Ulrich Teichler Book order

The founder of higher education research in Germany, Ulrich Teichler, looks back on more than five decades of higher education research. The economic miracle and university expansion, the student movement, experiments and crises of the 1970s, organisational breakdown, reunification, internationalisation, ranking and management cult - all these are historical stages that are reflected in higher education and science. Ulrich Teichler, directly involved, reports with openness and humour, presenting clever analyses.

The study analyzes the relationship between higher education and employment among over 40,000 graduates from various European countries, Norway, the Czech Republic, and Japan, focusing on their socio-biographical backgrounds and career transitions three to four years post-graduation. It highlights similarities and differences in educational outcomes across regions, examining factors like job satisfaction, the relevance of study fields, and critical issues such as equality, specialization versus general competencies, international mobility, and regional diversity in higher education.

ERASMUS, the “flagship” among the educational programmes of the European Union, underwent substantial programmatic and structural changes when it became a sub-programme under the umbrella of the SOCRATES programme in the mid-1990s. The role of the centre of the university was strengthened at the expenses of the networks of departments, and more emphasis was placed on curricular innovation, teaching staff mobility and on involvement of the non-mobile students. This study, being part of the SOCRATES 2000 Evaluation Study, aims to examine the changes occurred in ERASMUS in the late 1990s. It draws from available documents and statistics, and comprises surveys of students, graduates and academics as well as interviews with those involved in curricular innovation and “thematic networks”. The authors call for efforts to keep academics involved, to establish administrative procedures based on trust and to ensure a stronger role of curricular innovation.

The nine conference papers in this report analyze the German and American university systems and their interactions, addressing significant contemporary issues in higher education. Scholars from both sides of the Atlantic contributed papers, categorized into four related themes. Two papers, "Historical Interaction between Higher Education in Germany and in the United States" by Dietrich Goldschmidt and "Crossing the Boundary: German Refugee Scholars and the American Academic Tradition" by Karen J. Greenberg, delve into the historical ties between the two nations' higher education systems over the past two centuries. Another pair of papers focuses on personal policy experiences in trans-Atlantic cooperation: "The Need for Trans-Atlantic Cooperation and Exchange of Concepts" by Elaine El-Khawas and "The Changing Framework of Trans-Atlantic University Interaction" by David C. Knapp. The research paradigms are examined in "The Impact of United States Higher Education on German Higher Education Reform and Innovation Debates" by Claudius Gellert, while Henry Wasser's "Comparing German and American Higher Education: Some Examples" contrasts German Fachhochschulen with American Community Colleges. The final group discusses study abroad programs, featuring "Study Abroad: Students' Perceptions and Experiences" by Ulrich Teichler and "Student Exchange--A Case Study" by Barbara B. Burn. The report concludes with a summary of commentary an

"This study is based on the experiences of 3.212 students who responded to a written questionnaire covering the profile of ERASMUS students, academic and administrative support both by home and host universities, the study abroad experience; accomodation, living costs in the host country and sources of funding, self-assessment of academic achievement, foreign language improvement and cultural awareness." (back page).

This examined uses of the term "recognition" in relation to student mobility within organized higher educational exchange, particularly within the ERASMUS (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) program in Europe. Using typological and exemplary approaches, the study drew on select reports and other documentation provided by coordinators of Inter-University Cooperation Programmes supported by ERASMUS in addition to meetings conducted with participating students and programme directors as well as from surveys conducted on programs. The examination of these sources revealed that recognition had four meanings in use, three of which were used in the context of study abroad programs. Also, recognition of a period of study is generally considered to be very important. The study also identified six obstacles to recognition, and particularly to full recognition of study abroad. However, despite these obstacles, the study identified seven strategies that institutions use to grant full or partial recognition. Coordinators within the ERASMUS program reported specific recognition problems. Finally the study outlined the recognition provisions, curricular arrangements, assessment and recognition strategies and practical implications within the ERASMUS program. The text includes 11 references and an abbreviated version of the text in German. (JB)

This study aimed to synthesize the scattered sources of information available on the 3-year, technically oriented Fachhochschulen type of higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany. Organized into six sections, the book starts with a review of the organization of the higher education system including the trend towards a unitary system, the establishment of the comprehensives and the Fachhochschulen, institutional patterns, options for qualified school leavers, higher education objectives, and administrative and legal arrangements. The second section examines course content and organization including entrance qualifications and admissions, duration of studies, practical periods, certification, and curricular innovation. A third section seeks to assess the prestige of institutional types in particular the Fachhochschulen versus the universities. Section four provides a statistical overview in the form of tables with detailed explanation. The fifth section treats teachers in the Fachhochschulen as they compare to the staff at universities qualitatively, and with regard to career, status and duties beyond their major functions. The concluding section takes a look at the past and future of the Fachhochschulen, in particular the difficulties this type of higher education faces due to the societal environment in West Germany which continues to regard the traditional university education as best. (JB)