Harmonisation of educational policies across sectors and internationalisation: A proposal for a an innovative approach

Globalisation of business, research and education is posing a number of challenges to senior management in both education establishment (Knight, 2004; Bogotch and Maslin-Ostrowski, 2010) as well as related ministries (Ka Ho Mok, 2007; Chen, Yat Wai Lo, 2013). The attempts of the Bologna process to set the foundations for degrees mapping (and potentially reciprocal recognition), is way far from solving the problems presently faced by policy and decision makers in education. Establishing a common ground for the mapping of the present set of curricula is not enough, there is the need for a much deeper understanding of the implications (Pursiainen, Medvedev, 2005) that a globalised world places. Insourcing of educational models in a specific cultural context needs to be proved beneficial on a case by case context. Outsourcing Higher Education of the wealthiest part of the society by sending the best students abroad is not a solution either. While the experience of studying abroad is invaluable (it opens up the mind to a multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-faith context) it also entails some risks and not all of the gained experience may be directly applicable in one-own context. To cherry-pick from the best-of-breed education systems in a non-planned, systemic and organic manner leads to an inconsistent and potentially incomplete knowledge transfer. The work carried out in this respect for the adoption of the Bologna process (Shaw, at al 2013; Crosier, Parveva, 2013) has made clear that it is not enough to endorse a system, it is necessary to adapt it to the local culture. The changes cannot be confined to the higher education domain, but on the contrary need to be percolated in the entire education system. This requires adopting a transformative approach to the education system aiming at improving its effectiveness, efficacy and quality. Education needs to be revolving around values (aimed at building the new generation of citizens that can also become scholars, managers, leaders), critical thinking and strive for excellence. Positive experiences as well as negative ones must be taken into account. Marta A. Shaw, David W. Chapman & Nataliya L. Rumyantseva (2013) Organizational culture in the adoption of the Bologna process: a study of academic staff at a Ukrainian university, Studies in Higher Education, 38:7, 989-1003 Crosier,D. Parveva, T. (2013) The Bologna Process: Its impact on higher education development in Europe and beyond, UNESCO: International Institute for Educational Planning, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Pursiainen, C. and Medvedev, S.A. (eds.). The Bologna Process and its Implications for Russia. The European Integration of Higher Education. Ð M.: RECEP, 2005. Bogotch,I. and Maslin-Ostrowski,P. (2010) Internationalizing Educational Leadership: How a University Department Jumps the Curve From Local to International, Educational Administration Quarterly, 46: 210 Ka Ho Mok (2007) Questing for Internationalization of Universities in Asia: Critical Reflections, Journal of Studies in International Education, 11: 433 Dorothy Iru Chen, William Yat Wai Lo (2013) Internationalization or commodification? A case study of internationalization practices in Taiwan's higher education, Asia Pacific Educ. Rev., 14:33-41