Let me share my own experiences:

(1) Once upon a time, I tried to study for a graduate degree in first History and then Modern Foreign Languages in a German university that had very few students from the USA. Transferring my BA from the USA was very difficult and little was recognized for the Social Studies--more would have been taken in Modern Foreign Languages Department but I gave up and returned to USA to do two MAs eventually.

In sum, some departments handle and support foreign students more than others. So generalizing student issues abroad and around the world are to be distinguished by

(a) the transition issues on the ground on campus,

(b) support provided within student's department, &

(c) ability of the institution to be open to applying different difficulty levels for different students with different needs.

as well as

(d) internationalizing documents and classes for transfer to and from countries.

(2) My undergraduate alma mater in the USA had foci in experiential learning and cross-disciplinary learning, which allowed it to evaluate and reflect on how to transfer credits back to the home country.

Naturally standards for classwork etc. are different for each country, institution, and department abroad, but the recognition was made that the experience of studying abroad could support the well-rounding of a student--therefore some credits were given with a great degree of flexibility and with exit interviews upon returning to campus in some cases.

Judgements about standards of education at other institutions were therefore set aside and the study abroad could be strengthened for me by allowing students like me to sometimes take courses for credit back in the USA while I was still taking courses in Germany. There were partial directed studies, etc., which I could transfer back to the USA quite easily.

This was true at both my graduate and undergraduate institutions in Kansas, USA

Dear Kevin warm thank you for sharing your studying experience and for offering a pluralistic viewpoint upon the topic. Indeed, there are multifaceted issues of normative, institutional, and socio-educational impact that have to be considered while studying at different Universities. It sounds that graduates are treated as "human asset/country wealth" for the hosting countries of studying, making the credits transferred and the studies completion at other countries a tough decision. I assume that, more or less, this educational experience is similar to other colleagues who studied abroad.

The fact is. Universities and colleges in Europe currently are working to try and make transferrability of credit fair. However, the benefit of studying abroad has its own value that should be weighted into the transfer of credit or recognition of work.

For example, I returned to Germany and taught for Siemens a group of engineering students through both Siemens and for the Dualuniversitaet in Mannheim.

The German scholarship students from Siemens were working toward double majors in both engineering fields and in business administration--at the BA level. They were required to do all these modules in about the time that in America an engineering student at Texas A&M University ( in USA where I also taught)would not yet have completed their BA in engineering.

Currently, it usually takes 5 years for a student at A & M to complete that engineering degree--there would be no time to do study abroad nor to do a second major in business administration, even in a 5 year period.

Why can't engineering students pull off double majors in the USA, especially when many (esp. at a university like A &M with so many going onto do engineering around the globe)? The difference is not the students but the system and the expectations of those leading the department or departments. I really felt bad for the engineering students at A&M who were not encouraged to study abroad at all or to take foreign languages.

If the systems are different, then we have to expect that when students go to another country, there may not be and likely will not be a great match in expectations, course design and support on campuses. Reciprocity will not be easy in many cases depending on the field, but the issues can likely be overcome by departments in one country taking time to learn how things in another country are done. From there, improvements in transferring credit and understanding reciprocity will be more accurate than they have been.

Very interesting and thoughtful post, dear Kevin. Warm thank you for sharing it.

Quality of work in all educational systems is the key to success. We need self-responsiveness to identify the causes of the gap between the study steps and effective survivability solutions. Only responsible work, the assumed research can save us and send to progress.

Thank you very much dear Adriana for your interesting post at the discussion.

a) "bridge this cognitive gap" between the secondary and tertiary education,

difference between and individual's current cognitive capacity and their potential cognitive is through technological methods of studies. Through Education 4.0 industrial revolution 4.0, the generation of today can easily cope up with the demand of education as long as focus is given.

b) achieve the leaning outcomes of their studies,

To be able to achieve the learning outcomes of the studies, competencies through outbase education is then encouraged. The educators' encourages the students to be more interactive for the learning outcome be best understood.

c) advance their professions while studying abroad or in their countries?

Advancing the profession is working through the industry experience, from which actual experience in their chosen field of expertise immerses them to take part in the industry. Witnessing the course prospectives is one of the best teacher of a profession aside from formal course objectives.

Thank you very much dear Zorahayda for your insightful contribution to the discussion.

Please make the question vivid. It's really an interesting topic and I am eager to answer it but I could not fully understand the question we are discussing about Respected Sir Grigorios

. Thank you

Dear Teresa, thank you for your post. The main idea is that secondary education graduates are not always well educated and well informed to continue smoothly and confidentially their tertiary education studies, either at their countries or abroad. Therefore, one question is which initiatives, educational reforms, or other initiatives/motives could be taken (by educators/teachers/educational policy makers) in order students to achieve those learning outcomes which make them feel confident and be determined in pursuing studies at higher education? Other question is focused on the adolescent psychology and searches for ways, under which pursuing studies can be a conscious, attractive, and challenging decision, beyond social norms imposed?

Dear Grigorios. Thank you for your question. This is an important question, and might need chapters to address. I think the principles to answer this question should focus on a few issues. The learning needs of students vary significantly, even within the same state. Understanding this area, and what works and did not work for students should make the basis for reformation of the curriculum and the teaching and learning methods to be used. We also know from research that the use of several methods of teaching and learning will meet the needs of the majority of students and will foster understanding and deep learning. So small group learning, case-based learning, student-led seminars, team-based learning, simulation, task-based learning etc .could be used depending on the nature of the subjects, integration used, and students' level, and learning outcomes. Regards

Dear Samy thank you for your fruitful contribution to the question. Your insightful viewpoint is opening the round of participation to other colleagues too. Warm thank you for sharing it.

Dr. Grigorios Kyriakopoulos , I think, the great minds of the future needs to seat together have a cup of coffee and biscuits and talk everything over this very vital matter which concerns the educational system in the planet. The basic components of the system which includes the student, the teacher, the stakeholders and the government needs to seat together and have a brainstorming session to fill in the gaps and create a solution on these matters. There is a big difference between the educational system of a developed country over the developing ones. That is why some students try their best to qualify to go to abroad to study because they intend to work also outside their comfort zones. Since the country that they are living might not give the necessary sustenance for survival and upliftment in their status in life. Its a reality that has been foraging many developing countries. They try to adapt a curriculum that doesn't fit their students and the students will suffer later on and then these students, and their parents will blame the government for the poor decision making they made. Teachers also try to do their bests to give the utmost quality education for the students and yet again they blame the system for not providing them sufficient funding and development. They also need time to professionalize their job by equipping them with tools necessary for learning. Regards

Warm thank you dear John Mark for your pluralistic and challenging viewpoint given at the discussion. Indeed, the anthropocentrism of any educational system plays a decisive role to the personal development of educatees and to the well-being of societies, thus it cannot be undermined by education strategies and educational planners.

Thank you Sir Grigorios for making me clear about the discussion. As per the question according to me secondary and tertiary stage is a transitional period for the students. To make this transition a grant success guidance and career counselling in a massive way is very necessary. Only then students can know their interest clearly and can proceed with their studies and objectives, whether it be in home country or abroad. Once the interest is jotted well everything will become clear and purposeful and achievable for the students. Here, self conscious is more important then the environmental influence. And if we in the first place know to keep oneself in balance with the interest area one will achieve by hook or by crook no matter what resources they are provide.

Dear Grigorios, this issue occurs everywhere and therefore deserves more attention and deeper research; thank you for raising it! Acutally I can reduce the issue in how to help a pupil become a student. This is not an easy challenge but I put forward three suggestions (I do not pretend I am providing an answer!). (1) The problem lies in both systems; ie secondary and tertiary levels. Students need to be introduced to some skills, especially soft skills, needed in the tertiary level while studying in high school. (2) Because those in university already know the students need some special skills, cognitive and metacognitive, they should give the freshly enrolled students opportuinties to catch up. They can schedule a foundation year for this purpose or assign modules that can help students shape their personalities and become autonomous learners. (3) The students who join university these days are digital natives and therefore we can use ICT for creating opportunities of collaborative learning. Also, ICT can be used for differnetiating different inputs to different needs.

Research should be present in all the stages of implementation and experimentation.

Dear Abdelmajid warm thank you for your productive argumentation. I fully agree with all issues raised and I would like to add that this digitalized world (should) turn out to be a thread of creative learning, since it encourages the "black-box" thinking, instead of nurturing the "out of the box" thinking.

Foundations years are essential but empower students by letting them work toward their degree and transferrable credits

The fourth industrial revolution in education is thereby changing the world. Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, big data and the technology through internet combines impact on jobs and industry. However, the 21st century’s intellectually intensive jobs maybe affected just as much as those manual activities that were changed forever by the industrial revolution of the 19th century.

Nowadays, specially in our country Philippines, based on our culture, initiatives and motives taken by educators and teachers in order to achieve learning outcome transcends in keeping it updated as well as giving students immersion, enhancing their intellectual and interactive skills, inculcating values formation through retreats and other extra-curricular exposures that assists the students to stabilize their emotional quotient. Mainly, formative values should start at home, but definitely education has a great bearing. Another, motivation is continuous study, and travel gives us practical learnings aside from the fact that one strives for the opportunity to work or travel abroad, and be exposed on diversified culture. That itself, with the experiences involves gives concrete learnings.

With regards to the focus on the adolescent psychology and searches for ways, pursuing studies considering it to be conscious and challenging decision, beyond social norms, is more of a culture in a country, since this creates more a competitive edge and a form of security in a family to ready himself in the battle and competencies in life. Due to most hardships that sometimes our third world status is experiencing, one is compelled to strive, for monetary reasons and building ones' status in life.

The National educational system has tests of national competencies, on skills of the students, checking their capability and readiness for work, there are also educational systems offered outside our country that expose them to pursuing their studies, even outside their social or cultural norms. Scholarships for those who really are interested to pursue fro secondary to higher education is granted.

The challenge that lies here, is more of the financial and capabilities, other than the interests or willingness of students

The human brain in is an extremely complex system of interacting physical and functional units, ranging from single neurons to complex networks. Cognition is a network that does not exist in isolated synapses, or even brain areas. In spite of that, a great amount of functional studies has been explored in areas involved in a variety of cognitive processes, merely localizing different mind process depending on the orientation of the person or the student from which he was exposed or trained of. Your study is a very interesting topic.

Dr. Grigorios Kyriakopoulos, I hope this insight can give some contribution to your study. Best Regards

Dear Zorahayda warm thank you for sharing your pluralistic and insightful contribution at the discussion.

Dr. Grigorios Kyriakopoulos, my pleasure.