Author: Mangset, Marte

Source: Learning and Teaching, Volume 1, Number 2, Summer 2008 , pp. 50-76(27)

Publisher: Berghahn Journals

Abstract:

British universities are known among the other Bologna countries not to have adjusted fully to the new common three-tier degree structure. Is it the case that British higher educational concerns are different from Continental concerns? A study of recent developments in two British graduate schools of history shows that a three-tier study structure was generalised in British universities 15 years ahead of Bologna as the one-year taught master's degree gained ground. This article argues that there were similar concerns related to massification and to an increasing demand for efficiency and employability in British, French and Norwegian higher education policy. These common concerns have been met by common reform measures in the three countries: a transition from individual and unstructured postgraduate degrees to structured and skill-oriented taught degrees. In contrast to the situation in other European countries, the Bologna Process has not represented a legitimate framework for higher education policy in Britain. However, British universities have proved susceptible both to national policy measures and to foreign university models. If the Bologna Process gradually appears as a strong and unified model, the British universities might not be immune to change.

Keywords: BOLOGNA PROCESS; U.K. HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM; DEGREE STRUCTURE; POSTGRADUATE STUDY; MASSIFICATION; THE DISCIPLINE OF HISTORY

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2008.010204

Publication date: 2008-06-01

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• Learning and Teaching : The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences (LATISS) is a peer-reviewed journal that uses the social sciences to reflect critically on learning and teaching in the changing context of higher education. Designed for practitioners, researchers, and students, the journal draws on a variety of social science disciplines to provide insight into the issues facing educators and students today. These issues are viewed in the light of ongoing educational institution changes, national higher education policies, strategies of international agencies, and developments associated with the so-called international knowledge economy. Recent topics include curriculum innovation, students' academic writing, PhD research ethics, neo-liberalism and academic identity, and marketisation of higher education.
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