Branković, Jelena, Manja Klemenčić, Predrag Lažetić, and Pavel Zgaga. 2014.
Global challenges, local responses in higher education:The contemporary issues in national and comparative perspective. Sense Publishers.
AbstractThe volume offers state-of-the art contributions in the intersection of academic profession, research training and institutional governance. They reflect the profound interest of contemporary researchers in the questions of how the contemporary higher education reforms across Europe affect university governance and especially the roles and functions of academics. The volume includes several contributions from the peripheral and developing higher education systems of Central and South-East Europe; hence, attempting to rebalance the European profile of higher education research and at the same time contribute to the most salient debates in the field. This book confirms, once again, that the higher education research landscape is a diverse and rich one. At the same time, these diverse cases have at least one commonality - the fact that even though they are located in different higher education systems, they address issues that, albeit as a rule context-specific, can be found in all parts of Europe and beyond. Certainly, the local responses to the hereby addressed global challenges represent a mere snapshot of a broader landscape the European higher education dynamics is. Temporary higher education reforms across Europe affect university governance and especially the roles and functions of academics. The volume includes several contributions from the peripheral and developing higher education systems of Central and South-East Europe; hence, attempting to rebalance the European profile of higher education research and at the same time contribute to the most salient debates in the field. This book confirms, once again, that the higher education research landscape is a diverse and rich one. At the same time, these diverse cases have at least one commonality - the fact that even though they are located in different higher education systems, they address issues that, albeit as a rule context-specific, can be found in all parts of Europe and beyond. Certainly, the local responses to the hereby addressed global challenges represent a mere snapshot of a broader landscape the European higher education dynamics is.
Klemencic, Manja, and Pavel Zgaga. 2014. “
Public-private dynamics in higher education in the Western Balkans: Are governments leveling the playing field?”.
European education 46 (3):31–54.
AbstractThe article analyzes the public-private dynamics in the context of eight Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia). This article examines whether and to what extent these governments "level the playing field" between private and public higher education providers, not in the sense that they have equal chances to succeed, but that they all play by the same set of rules and are able to compete fairly. The article first addresses the emergence of a private higher education sector and the access of this sector to public resources. Next, it discusses the extent of "privatization" of public higher education institutions and whether these are prompted to be more market oriented. We find that the boundaries between the public and private sectors are blurred and the relations aggravated while each of the sectors is faced with its own set of challenges to legitimacy and long-term financial sustainability.
Klemenčič, Manja, and Pavel Zgaga. 2014. “
Public-Private Dynamics in Higher Education in the Western BalkansAre Governments Leveling the Playing Field?”.
European Education 46 (3):31-54.
Publisher's VersionAbstractThe article analyzes the public-private dynamics in the context of eight Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia). This article examines whether and to what extent these governments “level the playing field” between private and public higher education providers, not in the sense that they have equal chances to succeed, but that they all play by the same set of rules and are able to compete fairly. The article first addresses the emergence of a private higher education sector and the access of this sector to public resources. Next, it discusses the extent of “privatization” of public higher education institutions and whether these are prompted to be more market oriented. We find that the boundaries between the public and private sectors are blurred and the relations aggravated while each of the sectors is faced with its own set of challenges to legitimacy and long-term financial sustainability.
klemencic_and_zgaga_2014_public_private_dynamics_in_higher_education_in_the_western_balkans.pdf Klemencic, Manja. 2014. “
Student power in a global perspective and contemporary trends in student organising”.
Studies in Higher Education 39 (3):396-411.
Publisher's VersionAbstractStudents, if organised into representative student governments or movements, can be a highly influential agency shaping higher education policy. This article introduces the Special Issue on student power in a global perspective, which addresses the question of how students are organised in different world regions and what role they play in higher education policymaking within universities or at the national level. The article discusses conceptual considerations in the study of student governments and movements and reviews the contemporary trends in student organising globally.
Flander, Alenka, and Manja Klemencic. 2014. “
Will academics drive or obstruct the Slovenian government’s internationalisation agenda for higher education?”.
C•E•P•S Journal (Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal) 4 (2):27-48.
Publisher's VersionAbstractThe present article is concerned with the question of how conducive is the academic culture and climate in Slovenian higher education institutions to internationalisation. Our underlying assumption is that academic staff presents either an important driver or an obstacle to the implementation of internationalisation policies formulated at the national level and diffused into the institutional practices. Concretely, in this article we problematize whether the present academic attitudes and behaviours are in line with the internationalisation aims and objectives as stated in the National Higher Education Programme 2011-2020. Our findings point to academics’ overall favourable attitudes to internationalisation. We also find that academics report to prioritise the various internationalisation activities higher than they perceive the internationalisation priorities of their respective institutions. At the same time, however, the academics’ preferences for the various activities associated with ‘internationalisation of study at home’, especially conducting courses in foreign languages, are lower and highly divergent; and might obstruct government’s agenda in this regard.
