adopt modern ways, ideas, or style. to bemore strategic and responsive to change. In 1995, the Finnish HigherEducation Evaluation Council (FINHEEC) was established to monitorquality and quality assurance. Academics are divided on the value ofthese changes. None of these developments will surprise Australianreaders, for the patterns are familiar ones. Can Australian higher education learn from the Finnish experience?Finland has had some success in providing equitable access to highereducation across its regions. The expansion of higher education in the1960s was supported by a regional policy principal (aluepolitiikka). AsValimaa notes, 'the founding of a university was seen not onlysymbolically but also culturally and economically important to thedevelopment of the given region'. Open University teaching is nowavailable in almost 200 municipalities. In total, 62 per cent ofFinland's 448 municipalities have a higher education presence ofsome kind. The Open University provides a taste of higher education anda pathway into mainstream higher education for people who might notqualify through other routes. One of the major policy initiatives in Finland during the pastdecade has been the reform of doctoral training. This reform was aresponse to a perceived lack of a systematic training during the 1980s,with problems that included a lack of research teams for PhD students tojoin, a lack of research funds, and poor quality--sometimes non-existentsupervision arrangements. In the early 1990s, triggered by the need toclimb out of economic recession, doctoral training was overhauled withthe objectives of expansion, improved quality and the guiding ofstudents into academic fields believed to be the most useful to theeconomy. National science policy established centres of excellence in1995, boosting research funding Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of both "hard" science and technology and social science. The term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and . In addition, 93 graduate schools werecreated offering scholarships for PhD students that include a monthlysalary. The reforms have largely achieved the intended objectives. Thenumber of doctoral awards has risen dramatically. Women, notably, havebeen major beneficiaries, though they are still under-represented in PhDcompletions. Between 1998 and 2000, 43 per cent of doctorates wereawarded to women, compared with 22 per cent in the comparable three-yearperiod a decade earlier. Higher education is viewed as part of Finland's nationalinnovation strategy and is expected to enhance the competitiveness ofFinland's enterprises in world markets. Higher education continuesto be free. This has had the effect, it seems, of stifling themarketisation of the system. An emphasis remains on universitiesselecting students rather than vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. . But there are tentative stepstowards an educational marketplace. Recently, an American University American University,at Washington, D.C.; United Methodist; founded by Bishop J. F. Hurst, chartered 1893, opened in 1914. It was at first a graduate school; an undergraduate college was opened in 1925. Programs provide for student research at many government institutions. ,Preston University, began offering programs in business and computersciences from two rural campuses. This initiative was not successful,with failure to secure ministry accreditation, sizeable student drop-outrates and a general disinclination dis��in��cli��na��tion?n.A lack of inclination; a mild aversion or reluctance.Noun 1. disinclination - that toward which you are inclined to feel dislike; "his disinclination for modesty is well known" on the part of the Finns to enrol ina rather more expensive setting. Similarly a Russian private universityin the mid 1990s tried to establish a campus in a small Finnish town toteach Russian students. The problem, among other things, was that theuniversity concerned was not accredited accreditedrecognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria.accredited herdscattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. in its home country. In anyevent, students did not materialize ma��te��ri��al��ize?v. ma��te��ri��al��ized, ma��te��ri��al��iz��ing, ma��te��ri��al��iz��esv.tr.1. To cause to become real or actual: By building the house, we materialized a dream. . That these failed steps towards a more competitive higher educationarena are isolated instances might reflect the somewhat insular insular/in��su��lar/ (-sdbobr-ler) pertaining to the insula or to an island, as the islands of Langerhans. in��su��laradj.Of or being an isolated tissue or island of tissue. character of the Finnish system. Up to now, the Ministry of Educationhas seen no need to impose legal restrictions on the founding of privateuniversities. And Finland has neither sought nor been in a position tobe a major exporter of educational services. As the globalization ofhigher education proceeds, the Finns might benefit from examining theregulatory framework designed to protect the quality of Australianhigher education. Australia has moved in this direction in the main partto protect confidence in the quality of its educational exports, butboth nations are of course concerned to monitor their domestic highereducation standards as well, particularly the offerings of privateproviders and the new on-line global institutions of the future. The authors of Finnish higher education in transition make noclaims to theoretical breakthroughs, but present a useful criticalsnapshot (1) A saved copy of memory including the contents of all memory bytes, hardware registers and status indicators. It is periodically taken in order to restore the system in the event of failure.(2) A saved copy of a file before it is updated. of a small higher education system that is experiencing muchthe same pressures as many larger ones and developing in quite similardirections. International readers will enjoy the book. It is a goodconcept and more national case studies of this kind would be welcome. Richard James Richard James may refer to: Richard T. James, American toy inventor Richard D. James, the real name of electronic musician Aphex Twin Richard James (musician), Welsh musician Richard James (minister) (1592-1638), British man of letters See also The University of Melbourne AsiaWeek is now discontinued. Comments:In 2006, Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Melbourne 22nd in the world. Because of the drop in ranking, University of Melbourne is currently behind four Asian universities - Beijing University,