Comparaison de la Productivité Scientifique du Luxembourg avec l’Allemagne, la France et la Belgique

in SCRIPT; Université du Luxembourg (Eds.) Rapport National sur l'Education au Luxembourg (2018)

Cette contribution compare le système d’enseignement supérieur et scientifique luxembour- geois avec celui de trois autres États membres de l’Union européenne : l’Allemagne, la France et la Belgique. La ... [more ▼]

Cette contribution compare le système d’enseignement supérieur et scientifique luxembour- geois avec celui de trois autres États membres de l’Union européenne : l’Allemagne, la France et la Belgique. La production scientifique est mesurée à l’aide d’articles de revues scientifiques à comité de lecture tirés du Web of Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) fourni par Thomson Reuters (aujourd’hui Clarivate Analytics). Une comparaison des quatre secteurs universitaires montre que l’Allemagne et la Belgique, avec leurs universités internationales et axées sur la recherche, ont un degré d’institutionnalisation beaucoup plus élevé que la France et le Luxembourg. Une comparaison des secteurs scientifiques non universitaires révèle un degré élevé de différenciation en Allemagne et en France, par rapport à la Belgique et au Luxembourg. Au Luxembourg, la recherche est variée, performante, et a une portée internationale. [less ▲]

(Re)shaping Educational Research through ‘Programmification’: Institutional Expansion, Change, and Translation in Norway

in European Journal of Education (2018), 52

Educational research in Norway has experienced unprecedented structural expansion as well as cognitive shifts over the past two decades, especially due to increased state investments and the strategic use ... [more ▼]

Educational research in Norway has experienced unprecedented structural expansion as well as cognitive shifts over the past two decades, especially due to increased state investments and the strategic use of extensive and multi-year thematic programs to fund research projects. Applying a neo-institutionalist framework, we examine institutionalization dynamics in cultural-cognitive, normative, and regulative dimensions over the past two decades using interviews, research program calls, policy documents, and funding data. In the cultural-cognitive dimension, we find references to the knowledge society, the importance of evidence in policy-making, and ideas of quality, excellence, and relevance. In the normative dimension, we find the introduction of new professional and methodological standards, reflecting broader global patterns of academic and epistemic drift. In the regulative dimension, the strengthened role of both government and the Research Council of Norway is manifest in substantial growth in both funding and large-scale, long-term planning, including thematic choices—evidence of ‘programification’. The importance of external models has grown in an era of internationalization, yet translation occurs at every level of governance of educational research. This results in a specific Norwegian research model, guided by a mode of governance of programs, that maintains social values traditionally strong in Nordic societies. [less ▲]

Hochschul- und Berufsbildung in Europa

in Bach, Maurizio; Hönig, Barbara (Eds.) Europasoziologie: Handbuch für Wissenschaft und Studium (2018)

Neben Globalisierung und Digitalisierung haben Fragen der Meritokratie und (Aus-)Bildung einen festen Platz im öffentlichen, politischen und privaten Diskurs, denn wir leben in Europa zunehmend in ... [more ▼]

Neben Globalisierung und Digitalisierung haben Fragen der Meritokratie und (Aus-)Bildung einen festen Platz im öffentlichen, politischen und privaten Diskurs, denn wir leben in Europa zunehmend in Bildungsgesellschaften. Die Zeit, die wir in Bildungsorganisationen verbringen, wird immer länger, der absolvierte Fächerkanon wird immer breiter und die Bildungsabschlüsse, die wir erwerben, werden immer höher (vgl. Leemann et al. 2016). Zugleich steigen mit dem Übergang von der Industrie- zur modernen Dienstleistungsgesellschaft die Ansprüche an fachliche und soziale Kompetenzen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt (vgl. Mayer und Solga 2008). Mit dem Wandel der Wirtschaftsstrukturen hin zu wissensbasierten Tätigkeiten, der zunehmenden Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt, den demographischen Veränderungen und dem in diesem Zusammenhang befürchteten Fachkräftemangel stehen europäische Gesellschaften vor der Aufgabe ihre Bildungssysteme zu reformieren. Auf europäischer, nationaler wie auch regionaler und lokaler Ebenen versuchen Bildungspolitiker den Zugang zu Hochschul- und Berufsbildung und lebenslanges Lernen für immer mehr Mitglieder jeder Kohorte zu ermöglichen. Alle müssen sich mehr denn je um Bildungszertifikate bemühen, weil diese für erfolgreiche Berufskarrieren unabdingbar geworden sind. Zugleich gibt es in diesem Wettbewerb klare Gewinner und Verlierer, denn diejenigen ohne Zugang zu (Aus-)Bildung, vor allem ehemalige Sonderschüler und Hauptschüler, werden zunehmend marginalisiert (vgl. Pfahl 2011; Protsch 2014; Solga 2005). Bildung und die durch sie erworbenen und ausgewiesenen Fähigkeiten gelten in unserer Gesellschaft als Innovationspotenzial, als zentrale Voraussetzungen für wirtschaftlichen Erfolg, gesellschaftlichen Wohlstand sowie soziale und politische Teilhabe. Statt der sozialen Platzierung entlang zugeschriebener Merkmale der Herkunft (wie Schicht, Geschlecht, Rasse, Ethnie) soll die erworbene Leistung, signalisiert in Schulnoten, Bildungsabschlüssen, Qualifikationen sowie Bildungskarrieren insgesamt, den legitimen Zugang zu Positionen, insbesondere höheren sozialen Positionen bestimmen. Insofern ist es nicht verwunderlich, dass in europäischen Gesellschaften individuelle Bildungsbeteiligung und Bildungserfolg wesentliche Bestimmungsgrößen der Verteilung gesellschaftlicher Chancen und Risiken darstellen. [less ▲]

This Country Has the Real Apprentice: Germany’s approach to worker training allows people to enjoy a middle-class lifestyle.

Diverse speeches and writings (2017)

WUPPERTAL, Germany — Edgar Wingert, a 39-year-old-year material specialist, had always wanted a career in the German military. But when, after nearly a year in the service, his relatively poor eyesight ... [more ▼]

WUPPERTAL, Germany — Edgar Wingert, a 39-year-old-year material specialist, had always wanted a career in the German military. But when, after nearly a year in the service, his relatively poor eyesight forced him to abandon his dream career, he went to work as an untrained worker in the local paper mill. After the financial crisis hit and he was laid off, Wingert thought for the first time about doing his "Ausbildung," the German name for the professional training approach that involves both theoretical learning and on-the-job training – an apprenticeship. Passing both would get him his journeyman's letter, the technical qualification that allows millions of Germans without a university degree to do challenging and rewarding work, earn a good income and know that they can easily find new work, if they are laid off or otherwise want to leave their employers. "By the time I started thinking about doing an apprenticeship, I was 30 and it was too late," he says, taking a break from cleaning the laser printing nozzle used to inscribe the name of the German manufacturer Knipex onto the insulating grip on hundreds of pliers stacked neatly in boxes by his side. Germany, which is currently enjoying its lowest unemployment rate in 37 years, is well known for a system of standardized, superior training qualifications, which allow primarily young people to train and get recognized for specific jobs. In Germany, everything from selling cars to building pianos and harpsichords has its own practical technical schooling, testing and qualifications. It is a system that experts say allows a highly capable workforce to earn middle-class wages, enjoy job security and bring a high level of expertise to jobs that increasingly rely on more than just muscle, nimble fingers and endurance. "The key to the success of the German model is interlocking of practical training and theoretical learning," says professor Justin J.W. Powell at the University of Luxembourg, who has studied apprenticeship systems both in German and the United States. Worker training will surely be discussed at the July 7-8 summit of Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, which will be held in the northern German port city of Hamburg. Much of the media attention will focus on Trump's meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and on climate change, where the American leader has departed from allies by announcing his country's withdrawal from the Paris climate accords. But economic issues such as trade remain the heart of the G20's work, and worker training is a major issue for wealthy nations, whose aging populations continue to grapple with rapidly changing economic currents. Training is a hot topic in many countries. In the United States, for example, debate is intensifying over how best to create jobs for adults lacking a four-year college degree. Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of Germany and its trade practices, he announced a boosting of the apprenticeship programs that many experts say is an attempt to emulate Germany's success in closing the so-called skills gap – the gulf between companies' need for a high-trained workforce and the job seekers who are not adequately trained for the jobs on offer. "For decades, Germany has been a model for highly successful apprenticeship – that's a name I like, apprentice – apprenticeship programs," Trump reportedly said during a roundtable discussion with the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. Wingert's big chance to do a formal apprenticeship came in 2012, when Knipex, the company he still works for, offered him and some of his colleagues the chance to get trained. He would be excused from the factory floor for a week each month to pursue a yearlong course that, after a series of two written tests and one practical test, would earn him the official title of machine and systems operator. That professional qualification allows him to apply to higher-paying jobs in the factory, but also lets him more easily enter other manufacturing businesses at a higher pay. The cost of the tuition at the trade college and the 12 weeks of missed work are payed by the federal employment office under a program designed to train older adults. In 2015 the program helped train more than 24,000 people in Germany all over at a cost of roughly 180 million euros, or about $206 million. "You should see what it means for people to get the letter of acceptance," says Sandra Urspruch, a member of the company's human resources department. "It's like getting the golden ticket." At Knipex less than 40 percent of those working on the factory floor have professional qualifications. The balance, who are untrained, execute relatively straightforward tasks on pre-set machines and pre-determined routines; they are more likely to be let go if orders decrease. A fairly typical story of German prowess in small and mid-sized manufacturing companies, Knipex was founded in the second half of the 19th century, well after the industrial revolution had reached the German Ruhr-area, still the heartland of the biggest manufacturing economy in Europe. The Knipex factory, a sprawling series of buildings and halls that now employs about 800 workers who make about 45,000 pliers a day, stands on the site of the original factory, where the founder, who was the current director's great grandfather, was making about 120 pliers a day. Despite its history, the plier factory is aggressively modern. Robots now handle some of the heavy industrial forges. Most of the factory halls are lit with natural light. Small glass-enclosed cabinets ensure that smokers do not affect the indoor-air quality. One section of one floor – where the tools are neatly sorted and the machines look especially modern – is dedicated entirely to training the young who will spend up to three years getting professional qualifications. Knipex was also fairly forward-thinking in starting the program that allows older adults, like Wingert, to go through professional training. While the company itself does not carry any of the cost, it does have to reorganize schedules and in some cases hire extra workers to fill-in for the time Wingert and his peers miss on the factory floor. Besides, now trained and certified, nothing stops them from going up the road to look for better employment opportunities. For the company such inconvenience is paid off by the loyalty it brings, explains Urspruch. Besides, at a time when many workers are retiring and when the jobs become technically more complex, the measure guarantees the manufacturer a steady supply of well-trained employees. For the government-run national employment agency, footing the bill is a way to make sure unemployment numbers stay low. "Employees without a professional qualification or diploma are usually more vulnerable to unemployment, or in cases where they don't have jobs, have a harder time finding employment," says Paul Ebsen, a spokesperson for the German national employment agency. "That's why the employment agency puts so much stake in professional qualifications." Johann Fortwengel, who has extensively studied German firms who come to America looking for locally trained professional manufacturing technicians to hire – or failing that try to help develop an apprentice system to help train workers – says many Americans don't understand the German concept of apprenticeships. For one, many Americans don't realize that the vast majority of Germans who enter into the system are under 20. "In the States, most people who enter apprenticeships seem to be in the 20s, or even early 30s," says Fortwengel, a lecturer in International Management at Kings College in London. There's also a stigma attached to apprenticeship and technical colleges that is less pronounced in Germany, adds Fortwengel. "Everyone wants to do a bachelor's degree," he says of American culture. But according to experts, the core difference between Germany and the U.S. is how many people and businesses rely on the national apprenticeship system. In the U.S., where the Department of Labor promotes "ApprenticeshipUSA," many – if not most – manufacturing companies still tend to train and evaluate workers themselves, a practice that can leave workers with the kind of narrow training that makes changing jobs difficult. "The German system is so special because it is so standardized," says Fortwengel. According to the University of Luxembourg's Powell, the German system also differs from the American one because of the stakeholders involved: "What makes the system so unique is corporatism; the tripartite of unions, government and companies." Such a structure is one of the reasons that Fortwengel doesn't believe the German system can be easily transplanted into America. "Even in a hundred years, it won't be like the German system," he says. More likely, it will be a training system with a distinctly American flavor." [less ▲]

The Worldwide Triumph of the Research University and Globalizing Science

in International Perspectives on Education and Society (2017), 33

This chapter provides an overview of the findings and chapters of volume 33 in the International Perspectives on Education and Society (IPES) series. It describes the common dataset and methods used by an ... [more ▼]

This chapter provides an overview of the findings and chapters of volume 33 in the International Perspectives on Education and Society (IPES) series. It describes the common dataset and methods used by an international research team. The chapter synthesizes the results of a series of country-level case studies and cross-national and regional comparisons on the growth of scientific research from 1900 until 2011. Additionally, the chapter provides a quantitative analysis of global trends in scientific, peer-reviewed publishing over the same period. The introduction identifies common themes that emerged across the case studies examined in-depth during the multi-year research project Science Productivity, Higher Education, Research Development and the Knowledge Society (SPHERE). First, universities have long been and increasingly are the primary organizations in science production around the globe. Second, the chapters describe in-country and cross-country patterns of competition and collaboration in scientific publications. Third, the chapters describe the national policy environments and institutionalized organizational forms that fostered scientific research. The introduction reviews selected findings and limitations of previous bibliometric studies and explains that the chapters in the volume overcome these limitations by applying neo-institutional theoretical frameworks to analyze bibliometric data over an extensive period. [less ▲]

Science Production in Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg: Comparing the Contributions of Research Universities and Institutes to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Health

in Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning and Policy (2017), 55

Charting significant growth in scientific productivity over the 20th century in four EU member states, this neo-institutional analysis describes the development and current state of universities and ... [more ▼]

Charting significant growth in scientific productivity over the 20th century in four EU member states, this neo-institutional analysis describes the development and current state of universities and research institutes that bolsters Europe’s position as a key region in global science. On-going internationalization and Europeanization of higher education and science has been accompanied by increasing competition as well as collaboration. Despite the political goals to foster innovation and further expand research capacity, in cross-national and historical comparison, neither the level of R&D investments nor country size accounts completely for the differential growth of scientific productivity. Based on a comprehensive historical database, this analysis uncovers both stable and dynamic patterns of productivity from 1975 to 2010 in Ger- many, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Measured in peer-reviewed research articles collected in Thomson Reuters Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), we show the varying contributions of different organizational forms, especially research universities and research institutes. Comparing the institutionalization pathways that created the conditions necessary for continuous and strong growth in scientific productivity in the European center of global science emphasizes that the research university is key organizational form across countries. [less ▲]

How Employer Interests and Investments Shape Advanced Skill Formation

in PS: Political Science and Politics (2017), 50(2), 418-422

In many countries around the world, higher education today offers the most assured pathways to secure careers and low unemployment rates. Yet, increasingly some groups—not least the college graduates and ... [more ▼]

In many countries around the world, higher education today offers the most assured pathways to secure careers and low unemployment rates. Yet, increasingly some groups—not least the college graduates and their families who are paying ever-higher tuition fees—question the long taken-for-granted contributions that higher education makes to individuals and society as a whole. Despite mass expansion, societies struggle to achieve their goal of “college for all”—due in part to limited public or corporate funding for affordable study opportunities. Although participation rates have climbed worldwide, higher-education systems continue to produce winners (“insiders”) and losers (“outsiders”), even as the “schooled society” shifts the occupational structure upward. Furthermore, market-oriented higher-education systems, notably in the US and UK, face increasing privatization, which also involves financializing university governance. Many states have retrenched investments that had once underwritten the flourishing of universities and their moves toward massification. Tensions have deepened over who should pay for rising costs, exacerbated in an era of increasing status competition via higher education. In the face of such challenges globally, which alternatives exist? A prominent possibility, pioneered in Germany in the 1970s, is the “dual-study” program. These hybrid programs fully integrate phases of higher-education study and paid work in firms; students are simultaneously trainees. In the short term, firms receive inexpensive labor; in the medium term, they benefit from personnel trained in the relevant context. Yet, firms invest not only in recruiting and training motivated future full-fledged employees. They also collab- orate with higher-education institutions to develop specific curricula that promise to craft skilled workers needed in the future. In these programs, employers and educators cooperate to provide coursework in “dual”-learning settings: on campus and in the workplace. Together, they shape a labor force oriented toward current challenges and opportunities in specific sectors, such as engineering and economics or business. Dual-study programs manifest ways in which employer interests and investments are shaping advanced skill formation. [less ▲]

Integrating International Student Mobility in Work-Based Higher Education: The Case of Germany

in Journal of Studies in International Education (2017), 21(2), 156169

Dual study programs are hybrid forms of work-based higher education that have expanded very rapidly in Germany—a country traditionally considered a key model in both higher education (HE) and vocational ... [more ▼]

Dual study programs are hybrid forms of work-based higher education that have expanded very rapidly in Germany—a country traditionally considered a key model in both higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET). The continued expansion of these hybrid programs increasingly raises questions if, how, and why they may be internationalized. Although comparative research suggests that this could be challenging due to the uniqueness of the German education and training system, strong forces support internationalization. This study examines the current state and the future prospects of internationalization of such innovative dual study programs by focusing on student mobility, a key dimension of internationalization. We find growing interest in but still relatively little mobility related to dual study programs, whether among German (outgoing) or international (incoming) students. Based on expert interviews and document analysis, we extend existing typologies of student mobility regarding specific features of work-based HE programs. Furthermore, we discuss opportunities—at home and abroad—for increasing student mobility in this rapidly expanding sector. [less ▲]

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

in Wehmeyer, Michael L.; Patton, James R. (Eds.) The Praeger International Handbook of Special Education (2017)

Luxembourg, among the world’s smallest but also wealthiest countries, lies in the heart of Western Europe. Bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany and historically known for its strategic position as the ... [more ▼]

Luxembourg, among the world’s smallest but also wealthiest countries, lies in the heart of Western Europe. Bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany and historically known for its strategic position as the “Gibraltar of the North,” Luxembourg is today one of the European Union’s three capital cities. Luxembourg sits at the crossroads between Europe’s Germanic and Francophone language communities. The Grand Duchy’s inhabitants and their many languages – the national language Luxemburgish as well as German and French as languages of administration and of everyday living – reflect the country’s close historical relations with its neighbors and remarkable migratory flows that have resulted in an ethnically hyper-diverse and multilingual population. Reflecting this cultural diversity, the educational system emphasizes language learning, with Luxemburgish learned in preschool; German the focus throughout primary schooling and in secondary technical-vocational education; and French emphasized in secondary academic-oriented schooling. Compulsory schooling age lasts from 4 to 16. The educational system provides a range of primary and secondary schools, mainly run by government but with some maintained by religious bodies. Home schooling is possible, but rare. At the tertiary level, the national flagship University of Luxembourg (UL), building upon the legacies of several postsecondary training institutes, was founded in 2003 according to three principles: internationality, multilingualism, and interdisciplinarity. Beyond this research university, more applied postsecondary organizations offer a range of courses of study. Today, tertiary attainment for 25 to 34 year-olds, more than half of each cohort, is among the highest across OECD countries. [less ▲]

Two worlds of educational research? Comparing the levels, objects, disciplines, methodologies and themes in educational research in the United Kingdom and Germany, 2005–2015

in Research in Comparative and International Education (2017), 12(4), 375-397

Embedded in social worlds, education systems and research reflect distinct national trajectories. We compare two contrasting traditions of educational research (ER). Whereas British ER exhibits a ... [more ▼]

Embedded in social worlds, education systems and research reflect distinct national trajectories. We compare two contrasting traditions of educational research (ER). Whereas British ER exhibits a multidisciplinary and pragmatic character, German ER reflects pedagogy and mainly humanities-based traditions. Yet, in both countries, policymakers’ growing demand for evidence in ER resulted in increased funding, specific research programs, and mandatory large-scale assessments. These have reshaped the field, suggesting more similar ER agendas. Based on a comprehensive original dataset of basic ER projects funded by the main grant- making agencies in both countries (2005–2015), we analyze five dimensions: levels, objects, disciplines, methodologies, and themes. We find epistemic drift, with partial convergence characterized by a multi-level focus, multidisciplinary approach, strongly empirical and quantitative methodology, and a premium on teaching and learning themes. The cases remain distinct in exploring systemic questions in a wider contextual frame (UK) or concentrating more narrowly on the individual learner (Germany). [less ▲]