Sarah Jane (2016) Aligning Policies: a flying Reform in Higher Education: the Development of Aviation Professionals
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Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Fox, Sarah Jane (2016) Aligning policies: a flying reform in higher education: The development of aviation professionals. International Journal of Aviation Management, 3 (1) . pp. 1-25. ISSN 1755-9901 [Article] (doi:10.1504/IJAM.2016.078651) Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/23062/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. 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See also repository copyright: re-use policy: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/policies.html#copy As accepted (subject to minor formatting/footnote changes) Int. J. Aviation Management Vol. X, No. Y, xxxx 1 Aligning policies: a flying reform in higher education: The development of aviation professionals Sarah Jane Fox Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB, UK Email: [email protected] Abstract: This paper researches the social and occupational ergonomics in educational degrees and the alignment of related government policies. Specifically, it reviews the EU’s 2050 vision for aviation, which recognises that education is a key factor in meeting the future needs of the industry. Collaboration of industry, universities and national research organisations are identified as essential components in removing the rigidity of education, which will allow for the recognised shortfall of aviation professionals to be satisfied. The paper commences by providing a flying reform of higher education, by reviewing the key development stages within the UK and the EU. The EU’s ever-increasing involvement in HE is considered as a means to meet wider related policy objectives and overarching strategies. The diversification of degree opportunities together with the fit to adjacent policies is discussed. The paper concludes by demonstrating successful policy application through the exploration of one specific aviation degree provided by a modern UK university. Keywords: higher education; aviation; policy alignment; Europe 2020. Biographical notes: Sarah Jane Fox is a Fulbright-Lloyd’s of London, post-doctoral, Law Research Scholar. Currently, she is a Visiting Professor at DePaul University, International Law Institute, Chicago. Her research focuses on EU and international law, strategy and policy conflicts. She holds a PhD in Law and she is a recognised specialist in transport law and policy, particularly aviation law, transport security, risk, policy, strategy and international relations. She is also a Fellow (law) of the University of Liverpool and supports the Law Master Programmes at the University of Liverpool, UK. This paper is an expanded version of a powerpoint presentation entitled ‘Case study: the development of aviation professionals – a flying reform’, made at the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) in Singapore, 2–5 July 2015. As accepted (subject to minor formatting/footnote changes) 1. Introduction “Europe has a long, strong and proud tradition of what we now call ‘higher’ education. It has deep roots beginning in the sixth century monastic schools, later developing into the medieval European University beginning in Bologna in 1088 and evolving into the modern higher education system of the present day.”1 This paper relates to the social and occupational ergonomics in educational degrees and the alignment of related government policies for industry and employers’ needs. Modernisation of higher education (HE) is viewed as an essential factor of the European ‘bigger’ picture, namely to remain competitive, to drive economic growth and to provide for European ‘well-being’ for the future. The European 2020 Strategy, in recognising this, reinforces the fact that HE institutions are crucial partners in achieving adjacent policy goals. Therefore, this research investigates societies’ needs in terms of ensuring that one particular sector, aviation, remains sustainable in respect to the human workforce and the anticipated growth of the industry. There has often been criticism levied at the fact that HE curricula is sometimes slow to “respond to the changing needs of the economy and fails to anticipate or shape the careers of tomorrow” (Europa – Quality and Relevance in Higher Education). Although graduates leave university equipped with knowledge and skills, emphasis has often been accorded to the need for further core transferable competences. Coupled with this, from a European perspective, the European Union (EU) points to the fact that there is a growing skills deficit, which leaves Europe vulnerable if measures are not taken to address this. The EU identifies that by 2030 there will be an estimated 414 million students worldwide in HE and points to the fact that “rigidity in education and training systems would make satisfying these needs impossible” (Europa: The Education Policy Framework). The emergence of ‘new universities’ offering flexible and diverse programmes is seen as key to filling a skills shortage and training tomorrow’s professionals. HE has undergone many changes, the biggest one perhaps being ‘access and opportunity’. In the 19th century, the university model provided a system in which only 2% of the population entered university. Today universities are not just for societies’ elite. The EU has contributed to this reformation and has a vision for HE, which has seen the setting of an ambitious target, that by 2020, 40% of all ‘young people’ should have graduated from HE. This paper commences by providing a flying reform of HE, by reviewing the key development stages within the UK before providing further commentary as to the EU’s increasing involvement in this sector. Consideration is given to the diversification of degree opportunities by way of an aviation As accepted (subject to minor formatting/footnote changes) case study, which shows a direct correlation to the EU publication, Flightpath 2050 vision for aviation, which set a roadmap for aviation development and research. Education is recognised to play a pivotal role in this agenda, which re-aligns to adjacent EU recommendations, as within the 2013 publication ‘Modernisation of Higher Education – Teaching and Learning in Europe’s Higher Education Institutions’. Clear acknowledgment is give to the fact that European universities, to be competitive in a ‘global knowledge economy’, need to embrace the ‘internationalisation’ of HE. Given that aviation is a truly international and a global industry, these factors are particularly important and significant to ensuring the future-proofing of capable professionals. This paper focuses on these goals and ends with a brief exploration of the courses and opportunities provided by Coventry University in the UK, so as to demonstrate successful policy alignment. 2. The evolution of the HE environment within the UK The landscape of HE within the UK has continued to develop and evolve, with British universities stemming from diverse origins, and with a vast majority being steeped in extensive history (Anderson, 2006). For example, most of the 24 research-intensive Russell Group are over 100 years old, with the University of Oxford, although not stating a clear date of foundation, recording teaching existing in 1096 (Oxford University website). The modern university system was shaped in the 19th century and by 1914 all existing universities, except Oxford and Cambridge, relied on the State for up to a third of their funding (Anderson, 2011). In 1963, the report of the Robbins Committee on Higher Education stated that university places should be available to all who achieved entry on their ability. The 1960s also saw nine new campus-based universities becoming established, and ‘colleges of advanced technology’ being awarded university status. Robbins had initially believed that local colleges would continue to experience this transformation as they matured, but in 1965, the ‘binary’ policy prevented this and, as a consequence, no new universities were founded between 1969 and 1992. According to Anderson (2011), the ‘Robbins era’ heightened both uniformity and expansion in the UK, for the divided binary system protected universities from wider social