Publisher Description

In Estonia, many of the educational transitions that have taken place in developed world over decades have been condensed in just less than two decades. This book describes these transitions and addresses the current state of tertiary education from the point of views of both learners and teachers. It presents an overview of the strategy documents that steer Estonian higher education policy. The study has focused on various aspects of the learning process and learning environment. Various aspects of the teaching process were investigated from the point of view of teachers. The book has addressed the transition from higher education to the labour market. It benefits from contributions from a range of scientific disciplines, including educational sociology, educational sciences, psychology and econometrics.

Author Biography

Ellu Saar is a Professor at the Institute of International and Social Studies, Tallinn University (Estonia). Her research areas are social stratification and mobility, educational inequalities, and life course studies. She is a member of Editorial Board of European Sociological Review and a member of Steering Committee of ECSR.
René Mõttus is a senior researcher at the Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh (UK), and at the Department of Psychology, University of Tartu. His research interests span several areas in the broad field of human individual differences, including personality traits and processes, cognitive abilities, health and genetics.

Table of Contents

Contents: Ellu Saar/René Mõttus: Introduction: A brief overview of the Estonian higher education system and its challenges – Karmo Kroos: Estonian higher education and research strategy: a systematic review and policy discussion – Karin Täht/Liina Adov/Mari-Liis Mägi/Olev Must: Does research-oriented university really have a negative effect on students' self-evaluations? – Helle Pullmann/Anu Realo/Kairi Kreegipuu/Jüri Allik/René Mõttus: Fatigue does not predict academic performance among university students – Larissa Jõgi/Katrin Karu/Kristiina Krabi: Experiencing learning at university: making the best of lifelong learning? – Eve-Liis Roosmaa/Auni Tamm: What makes a good classroom environment for an adult learner? Comparative perspective – Helena Metslang/Anastassia Šmõreitšik: How non-native speaker students cope in higher education: a case study of ethnic minority students in Estonia – Marvi Remmik/Mari Karm: From teaching to guiding learning: novice university teachers' concepts of teaching and learning – Krista Jaakson/Anne Reino: The impact of Estonian research, development and education policies on perceived value conflicts in universities – Liina Lepp/Mari Karm/Marvi Remmik: Supervisor's activities in supporting the PhD students in the supervisory process – Einike Pilli/Kätlin Vanari: Defining the determining element of content mastery as the key aspect in congruence between learning outcomes and assessment – Kairit Tammets/Kai Pata: The trends and problems of planning outcome-based courses in e-learning – Marge Unt/Kristina Lindemann: From bust to boom and back again: social positions of graduates during the last decade in Estonia – Kerly Espenberg/Aivi Themas/Jaan Masso/Raul Eamets: Why do social science graduates earn more than natural science graduates in Estonia – Marge Unt/Kadri Täht/Ellu Saar/Jelena Helemäe: The expansion of higher education: devaluation or differentiation? – Kerly Espenberg/Aivi Themas/Jaan Masso: The graduate gender pay gap in Estonia – Ellu Saar/Kadri Täht/Triin Roosalu/Auni Tamm Wishing: Welcome to the nontraditional student: how institutions create barriers for returning to higher education.

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