Gender and the changing face of higher education : a feminized future?
Autor/in:
Leathwood, Carole; Read, Barbara
Quelle: Maidenhead: Open Univ. Press, 2009. 217 S.
Inhalt: "A notable feature of higher education in many countries over the last few decades has been the dramatic rise in the proportion of female students. Women now outnumber men as undergraduate students in the majority of OECD countries, fuelling concerns that men are deserting degree-level study as women overtake them both numerically and in terms of levels of achievement. The assertion is that higher education is becoming increasingly 'feminized' - reflecting similar claims in relation to schooling and the labour market. At the same time, there are persistent concerns about degree standards, with allegations of 'dumbing down'. This raises questions about whether the higher education system to which more women have gained access is now of less value, both intrinsically and in terms of labour market outcomes, than previously. This ground-breaking book examines these issues in relation to higher education in the UK and globally. It provides a thorough analysis of debates about 'feminization', asking: To what extent do patterns of participation continue to reflect and (re)construct wider social inequalities of gender, social class and ethnicity? How far has a numerical increase in women students challenged the cultures, curriculum and practices of the university? What are the implications for women, men and the future of higher education? Drawing on international and national data, theory and research, 'Gender and the Changing Face of Higher Education' provides an accessible but nuanced discussion of the 'feminization' of higher education for postgraduates, policy-makers and academics working in the field." (author's abstract)
CEWS Kategorie:Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Geschlechterverhältnis, Hochschulen, Studium und Studierende
Dokumenttyp:Monographie
Women in higher education in Poland : the hidden face of the process of feminisation
Autor/in:
Portet, Stéphane
Quelle: Münster (Training paper / Women in European Universities, Research and Training Network, 01/03), 2001. 40 S.
Inhalt: "During the last decade the Polish higher education has undergone a great transformation. The law on higher education voted in 1990, just after the systemic changes, is still ruling the system today. This law was the base of the development of private higher education and of the increasing autonomy of the state system. The most important facts concerning this period are: the increase of the number of students, marketisation, and the creation of new diplomas corresponding to European norms. Poland has 1.431.900 students, 56.9% are women (year 1999, source: GUS 2000). The number of students has increased by 455% since 1990. This increase has been accompanied by the development of the private sector. A third of students are registered in such schools, mostly in Finance, Banking and Management and Law. There are 174 private higher education institutions out of a total of 287 (among them fifteen universities). For 1999, the number of students registered in the first year in private institutions is almost equal to the number in state institutions. A great part of the increase in the number of students is due to the development of evening, extramural, external and week-end courses. This could be considered a particularity of the Polish system. Students enrolled in daily courses represent only 46% of the total. These kind of daily studies are the only ones to be free of charges. A great deal of students registered in private higher education institutions come from the lower social classes and rural areas. The Polish system is divided into universities and professional higher education institutions. Since 1997, professional high education institutions propose two stage-degrees: a bachelor degree (three years, 'licencjat', or four years 'Engineer') and a master's degree. This seems to better correspond to the needs of the economy towards intermediate management and at the same in accordance with the European model. A new law which is still in debate proposes to extend this system to the universities. This reform raises a debate about what constitutes Higher Education. The main issues are the problem of the quality of studies, the financial autonomy of higher education institutions, the level of scientific activities and the management of academic staff's careers. Concerning the academic staff the Polish system appears to be really hierarchical with many types of appointments. It is facing a difficult financial situation which forced most of academics to find supplementary job. In the last period, the academic staff has become more and more feminised, even if at the top positions men are still the majority. But such a feminisation appears at a time where academic appointments are less and less interesting in comparison to the opportunities offered by the private sector. Which is the reason why one could say that women are 'winners among losers'." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Polen; Hochschulwesen; Wissenschaftlerin; Bildungswesen; Studentin; Hochschulbildung; Hochschullehrerin; postsozialistisches Land
Higher education in Sweden : between 'rolling reforms' and stable patterns
Autor/in:
Schenk, Anett
Quelle: Münster (Training paper / Women in European Universities, Research and Training Network, 01/02), 2001. 62 S.
Inhalt: "Both gender equality and education policy are important priorities on the political agenda in Europe. The Research and Training Network 'Women in European Universities' focuses on higher education and women's career-perspectives in systems of higher education of seven European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The main focus of the project is to explore the 'glass-ceiling' that women meet when they chose a career in academia and strive for top rank positions such as professorships. As a first step in our research, it is important to understand the different systems of higher education, as well as recent changes and challenges to women in academia. This contextual analysis is one result of the first phase of the research project and shall provide information about the Swedish system of higher education. The Swedish system of higher education underwent fundamental changes in both organisational form and ideological practice during the last thirty years. Especially the three reforms in the 90's gave the higher education system in Sweden a new face: They gave more weight to management structures, fixed-term contracts and focused more on an Anglo-American model of higher education than on the 'old' Humboldtian model. The reforms brought important changes for the Swedish system of higher education, but certain patterns remain untouched. One can still find the 'hidden binary system' within university colleges representing institutions to undergraduate education and universities that offer post-graduate education and research. And to a certain extent, this builds the ground for the remaining persistence of sex-specific divisions in both fields of study and different posts on the academic career ladder." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:Schweden; Hochschullehrerin; Hochschulwesen; Reform; Hochschulbildung; Frauenförderung; Studentin; Statistik
CEWS Kategorie:Bildung und Erziehung, Hochschulen, Statistik und statistische Daten
Quelle: Münster (Training paper / Women in European Universities, Research and Training Network, 01/05), 2001. 66 S.
Inhalt: "The higher education system in Germany is since 1960s undergoing a period of constant transformation. In 1960s and 1970s the university was challenged by massive expansion and demand for democratization of its internal structure. Nowadays, with insufficient funding and staffing levels most of the reforms are efficiency driven aimed at rationalization and marketization of the system affecting institutions, students and academic staff as well. Germany has a kind of double higher education structure with universities allowed to award doctorates and habilitations and Fachhochschulen - institutions created in 1970s to provide shorter and more vocationally oriented study courses. There are 344 institutions of higher education, both public and private with about 1.800.000 students, majority if them being men. Women entered higher education in Germany only at beginning of 20th century and up to now their proportion at every hierarchy level within academia falls under European average. Even so, they are mainly clustered in lower positions with less than 10% occupying top rank positions and horizontally segregated between art and humanities on one side and engineering, natural sciences and medicine on the other. The problem of promotion of women in higher education and science has been receiving considerable attention in last two decades and we witness rather un-precedented increase of women at all career stages though in absolute numbers still few women are involved." (author's abstract)
Quelle: Münster (Training paper / Women in European Universities, Research and Training Network, 00/07), 2000. 54 S.
Inhalt: "The most significant changes in the Spanish 'Higher Education' (HE)-sector within the last 20 years are the granting of autonomy to the universities, the transfer from state competencies to the autonomous regions, the enormous in-takes of students and the founding of many public and private universities. The impacts these changes had and still have on women are numerous. The foundation of universities in all regions facilitated their access to HE-institutions. Nowadays more than half of the students are female. Nevertheless, their distribution according to field is still uneven, for example only a few study technical subjects. Due to the increase of the number of students, more lecturers have been required. Because of this demand many women were able to fill this need and became university teachers. Even though the current women's share of university staff is only slightly less than those of all female employees, only a minority occupy posts in the highest level of the hierarchy, that of university professors. The reasons for this underrepresentation have not been sufficiently investigated. They are certainly connected with the severe problem of endogamy in the hiring of university staff. In this respect it is remarkable that women tend to have better chances to occupy the highest position in the bigger and the newer universities. However, due to the often higher working load at the latter and their often worse reputation, we cannot assume that these institutions are automatically 'women friendlier'. A profound analysis of the reasons for the underrepresentation could serve as a basis for the introduction of equal opportunity measures. However, from my point of view the granting of university autonomy and decentralization make this unlikely. In addition, an even further decentralization is planned and also the observable shift towards the market could be disadvantageous in this respect." (author's abstract)
Die Alma mater schreckt ihre Töchter ab : Ergebnisse einer Umfrage unter Examenskandidatinnen der Jahrgänge 1989-1992 am Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Universität Frankfurt am Main
Autor/in:
Kneesch, Marion; Rinne, Karin
Quelle: Frankfurt am Main (Arbeiten aus dem Frauenförderungsprogramm, 1), 1995. 66 S.