Global Pressures and the Dynamics of Local Change: A Case Study of an English Department at an Albanian University

This dissertation is a case study of an English Department at a leading university in Tirana, Albania that investigates the Higher Education reforms resulting from the Albanian Government’s commitment to the Bologna Agreement and the subsequent reforms in English Language Education. Both reforms are products of emerging neoliberal global trends, designed to produce a new kind of English-speaking human capital with the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure successful national and individual competition in the global markets. The globalization of English and diverse global pressures framed the study. These global pressures gave rise to both continuity and change in policies related to English Language Education and guided the Albanian Higher Education reforms. As a higher education institution involved in the negotiation, interpretation, and implementation of higher education reforms as well as those in the English Language Education due to the centrality of ELT and the training of English teachers for all levels of education, the English Department was the perfect research site. The study findings shed light on the Albanian manifestations of global processes and policies, shaped by the local history, economy, politics, and cultural traditions as well as by institutional features such as organizational arrangements and practices, the faculty and students, university key administrators, all with their respective roles in policy negotiation, interpretation, and implementation. Further the findings highlight the influence of the European Union and other similar organizations on the Higher Education and English Language Education polices of Albania, which led to the reorganization of curricula and increasing demands for faculty professional development. Such effects were in response to policy discourses that emphasized the preparation of young Albanians to be successfully mobile within European and global education institutions and labor markets. The study has implications for the understanding and the development of higher education not only in Albania but also in countries with a similar history, economy, and politics which have to negotiate, interpret, and implement in their national and local arenas policies driven by global trends, policies, and organizations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Kola, Irena

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rizvi, Fazal
• Bresler, Liora
• Davidson, Frederick G.
• Parsons, Marilyn A.
• Cope, William

• Bologna Agreement
• Albanian Higher Education reforms
• policy negotiation, interpretation, and implementation
• globalization of English
• English Language Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Irena Kola

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24410

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/24410