Books by Aggelos Kavasakalis
Κάλλιπος, Ανοικτές Ακαδημαϊκές Εκδόσεις, 2022
Το βιβλίο αυτό απευθύνεται σε όλους αυτούς που ενδιαφέρονται για το επιστημονικό πεδίο της Εκπαιδ... more Το βιβλίο αυτό απευθύνεται σε όλους αυτούς που ενδιαφέρονται για το επιστημονικό πεδίο της Εκπαιδευτικής Πολιτικής. Οι στόχοι του είναι τρεις.
Πρώτον, να καταστήσει διακριτό το επιστημονικό πεδίο και τους ερευνητές του από τον ρόλο και τη δουλειά των policy makers που χρησιμοποιούν καταχρηστικά το όνομα του επιστημονικού πεδίου για μια εργασία κυβερνητικής ευθύνης που κατέχουν περιστασιακά.
Δεύτερον, να καταστήσει σαφές ότι τα επιστημονικά πεδία εξελίσσονται και μεταλλάσσονται παρακολουθώντας τις ευρύτερες κοινωνικές, πολιτικές και οικονομικές εξελίξεις. Έτσι, προσπαθεί να αναλύσει και να ερμηνεύσει τη μετάπλαση του όρου Εκπαιδευτική Πολιτική σε Εκπαιδευτικές Πολιτικές και στη συνέχεια σε Πολιτικές διά βίου μάθησης μέσα από το σταδιακό πέρασμα της κυβέρνησης (government) ενός εκπαιδευτικού συστήματος στο πλαίσιο ενός εθνικού κράτους στη διακυβέρνηση (governance) ενός πολυεπίπεδου και πολυδιάστατου χώρου διά βίου μάθησης σε ένα υπερκρατικό περιβάλλον.
Τρίτον, να δείξει ότι η θεώρηση των πολιτικών διά βίου μάθησης μπορεί να γίνει κατανοητή και ερμηνεύσιμη, άρα και χρήσιμη, μόνο όταν ενταχθεί σε ευρύτερες υπερκρατικές διευθετήσεις και δίκτυα υπερβαίνοντας τους τοπικούς/εθνικούς περιορισμούς και παραμορφώσεις.
Εκδόσεις Σαΐτα, Επιστημονική Σειρά: Ανώτατη Εκπαίδευση, Θεωρίες, Μεθοδολογίες, Αναλύσεις , Apr 2015
Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή έχει ως στόχο την ερμηνεία του τρόπου παραγωγής και εφαρμογής ενός... more Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή έχει ως στόχο την ερμηνεία του τρόπου παραγωγής και εφαρμογής ενός προγράμματος πολιτικής για τη διασφάλιση της ποιότητας στο ελληνικό πανεπιστήμιο. Ως κεντρική θεώρηση έχει το σχηματισμό αντιτιθέμενων συνασπισμών δικτύων πολιτικής που δρουν με διακύβευμα τις πολιτικές σχετικά με το πανεπιστήμιο.
Τα ευρήματα της διατριβής συνοψίζονται επιγραμματικά στα εξής:
Η πρώτη αλλαγή πολιτικής, που συμβαίνει το 2005 με την ψήφιση του νόμου 3374, πραγματοποιείται κυρίως εξαιτίας εξωγενών συνθηκών του υποσυστήματος πολιτικής του πανεπιστημίου. Πριν και μετά τη ψήφιση του νόμου δραστηριοποιούνται δύο αντιτιθέμενοι συνασπισμοί δικτύων με συγκρίσιμους πόρους.
Οι μετέπειτα εξελίξεις εντός του υποσυστήματος πολιτικής του ελληνικού πανεπιστημίου προκαλούν αλλαγές στους πόρους των δύο συνασπισμών. Ο συνασπισμός δικτύων που δρα «Εναντίον» του προγράμματος πολιτικής αποδυναμώνεται διαρκώς με αποτέλεσμα να μην μπορεί να διατηρήσει με αποτελεσματικό τρόπο την αντιπαράθεση σε υψηλά επίπεδα. Ο συνασπισμός που δρα «Υπέρ» ισχυροποιείται έναντι του πρώτου με αποτέλεσμα να δημιουργούνται ευνοϊκές συνθήκες για την εφαρμογή της πολιτικής.
Η αλλαγή πολιτικής δεν συνοδεύεται από ταυτόχρονη παραγωγή γνώσης μέσω πολιτικής εμπειρίας, τόσο εντός όσο και μεταξύ των συνασπισμών δικτύων, παρά το γεγονός ότι η πολιτική εμπειρία δεν υπήρξε αμελητέα καθώς η αντιπαράθεση για το συγκεκριμένο ζήτημα ήταν διαρκώς παρούσα για περίπου μία δεκαετία.
Lambert Academic Publishing , Feb 1, 2014
The University, from its foundation until today, has had to adapt to the needs of different histo... more The University, from its foundation until today, has had to adapt to the needs of different historical periods. Nowadays universities are experiencing massification and internationalization, and one of the international policies in HE systems that is related to these phenomena, is Quality Assurance (QA). In Greece, the public debate on a university evaluation system did not emerge as an internal national policy issue but rather as a policy transfer of European policies derived either from the EU or the Bologna Process. This has provoked intense public debate and policy conflict.
This book aims, on the one hand, to analyze the way in which a policy program of QA in Greek universities has been established and implemented and, on the other hand, to discover whether, during the implementation of this policy program, concrete common beliefs and values concerning the University do exist among Greek academics who were active in opposing coalition networks.
This book could be a reference source for researchers, academics and students of social sciences, as well as for national and international policy makers, administrators and managers working on higher education issues.
Papers by Aggelos Kavasakalis
Proceeding of WIII World Congress of Comparative Education Societies “Lining Together – Education and Intercultural Dialogue”, 2007
Since 2000 Greek public universities are in turmoil, their regular function disrupted by strikes ... more Since 2000 Greek public universities are in turmoil, their regular function disrupted by strikes of the academic personnel and occupations of departments/faculties by students. Academics and students alike have been resisting sternly the efforts of two different administrations (socialist and liberal) to implement at the national level European education policies proposed through the EU (Lisbon Agenda) and the Bologna Process. On a previous phase of the debate the opposition focused on the creation and implementation of a Quality Assurance system (Law 3374/2005). Presently it concerns the recently voted Law on the Regulation of Higher Education.
During this discussion we consider higher education as a policy arena where outcomes are the result of legal, normative and cultural pressures exerted by networks of stakeholders acting across the national and supranational level. It appears that the efforts to implement Europeanisation policies, especially the ones proposed through the Bologna process, upset the till now relative stable power relations between government (i.e. the Ministry of Education) and academia and
brought to the fore differences in norms and values. In this paper we argue that the deadlock that has been reached in the public debate concerning the implementation of Europeanisation policies can be, partially at least, attributed to a tension or incongruence of values rooted in the “culture” of the academic community concerning quality and the normative pressures exerted by Europeanisation policies concerning
the establishment of a Quality Assurance mechanism. We use the quality debate as an example to highlight the different conceptions of quality put forth both by the government and the majority opposition party on the one hand, both of which appear to fully espouse the EU discourse, and the academic community on the other.
The opinions of academics presented in this paper are based on material posted on the internet (university sites and personal and blog-sites discussing education policy issues) and articles published in the press. They should be seen as representative of the views expressed by various (groups of) academics, but omissions are unavoidable as the relative Greek literature is quite extensive.
11ο Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριου Παιδαγωγικής Εταιρείας Ελλάδας «Βασική και συνεχιζόμενη εκπαίδευση των εκπαιδευτικών σε ένα σύνθετο και μεταβαλλόμενο περιβάλλον», 2018
Στο παρόν κείμενο θα επικεντρωθούμε στην ανάλυση των πολιτικών δια βίου μάθησης που σχετίζονται μ... more Στο παρόν κείμενο θα επικεντρωθούμε στην ανάλυση των πολιτικών δια βίου μάθησης που σχετίζονται με την αναγνώριση
της μάθησης μέσω εργασιακής εμπειρίας στο ευρύτερο πλαίσιο της «κοινωνίας της γνώσης».
WIV World Congress of Comparative Education Societies “Bordering, Re-bordering and new possibilities in Education and Society”, 2010
During the last decades the regular function of Greek universities has been disrupted several tim... more During the last decades the regular function of Greek universities has been disrupted several times due to various governmental educational reforms often related with European education policies. In this paper we focus on efforts for an establishment and implementation of a quality assurance mechanism in Greek higher education, which is a policy theme that always reinforced the conflict in the specific policy arena. Relevant data is drawn by a larger scale research on this particular educational policy issue, in which, we consider higher education as a policy arena where actors form networks that share common policy core beliefs and values, engaging coordinated action in order to translate these into public policy. The paper intends to light up the Greek case where policies concerning a quality assurance system in universities have always been confronted with great resistance by networks acting in the specific policy arena. It also tries to understand the fact that even when relative legislation has been voted it is not thoroughly implemented or, in some cases, not implemented at all.
Academia, 2024
The policies related to lifelong learning are policies that are strongly internationalized in the... more The policies related to lifelong learning are policies that are strongly internationalized in their formulation. In this paper, we focus on the "transfer" of policies and related programmes from the European level to the national level. We explore the turning points in the evolution of these policies at the European and national level and the existence and characteristics of possible policy transfer. In the introduction of this paper, we briefly explain the broader context in which lifelong learning policies are developed and then we describe the methodology of research and conclude with the central research question of this paper. In the next part, we discuss and analyze the theoretical notion of "policy transfer". We are going to discuss its definition, the categories of policy transfer, the types of what is being transferred, and the manner and prerequisites of a possible successful transfer. Then we will focus on international organizations and their role in the promotion of education policies (in our case, lifelong learning policies). The European Union (EU) will be at the centre of this analysis. Finally, we intend to present a timeline of the lifelong learning policies that have been promoted and established during the last decades at two levels: the European and the national (Greek) level. Based on these data, we are going to conduct an initial analysis using the theoretical tool of "policy transfer" and produce conclusions about the individual characteristics of lifelong learning policy transfer between EU and Greek policy subsystems.
Academia, 2025
Doctoral training in Europe (EHEA) is changing from a highly individualized model based on the in... more Doctoral training in Europe (EHEA) is changing from a highly individualized model based on the interpersonal relationship between supervisor and doctoral student (apprenticeship model) to a new form linking university and the economy. At the same time, the 3d cycle is being restructured. This paper raises the question of whether Greece is following and adapting to these developments. The methodology used is a comparative analysis of policy texts at both the European and Greek levels. Official documents at the EU level and documents produced in the framework of the Bologna process have been analyzed. As far as Greece is concerned, the analysis was carried out on two levels: At the national level, we followed the evolution of legislation and examined the changes at the institutional-legislative level. We have also focused on the case of the University of Patras, where we emphasized the PhD Regulations of the Institution and those of the Departments according to the provisions of the most recent law (Law 4957/2022). The results of the study indicate that Greece is linking 3rd cycle training to industry and the economy. It is also moving towards the establishment of a structured doctoral program of study. However, this transition is not uniform at all levels. Differences do exist at both institutional and departmental levels. However, what remains unchanged is the strong relationship between supervisor and doctoral student.
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal (CEPS Journal), 2013
This paper aims to investigate the production (or not) of policy-oriented
learning during the est... more This paper aims to investigate the production (or not) of policy-oriented
learning during the establishment and implementation of a specific policy
program in the policy sub-system of the Greek university as well as
the interpretation of the existence (or not) of policy-oriented learning.
The theoretical tools were drawn mainly from the theoretical work of
Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith, termed the ‘advocacy coalition framework
(ACF)’. The Greek university is therefore considered to be a policy subsystem
in which actors form coalition networks that share policy core
beliefs and values, and engage in coordinated action in order to translate
these beliefs and values into public policy. Thirty-five semi-structured
interviews were used for the production of data, in combination with
policy paper analysis.
Keywords: Greek higher education; Higher education policy; Policy
analysis; Quality assurance
Proceedings of the World Conference on Future of Education, Cambridge, Dec 28, 2023
Throughout the 21st century, the equality and inclusion of vulnerable groups has been a constant ... more Throughout the 21st century, the equality and inclusion of vulnerable groups has been a constant theme in international debates and on the official agendas of international organisations. In the area of education, the participation of children belonging to these groups is a challenge in all countries, whether or not they have high enrolment rates for the general population. In Greece, the Roma community is considered the most socially vulnerable group. Roma children face significant challenges in terms of education and wider social integration. Schooling programmes for Roma children have been planned in Greece since the end of the last century. However, despite positive ex-post evaluations of these programmes, the expected results have not been achieved. The evaluation of these programmes identifies four distinct stages in the schooling process: (a) Families' decisions regarding the value of their children's school attendance; (b) Cultivating a culture of reducing bureaucratic-administrative issues related to enrolment; (c) Establishing support structures for Roma pupils during their stay in school; and (d) Implementing actions to promote the effective development of knowledge, skills, and competencies of Roma pupils in the school environment. National-level studies have shown that the attendance of Roma children is a complex social phenomenon that extends beyond the educational process. This paper presents a research study conducted in Greece, in comparison with the European level. At the initial research, the University of Patras conducted field research as part of the 'Integration of Roma Children in School' programme, which was funded by the Ministry of Education and the EU. For further analysis of the original data, a qualitative approach of text analysis was employed, utilizing specialized reports from international (European) organizations and national reports from the Ministry of Education in the context of relevant programmes and actions.
Proceedings of The 5th International Conference on Innovative Research in Education, Nov 18, 2022
Environmental sustainability and the green transition are central goals of European societies and... more Environmental sustainability and the green transition are central goals of European societies and a key aspect of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Universities are institutions that (a) may address the environmental challenges facing the planet, (b) promote the discussion concerning sustainable and environmental policies, (c) establish actions to green their own footprint and, (d) contribute to the promotion of the relative informing of their student or in more general the citizens and social actors. The present communication is based on a broader research that is in its initial stage and is related to the investigation of the attitudes of faculty members and the perceptions of the administrative authorities of a Greek university regarding the role of the university in promoting sustainability and sustainable development. In this paper, we will briefly present the central objectives and policy axes of the international and European green agenda. We will then highlight the role of universities in sustainable development by underlining the importance of higher education for sustainability, which is currently at the center of European attention. The paper will conclude with a focus on the ongoing corresponding research in a Greek university. The methodological tools of this research are semi-structured interviews and text analysis.
Après une longue période de politiques d'élargissement de l'accès à l'enseignement supérieur, nou... more Après une longue période de politiques d'élargissement de l'accès à l'enseignement supérieur, nous constatons un phénomène imprévu : l'abandon des études. Une bibliographie spécialisée dense prouve l'ampleur du phénomène. Souvent, l'intérêt porte sur la première année d'études qui semble être un moment décisif. Cependant, ce ne sont pas que les nouveaux étudiants qui courent le risque de l'abandon. Le phénomène semble caractériser toute la période d'études. C'est pourquoi, nous nous sommes focalisés sur les étudiants après la première année d'études afin d'analyser si et dans quelle mesure ils sont susceptibles d'abandonner leurs études. Dans ce texte, nous présentons les résultats d'une recherche menée auprès des étudiants d'une université grecque, qui essaie de concrétiser le profil des étudiants qui pensent à abandonner leurs études et qui ne sont pas en première année. De cette étude ressort que les étudiants qui formulent un sens négatif de leur vie d'étudiant sont les plus vulnérables. De plus, les étudiants qui peinent à se forger la représentation sociale « université » et qui n'ont pas une motivation précise pour les études universitaires sont plus enclin à envisager l'abandon i .
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2022
The paper focuses on the implementation of lifelong learning policies (LLL) in Greek universities... more The paper focuses on the implementation of lifelong learning policies (LLL) in Greek universities concerning the establishment and operation of lifelong learning centres (LLLCs) in universities. The research will focus on the characteristics of the active curricula in the academic year 2020-21 of one lifelong learning centre, the centre of the University of Macedonia.Specifically, the first section makes a reference to knowledge society and its characteristics and provides the basic definitions of the concepts that will be dealt with in the article. The 2nd section highlights the main developments in lifelong learning policies, initially at a European level and subsequently at a national level. The 3rd section presents the research methodology concerning the characteristics and central choices of the lifelong learning centre of the University of Macedonia. The 4th section presents the analysis of the survey findings and our conclusions.
Academia eBooks, 2011
Στόχος της eργασίας eίναι η διeρeύνηση, μέσω μιας ανάλυσης πeρίπτωσης eνός συγκeκριμένου προγράμμ... more Στόχος της eργασίας eίναι η διeρeύνηση, μέσω μιας ανάλυσης πeρίπτωσης eνός συγκeκριμένου προγράμματος πολιτικής, της ύπαρξης ή μη eνός «ώριμου υποσυστήματος πολιτικής» στο χώρο του eλληνικού πανeπιστημίου. Τα θeωρητικά eργαλeία αντλήθηκαν από την eργασία των Sabatier και Jenkins-Smith γνωστή ως «Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF)». Σe αυτό το πλαίσιο θeωρeίται ότι δρώντeς συγκροτούν δίκτυα πολιτικής τα οποία δημιουργούν αντιτιθέμeνους συνασπισμούς δικτύων οι οποίοι συγκρούονται έχοντας ως διακύβeυμα την προώθηση και eφαρμογή πολιτικών. Τα eρeυνητικά δeδομένα παρήχθησαν από 35 ημιδομημένeς συνeντeύξeις και από ανάλυση κeιμένων πολιτικής. Στόχος ήταν η στοιχeιοθέτηση του σχηματισμού αντιμαχόμeνων συνασπισμών δικτύων σχeτικά μe συγκeκριμένο ζήτημα πολιτικής και κυρίως η διeρeύνηση eάν το υποσύστημα πολιτικής του eλληνικού πανeπιστημίου έχeι χαρακτηριστικά ώριμου υποσυστήματος.
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2022
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) seem to be influenced by the evolutions of globalization, to... more Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) seem to be influenced by the evolutions of globalization, to modernize and operate according to the knowledge society and therefore preparing and equipping students with the appropriate knowledge and skills required in order to respond to new situations imposed by the modern globalized environment. A principal axis is the internationalization of the teaching and learning provided in order to increase the competitiveness among institutions, improve the quality of the provided services and lastly integrate an international as well as intercultural dimension in the purpose, the functions and the mission of an institution (De Wit, 2015; Knight, 2004). The aim of the present article is to provide a theoretical reflection on internationalization and student mobility (which is an internationalization policy) in European Higher Education Area in the 21st century. The first section will attempt to delineate the concept of internationalization and its mode...
If the establishment and implementation of an educational policy that comes to be applied in the ... more If the establishment and implementation of an educational policy that comes to be applied in the field (institution) is understood as the object of negotiations that is sometimes implemented, sometimes marginalized and sometimes deformed, then the analysis of this multiform process could be carried out through the theoretical view of policy networks and the actions of social actors within these networks. With this thesis as the starting point of this paper, the theoretical notion of social networks will be presented and analyzed in order to explain how the actors of an (educational) institution create networks with the aim of promoting and defending ideas, beliefs and interests. As a result, the educational institution is understood as a field of controversy, conflict, negotiation and compromise with its external environment (international environment, state, society) and its internal reality (power distribution, hierarchy, internal functions). In this paper, the main points of the ...
Στο παρόν κeίμeνο μέσω της ανάλυσης του παραδeίγματος των προσπαθeιών θeσμοθέτησης αξιολόγησης κα... more Στο παρόν κeίμeνο μέσω της ανάλυσης του παραδeίγματος των προσπαθeιών θeσμοθέτησης αξιολόγησης και διασφάλισης της ποιότητας στα eλληνικά πανeπιστήμια αναδeικνύονται η δυσκολία θeσμοθέτησης, οι eξeλίξeις και αλλαγές στο eλληνικό πανeπιστήμιο και η σταδιακή μeτατόπιση σe ένα πιο θeσμοποιημένο σύστημα αξιολόγησης. Ταυτόχρονα eπιχeιρeίται να διeρeυνηθeί η πιθανότητα να δημιουργούνται συνθήκeς αυστηρότeρου eλέγχου του eλληνικού πανeπιστημίου καθώς και συνθήκeς προώθησης αριστeίας και ανταγωνισμού στα πανeπιστήμια. Τέλος τίθeνται eρωτήματα σχeτικά μe την αναδeικνυόμeνη «μeταφορά πολιτικής» που λαμβάνeι χώρα σe αυτό το πeδίο πολιτικής καθώς οι πολιτικές διασφάλισης της ποιότητας στην eλληνική ανώτατη eκπαίδeυση θα μπορούσαν να eννοιολογηθούν ως «eισαγόμeνeς» από το eυρύτeρο πeδίο των eυρωπαϊκών eκπαιδeυτικών πολιτικών (EEΠ) για την ανώτατη eκπαίδeυση. Eπομένως όλο το κeίμeνο το διατρέχουν οι αντίστοιχeς eξeλίξeις στις EEΠ που σχeτίζονται μe τη διασφάλιση της ποιότητας στα ανώτατα eυρωπαϊκ...
Σe μια από τις, σημαντικές για eμένα, συζητήσeις που κάναμe μe τον Διονύση Κλάδη κατά τη διάρκeια... more Σe μια από τις, σημαντικές για eμένα, συζητήσeις που κάναμe μe τον Διονύση Κλάδη κατά τη διάρκeια eκπόνησης της διδακτορικής μου διατριβής τα Χριστούγeννα του 2008 ανέφeρe ότι τρeις eίναι, κατά τη γνώμη του, οι παρακαταθήκeς της δραστηριοποίησής του στο Υπουργeίο Παιδeίας: ο Νόμος 1268/82, οι διαδικασίeς διeύρυνσης της ανώτατης eκπαίδeυσης την πeρίοδο 1998-2004 και η eίσοδος των eλληνικών πανeπιστημίων στη διαδικασία της Μπολόνια το 1999. Eπιλέγω στο συγκeκριμένο κeίμeνο να ασχοληθώ μe τη δeύτeρη, καθώς για την πρώτη πολλοί και eιδικότeροι από eμένα υπάρχουν να μιλήσουν ή έχουν ήδη μιλήσeι, eνώ η τρίτη σχeτίζeται eμμέσως μe τη διeρeύνηση που πραγματοποίησα στο πλαίσιο της διδακτορικής μου διατριβής. Το παρόν κeίμeνο πραγματeύeται πρωτίστως την παρουσίαση και ανάλυση του σχeδιασμού και της eφαρμογής των πολιτικών ανάπτυξης και διeύρυνσης της eλληνικής ανώτατης eκπαίδeυσης κατά την eξαeτία 1998-2004. Παράλληλα ασχολeίται μe την κριτική που δέχθηκe το συγκeκριμένο πρόγραμμα πολιτικής σ...
Academia, 2020
The article focuses on the issue of the incorporation of non-formal types of lifelong learning (L... more The article focuses on the issue of the incorporation of non-formal types of lifelong learning (LLL) services delivery into the Greek Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). During the past three decades, this issue appears to have received significant attention as a result of relevant policies promoted worldwide and the strong political will demonstrated by the European states. After briefly presenting the consecutive stages of LLL incorporation into HEIs , the article will emphasise the incorporation of LLL into the Greek Universities and, especially, non-formal types of learning services delivery. The University has been undergoing a series of constant, rapid and profound transformations, in the last few years, that have, on the one hand, turned it into a vast and multi-dimensional organization and on the other, present it with unprecedented dilemmas and perils . Among these, one of the most fundamental pertains to the severe impact induced by the adoption of non-formal types of ...
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Books by Aggelos Kavasakalis
Πρώτον, να καταστήσει διακριτό το επιστημονικό πεδίο και τους ερευνητές του από τον ρόλο και τη δουλειά των policy makers που χρησιμοποιούν καταχρηστικά το όνομα του επιστημονικού πεδίου για μια εργασία κυβερνητικής ευθύνης που κατέχουν περιστασιακά.
Δεύτερον, να καταστήσει σαφές ότι τα επιστημονικά πεδία εξελίσσονται και μεταλλάσσονται παρακολουθώντας τις ευρύτερες κοινωνικές, πολιτικές και οικονομικές εξελίξεις. Έτσι, προσπαθεί να αναλύσει και να ερμηνεύσει τη μετάπλαση του όρου Εκπαιδευτική Πολιτική σε Εκπαιδευτικές Πολιτικές και στη συνέχεια σε Πολιτικές διά βίου μάθησης μέσα από το σταδιακό πέρασμα της κυβέρνησης (government) ενός εκπαιδευτικού συστήματος στο πλαίσιο ενός εθνικού κράτους στη διακυβέρνηση (governance) ενός πολυεπίπεδου και πολυδιάστατου χώρου διά βίου μάθησης σε ένα υπερκρατικό περιβάλλον.
Τρίτον, να δείξει ότι η θεώρηση των πολιτικών διά βίου μάθησης μπορεί να γίνει κατανοητή και ερμηνεύσιμη, άρα και χρήσιμη, μόνο όταν ενταχθεί σε ευρύτερες υπερκρατικές διευθετήσεις και δίκτυα υπερβαίνοντας τους τοπικούς/εθνικούς περιορισμούς και παραμορφώσεις.
Τα ευρήματα της διατριβής συνοψίζονται επιγραμματικά στα εξής:
Η πρώτη αλλαγή πολιτικής, που συμβαίνει το 2005 με την ψήφιση του νόμου 3374, πραγματοποιείται κυρίως εξαιτίας εξωγενών συνθηκών του υποσυστήματος πολιτικής του πανεπιστημίου. Πριν και μετά τη ψήφιση του νόμου δραστηριοποιούνται δύο αντιτιθέμενοι συνασπισμοί δικτύων με συγκρίσιμους πόρους.
Οι μετέπειτα εξελίξεις εντός του υποσυστήματος πολιτικής του ελληνικού πανεπιστημίου προκαλούν αλλαγές στους πόρους των δύο συνασπισμών. Ο συνασπισμός δικτύων που δρα «Εναντίον» του προγράμματος πολιτικής αποδυναμώνεται διαρκώς με αποτέλεσμα να μην μπορεί να διατηρήσει με αποτελεσματικό τρόπο την αντιπαράθεση σε υψηλά επίπεδα. Ο συνασπισμός που δρα «Υπέρ» ισχυροποιείται έναντι του πρώτου με αποτέλεσμα να δημιουργούνται ευνοϊκές συνθήκες για την εφαρμογή της πολιτικής.
Η αλλαγή πολιτικής δεν συνοδεύεται από ταυτόχρονη παραγωγή γνώσης μέσω πολιτικής εμπειρίας, τόσο εντός όσο και μεταξύ των συνασπισμών δικτύων, παρά το γεγονός ότι η πολιτική εμπειρία δεν υπήρξε αμελητέα καθώς η αντιπαράθεση για το συγκεκριμένο ζήτημα ήταν διαρκώς παρούσα για περίπου μία δεκαετία.
This book aims, on the one hand, to analyze the way in which a policy program of QA in Greek universities has been established and implemented and, on the other hand, to discover whether, during the implementation of this policy program, concrete common beliefs and values concerning the University do exist among Greek academics who were active in opposing coalition networks.
This book could be a reference source for researchers, academics and students of social sciences, as well as for national and international policy makers, administrators and managers working on higher education issues.
Papers by Aggelos Kavasakalis
During this discussion we consider higher education as a policy arena where outcomes are the result of legal, normative and cultural pressures exerted by networks of stakeholders acting across the national and supranational level. It appears that the efforts to implement Europeanisation policies, especially the ones proposed through the Bologna process, upset the till now relative stable power relations between government (i.e. the Ministry of Education) and academia and
brought to the fore differences in norms and values. In this paper we argue that the deadlock that has been reached in the public debate concerning the implementation of Europeanisation policies can be, partially at least, attributed to a tension or incongruence of values rooted in the “culture” of the academic community concerning quality and the normative pressures exerted by Europeanisation policies concerning
the establishment of a Quality Assurance mechanism. We use the quality debate as an example to highlight the different conceptions of quality put forth both by the government and the majority opposition party on the one hand, both of which appear to fully espouse the EU discourse, and the academic community on the other.
The opinions of academics presented in this paper are based on material posted on the internet (university sites and personal and blog-sites discussing education policy issues) and articles published in the press. They should be seen as representative of the views expressed by various (groups of) academics, but omissions are unavoidable as the relative Greek literature is quite extensive.
της μάθησης μέσω εργασιακής εμπειρίας στο ευρύτερο πλαίσιο της «κοινωνίας της γνώσης».
learning during the establishment and implementation of a specific policy
program in the policy sub-system of the Greek university as well as
the interpretation of the existence (or not) of policy-oriented learning.
The theoretical tools were drawn mainly from the theoretical work of
Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith, termed the ‘advocacy coalition framework
(ACF)’. The Greek university is therefore considered to be a policy subsystem
in which actors form coalition networks that share policy core
beliefs and values, and engage in coordinated action in order to translate
these beliefs and values into public policy. Thirty-five semi-structured
interviews were used for the production of data, in combination with
policy paper analysis.
Keywords: Greek higher education; Higher education policy; Policy
analysis; Quality assurance
Πρώτον, να καταστήσει διακριτό το επιστημονικό πεδίο και τους ερευνητές του από τον ρόλο και τη δουλειά των policy makers που χρησιμοποιούν καταχρηστικά το όνομα του επιστημονικού πεδίου για μια εργασία κυβερνητικής ευθύνης που κατέχουν περιστασιακά.
Δεύτερον, να καταστήσει σαφές ότι τα επιστημονικά πεδία εξελίσσονται και μεταλλάσσονται παρακολουθώντας τις ευρύτερες κοινωνικές, πολιτικές και οικονομικές εξελίξεις. Έτσι, προσπαθεί να αναλύσει και να ερμηνεύσει τη μετάπλαση του όρου Εκπαιδευτική Πολιτική σε Εκπαιδευτικές Πολιτικές και στη συνέχεια σε Πολιτικές διά βίου μάθησης μέσα από το σταδιακό πέρασμα της κυβέρνησης (government) ενός εκπαιδευτικού συστήματος στο πλαίσιο ενός εθνικού κράτους στη διακυβέρνηση (governance) ενός πολυεπίπεδου και πολυδιάστατου χώρου διά βίου μάθησης σε ένα υπερκρατικό περιβάλλον.
Τρίτον, να δείξει ότι η θεώρηση των πολιτικών διά βίου μάθησης μπορεί να γίνει κατανοητή και ερμηνεύσιμη, άρα και χρήσιμη, μόνο όταν ενταχθεί σε ευρύτερες υπερκρατικές διευθετήσεις και δίκτυα υπερβαίνοντας τους τοπικούς/εθνικούς περιορισμούς και παραμορφώσεις.
Τα ευρήματα της διατριβής συνοψίζονται επιγραμματικά στα εξής:
Η πρώτη αλλαγή πολιτικής, που συμβαίνει το 2005 με την ψήφιση του νόμου 3374, πραγματοποιείται κυρίως εξαιτίας εξωγενών συνθηκών του υποσυστήματος πολιτικής του πανεπιστημίου. Πριν και μετά τη ψήφιση του νόμου δραστηριοποιούνται δύο αντιτιθέμενοι συνασπισμοί δικτύων με συγκρίσιμους πόρους.
Οι μετέπειτα εξελίξεις εντός του υποσυστήματος πολιτικής του ελληνικού πανεπιστημίου προκαλούν αλλαγές στους πόρους των δύο συνασπισμών. Ο συνασπισμός δικτύων που δρα «Εναντίον» του προγράμματος πολιτικής αποδυναμώνεται διαρκώς με αποτέλεσμα να μην μπορεί να διατηρήσει με αποτελεσματικό τρόπο την αντιπαράθεση σε υψηλά επίπεδα. Ο συνασπισμός που δρα «Υπέρ» ισχυροποιείται έναντι του πρώτου με αποτέλεσμα να δημιουργούνται ευνοϊκές συνθήκες για την εφαρμογή της πολιτικής.
Η αλλαγή πολιτικής δεν συνοδεύεται από ταυτόχρονη παραγωγή γνώσης μέσω πολιτικής εμπειρίας, τόσο εντός όσο και μεταξύ των συνασπισμών δικτύων, παρά το γεγονός ότι η πολιτική εμπειρία δεν υπήρξε αμελητέα καθώς η αντιπαράθεση για το συγκεκριμένο ζήτημα ήταν διαρκώς παρούσα για περίπου μία δεκαετία.
This book aims, on the one hand, to analyze the way in which a policy program of QA in Greek universities has been established and implemented and, on the other hand, to discover whether, during the implementation of this policy program, concrete common beliefs and values concerning the University do exist among Greek academics who were active in opposing coalition networks.
This book could be a reference source for researchers, academics and students of social sciences, as well as for national and international policy makers, administrators and managers working on higher education issues.
During this discussion we consider higher education as a policy arena where outcomes are the result of legal, normative and cultural pressures exerted by networks of stakeholders acting across the national and supranational level. It appears that the efforts to implement Europeanisation policies, especially the ones proposed through the Bologna process, upset the till now relative stable power relations between government (i.e. the Ministry of Education) and academia and
brought to the fore differences in norms and values. In this paper we argue that the deadlock that has been reached in the public debate concerning the implementation of Europeanisation policies can be, partially at least, attributed to a tension or incongruence of values rooted in the “culture” of the academic community concerning quality and the normative pressures exerted by Europeanisation policies concerning
the establishment of a Quality Assurance mechanism. We use the quality debate as an example to highlight the different conceptions of quality put forth both by the government and the majority opposition party on the one hand, both of which appear to fully espouse the EU discourse, and the academic community on the other.
The opinions of academics presented in this paper are based on material posted on the internet (university sites and personal and blog-sites discussing education policy issues) and articles published in the press. They should be seen as representative of the views expressed by various (groups of) academics, but omissions are unavoidable as the relative Greek literature is quite extensive.
της μάθησης μέσω εργασιακής εμπειρίας στο ευρύτερο πλαίσιο της «κοινωνίας της γνώσης».
learning during the establishment and implementation of a specific policy
program in the policy sub-system of the Greek university as well as
the interpretation of the existence (or not) of policy-oriented learning.
The theoretical tools were drawn mainly from the theoretical work of
Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith, termed the ‘advocacy coalition framework
(ACF)’. The Greek university is therefore considered to be a policy subsystem
in which actors form coalition networks that share policy core
beliefs and values, and engage in coordinated action in order to translate
these beliefs and values into public policy. Thirty-five semi-structured
interviews were used for the production of data, in combination with
policy paper analysis.
Keywords: Greek higher education; Higher education policy; Policy
analysis; Quality assurance
is concerned in Greece. However, Greek governments have never drafted one concrete,
longitudinal set of national priorities to this end. Furthermore, they cut public
resources available to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as far as 60% in the
midst of the economic crisis (Pruvot et al., EUA, Public Funding Observatory
Report 2018. EUA, 2018). In contrast, participation in the European Research Area
(ERA) both provided a set of priorities for research –a research policy- and comprised
one significant alternative form of funding for Greek Universities. Hence,
HEIs have adopted a bottom-up approach with the aim to support efforts by researchgroups
and/or individual academics to take part in international consortia and attract
funding. In light of these developments, the paper addresses the issues of the relation
between internationalised research and national development, especially in the
case of Greece, and the role of HEIs as producers of scientific knowledge and innovation
in the context of a national society, specifically the Greek society.
Τη νέα εποχή, η τάση για ανάπτυξη μόνιμης μισθωτής πλήρους απασχόλησης εργασίας δείχνει να ανατρέπεται. Υπάρχουν εξελίξεις στην κατεύθυνση της ελαστικότητας και της ευελιξίας της εργασίας, αλλά και στην κατεύθυνση κινητικότητας των ίδιων των επιχειρήσεων από χώρα σε χώρα και από ήπειρο σε ήπειρο. Ως αποτέλεσμα έχουμε αύξηση της αυτονομίας στην οργάνωση της δραστηριότητας από τον εργαζόμενο, αλλά με ταυτόχρονη μείωση της αντίληψης του γενικού πλαισίου της δραστηριότητας αυτής. Έτσι, αφενός ενισχύεται σημαντικά ο ρόλος του ατόμου στην παραγωγική διαδικασία, αφετέρου ο εργαζόμενος καθίσταται πιο ευάλωτος στις όποιες αλλαγές στο χώρο εργασίας. Η Κοινωνία της πληροφορίας απαιτεί τον ανεξάρτητο, υψηλής ειδίκευσης, και καλά δικτυωμένο εργαζόμενο. Η Διεθνοποίηση της οικονομίας και της παραγωγής απαιτεί τις τηλεμεταφορές και δημιουργεί συνθήκες ελεύθερης κυκλοφορίας κεφαλαίων, αγαθών και υπηρεσιών σε βαθμό πρωτόγνωρο. Εργασίες μπορούν να εκτελούνται ταυτόχρονα και από απόσταση σε χώρες με χαμηλούς μισθούς. Τέλος με τις προόδους στην Επιστήμη, τεχνολογία και τον πολιτισμό εμφανίζεται ένα νέο πρότυπο παραγωγής γνώσεων και τεχνογνωσίας, που συνδέει την εξειδίκευση, την έρευνα και τη δημιουργικότητα με τη βιομηχανία και τις αγορές. Οι παραπάνω εξελίξεις ενέχουν τον κίνδυνο της αύξησης των ανισοτήτων. Ενδεικτικά στην ΕΕ στο ξεκίνημα του αιώνα (το 2000) το ποσοστό των ατόμων ηλικίας 25-60 ετών που είχαν ολοκληρώσει τουλάχιστον την δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση ήταν μόλις 60,3%. Επίσης σχεδόν 150 εκατομμύρια άνθρωποι βρίσκονταν χωρίς το βασικό επίπεδο εκπαίδευσης αντιμετωπίζοντας έναν υψηλό κίνδυνο περιθωριοποίησης, με την ανεργία να έχει το υψηλότερο ποσοστό στην ηλικιακή ομάδα των νέων. Στις νέες συνθήκες δημιουργείται επομένως η ανάγκη οι πολίτες να αποκτήσουν τις απαραίτητες γνώσεις και ικανότητες για να αντιμετωπίσουν αυτές τις προκλήσεις της κοινωνίας της γνώσης. Η συζήτηση για τη δια βίου μάθηση, και η εφαρμογή αντίστοιχων πολιτικών είναι εξαιρετικά επείγουσα ανάγκη σήμερα. Διότι αφορούν, πρώτον την απασχολησιμότητα και προσαρμοστικότητα των πολιτών ώστε οι κοινωνίες στον ευρωπαϊκό χώρο να γίνουν οικονομικά ανταγωνιστικές, και δεύτερον, την αποφυγή του κοινωνικού αποκλεισμού και τη μείωση των κοινωνικών ανισοτήτων ώστε να αντιμετωπιστούν οι νέοι κοινωνικοί κίνδυνοι, να εκφραστεί η κοινωνική αλληλεγγύη και να διασφαλιστεί η κοινωνική συνοχή.
Education policies in a mass higher education system and more specifically the issue of governance in higher education are important and difficult policy issues that require thorough in depth analysis.
For the last 50 years, higher education systems worldwide have been constantly expanding. During this expansion, and in combination with the broader economic and political agenda , the matter of the efficiency of the institutions themselves, as well as of the higher education system in general, was raised. On the issue of higher education expansion, Pavel Zgaga mentions that increased demand for higher education was not only a simple response to the growing employment options but also a result of the population’s higher social and cultural expectations. Moreover, higher education is no longer primarily a personal calling; it is a social necessity, since modern societies, in order to function, have to increase the number of educated and skilled people (Zgaga, 2007: 12 and 16). These reforms were underpinned by a radical conceptual shift in understanding of the relationship between institutions and the state. In the literature, it was interestingly described as a move away from the traditional “interventionary” towards the new “facilitatory state” (Neave &Van Vught, 1991).
Therefore the international changes in higher education systems push governments to see higher education institutions as responsible for their internal governance.
So, although responsibility for the provision of higher education still remains with the state, there are issues and problems that go beyond the borders of national higher education systems. When problems like the recognition of degrees and periods of study, or professional rights tied to higher education studies come under discussion, then the responsibility for higher education becomes international.
On a European level, as Weber implies, besides the universal changes already mentioned, the origins of the changing environment for European higher education institutions are threefold: Globalization, as well as scientific and technological progress: these are phenomena which strongly impact on our society and economy; The voluntary policies launched in Europe, such as the Bologna process for the creation of a European Higher Education Area without any borders, in which 47 countries now participate, dealing with crucial policy questions like doctorate studies, quality assurance and the social well-being of students, or the set of EU policies known under the heading of “Lisbon Agenda” and; challenges inherent in the development of the higher education and research sector (Weber, 2006: 64).
In this wider framework the European Commission identifies a number of issues that higher education systems and institutions should respond to, such as “continued democratization of access to higher education, new access conditions, in particular the recognition of past professional experience, setting up of lifelong learning schemes, increase of funding diversification, co-operation with industry, EU research funding mainly directed to networks of excellence, increasing interdisciplinarity, intellectual property rights and many others are on the table of the decision makers of the EU as part of their duties to accomplish the aims of the agreed strategy (Soares, 2006: 61).
A central policy issue for all the aforementioned international developments is the issue of the governance of higher education systems and institutions themselves. At this point a distinction between the terms governance and management should be made. From a 2008 Eurodyce report we quote: “As far as higher education is concerned, governance focuses on the rules and mechanisms by which various stakeholders influence decisions, how they are held accountable, and to whom. In the context of higher education, governance refers to ‘the formal and informal exercise of authority under laws, policies and rules that articulate the rights and responsibilities of various actors, including the rules by which they interact ’. In other words, governance encompasses ‘the framework in which an institution pursues its goals, objectives and policies in a coherent and coordinated manner’ to answer the questions: ‘Who is in charge, and what are the sources of legitimacy for executive decision-making by different actors?’ Management, on the other hand, refers to the implementation of a set of objectives pursued by a higher education institution on the basis of established rules. It answers the question "how are the rules applied?" and is concerned with the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of services provided for internal and external stakeholders” (Eurydice, 2008: 12). And as the report continues “despite the distinction between governance (with its emphasis on the process of setting policies and long-term goals as well as the strategies for reaching these goals) and management (which is action-oriented), the various links between the two will not be overlooked” (Eurydice, 2008: 12).
Moreover it has to be said that the notion of governance is not easy to define precisely. As Kohler says “the notion of higher education governance appears to be hard to understand. It is seen as being complex and abstract. Rightly so; and yet it shows itself in very concrete forms and modes of cultures and techniques to be found with regard to autonomy and external stewardship, to internal leadership and steering, to communication and inclusion, to collectivism, stratification and individualism, be it in relation to political setup, administration, decision making, implementation, or monitoring of higher education institutions and their activities” (Kohler, 2006: 17). And the very concept of governance of higher education, if it is to be analyzed and investigated, should, since it is a multidimensional concept, be roughly split into three structural dimensions: a) internal or institutional higher education governance (governance of higher education institution(s)); b) external or systemic higher education governance (governance of higher education system(s)); and c) international or global higher education governance (governance of higher education systems within an international (global) perspective, for example, the Bologna Process) (Zgaga, 2006: 39).
In all these dimensions of governance two notions are always present: autonomy (for us in the wider concept of the democratic functioning of universities) and social accountability. Briefly as far as autonomy is concerned, we should agree with Weber’s view that: “history teaches us that each time the sovereign (church, emperor, dictator or political regime) restricted the autonomy or took control of universities there followed a period of intellectual and social stagnation or decadence” (Weber, 2006: 67). The second central notion in higher education governance is accountability. As the systems of higher education become more and more massified and complex, the state chooses to grant greater autonomy to the institutions as an alternative solution so that the system can function more effectively (and at the same time, the state can limit the huge amounts that need to be given so that the system can function). However, since public funding, due to the sheer size of higher education in each state is so great, the governments are bound to hold higher education institutions accountable for their outcomes. As stated in an OECD paper: “Despite the broad trends in official policy and government legislation to give greater autonomy to higher education institutions, these changes have often been accompanied by new mechanisms for monitoring and controlling performance, quality and funding” (OECD, 2003: 64). And, as is indicated with almost no exception “increased autonomy over a wide range of institutional operations has been accompanied by the introduction of a more sophisticated quality assurance system based on the establishment of a national quality agency for higher education. This has shifted responsibility for higher education quality from a mainly internal judgment by institutions themselves to an external process of peer review and judgment by others such as quality assessment agencies, and funding bodies” (OECD, 2003: 69).
From the above it becomes clear that today's issues related to governance in higher education, to autonomy, and to the nature of external and internal control, are multi-layered, difficult to analyze and, above all, issues worthy of further research. Therefore at national level (in our case at Greek level) issues concern the general framework of national higher education, the structure of Greek higher education governance, the financing of the Greek higher education system and the status and recruitment of academic and administrative staff in Greek higher education institutions
Given the fact that private higher education is forbidden, according to the Greek Constitution, one could be forgiven for wondering what the reason for the existence of the present text might be. And yet, as we will attempt to show, the actual situation in Greece is a little more complex than the country's Constitution gives us to understand. Indeed, the combination of the redevelopment of pre-existing educational structures within the country, new forms of promoting transnational education (franchising) and the intense pressure from global and regional trends (World Trade Organization, European Union) creates a new educational reality with a constantly expansion of Cross Border Higher Education beyond the provisions of the Constitution.
The basic view of this thesis is that actors form policy networks which create advocacy coalitions and collide with other corresponding network coalitions having at risk the establishment and implementation of policies programs for universities.
It seems that in Greece whenever an effort for the establishment of institutionalized quality assurance system takes place the result is the presence of intensity and conflict. However, European educational policies in higher education since 1998 have placed quality assurance as one of the main action lines, fact that results the intensifying of efforts of Greek governments for the voting and implementation of a relative law.
The production, the analysis and finally the interpretation of research data led succinctly to the central findings of the present thesis:
In 2005 due to external to the policy sub-system events and parameters a first policy change takes place with the establishment of a policy program of quality assurance in universities (Law 3374/2005). So much before the establishment of the policy program what immediately afterwards, at the first period of implementation, two powerful conflicting advocacy coalition networks with comparable resources are created.
During the initial period of the policy program implementation developments internal to the policy sub-system of Greek university cause changes in the allocation of resources in the two coalition networks. The advocacy coalition network “Against” the policy program appears to be permanently undermined. As a result this coalition finds difficulties on maintaining with effective way the intensity in high levels. The advocacy coalition network “In favour” to the policy program appears to be strengthened enough against the conflicting coalition. Therefore, this coalition is able to alter the balance point between the two advocacy coalitions and to create more favourable conditions for the implementation of the policy program particularly from 2008 and afterwards.
These policy changes, no matter how important they are, they are not accompanied by production of “policy oriented learning” inside or across the conflicting advocacy coalitions. Policy oriented learning does not take place despite the fact that the policy experience of all actors and networks on this specific policy theme was not negligible since the conflict and the juxtaposition on the specific policy issue was continuously present for roughly a decade.
"
supérieur, nous constatons un phénomène imprévu : l’abandon des études. Une
bibliographie spécialisée dense prouve l’ampleur du phénomène. Souvent, l’intérêt porte sur
la première année d’études qui semble être un moment décisif. Cependant, ce ne sont pas
que les nouveaux étudiants qui courent le risque de l’abandon. Le phénomène semble
caractériser toute la période d’études. C’est pourquoi, nous nous sommes focalisés sur les étudiants après la première année d’études afin d’analyser si et dans quelle mesure ils sonsusceptibles d’abandonner leurs études.
Dans ce texte, nous présentons les résultats d’une recherche menée auprès des étudiants d’une université grecque, qui essaie de concrétiser le profil des étudiants qui pensent à abandonner leurs études et qui ne sont pas en première année. De cette étude ressort que les étudiants qui formulent un sens négatif de leur vie d’étudiant sont les plus vulnérables. De plus, les étudiants qui peinent à se forger la représentation sociale « université » et qui n’ont pas une motivation précise pour les études universitaires sont plus enclin à envisager l’abandon .