University / Háskólar - Jón Torfi Jónasson

The university

English texts (with texts on Icelandic developments) Íslensk umræða (sjá hér aftar).

My writing both in Icelandic and English on the university have been on its nature, as elusive as this is, internal conflicts and special status, often noting its inertial culture. I have also written on the nature or characteristics of its growth. In a number of my papers, I attempt to explain the credential force which I claim is the primary moulding influence of the university. I present both the theoretical frame but also the unacknowledged quantitative underpinning. The substantive topics in that context have been credentialism, and how this interacts with both academic and institutional drift. I single out the gender gap and show how the data clarifies its shape and nature. The explicit and implicit message is that these are issues that are essentially ubiquitous, applying equally to most systems irrespective of size, developmental stage and culture. This I show partly by writing on the Icelandic case often in context of the Nordic countries but importantly extending the discussion to a much wider field.

Especially during the years 2000-2020, I wrote or presented on higher education both in the context of Magna Charta Observatory, CHER, CESE, SRHE and NERA and in the Icelandic context, often benefitting from the company of my colleague and coauthor Gyða Jóhannsdóttir. But there are also papers co-written with Kristjana Stella Blöndal, Anna Ólafsdóttir and Gunnhildur Óskarsdóttir.

The topics are manifold and difficult to categorise but in the following I will note some important ones (with some repetition). I will note published work, manuscripts not yet published, and lectures. Even though many of the texts here are in English, I will also note work in Icelandic (with Icelandic commentary). The work will not be presented in a chronological order.

I mark with an asterisk (*) where the background material is available in a link. I normally present the reference format when appropriate.

On the challenges faced by the university

Book on the challenges and development of HE. This was written by invitation of the Magna Charta Observatory celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Magna Charta Universitatum.

Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2008). Inventing tomorrow’s university. Who is to take the lead? Bologna: The Magna Charta Observatory. (Text).

The underlying question is in the title. It is assumed that the university as an institution should be continuously developing. But which should be the moulding forces? And on what ideological basis should they move? The implicit message is that the lead for change should come from the inside. I learned a lot about earlier ideas about the university and also some recent trends but came away with some pessimism concerning its ability to change from within, which have since, regretfully, been considerably reinforced.

Earlier I had pointed to serious weaknesses in the common rhetoric (essentially consisting of cliches) about the university (see below). Even though there was a consensus that the research-teaching nexus is crucial, the argument on which this claim was based, was very unclear and also what this nexus meant. I also questioned the common idea that there was a unitary notion of a (research) university. At the end I suggested that it was not clear if the pragmatic plea for the importance of a university, and thus the demand for a national financial contribution, was primarily based on a national or a global argument, nor if it was based on a narrow contribution only to science or on a broader agenda. But it seemed to depend on who was talking.

Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2005). We know about them, but how do we deal with them? On the weaknesses inherent in the development of the idea of the university. Counterpoint from an educationist. (Text). Managing University Autonomy. University autonomy and the institutional balancing of teaching and research. Proceedings of the Seminar of the Magna Charta Observatory 15 September 2005. Pp. 179-197. Bologna: Boonina University Press.

The above title expresses my main point: “We know about them, but we don’t address them.” It is inherent in the academic culture to recognise and even analyse problems, but not necessarily to address them. Which is understandable, as academics are normally only inclined to do the first but not the last. I discuss various challenges faced by the university in various papers on the university as an institution.

The Magna Charta Observatory held a series of workshops on the nature and role of the university. Páll Skúlason, then the rector of the University of Iceland was instrumental in arranging these. There are three of my papers from these seminars.

2007 The Magna Charta Trilogy. Part three: The stakeholders and the future. Opening paper presented at the Magna Charta Taskforce on the Idea of the University of the Future University in Torino June 14th-15th 2007. PPT
2006 The Magna Charta Trilogy. Part two: Great universities in small countries. Magna Charta Taskforce on the Idea of the University of the Future. University of Luxembourg. May 11th-13th 2006. PPT
2005 The Magna Charta Trilogy. Part one: The emergence of a modern definition of the university. Paper presented at the conference: The Idea of the University of the Future, organized by the Magna Charta Observatory and the University of Iceland at the university on May 3^rd, 2005. Paper.
2005 What is the raison d’être of a modern university? NUAS seminar. Reykjavik, April 15^th, 2005. Paper.
2005 Does the social mission of the university carry with it some inherent contradictions? Paper presented for the Institute for University Ethics Summer Seminar. Department of Philosophy and the College of Arts and Letters. Bemidji State University, August 8-10, 2005. Paper. PPT.

The University of Bemidji and the University of Iceland in concert arranged a seminar on the university in August 2005. Here I discuss some potential conflicts when promoting the important social missions of the university.

2000 What is the Role of Universities in to-morrow’s Society? Presented at a NUAS conference in Reykjavík on June 6th, 2000.
1997 Studying in a modern University Environment: Present and future modes of Operation. Presented at a Nordic conference of Nordic Faculties of Law, February 15^th, 1997

Credentialism

I argue that a credential mechanism has been among the most powerful moulding forces of HE worldwide. This is based on solid and massive data from various sources. But this view rarely enters the policy analytic discourse. In my early work on this perspective, I have presented the theoretical background available, but then went on to underpin it with data, first from upper secondary education but then mainly from HE. I argue that developments within university systems are largely (or at least to a surprising degree) guided by credential forces. With emphasis on data, I started off by using Icelandic and Nordic data but soon went on to show the ubiquity of the emerging patterns. In this connection I draw attention to the particularly interesting gender patterns.

Theoretical underpinning of the credential argument

2012 Gyða Jóhannsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson. The dynamics of the development of small HE systems. Paper presented at the 25th CHER conference (The Consortium of Higher Education Researchers). 10−12 September 10-12th 2012 at Belgrad University. Paper.

2011 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2011). The conflicts between domestic and global perspectives on institutions in small communities. CEPS Sympósion 2011 Ljubljana, 23-25 November 2011. Internationalisation and globalisation processes and their impact on national higher education systems: convergence and divergence, centres and peripheries. PPT

2006 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2006). Can credentialism help to predict the convergence of institutions and systems of higher education? CHER 19th Annual Conference Systems Convergence and Institutional Diversity? Centre for Research on Higher Education and Work, University of Kassel, Germany. September 7th-9th 2006. Paper

2005 Jón Torfi Jónasson. Credentialism and Adult education (Adult education goes to school?) Developmental forces in adult education. Paper presented at Nordic Conference on Adult Education, in Turku – 12.5, 2005. PPT

2004 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2004, June 28th). Does national policy govern the expansion of higher education? CESE, Comparative Education Society in Europe. The Danish University of Education, Copenhagen. [Paper]

2004 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2004). Can academic drift and credentialism be seen as contributing factors to the growth of higher education? An attempt to construct a grammar of educational development. Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE), Bristol, Dec 2004. [Paper.]

2004 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2004). What determines the expansion of higher education? Credentialism, academic drift, and the growth of education. In Ingjaldur Hannibalsson (Ed.), Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum V. Viðskipta og hagfræðideild. Paper presented in October 2004 (pp. 275-290). Reykjavík: Félagsvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands, Háskólaútgáfan. Paper.

2004 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2004). Higher education reforms in Iceland at the transition into the twenty-first century. Í Ingemar Fägerlind and Görel Strömqvist (Eds.), Reforming Higher Education in the Nordic Countries. Studies of change in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (pp. 137-188). Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning.

2004 Does national policy govern the expansion of Higher education? Some thoughts on the implications of the credential account of educational expansion. Comparative Education Society of Europe (CESE) Copenhagen DPU June 28th 2004. Paper?

2003 The Forces at play in University Development: From the Perspective of competition and co-operation. The Nordic NUAS Seminar, University of Iceland, March 28.-29. 2003. For the directors of international offices. Reykjavík March 29th, 2003. PPT

The data story of educational expansion

The data story is presented in quite a few papers and presentations. Some of these are listed immediately below but there are some presented with the Icelandic story papers.

Upper secondary education – an Icelandic and a Nordic perspective

2003 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2003). Does the state expand schooling? A study based on five Nordic countries. Comparative Education Review, 47(2), 160-183. CER 2003 JTJ

Here I show the notably homogeneous expansion of first Icelandic and then Nordic upper secondary academic education for most of the 20^th century. I show the common, long-term regularity with very similar gender patterns for the five countries analysed. I understand that this paper is somewhat difficult to digest, but there is a lot of solid data there and make several important points about the development of education.

1997 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (1997). Students Passing the Icelandic University Entrance Examination (UEE) 1911-94. European Journal of Education, 32, (2) 209-220 JTJ 1997 Students Passing the Icelandic University Entrance Examination (UEE) 1911 -94

This one of my first papers showing the robustness of academic growth, showing the pattern for Icelandic upper secondary education in some detail.

Higher education (see also gender gap)

2015 The Hidden Dynamics of the Expansion of Higher Education. Paper presented at AERA in Chicago April 20^th, 2015. Paper. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392063230_The_Hidden_Dynamics_of_the_Expansion_of_Higher_Education

*This is perhaps my best developed paper on the data behind the universality and homogeneity of the expansion of HE. The emphasis is on the international comparison.

2011 Is there an invariance in educational expansion? Consortium of Higher Education Researchers CHER, Reykjavík June 2011. PPT .

2006 What are the patterns of higher educational expansion in the Nordic countries and how should they be interpreted? A paper given at a NIFU STEP in Oslo. March 20th, 2006. Paper?

2006 The characteristics of the patterns of higher educational expansion in the Nordic countries and a possible interpretation. A paper given at a seminar on policy and planning in higher education. University of Oslo, March 16th, 2006. Paper.

2005 The pattern of educational expansion in the Nordic countries? An empirical assessment of the explanatory power of academic drift and credentialism. A paper presented at the Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE) Edinburgh 14.-16. December 2005. Paper.

2005 The development of higher education in Iceland and other Nordic countries at the transition into the twenty-first century. Paper presented at a NUAS conference on the development of doctoral studies in the Nordic countries, October 7^th, 2005: Från student til forskare: Om individen, ledningen och organisationen i forskarutbildningen. Reykjavík, 6.-7. October 2005.

2005 Are the general developments in higher education in the Nordic countries in some way special? Does the growth of Nordic education bear witness to credentialism and academic drift? Paper presented at Comparative International Education Society (CIES) in Stanford March 23rd, 2005.

2004 Is it possible to have more than one type of a university? Some thoughts on the development of the Nordic university level. NERA Reykjavík March 13th, 2004. PPT.

2000 The uniformity and regularity of expansion of university and tertiary education. Speculations based on a cross-national Comparison. Paper presented at CESE in Bologna, 4.-7. September 2000. PPT.

1999 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (1999). The Predictability of Educational Expansion: Examples from Secondary and Higher Education. In I. Fägerlind, I. Holmesland, & G. Strömqvist (eds.), Higher Education at the Crossroads. Tradition or Transformation? (pp. 113-131). Stockholm: Institute of International Education. Stockholm University. Text. PDF. Book chapter. Text.

1999 Is traditional University Education responding fast enough to a Society in a rapid Transition? Keynote address at the EUCEN (European Universities continuing Educational network) Conference in Reykjavík, June 25th, 1999. [Keynote address] Text. PPT.

Gender gap – an interesting story

This is perhaps my most important contribution within the the HE discourse. In recent years I have accumulated voluminous data on the robustness of gendered growth in HE and the nature and robustness of the gender difference. The most comprehensive text on these ideas I presented in 2013-2016 is from February 2016 and about 70% of my data are to be found in this paper but many of the ideas are present in other presentations, e.g. those below. My first attempt in this direction was the article published in 1999.

2019 Contesting a Current Notion of a New or Reversed Gender Gap in Tertiary Education. ECER in Hamburg, September 5th, 2019. ECER
JTJ Hamburg 2019 Gender Gap sept 3 PPT in pdf format. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392763458_The_ubiquitous_credential_growth_of_HE_and_the_gender_gap_ppt

My latest presentation was in Hamburg and here is the PPT in PDF format.

2016 February. The nature of the gender gap in Higher Education. Presented at a JustEd seminar, at the University of Helsinki, 9.2.2016. PPT presentation. (Text available).

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392065430_The_educational_gender_gap_in_HE

2015 Utbildningsgapet mellan kvinnor och män. The educational gender gap. Invitation to a presentation at a conference held by the Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapet i Lund at Lund University, April 28^th, 2015. PPT.

2014 May 2014. What is the nature of the gender gap in Higher Education? What does the gender gap in higher education actually mean? And what will the future be like? An invited keynote at the conference Gender and Higher Education in Europe: Assessing the Past, Re-examining the Present and Shaping the Future. May 22-24, 2014. Lund University, Sweden. PPT

2013 Is there a Nordic invariance in HE educational development – from the perspective of gender and cohorts? Paper presented at the NERA conference in Reykjavík, 7.-9. March 2013. PPT

Icelandic developments English text

2017 Anna Ólafsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson (2017). Quality Assurance in a Small HE System. Is the Icelandic System in Some Ways Special? In S. Georgios, K.M. Joshi and S. Paivandi (eds), Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Chapter 11, (pp. 203-226). © Studera Press 2017 Iceland Quality assurance in HE 2017

This a description of the Icelandic quality infra-structure for the university level and cursory evaluation of the initial stages of its implementation.

2016 Jón Torfi Jónasson og Gunnhildur Óskarsdóttir. (2016). Iceland: Educational structure and development. In T. Sprague (Ed.), Education in non-EU countries in Western and Southern Europe, pp. 11-36. Series: Education Around the World. London: Bloomsbury. ePub: 978-1-4725-9250-7 Book chapter JTJ-GÓ

This is a description of the Icelandic education system, where higher education plays of course some part.

2014 Gyða Jóhannsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2014). External and internal influences on the development of Icelandic higher education. Nordic Studies in Education, 34, 153-171. Johannsdottir Jonasson Nordic Studies 2014

In this paper we probe which forces seem to modulate the growth of the Icelandic education system. We suggest that it is mainly the credential forces which are similar to what is seen elsewhere and thus no clear external influence, such as a blueprint is a driver. We also note that the Icelandic system, perhaps faster than other systems, has travelled from university dominated, through dual, binary towards a unified system. But external influences, such as the ENQA, Bologna declaration and international ranking efforts were quite visible.

2013 Gyða Jóhannsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2013). The Development Dynamics of a Small Higher Education System Iceland: a case in point. Netla – Online Journal on Pedagogy and Education. University of Iceland – School of Education.

We felt this was an important input in the discussion about small vs large systems and investigated this from several different perspectives. We concluded that at least from some important perspectives the nature of developments and challenges were somewhat similar irrespective of the size of the system. We show important developments with a strong comparative perspective. Thus, the main conclusion is that small system such as the Icelandic one shows the same developmental characteristics as larger systems.

2011 Gyða Jóhannsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2011). What Characterises the Public-Private Distinction in HE in a Nordic Perspective? Comparison of the Essential Features of Private Universities in Denmark, Iceland and Norway. In Teixeira, Pedro, & Dill, David, D. (Eds.), Public Vices, Private Virtues? (pp. 67 – 89). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Ath. (Þessa grein hef ég, en ekki ljósritaða).

This paper describes the Icelandic case in some detail but also those in the other Nordic countries for comparative purposes. It is interesting how the private-public divide can be understood in quite different ways within national systems that are normally considered quite related.

2009 Anna Ólafsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson. Factors modulating the operational aspects of educational quality within HE. Paper presented at the SRHE Annual Conference 2009, Challenging Higher Education: knowledge, policy and practice, Newport Wales, December 8-10, 2009.

2009 Gyða Jóhannsdóttir and Jón Torfi Jónasson. What characterises the public-private distinction in HE? Paper presented at the conference: Public Goals – Private Rules? The Promises and Threats of Combining the Public with Private Higher Education, Are Public HE Institutions Moving in the Direction of Private HE? Podčetrtek, Slovenia, November 13-14, 2009.

2009 Jón Torfi Jónasson. The higher educational market: on what grounds do students choose a programme, and then stay or leave? NUAS conference: Students in focus recruitment, retention and employability Reykjavík, November 8-10, 2009.

2008 Jón Torfi Jónasson and Gyða Jóhannsdóttir. Potential conflicts when defining and determining quality in HE and their effects. Paper presented at The Consortium of Higher Education Researchers (CHER) 21st Annual Conference, “Excellence and Diversity in Higher Education. Meanings, Goals and Instruments”, University of Pavia, 11th-13th September 2008. See Paper CHER Pavia 2008 JTJ & GJ.

Here we suggest that defining quality within HE is perhaps more difficult than it seems when only one perspective is adopted. Looking at the issue from more than one angle makes the situation somewhat difficult and even paradoxical. One perspective is related to the internal standards set a by the academic staff, and other is related to the proportion of university graduates within a population.

2004 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2004). Higher education reforms in Iceland at the transition into the twenty-first century. In Ingemar Fägerlind og Görel Strömqvist (Eds.), Reforming Higher Education in the Nordic Countries. Studies of change in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (bls. 137-188). Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning. Text

2002 Jón Torfi Jónasson. (2002). Policy and reality in educational development: an analysis based on examples from Iceland. Journal of Education Policy. 17(6), 659-671. https://doi.org/10.1080/026809302

Adult education

2024

2014.10 June 2014. How will the principal strands of education of adults co-exist? The character and sustainability of formal, non-formal and informal education of adults. A presentation at the 2nd conference of the ESREA Network on Policy Studies in Adult Education, Interrogating Sustainability in Adult Learning Policy: European and Global Perspectives. June 18–20, 2014 Aalborg University, Denmark jtj-june-2014-aalborg-adult-education-paper-draft Text.

2013 Why LLL should be moved to the central stage of the system of education? Paper presented at the 5th Nordic conference on adult education in Reykjavík, 5.-6. March 2013. paper-jtj3-5th-nocae-march-5-6-2013

2005 Credentialism and Adult education (Adult education goes to school?) Developmental forces in adult education. Paper presented at Nordic Conference on Adult Education, in Turku – 12.5, 2005. PPT.

2004.18 Different aspects of Motivation, Flexibility and Adult Learning. Ráðstefnan, Voksnes motivation og livslang læring Keflavík Iceland – October 29th 2004

2001 Jón Torfi Jónasson, og Albert Tuijnman. (2001). The Nordic model of adult education: Issues for discussion. In A. Tuijnman & Z. Hellström (Eds.), Curious Minds. Nordic adult education compared (bls. 116-128). Copenhagen: TemaNord & Nordic Council of Ministers. Text.

2001 Jón Torfi Jónasson and Albert Tuijnman. (2001). Nordic Adult Education Compared: Findings and Interpretation. Golden Riches. Nordic Adult Learning, 2, 6-11. Text.

2001.4 Adult Education in Iceland. Status, developments and research. Erindi flutt á ráðstefnunni, Forskning i Norden, sem haldin var að Voksenåsen í Osló, 28.-30. maí 2001.

Umræða á Íslandi um háskólastigið – m.a. það íslenska

Fyrst beindi ég sjónum að þróun mála, m.a. af baráttu milli fræðilegra áherslna háskólafólks og metnaði stjórnvalda í þágu starfsnáms. Í fjölmörgum greinum geri ég grein fyrir þessu og erindi frá árinu 2000, drep ég á frábæra umræðu Péturs Péturssonar árið 1850 um þessi tengsl. (Sjá Árrit Prestaskólans, 1850). Á árunum 1999-2006 var ég mjög iðinn við að draga fram meginlínur. Síðar beindi ég sjónum frekar að eðli og innri átökum háskóla, þótt það speglist enn frekar í ritgerðum mínum og míns samstarfsfólks á ensku. Samfella í vexti kerfisins er afar skýr, langt umfram það sem stofnsetning tiltekinna stofnana eða greina gefur til kynna og þar kemur kerfisrek (institutional drift) skýrt fram sem oftast má rekja til fræðireks (academic drift) sem nær alltaf má rekja til prófræðis (credentialism), sem er þá hinn eiginlegi drifkraftur þróunar háskólamenntunar. Nær alltaf er ásetningur stjórnvalda að efla starfsmenntun, en samt tekur hinn fræðilegi vinkill oftast yfir, a.m.k. í áferð námsins, en bersýnilega einnig í skipulagi (sbr. uppbyggingu meistara- og doktorsnáms ofan á bakkalárnám). Af þessu álykta ég að nemendur ráða í raun ótrúlega miklu um vöxt og innri þróun háskólakerfisins, þótt það tengist alls ekki neinni formlegri stýringu þeirra og mörgum öðrum (stjórnvöldum, stjórnendum, kennurum) finnst þeir ráða för.

Talnagögn sýna næstum ótrúlegan stöðugleika í uppbyggingu náms þar sem skýr veldisvöxtur ræður ferðinni, a.m.k. á tímabilinu 1900-2010, þegar mettun lætur loks á sér kræla. Þrennt vekur sérstaka athygli. 1) Það er athyglisvert hve þessi vöxtur er stöðugur, þannig að vöxturinn á fyrri hluta 20. aldar er jafnmikill og á síðari hluta aldarinnar – þetta er áhugavert því oft er látið sem nánast hafi orðið sprenging á síðari hlutanum, en það er aðeins því þannig lítur stöðugur veldisvöxtur einmitt út. 2) Þessi vöxtur er mjög svipaður alls staðar, hvort sem horft er til Norðurlandanna, Evrópu eða annarra heimsálfa. Ísland sker sig ekkert úr. 3) Það sem merkilegast er hve skýr kynjamunurinn er, þar sem vöxtur fyrir karla er iðulega nálægt 3,5% og fyrir konur nálægt 5% allan þann tíma sem gögn ná til. Þetta er líka alþjóðlegt mynstur. Jafnræði í skólasókn kynja næst sama árið á Norðurlöndunum annars vegar og Norður Ameríku hins vegar, en það jafnræði breytir engu um þróunina. Á þessum grundvell skýri ég almennan misskilning í túlkun kynjamunar.

Víða snerti ég á eðli háskólastarfs og markmiðum þess, en þá umræðu er mun frekar að finna í ensku textunum, jafnvel er þar mikið efni um íslenska kerfið. Fyrst set ég bókarkafla, greinar og efni fyrirlestra sem er til skrifað. Síðar set ég efni úr dagblöðum og önnur fjölmiðlaviðtöl.

Greinar og fyrirlestrar

Hér set ég bæði útgefið efni, nokkuð fullbúna texta sem byggja á fyrirlestrum og fyrirlestranótur. Það er nokkuð ljóst hvað er hvað.

2011 Jón Torfi Jónasson (2011). Háskólar og gagnrýnin þjóðfélagsumræða. Ritið 1/2011, bls. 47-64. Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan.

Hér ræði ég tjáningarfrelsi og tjáningarskyldur háskólafólks en jafnframt um margvíslegar flækjur í baksviði starfs í háskóla. Sérstaða og mikilvægi raddar úr háskólasamfélaginu tengd opinberri umræðu er dregin fram. En vitaskuld er háskólafólk ekki hlutlaust, það sýnir sínum viðfangsefnum hollustu, bæði innan háskólastarfsins og utan.

2005 Jón Torfi Jónasson (2005). Allt á eina bókina lært? Um reglufestu og einsleitni í þróun háskóla. Uppeldi og menntun, 14(1), bls. 133-140.

Hér dreg ég fram reglufestuna í þróun háskólastigsins, bæði hér á landi og í nágrannalöndum okkar. Ég leitast við að færa rök fyrir því skilningur á þessari þróun er mikilvægur til þess að skilja eðli sóknar í háskólamenntun, en á mínum ferli hef ég áttað mig á því hve fáir skilja þá reglufestu sem ég geri grein fyrir, meira að segja þeir sem hafa alið starfsaldur sinn inni í háskólakerfinu. Þannig er leitast við að útskýra hvernig öll þróun háskóla fari í sama (eiginlega gamla) farið, þrátt fyrir ásetning margra um að það skuli ekki gerast.

2005 Ræður framhaldsskóli gengi í háskóla? Ásamt Kristjönu Stellu Blöndal. Gróska og margbreytileiki II. Íslenskar menntarannsóknir 2005. Ráðstefna Félags um menntarannsóknir 19. nóvember 2005, í KHÍ. Texti.

Við notuðum mælikvarðann, námstími í háskóla miðað við brautskráningu og bakgrunnsbreytur einkunnir á samræmdum prófum við lok grunnskóla og fjögur meginsvið háskólanáms. Við sýndum fram á að títtnefndir „bestu skólar“ skiluðu alls ekki bestu frammistöðu nemenda sinna skv. þessum kvarða. Á grundvelli þessara gagna áttu fullyrðingar um að tilteknir annálaðir skóla væri bestir, sér enga stoð. En þau verður að taka með fyrirvara eins og öll gögn.

2002 Greining, gjörning og gagnrýni. Erindi flutt á vinnufundi um kennslumál í Háskólanum í Reykjavík 16. maí 2002 PPT

2002 University and Industry. Problems and developments in Iceland. Erindi flutt vegna námsstefnu CEDEFOP, Háskóla Íslands, 7. október 2002.

2002 Um eðli og markmið háskólamenntunar. Erindi flutt á háskólafundi í Háskóla Íslands 1. nóvember 2002. Opinn texti.

2001 Áhrif fjármögnunar háskóla á gæði náms og skipulag. Erindi flutt á málþingi Háskólans um fjármál háskóla. PPT.

2000 Framtíð háskólamenntunar og búnaðarmenntunar á Íslandi. Nokkur atriði til umhugsunar. Erindi á fundi samtaka landbúnaðarskóla á Hvanneyri, 24. maí 2000. PPT

*2000 Framtíð háskóla á Íslandi í ljósi sögunnar. Erindi flutt á málþingi menntamálaráðuneytisins um háskólastigið í Reykjavík, 19. febrúar 2000. Texti. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392078638_Framtid_haskola_a_Islandi_i_ljosi_sogunnar

Hér eru rakin nokkur grundvallaratriði í sögu háskólastigsins frá nokkuð öðrum sjónarhóli en vant er og jafnframt dregið fram mikilvæg talnagögn sem sýnir ólíkar hliðar þróunar háskóla. Mikið er gert úr erlendum samanburði. M.a. er rætt ítarlega um fjölda íslenskra stúdenta erlendis alla 20. öldina.

1999 Hvernig þróast háskólastigið á Íslandi? Erindi flutt á 3. ráðstefnu viðskipta- og hagfræðideildar og félagsvísindadeildar: Rannsóknir í félagsvísindum, 29.-30. október 1999. Texti.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392078402_1999_10_THroun_haskolastigsins_1999

1998 Um flutning starfsmenntunar á háskólastig. Erindi flutt á málþingi Félags íslenskra leikskólakennara, í Reykjavík 17. október 1998.

1996 Kennaramenntun á Íslandi. Erindi flutt á Uppeldismálaþingi Kennarasambands Íslands. Reykjavík 23. mars. 1996.

1994 Er skólakerfið að springa? Um þróun háskólastigsins á Íslandi. Erindi flutt á ráðstefnu sem haldin var af viðskipta- og hagfræðideild og félagsvísindadeild Háskóla Íslands 23. – 24. september 1994. Texti.

1992 Menntun og störf háskólamenntaðs fólks. Staða og líkleg þróun. Ráðstefna BHM 6.-7. nóvember 1992.

1988 Háskólastigið. Erindi flutt á ráðstefnu vegna OECD-skýrslu um menntamál, 30. janúar 1988.

1986 Innra starf Háskóla Íslands. Erindi flutt á fullveldishátíð Stúdentaráðs 1. desember 1986.

Viðtöl -

Viðtal á Rás 1 við JTJ um háskólastigið, 2. ágúst 2009: Umsjón Ævar Kjartansson og Ágúst Þór Árnason; Viðtöl, SK og fl. Viðtal við Thomas Hatch

Jón Torfi Jónasson

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On the challenges faced by the university