You are on page 1of 10

Undecid

Disagre
Item n

Agree
Component

ed
x

e
A Statements

The recently introduced reforms in curricula 15.1


2 2.3 61.7 % 23.2 %
Evaluation and monitoring of reforms.

and pedagogy are successful. %


Strength

60 Reforms have achieved their desired goals. 2 77.9 % 17.8 % 4.3 %


The Algerian university is up to date on the 14.9
3 2.1 70.2 % 14.9 %
realities of the new millennium. %
The quality of higher education in Algeria is 15.1
11 2.3 60.2 % 24.7 %
persistently monitored. %
Category 1:

Governmental attempts to transform the


56.6
Weakness

5 nature and function of the Algerian University 3.5 14.3 % 29.1 %


%
produced trivial outcomes.
Reforms have failed because they have been 58.9
10 3.7 12.7 % 28.4 %
imposed by external factors. %
Suggesti

An open public debate about higher 93.1


14 4.6 2.6 % 4.3 %
education is urgently needed. %
Accounta

Category

Strength
bility

21.2
13:

57 Accountability is currently firmly imposed. 2.7 41.9 % 36.9 %


%

The above table summarizes the respondents attitudes towards

accountability in higher education, as well as the evaluation and

monitoring of the recently introduced reforms. Most participants believe

that governmental attempts to reform the nature and function of the

Algerian universities are futile and failed to fulfill the pledged objectives.

Respondents also expressed their consent that possible reasons for this

failure are: (a) that these reforms were imposed by external factors and (b)

that their implementation was not supplemented by constant monitoring

of the quality of university education. Moreover, participants in this study

seem to unanimously approve on the urgent necessity to open a public

debate on how to update the Algerian higher education institutions in

consideration of the impinging realities of the new millennium. However,


answers to item 57 are inconclusive. Probably, a lot of students and

teachers inaccurately interpreted the technical meaning of accountability-

a term not-so-widely-used in the Algerian academic jargon. Accordingly, 42

% of respondents consider the current execution of accountability

measures as being irresolute.

Undecid
Disagre
Item n

Agree
Component

ed
x

e
B Statements

77.4 17.9
13 Teaching approaches are innovative. 2 4.7 %
Category 2: Quality of teaching, learning,

Strength

% %
Methods of assessing students knowledge 87.5
22 1.8 8.2 % 4.3 %
and skills are appropriate. %
University graduates in Algeria are highly 75.8 19.6
and assessment practices.

24 2 4.6 %
skilled. % %
13.9 14.8
6 Teaching quality is mediocre. 3.7 71.3 %
Weakness

% %
University education overemphasizes 11.9 15.6
41 3.9 72.5 %
theoretical knowledge transmission. % %
54 Classrooms are over-crowded. 4.1 9.3 % 9.6 % 81.1 %
Practical courses should have the bigger 14.3
44 4.3 0% 85.7 %
share of university education. %
Suggestions

University education should overemphasize


17 4.8 3% 0% 97 %
quality over quantity.
No class should exceed 20 students under any
52 4.3 3.4 % 11 % 85.6 %
circumstances.
Student evaluation and grading should be
58 4.4 3.3 % 1.7 % 95 %
reconsidered.
Students who pass the baccalaureate are
80.5 15.1
Category 5: University accessibility and

34 equipped with necessary tools for higher 1.9 4.4 %


% %
Strength

education.
Students are satisfied with the field of study 55.3 36.1
46 2.3 8.6 %
they have chosen. % %
The mobility of students is facilitated at all 44.7 34.2
mobility policies

18 2.6 21.1 %
levels of higher education. % %
Access to university should be conditional 15.6 13.5
45 4 70.9 %
upon an entrance exam. % %
Access to the master's degree should be 13.6
55 4.3 3.3 % 83.1 %
Suggestions

highly selective to A and B category only. %


University accessibility should be
15 4.4 6.3 % 5.6 % 88.1 %
reconsidered.
Any student who gets the baccalaureate 36.9 14.2
19 3.1 48.9 %
should have access to university education. % %
All Algerian students should benefit from free-
39.4 15.3
27 of-charge education, regardless of their 3.1 45.3 %
% %
academic performance.
Streng
12.8
evaluation, and

35 University teachers are poorly qualified. 3.5 30 % 57.2 %


recruitment,

%
Category 7:
Teachers

Students should be allowed to evaluate the 11.1 18.4


Suggesti

43 3.8 70.5 %
pedagogical effectiveness of their teachers. % %

New teachers should be supervised by expert


51 4.2 13 % 5.6 % 81.4 %
teachers for at least one year.
activity and

There is a lot of support for research and 88.4


Research

Category

31 1.7 3.9 % 7.7 %


Strength

publication activity. %
10:

The research output produced by Algerian


77.4 19.6
26 universities meets the ever-increasing 1.8 3%
% %
competitive and dynamic economic needs.
Study programs are sufficiently flexible. 66.9 23.5
20 2.2 9.6 %
% %
The study programs offered now at the
Category 12:

Strength

Algerian universities are relevant to the 77.7 19.6


63 1.9 2.7 %
demands of the labor market. % %

Implementation of a two-cycle system


(license-master) had a positive impact on 34.1
37 2.4 53 % 12.9 %
higher education quality. %

Duration of a doctorate should correspond to 15.1 23.5


38 3.7 61.4 %
3-4 full-time study years. % %
The doctorate should be considered as the 10.2 35.2
Flexibility of curricula and

39 3.6 54.6 %
third cycle of studies. % %
educational degrees.

Standardizing curricula across universities is a 15.3


49 3.9 7% 77.7 %
good idea. %
Suggestions

Standardized textbooks should be used at 17.5 20.2


56 3.7 62.3 %
least for license degree. % %
39.8 24.1
47 Masters degree should be 3 years. 3 36.1 %
% %
Hard sciences (technology, computing,
biology, etc...) should be given more 62.7 16.2
61 2.4 21.1 %
importance than the humanities (languages, % %
arts, economics, etc...) in higher education.
We should have fewer specialties than they 45.4 30.4
64 2.7 24.2 %
currently are available at the university. % %

This second table presents data on participants views on teaching,

learning, assessment, curricula, admission policies, and research activity,

all of which they find mediocre and oblige meticulous review. As such, the

respondents positively support what the questionnaire statements

proposed for a better quality education that can produce highly skilled

graduates, namely:
a) Renovating teaching approaches by putting more emphasis on practical

courses than on theoretical knowledge transmission and adjusting

student evaluation and grading practices.

b) Constructing flexible study programs which are adaptive to the

demands of the labor market and in parallel, standardizing curricula

across universities, harmonizing syllabuses across study levels, and

adopting standardized uniform textbooks at least for license degree.

c) Reducing teacher-student ratio by reconsidering access to university to

become conditional upon success on an entrance exam, and access to

the master's degree to become selective to first-rate students only.

d) Ameliorating the training of university teachers and involving students

in the evaluation of teachers pedagogical effectiveness.

e) Supporting research and publication activity in the Algerian universities

to meet the ever-increasing competitive and dynamic socio-economic

needs.

As one might expect, the position of the respondents towards certain

items remains ambivalent. These relate to contestable questions such as

whether the masters degree should be extended to 3 years, and whether

hard sciences should be given extra status than the humanities. The

answers also appear indecisive to whether it would be astute to get rid of

some fields of specialty, and whether it proves advisable to continue to

grant free-of-charge education to all Algerian learners who get the

baccalaureate, regardless of their academic merit. After all, stakeholders

must methodically ponder and consciously weigh the pros and cons of

each of these options to make optimal choices.


Undecid
Disagre
Item n

Agree
ed
x

e
Component Statements
C
Algerian higher education institutions are
66.3 16.2 17.5
1 playing a central role in national economic 2.3
% % %
Category 3: Relation of university to the

development.
socio-economic, cultural, and political

Algerian higher education institutions have a 79.8 13.9


4 1.9 6.3 %
strong effect on national political decisions. % %
Strength

The socio-cultural atmosphere in Algeria is


21.3 18.7
7 currently nurtured by higher education 2.3 60 %
% %
institutions.
environment.

Algerian universities succeeded in their 74.2 19.8


21 2 6%
mission of ensuring socio-cultural cohesion. % %
The amount and quality of academic exchange
73.5 23.5
62 among the Algerian universities are 2 3%
% %
satisfactory.
The research-industry collaboration in Algeria 14.2 69.8
8 3.8 16 %
is sporadic. % %
Weaknesses

The impact of the Algerian University on 91.6


9 4.1 4.4 % 4%
sustainable growth appears relatively weak. %
Algerian universities have failed in training 25.5 18.5
23 3.5 56 %
members of new intellectual elites. % %
Participation in the animation of the University 14.2 12.3 73.5
32 3.8
life seems nonexistent. % % %
Algerian students who graduate from
university have the ability to apply and 64.8 20.9 14.3
Strength

40 2.2
Employability and

transfer their learning outcomes in the field. % % %


integration of
professional

Category 4:

Professional integration after graduating from 74.4 18.2


42 university is guaranteed. 2 7.4 %
% %
Suggest

Employability after graduation should be a 10.9 79.9


16 4.2 9.2 %
major purpose of higher education. % %

Table three portrays a descriptive analysis of the collected opinions on the

link between the Algerian university and the other compounds of society

as well as on the professional integration of graduates. Despondently, the

survey paints a bleak picture of the current state of the intra-university

atmosphere, inter-university academic exchange, and of research-industry

collaboration. Likewise, Algerian universities appear to have failed in their

mission of ensuring socio-cultural cohesion and training members of new

intellectual elites. It is no surprise, then, to notice a marginal- if any-


impact of these institutions on the economic development of our country.

In fact, as long as higher education graduates are ill-prepared to apply and

transfer the learned skills in the real-world, employability remains a not-

so-lose goal to achieve.

Disagre
Item n

Undeci

Agree
ded
x

e
Component Statements
D
The proper aims and values of university 1. 17.4
25 80.7 % 1.9 %
Strengt

education in Algeria are visibly clear. 9 %


leadership and
Administrative
management.

Category 6:

University administrators possess qualities of 23.4


36 leadership and professionalism. 2 74.9 % 1.7 %
%
Suggesti

Heads of departments, deans, and rectors 4. 18.2


33 should be elected not appointed. 4.8 % 77 %
2 %

20.3
28 Students receive all support they need. 2 70.8 % 8.9 %
documentary resources,

%
and student support.

Infrastructures,

Documentary resources are abundantly 1.


Category 8:

29 81.6 % 5.7 % 12.7 %


9
Strength

available.

Material resources and infrastructure are 2.


30 72.6 % 9.5 % 17.9 %
fairly good. 1

Building more universities across Algeria was 3. 20.2


59 28.2 % 51.6 %
a good idea. 3 %
Information systems

Strengt

Information technologies are widely used and


management and

1.
dissemination.

48 easily accessible in Algerian universities. 85.2 % 8.3 % 6.5 %


7
Category 9:

Weaknes

Access to information is restricted by many 18.2


12 4 5.7 % 76.1 %
constraints. %

There is rigor in the implementation of 2. 69.6 % 20.9 9.5 %


Procedu

Categor

Strengt

53 ethical codes and academic standards in 1 %


y 11:

Algerian universities.
Suggesti
academi

ensurin
res for
University education should put a strong 4.
4.6 % 5.3 % 90.1 %
g

50 emphasis on moral values and discipline. 4

In this last table, four categories of items are pooled and collapsed into

one component that relates mainly to the administrative management of

resources, information systems, and ethics. The results direct toward the

necessity to intensively train and democratically elect university managers

who possess demonstrated qualities of leadership and professionalism,

those who can provide documentary and material resources for learners,

those who can remove all barriers in the path of information technology

access. Ordinarily, competent leaders, when fittingly selected, should be

able to clearly elaborate and communicate realistic aims and values of

university education and to rigorously implement ethical codes and

academic discipline. However, among the statements belonging to this

fourth component, the idea of building more universities across Algeria is

ostensibly the only not agreed upon; specifically, fifty percent of

participants think it is a wide of the mark decision, possibly because it

contradicts the notion of student mobility.

1. In your opinion, what's wrong with the Algerian higher


education system?

Only a few answered open-ended questions. Some of which repeated the


same statements proposed.

Component A: related to reforms Component B: related to pedagogy


-Learners needs are marginalized. -Use of ready-made teaching
-Inconsistency in the application of materials.
reforms. -The recruitment of teachers is
-Reforms are not internally initiated. arbitrary.
-No long-term goals and unclear -Teachers' absenteeism.
objectives.
-Demotivated students.

Component D1: related to local Component D2: related to national


administration administration
-Deficient provision of financial -Nepotism, Lack of transparency and
support for higher education integrity.
institutions. -No encouragement for innovation and
-Excluding people at the base of the competition.
educational process. Arbitrary -Rigid bureaucracy.
decisions. -Disorder and Mismanagement.
-Lack of strategic planning and good -Lack of effectiveness.
governance for the educational -How to curb indiscipline.
system as a whole.

In your opinion, what should be the fundamental commitments of the


Algerian university towards both society and the individual?

Academic Ethical-Ideological-cultural-
technological

1. Constructing the transmission of 1. individual growth


knowledge 2. to have ethical behaviors
2. Quality over quantity. instilling moral
3. train students to think critically 3. enrich
4. to become life-long autonomous
learners
5. raise the level of higher
education
6. encourage individuals eagerness
to research
7. scientific values scientific
education
8. Provide an educational
environment education
motivates students to do their
utmost.

Social Economic

9. devoted citizens to have and 15. Preparing working force


perpetuate national values 16. give the individual the chance
10. to develop the society to specialize in a field he is
11. creation of highly educated passionate towards
elite
12. the construction of other
generations
13. help them to build a society
as a whole
14. Prepare future educated
aware generation will build a
country

Do you have any other comments, questions, or concerns?

1. We have to rethink the educational system with all its levels.


2. Need to change the Algerian mentality.
3. Without discipline learning does not take place.
4. politics have nothing to do with pedagogy
5. change should come from bottom-up not vise-versa
6. Providing the means and resources
7. to ensure that what you learn of the individual equivalent of
domestic and external standards
8. strict and clear laws
9. Promote the concepts of citizenship, work, workmanship and
solidarity and excellence values
10. You must accept the notion of differences
11. must monitor the integrity of the officials of the university
12. Suggested specialized training for professors
13. Teaching focused on their specialty materials for the students
because there are courses being taught, but do not serve specialties
14. Raising Awareness of intellectual, cultural, religious and
pedagogical issues.
15. University involved in issues and decisions with regard to society
and the individual
16. research is centered on finding ways to improve social life
17. Prepare students to keep up with modernity
18. to think about creativity and innovation
19. Not prioritize getting a job at the expense of quality education and
practice.
20. Open for scholarships abroad, especially in disciplines such as
engineering and medicine.
21. Produce a generation conscious of the importance of discipline
22. Put strict rules for university access
23. Require passing an entrance exam to university.

24. Proper selection of professors and teachers based on


experience, efficiency and effectiveness
25. to improving curricula and programs and education materials
26. Align of the curriculum with the requirements of work.
27. Give everyone his right fairness
28. I think that the issue of moral values ethics far before in the pre-
university stage
29. Do teaching and research in line with the global norms and
professional standards
30. an atmosphere of justice and fairness
31. encouraging free flow of the ideas
32. accompaniment and support

You might also like