Honours conference 2016
Proposal for Round table - Theme 6: Sustainable Honours A Culture of Excellence?
Ever since the Ruim Baan and Sirius initiatives the focus of Higher Education in the Netherlands has been on realising cultural change – excellence should become normal. Mission statements of universities and numerous policy documents alike state the importance of creating an ambitious study climate. Honours programmes are expected to play an important part in this cultural change, since they allow motivated and talented students to excel. Moreover, innovations in these
programmes can be implemented in regular education, creating more challenging and tailor-made education for all students.
Although a lot is known about characteristics of honours programmes, students and teachers, culture of excellence is rarely defined in more detail than “more ambitious educational atmosphere” or “a culture in which all students are invited, allowed and enabled to excel”. Some studies have focused on honours culture (culture shared by honours community) but not on an overall
educational context aimed at excellence, for both honours and regular students.
We want to establish what elements make for a culture of excellence in higher education. What attitudes, norms, values and practices of faculty and students constitute such a culture? And to what degree do these components vary for science or humanities, universities or universities of applied sciences? Having established these elements allows us to build a (analytical / reflective) tool for measuring the culture of excellence.
Insight in a programme’s culture of excellence is important for stimulating discussion amongst staff and students about shared values in education, as well as for evaluation of programme goals. It might help in developing well defined educational mission statements, but it also allows for making interventions aimed at excellence and talent development, tailor-made to the local context and community of students and teachers.
Interaction & expected outcomes
During an interactive workshop, preliminary findings from a literature review on the culture of excellence are discussed. After a brief introduction of the concept, we invite participants to share their ideas, knowledge and experiences, to compare and contrast ideas, and work together on the conceptualization of culture of excellence. We particularly welcome practioners' (teachers,
management) and students' perspectives. The workshop can serve as food for thought for the participants - reflecting on the particular culture of excellence of their programme and their personal and professional perception of excellence.
Proposal by the Exchange consortium – NRO funded project on culture of excellence and its transformative powers. Together researchers from the Hanze Hogeschool Groningen, Universiteit Utrecht, Universiteit Twente and Universiteit Leiden study the way in which honours programmes contribute to innovations and a culture of excellence in higher education.
