All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Ellen , Hazelkorn |
|---|---|
| Email: | ellen.hazelkorn@dit.ie |
| Institution: | Dublin Institute of Technology |
In a speech which received little coverage in this country, Noel Dempsey, TD, Minister for Education and Science, questioned whether universities should continue to have the dual role of teaching and conducting research. Is this the norm, he asked, while also drawing a clear distinction between research and scholarship. His comments were made simultaneous to the start of an OECD review of higher education in Ireland which is likely to have significant policy implications for the HE system, structure and funding. However, Ireland's review of higher education needs to be placed in a wider international context. Governments and policy makers across the OECD are currently examining higher education and questioning the relationship between teaching and research within HEIs. The Australian and UK governments have recently conducted wide-ranging reviews but other countries including Japan, Denmark and Canada are also considering these issues. This paper will seek to set the Irish OECD review and proposed HE changes in an international context. It draws upon an international study involving 27 new HEIs across 9 OECD countries which was conducted in 2003-2004 under the auspices of the OECD's Programme for Institutional Management of Higher Education. While that study looks specifically at the views of new HEIs, this paper will offer a useful comparative perspective from which to view and assess proposed changes in Ireland. It will also seek to understand the strategic management and organizational issues around research activity and capacity building being contemplated by university managers. Finally, the paper will address the dialectic relationship between institutional behaviour and public policy instruments.
(Abstract ref: #8.)