Educational transitions experienced within a context of wide and growing inequalities such as England result in very different transition experiences to those experienced by young people growing up in relatively equitable societies with strong communal links. Transitions of working class young people in England are beset with competition,…

An analysis of the phenomenon of combining work and study amongst university students is made using data obtained from surveys of graduates carried out four years after finishing their degrees. First, the article reviews the evolution of the phenomenon over the last ten years, taking into account the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency…

The backbone of the European innovation strategy is knowledge transfer from universities to companies, the programmes supporting the creation of university spin-offs being one of its pillars. In order to achieve a better understanding of this kind of entrepreneurial activity in Spain, this article analyses the relationship between research…

Higher education institutions worldwide are increasingly investing in "internationalisation," although its meanings and measures differ significantly between contexts, countries, and institutions. This article analyses the implementation of internationalisation in three second-tier higher education institutions specialising in teacher…

Agenda 2030 for sustainable development focuses attention on lifelong learning opportunities for all. The new targets expand on their predecessors, the Millennial Development Goals, by both widening and deepening the scope of system-wide quality education systems. Whilst the Millennial Development Goals focused attention on universal primary…

Learning outcomes are presented as a tool that can enhance teaching and learning in higher education, in particular by fostering student-centred learning. However, the ways in which this change can and should take place and the specific kinds of enhancement involved are often unclear. This article analyses common claims about the advantages of…

The growing interest for measurement of learning outcomes relates to long lines of development in higher education, the request for accountability, intensified through international reforms and movements such as the development and implementation of qualifications frameworks. In this article, we discuss relevant literature on different approaches…

With the policy of developing a transparent and competitive European higher education sector, learning outcomes (LOs) are attributed a foundation stone role in policy and curriculum development. A premise for their implementation is that they bear fundamental similarities across national, institutional or professional/disciplinary contexts. In…

The emerging interdependent world order poses new challenges for States and citizens alike. For States, interdependence has meant a new concern with integration, whilst for citizens and authorities alike, greater mobility has raised new concerns about recognition of competences, qualifications, quality and transparency. The introduction of…

In the current context of globalisation it seems inevitable that the international openness of universities would also lead to efforts to attract foreign students. In the case of Spain, this is more necessary, insofar as the drop in population, the existence of other quality educational offerings, and the greater number of public and private…

This article highlights the significance of professional and disciplinary spaces in the shaping of Learning Outcomes (Los) in higher education. It is based on empirical studies of three programmes (engineering, the humanities and medicine) at two Norwegian universities. The results demonstrate both similarities and differences in the dynamics of…

Specifying learning outcomes (LOs) in higher education as part of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) has resulted in a variety of experiences in the national contexts of England and Norway, as well as in different institutional and disciplinary settings. This article contributes to a contextualised understanding of the kind of management…

The literature on quality management at higher education institutions has for some time been working on the basis of two issues: a) the diversity of ideas as to what "quality" means, which makes it harder to apply the principles of quality management in this context; and b) the idea that this diversity is in some way a response to the…

In the last decades, European higher education systems have been experiencing an unprecedented expansion, which created significant financial and political challenges. At the same time, we have seen a shift in attitudes towards public higher education that has promoted new ways of funding this sector. This context has led to major changes in the…

University technology transfer has been receiving significant government funding since 2012. Results of this major investment are now expected by the Turkish government and society, not only in terms of better teaching and research performance, but also of new jobs, new products and services, enhanced regional development and contribution to…