Participation in adult education is today generally considered an individual responsibility. However, participation is the result of a complex bounded agency between individuals, educational institutions and regulating governments. This paper explores the motives of 12,000 European adult learners in formal adult education in 12 European countries.…

The neoliberal reframing of universities as economic engines and the growing emphasis on "third stream" commercial activities are global phenomena albeit with significant local variations. This article uses the concept of "ownership" to examine how these processes are impacting on institutional self-understandings and academic-management…

This new century has witnessed the rapid and frequent emergence of many new information and communications technologies (ICTs). On one hand, digitalisation enhances our economic, social and political lives. But on the other hand, it leads to certain negative social impacts. One prevalent problem is digital divide--the gap between different social…

Both attitudes towards, and practices of, entrepreneurialism in higher education vary. Beginning from a consideration of arguments about the character of entrepreneurialism in higher education, and the claim that the so-called Anglo-American democracies have moved further and faster down the road of entrepreneurialism, the article selects…

Innovation and entrepreneurship are two very important ingredients in the continuous economic growth of Singapore. This article describes and analyses how Singapore attempts to develop innovation and entrepreneurship through initiatives at the national level and at the universities and schools level. In particular, the article examines the recent…

This article critically reviews the national innovation systems of the four little tigers in East Asia, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, in fostering R&D and technological research. A national innovation system is characterised by the interactions between the state, industries and universities in promoting innovation. This…

This article examines the Japanese response in terms of innovation capacity and entrepreneurship enhancement under the ever-changing economic environment. Particular focus would go to the interactions among government, industry and universities in the national innovation system at a macro level, and entrepreneurship education at the institutional…

Cultivating university students' entrepreneurial skills has become a worldwide common interest. Taking Zhejiang Province, China as a case, this paper firstly analyses the push and the pull forces of cultivating innovative and entrepreneurial talents. Then the contents of Zhejiang's entrepreneurship policy for university students are systematically…

Academic entrepreneurialism appears to have become global. University systems around the globe are moving in the direction of a more entrepreneurial model of higher education. Scholars have not yet reached a consensus on the definition of entrepreneurship. Research on academic entrepreneurship in East Asia has been lacking. This article…

This article reviews major national policies and strategies adopted by the Chinese central government to promote entrepreneurship education and also describes the current social and economic background to reveal the motives of entrepreneurship education in mainland China. The core of this article sums up the content of national policies on…

This paper is set within the context of university change in the Republic of Ireland. Irish third-level institutions are increasingly situated, whilst situating themselves, in the global advance of the so-called "entrepreneurial" university model. This model promotes knowledge as utilitarian and performative that, in turn, informs new organising…

Universities are increasingly urged to take new responsibilities as agents of internationalisation as the globalisation of higher education intensifies the competition for international students and leads to transformation of national and European policy landscapes. Drawing on the case study of two leading universities in Denmark, this paper…

When it comes to building European public action, expertise is ubiquitous and polymorphic. This article intends to study the ways expertise is being used in the European Commission and the logics underlying its use. The massive use of expertise also has consequences for the practices and identities of actors with whom European institutions…

This paper attempts to analyse current developments in education through exploring shifts in the politics of education over time. Rather than looking at education policy in terms of political provenance (left or right) or ideological underpinnings (the state or the market, the public or the private), the paper compares education policies in terms…

The shift towards greater user involvement in welfare provision is typically couched by its advocates as being ethically straightforward and as an unalloyed good, because it represents a transformation of users from a role of passivity and dependence on the paternalism of professionals to more active, empowered and respected autonomous persons.…