Internationalisation by demarcating the role of higher education in sustainable development goals: The case of Israel [Scholarly Article - EJED, February 2021]

Title:

Internationalisation by demarcating the role of higher education in sustainable development goals: The case of Israel

 

Author:

Miri Yemini

 

Published:

European Journal of Education (EJED), 14 February 2021

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejed.12443

 

Abstract:

Many policy makers and scholars consider higher education to be a key driver for states' implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); however, the impact of higher education in national SDGs adoption likely differs, based on features and characteristics of particular states. Hence, this study has two aims: (a) to analyse the public discourse on the engagement of the State of Israel with SDG implementation, focusing on the role of higher education in this process; and (b) to discuss the unique position of Israel in implementing and discussing SDGs, given the state's characteristic as a high‐income OECD country involved in an intractable geo‐political conflict that profoundly affects its society. Following an analysis of documents, I highlight the discrepancies between the potential role of higher education in implementing the SDGs and the role of higher education as articulated by the state and public discourse. Two significant discrepancies are found: first, the complete absence of Israel's national conflict in the discourse on SDGs reflected in formal documents published both by the state and by Israeli NGOs. Second, the misalignment between the structure and function of higher education in Israel in terms of internationalisation strategies adopted and the specific role ascribed to higher education within the SDG discourse.

Governance challenges in distance education: a case study at the Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning (COLL) the Namibia University Science and Technology (NUST) [Stellenbosch University - Thesis, 2020]

Title:

Governance challenges in distance education: a case study at the Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning (COLL) the Namibia University Science and Technology (NUST)

Author:

Muundjua, Jackelins

Published:

Stellenbosch University, December 2020

[Thesis (MPA) in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, School of Public Leadership]

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/109377

 

English Summary: 

Distance education increasingly acquires popularity as a platform for education delivery as it conduits the education divergence globally. The nature of the learning process poses challenges, unique and different from traditional on-campus learning. The researcher acknowledges the various challenges encountered by distance higher education (HE) centres. More of these challenges emanate from governance-related concerns. As such, the study attempted to investigate governance challenges in distance HE in Namibia, with the Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning (COLL) of the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) as the case study. The study adopted the exploratory research design to explore governance challenges at the Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning. Questionnaires and interviews were employed to collect quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The respondents comprised distance education students, student support staff, regional coordinators, and NUST management. Purposive sampling was employed to select the sample to ensure that only knowledgeable individuals were targeted for data collection. The research findings revealed a myriad of challenges encountered by COLL distance students, student support staff, and NUST management. Most identified shortcomings were related to human resources-, infrastructural-, and administrative challenges. Despite the identified challenges at COLL, systems, policies, and strategies remain, aimed at improving quality education delivery to distance students. The study suggests norms and interventions to establish a normative framework and accompanying strategies to address the challenges encountered by COLL.