ABSTRACT
Change is part and parcel of the field of higher education, and societal and technological developments will no doubt play their part in effecting it. New visions and ideas are entering education. New educational methods are being introduced to support complex learning and the development of professional competencies. These also stress the collaborative construction of knowledge through active learning (‘social constructivism’) and the importance of higher-order skills such as problem solving, learning strategies and self-regulation. Moreover, flexibility is being increased by making education less dependent on time and place, for example ‘just-in-time’ learning (see Goodyear, 1998) and by making personalized learning routes available for individual students. This is known as ‘just for me’ education. Finally, there is an ongoing integration of learning and working in order to close the gap between formal education and professional practice and to improve the transfer of acquired skills, knowledge and attitudes from schools to the workplace.
