THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The Global Challenge in Higher Education



The Global Challenge in Higher Education

Introduction

Higher education worldwide and its future direction are neither simple nor straightforward topics, yet they are the focus of this volume. To address such complex topics, we have assembled a distinguished group of commentators from five continents to reflect on the current state of higher education and the prospect of its future evolution. These thoughtful analysts have taken as their starting point the theme chapter in this volume. The themes presented in this chapter were chosen for their growing significance in many countries and regions of the world. They constitute the starting point for our respondents' reflections and are meant to elicit their experience in different parts of the world as well as their own points of view. The result is a thoughtful mix of context and perspective that will, we think, advance our understanding of likely future scenarios for higher education.

We have no crystal ball that will provide an accurate portrayal of future global developments in higher education. We are convinced, however, that this set of comparative views will help us understand the basis for future trends principally because our analysts bring such a well-informed spectrum of analysis to the topic. A comparative perspective can seldom provide us with detailed prescriptions for action, but it permits us to expand our horizons. In higher education, where we are so often bound by the constraints of national thinking, a comparative perspective is especially valuable because academic institutions worldwide stem from common traditions, and the issues facing higher education around the world have many common characteristics. The purpose of this volume is to provide such a comparative perspective(Sporn, 1999).

Global Challenge

Higher education has profoundly changed in the past two decades, and those involved in the academic enterprise have yet to grapple with the implications of these changes. Academic institutions and systems have faced pressures of increasing numbers of students and demographic changes, demands for accountability, reconsideration of the social and economic role of higher education, implications of the end of the Cold War, and the impact of new technologies, among others. While academic systems function in a national environment, the challenges play themselves out on a global scale. We can learn much from both national experiences and international trends. Ideas and solutions from one country or region may be relevant in another. Since academic institutions worldwide stem from common historical roots and face common contemporary challenges, it is especially appropriate that international dialogue take place. A comparative and global approach to thinking about higher education benefits everyone—the experience of one country may not be directly relevant to another, but issues and solutions touch many nations. This essay has several key aims: (Education, 1997).

• to highlight issues in higher education that face many countries and about which an international discussion can contribute insights;

• to contribute to the internationalization of higher education through discussion of international initiatives and linking of people and institutions committed to a ...