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Countries with similar levels of economic development often implement different education ICT policies. Much of the existing research attributes such differences to economic and political factors. In this paper, we examine the development of ICT policy and implementation in the two parts of Ireland and in two Canadian provinces and find that historical, social and cultural differences also play an important role in the way ICT policies develop. In particular, we see differing historical perceptions of the role of the state and church in education playing a more important role than has hitherto been recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalisation, together with readier access to capability-enhancing technologies and to technological insights once restricted to a few leading economies, are resulting in greater competition within Europe, and more widely within the developed world, for influence of all kinds (not just influence over the choices that foreign students make about the Higher Education courses on offer to them from Europe, but also influence of a more overtly imperialist kind, extending to the policies, incomes and futures of others). This article looks at trends in one important market for European Higher Education, the Middle East (particularly the GCC countries), which has many providers from North America and Australia. As observed by the late Edward Said, the USA is particularly forceful in the Middle East. Its technological superiority is accompanied by fervour to introduce American methods and curricula, and strong belief in their merit, reminiscent of the belief of the old French empire that ‘France had a “mission civilisatrice”, to civilize the natives”. The danger, highlighted in a recent UNESCO report ‘New Ignorances, New Literacies’, is that the natives will not be listened to. Is Europe listening more or less than the USA, and is it being listened to? Despite attention-gaining initiatives such as the proposed European Institute of Technology, EIT, and the commitment of EU governments to the Lisbon goals on competitiveness, there are indications of a drop in the influence of European Higher Education institutions in the Middle East. This paper explores the kinds of issues that may be at work, and the implications for European Higher Education policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including adult learning, educational change and educational innovations.

This article emerged from a series of debates and workshops on the impact of the Digital Divide on educational practice at the ‘Futures of Learning: New Learning Paradigms Conference’ in Paris. The conceptualisation of the Digital Divide into the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, with a perception of the economically developed world as ‘high tech’ and the developing and underdeveloped worlds as ‘low tech’, is no longer tenable. Building on the recognition based on mounting evidence that old perceptions of the Digital Divide are simplistic and that the Divide encompasses not one but many discontinuities, the nature of such a discontinuity between student and tutor becomes the focus of the argument presented here. Many have argued that increased use and availability of digital technologies in schools bring important benefits and opportunities for learning and teaching strategies but are staff and students able work together to ensure positive outcomes? If not, why might this be the case? In examining the implications of the student/teacher Digital Divide some questions concerning the future direction of education emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a national education sector innovation survey in Hungary. A conceptual and analytical framework for studying innovation processes in the education sector and a data collection tool were created in the framework of a research project on the emergence and spread of local/school level innovations ("Innova research"). Using this tool, data were collected from close to 5,000 educational units from all sub‐subsystems of the national education system. A composite education indicator was created, allowing for the comparison of innovation activity across various groups of educational units. The educational unit (e.g., schools, university departments) was used as the primary unit of analysis. Data show a relatively high level of innovation activity in all subsystems with significant differences between various groups (e.g., units with higher and lower organisational capacities or participating in top‐down development interventions with higher or lower intensity). Connecting the Innova database with data from the regular national pupil achievement survey also made it possible to analyse the relationship between innovation activity and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this article we describe the challenges associated with assessing complex competencies envisioned as the targets of learning in the 21st century. Such competencies typically reflect the integration of multiple dimensions of knowledge and skill. Technology plays a crucial role in their assessment, from conceptualisation through design, data gathering and interpretation of results. We use the case of science proficiency to illustrate challenges associated with the assessment of the intended products of multidimensional learning and the benefits provided by technology. We frame assessment development as an evidence‐centered design process and illustrate it by using cases drawn from middle school science. We then turn to ways in which assessment systems need to evolve to expand the scope of what can be done in the creation and use of valid, reliable and equitable assessments of complex, multidimensional learning. We conclude by discussing policy implications of technology‐based assessment systems with an emphasis on measuring what matters versus measuring what is easy, since what we choose to assess will become the focus of instruction. Major advances in assessment policy and practice require investment in the development, validation and deployment of technology‐based assessments that reflect the multidimensional competencies identified by contemporary research and theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the necessity and ability to adapt to educational change with specific reference to complex problem-solving skills and innovativeness. The steps claimed by the authors include increase in productivity can only derive from innovation; such innovation causes change to the work force involved in the production process; and the adaptation to this change is a process of learning and solving the new environment.

The article discusses the importance of having a broad approach to the fostering of adult learning and skill development in relation to innovation. It is stated that while entrepreneurs, scientists, and highly-educated people matter for innovation, a much broader range of people are involved in the innovation process than the society tend to acknowledge.

This article discusses how Information and Communication Technologies can support 21st century assessment strategies and what needs to be done to ensure that technological advances support and foster pedagogical innovation. Based on an extensive review of the literature, it provides an overview of current ICT-enabled assessment practices, with a particular focus on the more recent developments of ICT-enhanced assessment tools that recognise 21st century skills. The article also refers to relevant cases of e Assessment, looks into examples of the potential of emerging technologies for e Assessment and discusses some relevant innovation and policy issues. Reflecting on these examples, it argues that, although technological challenges exist, the more pressing task at present is to transcend the traditional testing paradigm and conceptually develop (e) Assessment strategies that allow to more fully exploit the benefits of emerging technologies in order to foster the development of 21st century skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents in summary a selection of the work conducted by OECD in the field of technology and education, which has been an on-going focus of OECD work since the 1980s. Recently, much of this has been under the heading of 'New Millennium Learners', but it has also included the widening of student achievement surveys towards digital literacy; reviews of e-learning in higher education, surveys on Open Education Resources ( OER); technology as a source of innovation; and analyses of the digital resources market and educational technology patents. The article proposes the more holistic focus on 'learning environments' through which to analyse the very diverse ways in which technology can be integrated into education and as a design framework. This is drawn from a report of the OECD Innovative Learning Environments ( ILE) project to be published in 2013, itself based on 40 case studies from different countries and regions. It suggests that contemporary learning environments should be: i) Innovating the 'pedagogical core'; ii) Engaging the 'Design/Redesign Leadership Circle'; iii) Widening connections and capacity through partnerships; and iv) Promoting 21st century effectiveness (based on the principles derived from the 2010 ILE learning research review). The article then applies this framework to show how technology shapes learning environments in many different ways. The article questions over-reliance on individuals navigating successfully to access non-formal learning opportunities and rejects the argument that learning institutions should simply adapt more adequately to available technologies. Instead, technology should be fully exploited in well-designed learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extremely rapid expansion of open educational resource ( OER) initiatives and the millions of learners they attract can be understood as an indicator of an emerging revolution in education and learning. This article describes recent developments in this area and develops conceptual foundations for studies and policies on OER. We describe four different types of OER, locate these in a field of learning theories, and discuss how the wide adoption of OER may constrain and accelerate the transformation of learning and education in the knowledge society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses 1:1 learning initiatives in Europe in the context of a mapping framework of ICT-enabled innovation for learning. The aim of the framework, visualised as a spider's web, is two-fold: (i) to provide a further understanding of the nature of ICT-enabled innovation for learning; and (ii) to depict the impact of existing and emerging innovative initiatives using ICT in the Education and Training context. We present 1:1 learning initiatives in Europe as a case of ICT-enabled innovation for learning with significant scale, scope, and impact at system level and being implemented in real settings. We identified and analysed 29 1:1 learning initiatives from 19 European countries reaching a total of approximately 620,000 schools and 16,800,000 students. The application of the framework to the case of 1:1 learning in Europe (implemented in multi-faceted educational settings) showed the current state of development and the emerging trends regarding the nature, the reach, the target groups and the impact of 1:1 innovation in learning. Regarding the nature of innovation, 1:1 learning strategies in Europe can be considered as mostly incremental. There is a need to progressively move the focus away from the devices and infrastructure to the learners and to 1:1 pedagogies. The framework can contribute (i) to policy interventions -at micro, meso and macro level- aimed at diversity and systemic implementation and (ii) to strategic planning by a multiplicity of actors such as policy makers, researchers and practitioners, increasing the impact of ICT-enabled innovation in Education and Training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its creation in 1958, the European Social Fund (ESF) has played a major role in supporting the development of vocational training in the Member States. However, compared to other, more recently launched, EU programmes and initiatives in the area of education and training, the ESF has not made a significant contribution to the debate about European cooperation in this field. This article argues that the ESF has made a mistake in this respect. It also seeks to illustrate and analyse the important changes that the ESF has undergone over the years in addressing the issue of vocational education and training (VET) and to demonstrate that it has substantial resources, in terms of money and experience, that can be used to adapt education and training systems to labour market requirements and to the needs of a knowledge-based economy. The article places a deliberate, though not an exclusive, emphasis on vocational education and training for young people and on the extension of transnational cooperation within the framework of the ESF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents ten theoretically substantiated ‘theses’ on future education and learning, highlighting emerging trends that will shape educational systems. The focus is on the impact of innovation economy and knowledge society on learning. Specifically, the article elaborates the changing dynamics of production models since the first industrial revolution, arguing that in the last few years we have been in the midst of a globalisation process that is qualitatively different from the earlier ones. This new model has consequences, for example, for skill demands and their regional distribution. More fundamentally, this ‘third globalisation’ makes innovation the key source of economic value, pushing educational systems from adaptive towards creative learning models. In implementing such creative pedagogies, traditional models of innovation become inadequate. The article therefore describes recent developments in innovation research and outlines a new theoretical view on innovation which connects innovation with social change and learning. This ‘downstream’ innovation model highlights the active and creative role of user communities in making innovations real. As the economic and social importance of ‘downstream’ innovation is becoming increasingly visible, educational institutions and learning activity will change. Policymakers will have to answer the question: Why will we need education in the future? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We live in powerful times and are experiencing a conceptual emergency. The imperative to learn is evident. Yet in spite of advances in knowledge about how we learn, our application of that knowledge in practice remains patchy at best. A key part of the challenge is to encourage government itself to participate in the learning process, and to overcome the psychological and structural constraints it faces that militate against learning. The article suggests a number of measures to facilitate learning within the policy process: including first tackling denial, making space for reflection, empowering the boundary spanners and — most important — practising innovation as learning. The Delors Commission for UNESCO on education for the 21st century called learning ‘the treasure within’. It is no longer possible for government to ignore the turbulence and complexity of its operating environment: it needs to find its own treasure within. This is the case for policy learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents elements of a future vision of learning in the knowledge-based society which is enabled by ICT. It is not only based on extrapolations from trends and drivers that are shaping learning in Europe but also consists of a holistic attempt to envisage and anticipate future learning needs and requirements in the KBS. The ‘learning spaces’ vision puts learners at the centre of learning, but, at the same time, conceives learning as a social process. The potential of ICT-enabled learning spaces can only be realised, however, if it is embedded in a social and institutional context that is open to innovation and supported by a favourable policy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a TELE to become adopted by the vast majority of individual learners as a tool for learning, adoption at the institutional level must be considered, because the vast majority of a population of technology users depends on external stimuli to adopt the technology. This article analyses a case where a social simulation game, a prize-winning e-learning product, which is based on theory of, and dedicated to, self-regulated learning – in other words, a product predestined to succeed in supporting self-regulated learning – was implemented for training in academic information literacy. Applying a systemic, Bateson-inspired, understanding of learning and based on data from observation, qualitative interviews, and surveys, a number of barriers to adoption at the organisational level are identified, all requiring management initiatives if the application is to fully unfold its potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is changing in academic research? What has changed over the past decades and what might change in the coming ones? Could the research mission of universities be carried out in slightly or radically different ways in the medium term? This article aims to cast light on the trends and driving forces that can be observed in academic research over the past two decades in the OECD area. It gives an outlook of the main current characteristics of academic research at a macro level in terms of funding and activities in comparison with research performed by other sectors. It also highlights future challenges and sketches a few possible futures scenarios in a 20-year time frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public debate on higher education reform today is dominated by competing views about what higher education institutions, particularly universities, are or should become. To a surprising extent, these views are based upon highly simplified characterisations of university history. The claims in question have been repeated so often that they have become clichés. Historical research has challenged all these conventional claims. The article aims to acquaint readers with the most important of these challenging results. Central here is an analysis of The Humboldt Myth about the rise of the modern research university in Germany and its alleged export to the US, and of the reasons why that myth remains so powerful, even though it has very little relation to realities on the ground. A second goal is to try to bring out some of the implications that a revision of standard views of higher education history might have for current policy debates, focusing in particular on the Bologna process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the transition period in Hungary the role of the market has become more significant, and several market elements have appeared in education, as well. The growing social demand for schooling resulted in the huge expansion of secondary and higher education. Schools try to match the demand with the supply in a colourful variety of programmes. However, public education in Hungary struggles with very great problems of inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is set in the rapidly changing higher educational environment that has ensued in Serbia and Montenegro in the post Milošević era. Its primary focus is a ‘Training Trainers’ initiative, mounted by the GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit/Society for Technical Co-operation), designed to upgrade the teaching capacity of academic representatives from four Serbian Higher Business Schools (HBS) in modern business and management education as part of a broader European project to foster democratic citizenship and to spur the political rehabilitation of Serbia. As a consultant employed by the GTZ to deliver a module in Human Resource Management (HRM) I was able to gain first hand insights into problems and issues associated with the assimilation and teaching of new business ideas by local experts. The article draws upon hermeneutic insight in order to understand the potential for misinterpretation and misunderstanding in intercultural educational dialogue in a particularly troubled economic, political and institutional climate. Although the module was perceived as being successful in it own right, institutional inertia in the field of education, cultural dissonance amongst primary stakeholders and an ethnocentric approach to programme formulation impeded the diffusion of new business knowledge into wider Serbian industrial structures. It is concluded that, in future, such initiatives would need to be more finely tuned to local circumstances and founded upon genuine dialogue between international educational actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-assessment model was developed for the Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs) which was based on an empirical study aiming at better understanding their strategic and quality management and innovation practices and tools and on the study of several quality assessment models developed both for HEIs and business organisations. From the results obtained it was possible to conclude that the model can be successfully applied to HEIs as a self-assessment tool to support their continuous quality improvement efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]