6777 ID 9350 Higher Education N°15-16x24-gb_5679-4 ID 3303 couv Higher educ series 2 16x24 GB 14/06/10 12:14 Page1 H Developing learners’ competence is an important part of i g the mission of higher education. The kind of compe - h Council of Europe higher education series No. 15 e tences that higher education should develop depend on r e what we see as the purposes of higher education. The d term “converging competences” points to the need not u c a only to train individuals for specific tasks, but to educate t i the whole person. Education is about acquiring skills, but o n also about acquiring values and attitudes. As education f o policies move from an emphasis on process to a stronger r emphasis on the results of the education processes, m o learning outcomes have come to be seen as an essential d e feature of higher education policies both in Europe and r n North America. s o c i This book explores the roles and purposes of higher e t education in modern, complex societies and the impor - i e s tance of competences in this respect. Although public : c debate in Europe could give the impression that the o sole purpose of higher education is to prepare for the m p labour market, this important role is complemented by e t at least three others: preparation for democratic citi - e n zenship, personal development and the development c e s of a broad and advanced knowledge base. This work a draws on the experiences in both Europe and North n d America to underline that the discussion is not in fact v about which of these different purposes is the “real” a l one; they are all important, and they coexist. u e s Higher education for modern societies: www.coe.int competences and values The Council of Europe has 47 member states, covering virtually the entire continent C of Europe. It seeks to develop common democratic and legal principles based on o the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the u n c protection of individuals. Ever since it was founded in 1949, in the aftermath of the i l Second World War, the Council of Europe has symbolised reconciliation. o f E u r o ISBN 978-92-871-6777-4 p e P u b l i s h http://book.coe.int i n €29/US$58 Council of Europe Publishing g Higher education for modern societies – Competences and values Sjur Bergan and Radu Damian (eds) Council of Europe Publishing The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do not neces- sarily refl ect the official policy of the Council of Europe. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic (CD-Rom, Internet, etc.) or mechanical, includ- ing photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the Public Information and Publications Division, Directorate of Communication (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex or [email protected]). Cover design and layout: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP), Council of Europe Council of Europe Publishing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex http://book.coe.int ISBN: 978-92-871-6777-4 © Council of Europe, May 2010 Printed at the Council of Europe Contents Preface..................................................................................................................5 Radu Damian A word from the editors .......................................................................................7 Sjur Bergan and Radu Damian I. Higher education in and for modern society Converging for diversity and democracy: a higher education ...........................19 Derek Bok Can European higher education meet global challenges?..................................29 Peter Scott New challenges to higher education: managing the complexities of a globalised society........................................................................................39 Kathia Serrano-Velarde Multilingualism, multiculturalism and autonomy..............................................49 Andrei Marga Internationalisation of higher education: a perspective beyond economics ......57 Sjur Bergan II. Higher education for democracy and dialogue Higher education and sustainable democracy: policies and practice in Montenegro....................................................................................................73 Slobodanka Koprivica Promoting universal values in the face of societal change ................................87 Caryn McTighe Musil Universities and communities collaborating on democracy ............................101 Nancy Cantor Higher education for dialogue .........................................................................111 Gabriele Mazza and Sjur Bergan III. Converging competences Competences, learning outcomes and convergence.........................................121 Stephen Adam Competences, learning outcomes and convergence: a case study – University College Cork...........................................................135 Áine Hyland 3 Higher education for modern societies – Competences and values Translating converging competences into the reality of teaching, learning, research and life at higher education institutions..............................145 Ligia Deca Converging competences: diversity, higher education and sustainable democracy ..............................................................................153 Manja Klemenčič Editors and authors ..........................................................................................167 Appendix – Statement by the Steering Committee for Higher Education and Research (CDESR) on the contribution of higher education to intercultural dialogue (2006) .......................................................................171 4 Preface Radu Damian Why a preface? This was the fi rst question that I asked myself when accepting the responsibility of writing a preface to this new book of the Council of Europe, part of the Higher Education Series. Is a preface really necessary when the reader has the table of contents available? Are prefaces always needed? My own answer to this “existential” question was obviously positive since you are reading the preface – hopefully with interest. The main motive behind the decision is that for universities a subject such as “converging competences for democratic society” is not usually one found near the top of their list of missions, not to mention their day-to-day practice. For obvious reasons, universities, which I see as “small, autonomous societies” with their own priorities and internal rules, are faced with more and more challenges. The economic dimension of their existence, related to study programmes, teaching methods, learning environment, quality assurance, student numbers, research results leading to prestige in the scientific community and other urgent issues facing them, leaves little room for reflection in the academic community and the university leadership about values they take for granted, such as democracy, citizenship and intercultural dialogue. Therefore, I thought that if this book is meant to become known and to appeal to people from universities, my brief preface should contribute to stimulating their curiosity to read it. The values of the Council of Europe are well known: democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The member states share those values and have committed themselves to fully promote them as part of their internal and international policies. Recent experience and the results of national elections in many countries, as well as for the Parliament of the European Union, have, however, shown not merely a lack of interest among citizens in participation, but also a relative rise of a rather “radical” political message. The relative success of that message, which questions the essence of democratic values and is something we believed belonged to the past, is indeed very worrying for the future of Europe and the world. We should not forget that, by the “direct or representative vote of the people”, Europe or other parts of the world have in the past experienced political “democratic” transitions to extremism and autocracy, with all the consequences that followed. Must we accept this situation and let it happen again in the future? If the answer is negative, and definitely it should be, our societies must reaffirm their commitment to democracy, must use it, defend it and be aware that democracy is not a gift and is not to be taken for granted. The best way to defend democracy is to understand how it works, to make full use of it to respect human rights and to live by the rule of law. These elements define in fact in simple words what is called a “democratic culture” in society. Defending democracy and making use of 5 Higher education for modern societies – Competences and values its potential is a task for all citizens, as well as for educators, and an obligation for the political class. However, in many European countries, statistics have also too often shown an awkward situation: the percentage of those voting in the elections from population groups which did not attend higher education exceeds the percentage of voters from population groups with an academic background. Newspapers and sociologists come up with many different explanations related, for example, to the political situation or the disillusionment of educated voters with politics and politicians. Fundamentally, however, the situation is unacceptable and leads to several ques- tions. Does higher education give its students the essential