Discusses trends in higher education in Ireland over the last decade, focusing on the growth and diversification of higher education, the establishment of regional technical colleges, admission rates, and access. Notes that the 80% growth in enrollment over the past decade has heralded the transition to a mass system of higher education. (MDM)

Provides an overview of higher education in Italy, focusing on recent changes in admission procedures, high dropout rates, and the introduction of the diploma universitaio, conferred after two or three years of study. Discusses the need for reform and greater efficiencies in Italian higher education. (MDM)

A discussion of educational reform efforts in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia looks at these changes in the larger context of recent substantial political, social, and economic change. It examines the role and value of education in the different societies, quantitative and structural development in education systems, and economic…

The origins, changes, and trends in institutional structures within secondary education in Central and Eastern Europe are examined and compared for 14 countries. Issues discussed include formulation of government policies, compulsory school attendance, articulation with elementary and lower secondary education, transition from compulsory education…

A discussion of secondary education curriculum reform, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe, examines potentially conflicting concerns characterizing the current reform debate: stronger national policies alongside calls for curricula responsive to local needs; broad versus core curricula; central versus decentralized control of assessment;…

Current trends, major controversies, and challenges in educational economics in Eastern and Central Europe resulting from dramatic social and political change since 1989 are examined. Democratization of decision making, an immediate trend toward decentralized administration, transformation of relationships between general government and education,…

Implications of widespread reform in education in Central and Eastern European countries for secondary school teacher education are discussed. Available data on teacher characteristics, compensation, and working conditions are examined, and the current status and composition of teacher training is compared for different countries. Teacher…

An analysis of recent changes in Bulgarian secondary education looks at several major trends in: the structure of the formal education system; new curricula and conditions for implementation; financing and management of the system; and problems with school staffing. A period of transition characterized by some instability and occasional crises is…

A discussion of educational reform in Central and Eastern Europe in general, and Romania in particular, suggests four distinct reform stages: destructuring (1990); stabilization (1991-92); restructuring (1993-95); and counterreform (after 1993). Political, social, and economic attitudes and actions characterizing these stages are examined. (MSE)

Broad contextual and cultural influences of reforms on employment and higher education in Lithuania are examined, effects of this transition on higher education administration are considered, and conditions that would encourage administrators to take an entrepreneurial or proactive approach are discussed. A model for training programs to assist…

A study of the mobility of students among the larger population of all foreign university students registered in European Union universities in academic 1993-94 found net outflows of students in several countries and some imbalances, by country, in gender distribution of mobile students. Implications for future trends in spontaneous (that is, not…

A study of organized student exchange between universities in the European Community through the ERASMUS and LINGUA programs examined growth in program participation since 1987-88, member states' ratios of students hosted to students sent, student age in relation to periods of study, student expenses abroad for different countries, problems…

A study examined patterns in college student mobility between the United States and European countries, including size and direction of flow and patterns in student characteristics. Emphasis is on differences between American and European sides of the system. Development and significance of a new program for cooperation and mobility in…

Patterns in college student mobility between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are examined, with attention given to challenges posed by having three of these countries within the European Union and two outside it. The role of several formal agreements is discussed, and implications for policy needs concerning interinstitutional and/or…

Benefits and risks of expanding international student exchange in the European Union are weighed, at the levels of both the individual and the host and home nations. A variety of possible approaches to expansion are considered: regulatory; noncooperative; and cooperative (discipline-specific, bilateral, multilateral on norms, and multilateral on…