Higher education reforms in Lithuania : two decades after Bologna

Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knygos dalis / Part of the book
Language:
Anglų kalba / English
Title:
Higher education reforms in Lithuania: two decades after Bologna
Authors:
In the Book:
Higher education system reform : an international comparison after twenty years of Bologna / edited by Bruno Broucker, Kurt De Wit, Jef C. Verhoeven, Liudvika Leišytė. Leiden: Brill Sense, 2019. P. 179-195
Subject Category:
LT
Aukštasis mokslas. Studijos / Higher education. Study; Teisėkūra. Teisės šaltiniai / Legislation. Sources of law; 20 amžius.
Summary / Abstract:

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Aukštojo mokslo kokybė; Aukštojo mokslo reforma; Aukštojo mokslo reformos; Bolonijos procesas; Teisinis reguliavimas; Bologna process; Higher education reforms; Legal regulations; Lithuania; Reforms of higher education; The Bologna process; The quality of higher education.

ENLithuanian higher education has evolved since 1999 towards a more outputoriented managerialism, and there has been incremental innovation following the internationalisation and globalisation trends, part of which has been adherence to the Bologna goals via increased international communication and benchmarking taking place over the years. The change has been accompanied by strong path-dependencies on the one hand where re-regulation of the State has taken place via increased accountability and monitoring - while on the other hand, the new impulses coming from joining the European Union (EU) via the availability of European Structural Funds, increased benchmarking and international communication to support change initiatives have led to the introduction of quasimarket competition elements into the system, such as, performance-based funding, competition for students and an output orientation in the quality assurance system. Even though the Bologna Process is characterised as a moving target, it is interesting to look back to see how the Lithuanian system has been transformed in terms of the original Bologna goals. Studies have shown that the implementation of the Bologna goals varies due to their "re-contextualisation" in different national contexts and de-coupling strategies at the institutional level.Transformations are intrinsically intertwined with various national initiatives and indeed sometimes have been used by national policy-makers to "legitimize" their local reforms. The Lithuanian case is especially interesting for the study on the influence of the Bologna Process on higher education systems, "as the country has experienced a transition from a centrally planned Soviet economy to the "Western" market economy" in the early 1990s and has been undergoing rapid transformation ever since. Nevertheless, literature shows that despite the complex history of its higher education system, the Lithuanian path of transformation shows similarities with other Central and Eastern European countries while at the same time having distinct path dependencies. In this chapter, we will present the main reforms of the Lithuanian higher education system, paying special attention to the actors involved as well as the rationale behind these reforms. We will then discuss the current situation with regard to the six original Bologna targets, namely, the adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees, the adoption of a two-cycle Higher education system, the establishment of a European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), the promotion of mobility, the promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance, and the promotion of a European dimension in higher education. [Extract, p. 179-180]

DOI:
01:10.1163/9789004400115_012
ISBN:
9789004400108
Subject:
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/78844
Updated:
2020-04-24 06:52:34
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