Talent Development in European Higher Education : Honors Programs in the Benelux, Nordic and German-speaking Countries

Annotation This book examines the much-debated question of how to unleash the potential of young people with promising intellectual abilities and motivation. It looks at the increasingly important topic of excellence in education, and the shift in focus towards the provision of programs to support talented students in higher education. It provides a systematic overview of programs for talented students at northern European higher education institutions (HEIs). Starting in the Netherlands, where nearly all HEIs have developed honors programs over the past two decades, the book explores three clusters of countries: the Benelux, the Nordic and the German-speaking countries. For each of these countries, it discusses the local culture towards excellence, the structure of the education system, and the presence of honors programs. In total, the book reviews the special talent provisions for nearly four million students at 303 higher education institutions in eleven countries. In addition, it offers an analysis of the reasons to develop such programs, a look into the future of honors education and a practical list of suggestions for further research. The Sirius Program assigned Marca Wolfensberger to carry out this research Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction....Pages 3-10 Developing Honors Education in Specific National Contexts....Pages 11-30 Methods and Limitations....Pages 31-40 Front Matter....Pages 41-42 The Netherlands: Focus on Excellence, Honors Programs All Around....Pages 43-75 Belgium: Complex System, Differentiated Development....Pages 77-89 Luxembourg: Small, Multilingual and International....Pages 91-97 Front Matter....Pages 99-104 Denmark: Strong Focus on Talent Development....Pages 105-124 Norway: Slow Shift Towards Differentiation....Pages 125-138 Sweden: Incentive to Move Towards More Differentiation....Pages 139-152 Finland: Excellent Basics, Selective Continuation....Pages 153-164 Iceland: Getting Back on Track....Pages 165-173 Front Matter....Pages 175-177 Germany: Foundations Supporting Talents....Pages 179-211 Austria: A Rapidly Expanding Higher Education Sector....Pages 213-227 Switzerland: A Patchwork, Not (Yet) Including Honors....Pages 229-238 Front Matter....Pages 239-239 A Comparative Perspective....Pages 241-249 Perspectives on Talent Development in European Higher Education....Pages 251-268 Breaking the Academic Lock Step....Pages 269-278 Back Matter....Pages 279-335 Higher Education; Educational Policy and Politics; International and Comparative Education