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Higher Education
Higher Education
Definition
Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary
education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after
completion of secondary education.[citation needed]
In the days when few pupils progressed beyond primary education or basic education,
the term "higher education" was often used to refer to secondary education, which
can create some confusion.[note 1] This is the origin of the term high school for
various schools for children between the ages of 14 and 18 (United States) or 11
and 18 (UK and Australia).[2]
Providers
It is delivered at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, conservatories,
and institutes of technology, and through certain college-level institutions,
including vocational schools, trade schools, and other career colleges that award
degrees. Tertiary education at non-degree level is sometimes referred to as further
education or continuing education as distinct from higher education.[citation
needed]
Within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level, and beyond
that, graduate-level (or postgraduate level). The latter level of education is
often referred to as graduate school, especially in North America. In addition to
the skills that are specific to any particular degree, potential employers in any
profession are looking for evidence of critical thinking and analytical reasoning
skills, teamworking skills, information literacy, ethical judgment, decision-making
skills, fluency in speaking and writing, problem solving skills, and a wide
knowledge of liberal arts and sciences.[4]
History
The oldest institutions of higher education[which?] appeared between the 5th and
the 2nd centuries B.C. in several major cultural areas of Eurasia.[where?] In the
Greek world, Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lycaeum and other philosophical-
mathematical schools became models for other establishments, particularly in
Alexandria of Egypt under the Ptolemies. In India, the city of Tak?asila[when?],
later the great Buddhist monastery of Nalanda, attracted students and professors
even from distant regions.[5] In China, the Han dynasty established chairs to teach
the Five Confucean Classics, then in - 124 the Grand School (Taixue) to train
cadres for the imperial administration.[6][7] All these higher-learning
institutions became models for other schools within their sphere of cultural
influence.[citation needed]
20th Century
Since World War II, developed and many developing countries have increased the
participation of the age group who mostly studies higher education from the elite
rate, of up to 15 per cent, to the mass rate of 16 to 50 per cent.[16][17][18] In
many developed countries, participation in higher education has continued to
increase towards universal or, what Trow later called, open access, where over half
of the relevant age group participate in higher education.[19] Higher education is
important to national economies, both as an industry, in its own right, and as a
source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. College
educated workers have commanded a measurable wage premium and are much less likely
to become unemployed than less educated workers.[20][21]
21st Century
In recent years, universities have been criticized for permitting or actively
encouraging grade inflation.[22][23] In addition, the supply of graduates in many
fields of study is exceeding the demand for their skills, aggravating graduate
unemployment, underemployment, overqualification, credentialism and educational
inflation.[24][25]
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General
The general higher education and training that takes place in a university,
college, or Institute of technology usually includes significant theoretical and
abstract elements, as well as applied aspects (although limited offerings of
internships or SURF programs attempt to provide practical applications). In
contrast, the vocational higher education and training that takes place at
vocational universities and schools usually concentrates on practical applications,
with very little theory.
In the United States, there are large differences in wages and employment
associated with different degrees. Medical doctors and lawyers are generally the
highest paid workers, and have among the lowest unemployment rates. Among
undergraduate fields of study, science, technology, engineering, math, and business
generally offer the highest wages and best chances of employment, while education,
communication, and liberal arts degrees generally offer lower wages and a lower
likelihood of employment.[20][27]
Liberal arts
Main article: Liberal arts college
Academic areas that are included within the liberal arts include great books,
history, languages including English, linguistics, literature, mathematics, music,
philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, science,
environmental science, sociology and theater.
Engineering
Main article: Engineering college
Teaching engineering is teaching the application of scientific, economic, social,
and practical knowledge in order to design, build, maintain, and improve
structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes. It may encompass
using insights to conceive, model and scale an appropriate solution to a problem or
objective. The discipline of engineering is extremely broad, and encompasses a
range of more specialized fields of engineering, each with a more specific emphasis
on particular areas of technology and types of application. Engineering disciplines
include aerospace, biological, civil, chemical, computer, electrical, industrial
and mechanical.
Performing arts
Main article: Performing arts education
The performing arts differ from the plastic arts or visual arts, insofar as the
former uses the artist's own body, face and presence as a medium; the latter uses
materials such as clay, metal or paint, which can be molded or transformed to
create a work of art.
Performing arts institutions include circus schools, dance schools, drama schools
and music schools.
Higher educational institutions in these arts include film schools and art schools.