Higher Education in Kosovo: Major Changes, Reforms and Development Trends at University of Prishtina and University of Mitrovica and their role in peapeace building and reconciliation during post-conflict period
Education system in Kosovo went through tremendous and courageous developments since June 1999, when conflict in Kosovo ended. Although Higher Education experienced essential reforms, there are pro et contra arguments whether substantial or superficial reforms took place during this past eight-year period of time. The reform process is underway, but it will take more time until it delivers a quality product, i.e. skilful and competitive students for the open market and an environment which is free of disagreements of the past and where peace building reconciliation are deeply rooted in the society. As the push for reform came from international stakeholders, local players still strive for ownership of the process as a way to drive it further. Steps have been made, but results are yet to be seen.
Educational success in a new democracy: modeling university student persistence and completion in Kosovo
In the context of a new democracy, the success of Kosovo university students is crucial to improving the material conditions and long-term stability of the youth in the country. Using the burgeoning data infrastructure from the public higher education sector, this analysis utilizes a sample of 67,618 to examine college student persistence and degree completion from 32 faculties. Findings demonstrate that persistence and completion are highly gendered phenomena, and that completion is largely dependent on a student’s major field of study.
Cultural constraints on the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention in Ireland.
HIV appeared in Ireland following an opiate epidemic in the early 1980s. Initially, however, the gay community mounted the only response to the spread of the virus while the implementation of early actions by the government was hampered by the constructions of the disease within Irish society. This paper considers the influence of the religious hierarchy in both the development of AIDS policy and in the shaping of public perceptions of the disease and those affected. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the role of such cultural constraints in an evaluation of the social context within which the prevention of HIV infection occurs. Three key issues pertinent to the policy context in Ireland are explored in depth. These are the role of the Catholic Church, the influences on health education programmes, particularly information giving, and the development of services and other interventions. These findings are discussed within the social and political contexts in which health policy is formulated.