2006:23 R

Evaluation of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in East Asian languages at higher education institutions in Sweden

The National Agency entrusted this evaluation to a panel of external assessors consisting of four experts from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, two postgraduate students and one undergraduate student from Sweden. The project administrator was Mehdi Sedigh from the National Agency´s evaluation department.

The evaluation was based on the self-evaluations submitted by the units concerned, site visits and other forms of information.

The report consists of two sections. The first, the National Agency´s section, includes brief reflections based on the panel´s report and the premises on which the evaluation was based.

The second and more extensive section comprises the report of the panel of assessors. This contains general observations and recommendations as well as separate observations and recommendations for each language and each unit.

The panel of assessors considers that on the whole these undergraduate and postgraduate programmes maintain high quality standards. The exceptions are the undergraduate programme in Chinese at Uppsala University and the undergraduate programme in Japanese at Lund University, where there are shortcomings in terms of the qualifications of the teachers and links with research. The National Agency is therefore reviewing the entitlement to award bachelor´s and master´s degrees in these subjects. The panel draws attention to a number of significant questions that affect all of the programmes to some extent and for which it recommends measures. Measures are also recommended for the undergraduate programme in Japanese at Stockholm University to ensure the stability of the programme and a creative study environment.

Shortcomings in cooperation and the lack of formal internationalisation, the teachers´ working conditions, in particular their lack of research activities, poor future prospects for graduates, too little student influence and too little emphasis on life and institutions in relation to the prevailing concentration on language proficiency are some examples of the issues raised.

The panel of assessors also noted the importance of these subjects and the necessity of devoting greater attention to this field. This is justified not least by the Government´s Asia policy, which involves increased academic knowledge of Asian languages and research on these countries as part of the endeavour to intensify Sweden´s relationships with this dynamic region.