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Community Colleges and Global Counterparts have emerged over time as educational pathways for the traditionally disenfranchised often described as racial and ethnic groups, women, poor people and the undereducated. They are talked about for their role in preparing an educated citizenry for participation in their community generally and the society specifically, training the workforce for participation in a globally dependent society, and in many communities as the last opportunity for people to improve their lives for a better standard of living for themselves and their families. Yet, many of these institutions are unable to meet their full potential because of underfunding, perceived low status, and inadequate staffing and leadership. To maximize their potential nationally and internationally, educational leaders, policy makers, and governments must employ sustained and measurable changes in the areas mentioned above to ensure student access, success and relevance in program offerings, policy development, and enforcement. This chapter focuses on the challenges, opportunities, and recommended strategies to elevate Community College and Counterparts to help them maximize their greater potential in form and substance that makes a difference in the world's greatest asset, people.

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This publication contains the proceedings of the Arab Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARCHE+10) held in Cairo between 31 May-2 June 2009. ARCHE+10 was attended by delegates from Ministries of Higher Education in the Arab States. A regional report was compiled, describing the state and achievements of higher education in the region over a decade, as well as present and future challenges confronting the sector. Papers covered ARCHE+10's five themes: (1) learning opportunities; (2) quality improvement and quality assurance; (3) the social responsibility of universities; (4) management, governance and funding; and (5) Arab cooperation. Contributions include fully-fledged research papers, descriptive papers, and analyses and reviews of promising ideas. This diversity was retained as it provides a wider picture of the state of higher education in the Arab States.

Excerpt from publication.

The contributions are: A decade of higher education in the Arab states (1998-2009): achievements and challenges (regional report); Cairo Declaration on Higher Education in the Arab States. Theme: 'Educational opportunity and students' mobility' - Admission policies and procedures in Arab universities / Rafica Hammoud; On building an academic space for the Arab region: the possible, the probable and the hoped for / Abdel W. Ben Hafaiedh; The contribution of private universities in higher education equity in Kuwait / Imad M. Al-Atiqi, Asad A. Al-Rashed, Farida M. Ali; Where are all the men?: gender, participation and higher education in the United Arab Emirates / Fatma Abdulla and Natasha Ridge; Undergraduate admissions, equity of access and quality in higher education: an international comparative perspective / Kamal Abouchedid; Access, equity and competitiveness: the case of higher education in Egypt / Mona El Baradei; Identifying potential stressors of university students and ways to enhance university climate: the case of the University of Balamand / Nayla N. El Koussa, Laurie L. Williamson, Elie Menessa. Theme: 'Quality of education: curricula' - Implementing the LMD [a higher education structure based on the Bologna process] system: experience of the philosophy department in the Cadi Ayyad University in Marakkech / Dardari Altihami; Higher education curricula in Algeria: indicators of fragility and means of improving their quality: the case of psychology, education and orthophony / Awashriya Asaid; Assessment of the post-graduate program at the Faculty of Mass Communication: case study / Abdel Rahman M. S. Al-Shami; Teacher preparation: issues and trends in international and Arab frameworks / Mohamed B. Sukariyah; The LMD higher education system in the Maghreb countries: the example of Algeria / Meziane Mohammed, Mahi Brahim; Support for distance language learners at the Syrian Virtual University / Hala Dalbani. Theme: 'Quality of education: faculty staff' - Culture shock or shocking culture: an exploration of the main obstacles encountering Syrian newly returned academic staff from abroad / Rami M. Ayoubi, Hiba K. Massoud, Hanan A. Al-Maghout; Career path of higher education teaching personnel in the Arab States and the quality challenges / Ramzi Salame; Engaging academics in quality conversations: a bottom-up approach to improving teaching and learning in higher education institutions / Raoudha Ben Othman; Le laboratoire de pedagogie universitaire de l'Universite Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth / Nada Moghaizel-Nasr. Theme: 'Quality assurance, quality evaluation and management' - Total Quality Management in public and private Jordanian universities: a comparative study / Aieman Ahmad Al-Omari; Quality assurance and a Bologna-type process in the Arab world / Hossain Zand and Omaima Karrar; Licensing and supervision of private higher education institutions in the Arab States / Abdel Bagi A.G. Babiker; L'evaluation dans le systeme d'enseignement superieur au Maroc: Bilan des realisations, limites et principaux defis / Abdelali Kaaouachi; The role and function of institutional research in institutions of higher education: theory and practice / Karma El Hassan; Quality assurance review in Arab countries / Labib Arafeh; The impact of reform projects in higher education: the case of Egypt / Mohsen Elmahdy Said; Education faculty of Qatar University: implementing the quality assurance system (case study) / Mohammed F. Habib, Ahmed K. Mahdy, Batoul M. Khalifa, Ahmad J. Al Saa'i, Huda I. Bachir; The participatory approach in the reform of academic curricula: case study of the Faculty of Dentistry at Damascus University, Syria / Mohamad Kayyal and Mayssoon Dashash. Theme: 'Research' - The status of social scientific research in Lebanon in a 'globalized' context: attempt to understand its components, conditions and limitations / Jacques Kabanji; Globalization of applied scientific research and development requirements / Rafic Younis; The social sciences research in the Arab east: dilemmas of the research centres outside of the university / Sari Hanafi; Impact of crises on scientific and research activities of faculty members: a comparative study (Iraq and Jordan) / Sawsan Shakir Majeed. Theme: 'Societal responsibility' - Academic partnerships: the driving force behind social and pedagogical development (case of Mohammed V University at Souissi) / Ahmed Ouzi; L'engagement social des etudiants universitaires: experience de l'Universite Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth / Georges Aoun; Beyond the walls: The American University of Beirut engages its communities / Cynthia Myntti, Rami Zurayk, Mounir Mabsout; Applying an interdisciplinary model for promoting the study of humanities and social sciences: the case of Zayed University (UAE) / Sabrina Joseph; Les universitaires touareg, vers la normalisation des institutions traditionnelles ou leur reforme? / Meriem Bouzid-Sababou; Meeting the requirements of the modern times through development of interdisciplinary programs in social science: the experience of the Masters Program in Democracy and Human Rights at Birzeit University / Mudar Kassis; The Lebanese University and the issue of social integration: an analytical survey study / Moadad Rahal; Private universities in Egypt: are they venues for democratic attitudes and behavior? / Nadine Sika; Ahfad University for Women - beyond academic excellence: social responsibility and civic engagement / Widad Ali Rahman and Shahira Osama. Theme: 'Dossier: higher education in Saudi Arabia' - Experience of scholarships to foreign universities in Saudi Arabia: a model for investment in human resources and their contribution to development / Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Mousa; Development of student admission criteria in Saudi universities: the experience of the National Center for Assessment in Higher Education / Faisal Bin Abdullah Mashary Al Saud; Higher education in Saudi Arabia 1998-2008: towards building a knowledge society / Mohammad Ben Abdelaziz Al Ohali, Abdel Mohsen Ben Salem Al Aqili; Higher education for girls in Saudi Arabia and its relevance to the labor market / Mohammed Ben Mojab Al-Hamid, Fatmah Bent Backer Jamjoom; Quality improvement and quality assurance in Saudi private higher education institutions / Walid Abdul Razak Al Dali and Omar M. Al-Rayes. Show less

Changing political, economic, and social expectations of the role of postsecondary education are reinforcing new institutional forms that offer a combination of academic, vocational, career-oriented, technological, and specialist programs at certificate, diploma, or associate or bachelor degree levels. The harmonization of higher education systems has become a reality for academically oriented colleges and universities, enabling international mobility for students enrolled in bachelor and masters programs. In contrast, national differences in lower tertiary institutions are vast to the extent that there is a lack of universal nomenclature to describe vocational-technical education or lower tertiary education that prepares students for skilled and specialized labor. Within this sector are institutions that are known by several names including College of Further Education, Community Colleges, Polytechnics, Technical College/University, and TAFE (Technical and Further Education). In the interests of finding a common ground in order to reflect on common as well as different challenges in varied national contexts, these institutions are being called community colleges. This is not to suggest that the US variant of community colleges, or any other type of lower tertiary education system, should be adopted in other parts of the world.

This handbook of comparative studies explores the complexities of the institutions in this sector in terms of institutional profile, mission, economic impact, governance, curriculum, faculty, assessment, the role that these institutions are playing in achieving societal equity and in postcompletion student pathways, and the complexities of transnational educational borrowing. The first volume focuses on philosophical, economic, and cultural adaptations as well as elements of success in terms of achieving equity. The second volume focuses on faculty, curriculum, assessment, internationalization, innovations, and postcompletion pathways. While not including every country with a community college or global counterpart, it does examine institutions in 24 countries and six regions to show how this educational sector is serving populations. In addition, several chapters in the book focus on different educational issues within the same country to illustrate the complexity of the sector.

Edited excerpts from publication.

The contents are as follows: Volume 1, 'Building a higher educational sector', contains the following chapter: Building a higher educational sector: volume introduction / Rosalind Latiner Raby and Edward J. Valeau; Part I, 'Globalization: mission, market commodity, and the philosophical role', contains: Community colleges and global counterparts: defining a higher educational sector / Rosalind Latiner Raby and Edward J. Valeau; The changing shape of further and higher education in the UK / Martin Jephcote; TAFE in Australia / Mike Brown [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 133.188]; Sustainability of massification in East Asian higher education: community colleges in Hong Kong in retrospect and prospects / Hei-Hang Hayes Tang, Chak-Pong Gordon Tsui, and Chi-Fung Wilton Chau; Transnational education policy and a globally competitive workforce: a comparative analysis of vocational education and training policy in the European Union and the United States / M. Allison Witt; Developments in the postsecondary education niche in South Africa / Cassie Kruger and Charl C. Wolhuter; Economics of education in Afghanistan: expanding academic programs based on market demands dictated by international agency funds toward self-sustainability / Audree Chase-Mayoral and Fayaz Amiri; Part II, 'Institutional and cultural adaptations', contains: From pilot project to permanent status: community colleges in Vietnam / Mary Beth Marklein and Mai Van Tinh; Developing community education: a new model of community colleges in Mainland China / Yi Leaf Zhang; Reenvisioning community colleges in Nepal: preparing all students for success / Krishna Bista and Uttam Gaulee; Translating the community college concept in India / Jillian Gross.

Part III, 'Theories on achieving equity: philosophy and practice', contains the following chapters: Center and periphery in Israel's higher education / Nitza Davidovitch and Dan Soen; Second-tier higher education institutions and the diversity challenge: structural components adopted through a Germanic lens / Martina Gaisch and Regina Aichinger; Analyzing the media narratives in South Africa's #FeesMustFall movement / Kristin Bailey Wilson and Wouter Van Alebeek; Further education colleges in the United Kingdom: providing education for other people's children / Kevin Orr; Part IV, 'Class, race, and gender inequalities: implications for educational opportunities', contains: Academic education of Israeli Arabs: transitions from 2006 to 2016 and the impact on their social integration / Nitza Davidovitch, Dan Soen, and Yaacov Iram; Challenges and opportunities: community college development in Afghanistan: serving students and gender equity / David J. Roof; Why the TVET system of French-speaking African countries is not able to produce a highly qualified and operational man power?: a comparison with Canadian community colleges / Efia R. Assignon; Technical education in Colombia between expansion and legitimacy: a neo-institutional perspective / Pedro Pineda and Jorge Celis.

Volume 2, 'Structural components: the challenges of change', contains the following chapters: Structural components: the challenges of change: volume introduction / Rosalind Latiner Raby and Edward J. Valeau; Part V, 'Curriculum, program assessment, and quality assurance', contains: Functions, organization, and contemporary challenges of the American community college / Arthur M. Cohen and Carrie B. Kisker; Evaluation of teaching and learning outcomes in health systems management studies, the case of Israel: ideal versus actual / Rachel Nissanholtz-Gannot and Nitza Davidovitch; Linking internationalization to student success: voices from stakeholders / Jacqueline M. Copeland; Evolution of community colleges in Thailand: from formal establishment to the present time / Pattanida Punthumasen and Takayoshi Maki; Feasibility and challenges on a national qualifications framework and permeability in education and training system in Japan / Keiichi Yoshimoto; Quality assurance in China's new public higher education institutions: achievements, challenges, and illustrative case studies / Qing Hui Wang; Part VI, 'Internationalization: designing curricular, mobility, and partnerships opportunities', contains: Enablers and constrainers of internationalization of higher education institutions: a case study from Portugal / Anabela Mesquita and Olimpio Castilho; The internationalization of vocational education in Brazil's federal institutes: another model / Marcelo Camilo and David Shallenberger; A horse of a different color?: reexamining international students at community colleges in the USA and Canada / Jonathan Z. Friedman; Vietnam and higher education internationalization: the promise of community colleges / Kayla Whitney, Lisa Reid, and Bernhard Streitwieser; Promoting green skills in the Caribbean: a Grenada-Canada partnership to educate and train the sustainable development practitioner for the twenty-first century / Pierre-Luc Gagnon and John N. Telesford.

Part VII, 'Innovation: adaptation to education needs of the learner', contains the following chapters: Adult learning in Italy: historical context and perspectives for a new provision / Luisa Daniele, Claudio Franzosi, and Domenico Nobili; Meeting the challenges of globalization while preserving institutional singularity: the case of Quebec CEGEPs / Olivier Begin-Caouette; Roles of community college for community development in Malaysia: entrepreneurship education program / Wan Naliza Wan Jaafar and Takayoshi Maki; The community college branch campus at Kuwait: meeting needs of the people and of industry / Carol Ross; Educational reform through sponsored projects in Curacao: government-sponsored technical and career institutions, postsecondary education, and the challenges of workforce development / Rosita Tormala-Nita; Upgrading polytechnic in Namibia to the Namibia University of Science and Technology and the post-secondary education niche in Namibia / Sarala Krishnamurthy and Charl C. Wolhuter; Part VIII, 'Pathways post-completion: career advancement, university transfer, and baccalaureate degrees', contains: Developing a skilled workforce through technical and vocational education and training in the Philippines / Kiran S. Budhrani, Mark M. D'Amico, and Jose Lloyd D. Espiritu; Fostering creative, practical, and professional engineers: National Institute of Technology (KOSEN) in Japan / Asami Shimoda and Takayoshi Maki; The community college concept and youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) / Shahrzad Kamyab; When the walls come tumbling down: a case study of community colleges within a Canadian high mobility postsecondary system / Ralf St. Clair, Joanne Heslop, and Nicole Greengoe; Dimensions of collaboration between community colleges and universities in facilitating attainment of baccalaureate degrees in career and technical education / Michael L. Skolnik; Concluding chapter: Community colleges and global counterparts as evolving forms / Edward J. Valeau and Rosalind Latiner Raby. Show less

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) prepares the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) every three years in order to strengthen understanding of 'where we stand' as a global community, and to address the growing need for youth and adult education. The focus of GRALE 4 is on participation, inclusion and equity in adult learning and education. The present report draws on data from GRALE 4 [report available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 139.288], published in 2019, to provide a regional snapshot of the progress made in adult learning and education in the Arab States between 2015 and 2018. Drawing on information from 18 Arab countries, it allows for a comparative analysis both among Arab countries and with the rest of the world.

Arab countries reported significant progress in the participation of women in adult learning and education since 2015. However, ALE access to quality non-formal education with a lifelong perspective remains underdeveloped, in particular for disadvantaged groups. The report reveals that adult learning and education in the region is strongly focused on literacy, with less attention given to other areas of adult learning, such as continuing education and professional development, and citizenship education. This suggests that, while further progress is needed in achieving basic education for all, the other dimensions of adult learning need to be given adequate attention to ensure provision that is comprehensive and relevant to the diverse needs of adult and youth learners.

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This document comprises a report in Arabic and executive summaries in English and French. The workshop was organised as part of the UNEVOC project work plan for 1996-1997 in the Arab States, to emphasise the development and improvement of training and vocational education (TVE) programs for Member States. Its objectives were to enhance professionals’ abilities and skills at bringing vocational guidance and curricula (VCE) to basic, secondary and further education levels. Following analysis of VCE in the Arab States, examples of educational modules and units were presented, discussed and evaluated. Three papers were presented identifying examples and approaches to enhance access of girls and women to technical and vocational education and the role of regional and international organisations in VCE was discussed. The article concludes with details of the outputs and results from the workshop. Show less