Higher Education for the Development of Latvia

Koķe, Tatjana

doi:10.2478/v10195-011-0001-1

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“…In Latvia, higher education has been transforming in recent years due to both domestic policies and international trends (such as the Bologna Process), which deeply affect teacher education (Dedze & Catlaks, 2001). Tatjana Koke (2008) observed that Latvia needs "to ensure that higher education becomes an export commodity so that the array of study programmes is innovative and flexible" and that higher education must meet multiple goals, including "for personal development as well as for becoming a fully functioning and competitive member of the society throughout the lifetime." While Latvia is certainly much larger than many countries, the term "small states" has sometimes been used by educational policy researchers to describe Latvia and other nations with a similarly sized population (Crossley, Bray & Packer, 2011, 9), and for several years international-comparative research has been conducted on the unique challenges shared by the educational systems of such countries (Bray & Packer, 1993).…”

Section: Methodological Issues and Theoretical Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Comparisons in the Improvement of Education

Hebert¹

2012

Journal of Pedagogy and Psychology "Signum Temporis"

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Imperfections -such as inequality and inefficiency of learning -are perennial problems for education despite a diversity of foundations on which national systems are established, which range from the idealistic vision of fostering a utopian society to the utilitarian objective of producing skilled workers capable of engendering economic growth. Despite sharing many common conditions and fundamental values, educators rarely learn valuable lessons from the successes and failures of highly relevant initiatives in distant nations. This problem may be attributed to several factors, not the least of which includes the entrenchment of local traditions and ethnocentric assumptions, but surely the quality and relevance of international-comparative research -and the way its results are disseminated -are issues that must also be taken into careful consideration. What are the unique lessons to be learned from international comparisons, and what are the prospective risks for how such comparisons may be misinterpreted and misused in educational settings? How can international comparative research be made more relevant, with tangible applications that may be recognized and effectively used by school teachers? How can international comparative education meaningfully examine subjects beyond the reach of standardized testing, in such domains as the fostering of creativity, talent, and ethical sensibilities, for example? These themes will be presented through discussion of both research findings and anecdotes from the personal experience of working for universities on four continents. Specific topics will include the challenges of accounting for conceptual equivalency and representing cultural differences, sampling and generalizability, reconciling the diverging aims of economic, anthropological, sociological, and psychological research, as well as grappling with the ambivalent discourse of globalization, multiculturalism, post-colonialism, and other social movements.

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Section: Methodological Issues and Theoretical Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Comparisons in the Improvement of Education

Hebert¹

2012

Journal of Pedagogy and Psychology "Signum Temporis"

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Higher Education for the Development of Latvia

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

International Comparisons in the Improvement of Education

International Comparisons in the Improvement of Education

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