The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, institutional support systems, institutional policies, and overall instructional leadership is discussed in this article.

Purpose This paper aims to assess the “external dimension” goals of the Pan European Bologna reform, almost 19 years after its launch. The influences of the reform on higher education in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific are investigated. The paper analyses the appeal of the 1999 Bologna Process (BP), which, arguably, symbolizes an effort to strengthen the hegemony of Western European education and influence, has for the first time gone beyond ex-colonial lines, including areas where Europe’s socio-political influence is not impactful. Design/methodology/approach This paper opted for an analytical review of the literature on the European higher education internationalization goals as stated in external dimension objectives of the Bologna Process reform. The literature search was complicated by the limited number of peer review articles focusing on the spread of the Bologna model beyond Europe. As a result, the inclusion criteria were flexible, and consideration was given to educational website reports/articles, dissertations, books, pamphlets, and internal EU/European Commission reports. Findings The findings of this review indicate that, in spite of significant challenges, the internationalization objectives of Bologna Process are gradually being met in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Most notable is that some countries that historically did not have a European colonial presence are embracing aspects of the Bologna reform. Almost 19 years after, the BP reform now has a significant external influence not only in the former Portuguese, Spanish, British and French colonies but also beyond. In spite of the overwhelming embrace of the BP model in Europe and outside of Europe, its implementation, everywhere, has faced some administrative, political, and economic challenges. Research limitations/implications The study examined the spread of the Bologna Process models beyond Europe and not its acceptability by stakeholders such as faculty and students outside Europe. Future research could examine the satisfaction rates among higher education stakeholders in regions and countries embracing the BP models. Practical implications The findings of this review indicate that the steady spread of the BP means that more countries and tertiary education institutions can explore opportunities aimed at developing more educational and socioeconomic partnership, including the exchange of knowledge, technology and resources. Originality/value While emphasizing the benefits and opportunities for cooperation, the paper identifies that the increasing internationalization trends influenced by the BP are leading to regional higher education cooperation in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Other higher education models around the world can learn from the marketing strategies of the BP aided by EU.

The spread and influence of older European higher education models and the current Bologna Process (BP) have been mostly linked to its colonial and neocolonial hegemony. However, the 1999 convergence of European models under the umbrella of the BP reform has had implications beyond the colonial and neocolonial spheres, with its effects impacting even the well-established and reputable education systems of North America. Unlike the countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia Pacific, the United States of America did not have any reasons to embrace the BP models. However, they are still indirectly affected by it.The international nature of academe characterized by cooperation and exchanges, has made it impossible for United States tertiary education systems to avoid the effects of the European BP reform entirely. Student and faculty mobility, transferability of degrees, and joint and dual degree offerings have grown significantly as a result of the "external dimension" objectives of the Bologna reform. Considering that we live in a highly globalized higher education market, which is characterized by partnerships, exchanges, including competition between European and the United States colleges and universities over international students, the BP ultimately has and will continue to influence the calculations of higher education stakeholders in the United States.

This article traces the process of diffusion and transfer of the European Bologna Process reforms in Africa’s national, sub-regional and regional contexts and examines factors that drive these processes. Considering that African countries are not official signatories but are aligning their systems of education to the BP, and in the absence of a coordinated effort and the use of digital technology to produce and present data that documents and maps out progress, tracing the diffusion process in this context is challenging, which is the reason for limited research in this area. Based on a review of existing literature, this article argues that in Africa, the dissemination and transfer of BP-related reforms started as individual projects by national governments as early as 2000 before metamorphosing into sub-regional and regional initiatives. The article identifies economic, political and discursive factors as well as the selective and silent processes that shaped Bologna transfer at these different levels in Africa.

The article reviews the sociocultural and historical development of the higher education system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with focus on its impacts on the current makeup of bachelor's degrees offered by universities in the Kingdom. Literature and analysis of data from forty-six tertiary education websites indicate that while there is an abundance of programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and business, there is a significant paucity of degrees in the Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities (SSAH). The authors argue that the Kingdom's official development plan, Vision 2030, requires a more precise appendage when it comes to higher education. An analysis of data on bachelor's degrees reveals that both the degree landscape and students' choices of college majors favor certain STEM and business programs. STEM and business programs have been historically promoted by the traditional government policy emanating from the need to prepare Saudi students to obtain jobs in the petrochemical industry. This article posits that the excessive promotion of some STEM and business programs has engendered the neglect of the social sciences, arts, and humanities programs that play an equally vital role in students' holistic educational development. It further predicates that the paucity of degrees in these STEM fields would undermine the government's desire, to diversify an economy that has been heavily dependent on oil for more than half a century as expressed in Vision 2030.