What models of governance are effective in complex education systems? In all systems an increasing number of stakeholders are involved in designing, delivering, and monitoring education. Like our societies, education systems are increasingly diverse regarding students, teachers, and communities, as well as the values and identities we expect…

This collection of short papers is an outcome of the third conference on virtual exchange in higher education hosted by the Pedagogical University in Krakow in April 2018. Following the focus of the conference on virtual exchange in service of social inclusion and global citizenship, the papers collected in this volume offer first-hand insights…

This protocol explains the new system for assessing research quality at research universities located in the Netherlands. It discusses the legal and historical background for establishing a new system of quality determination in research, describes the essential aspects of the research assessment process and the particular tasks of…

Enormous enrollment growth has created substantial management problems for Dutch universities. Based on the idea that government research policy should stimulate, not weaken, university capabilities to improve their management, a system of research schools has been integrated into the higher education system to better concentrate teaching and…

A University of Leiden study on the potential use of quantitative, literature-based indicators as tools for monitoring research productivity and establishing research policy, based on the bibliographic productivity of two major faculties, is reported and discussed. (MSE)

Given the growing need to look across national borders in order to be prepared for global challenges confronting higher education in the coming decades, it can be expected that institutional administrators in the U.S. and other western countries will need information on the quality and efficiency of their activities, including an international…

This paper analyzes a research project that maps implementation efforts of comprehensive and mandated change at the primary school level in The Netherlands. In examining this large-scale national reform program, the report deals with schools whose innovation efforts acquired funding from the central education department in return for their local…

The role of an economic development agency in promoting networking and communication among high-tech industries in one region of the Netherlands is described. (Author/MSE)

The article describes how planning was used to transform the University of Twente (The Netherlands) from a regional to an entrepreneurial national institution. Noted are contexts of Dutch higher education and history, developments since 1964, strategic development for the 1980s, planning since 1980, a strategic plan for the 1990s, and the present…

Reports on an eight-year longitudinal study of Dutch children on the relationship of the development of reading ability in primary schools with general academic success. Finds that young children with reading problems in primary school keep them throughout their educational career. (CFR)

The role of institutional budgeting strategies in promoting institutional change is examined, looking specifically at two budget components (general-purpose lump sums and earmarked funds). Experiences of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) with internal competition for reduced funds as a means for stimulating change are discussed. (MSE)

Between the years of 1978 and 1987, the Dutch National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO) developed a core curriculum of objectives and content for a new social and political education curriculum. These new programs were to take effect in the secondary modern schools and lower vocational schools for students age 14-16. The empowering…

This report synthesizes experiences in a number of countries (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Japan) on the market economy in higher education. Considered are market forces, various financial structures (institutional budgets, student funding, research infrastructure, other income, staffing), and implications for the future. (MSE)

This report presents details from an examination of the curricula and diplomas of the Electrical Engineering departments of several major European technical universities (in the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium). The examination, a process involving department representatives of the various schools who came together to…

The Program on Institutional Management in Higher Education of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development studied information technology (IT) in higher education. Specifically, the study aimed to investigate the state of the art of IT in European higher education, examine the potential of IT and the impact of IT developments on…