5th Global Conference
Thursday 8th May - Saturday 10th May 2008
Budapest, Hungary
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Session 5: Democracy, Citizenship and Higher Education—cont.
Chair: Mark Dobbins
Globalisation and the Transformation of Higher Education in Nigeria since 1986: An Analysis of Global Inequalities
Philippa Hall
Department of Education and Social Science University of Central Lancashire Preston PR1 2HE, UK
This paper examines how processes of globalisation are currently transforming higher education and focuses upon the impact of privatisation policies upon universities in Nigeria. Several writers have argued that globalisation is a fact of life that cannot be changed. Within this school of thought, higher education is deemed central to the development of wealth creation within the emerging knowledge economy and it is considered that structures of university government and curricula must be reformed to meet changing vocational patterns. Other writers argue that globalisation can encompass different economic patterns and objectives, and that its current, dominant form is the outcome of particular neo-liberal policy decisions. This paper considers both theoretical perspectives in an analysis of the privatisation of the university system in Nigeria. It is argued that privatisation is exacerbating educational inequalities both within Nigeria and between Nigeria and the West.
Until the late 1970s, several Nigerian universities, including Ahmadu Bello University and Ibadan, had an international standing in research and teaching. However, the policy of structural adjustment imposed from 1986 onwards severely reduced public funding for higher education and was met with opposition from many civil society groups, including the public sector trade unions. The paper examines how structural adjustment paved the way for the subsequent privatisation policies that have been imposed within the university system since 1999. The Nigerian government aims to use educational reforms to integrate Nigeria within the emerging global knowledge economy, yet this approach can overlook the unequal terms of participation that structure the global education market and its transactions. This paper examines some of the new private universities that have been established as a differentiated market in higher education emerges in Nigeria, a market which encompasses institutions run by Pentecostal ministries and those affiliated to US universities. The paper sets the marketisation of Nigerian tertiary education within the changing relations between the state, public provision and private capital that characterise neo-liberal forms of globalisation and are diminishing knowledge as a common good.
The Great Transformation: From Higher Education to Special Training
Theodore Papaelias
No abstract is presently avaialble
The Nature of Learning Theories and Their Effects on Distance Education Practices in Turkey
Serpil
Kocdar & Nilgün Özdamar
Open Education Faculty, Anadolu University, Turkey
Educational practices are based on learning theories whether delivered on campus or at a distance. Learning theories guide the practice and research of education by trying to explain how people learn (Simonson, et al.,1999; Newby, et al., 2000). They have been the basis for understanding student learning and how best to facilitate the learning process. So, it is very important to understand the nature of learning theories in order to design effective distance education practices. In other words, educators can have a strong basis for their successful practices by understanding how the learning theories emerged and developed. In order to understand the nature of these learning theories, it is important to examine them in a global context by investigating the transition among various fields of science, society and education. Because, paradigm changes in science and society affected the emergence and development of learning theories.
Many theories have been proposed to explain learning. Of these theories, behavioral, cognitive and constructivist approaches are three broad theoretical perspectives. These perspectives represent major trends or themes in the way learning is conceptualized (Newby, et al., 2000). Therefore, the three basic theories of learning are examined in this study.
Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the nature of learning theories by examining the reflection of scientific and social paradigm changes on learning theories and effects of these learning theories on distance education practices in Turkey. Research questions related to the main purpose are:
- How learning theories changed due to the paradigm changes in science and society
- How learning theories affected the design and implementation of higher distance education practices
- How learning theories affected the design and implementation of higher distance education practices in Turkey
To answer the research questions; first, paradigm changes in science and society will be examined. Then, the reflection of these changes on learning theories will be exposed. Finally, the effect of the learning theories in the design and implementation of distance education will be discussed.
