Bachelor Program Research Articles

Library–faculty collaboration in the light of a business administration bachelor’s program –“A Scientific Wave”

This paper elucidates the process of creating and maintaining a successful librarian-faculty partnership which originally was intended as a quality improvement tool for a bachelor program in business administration at University West, Sweden. In 2012, after receiving criticism from the Swedish Council for Higher Education regarding the learning outcomes of students’ information literacy skillswithin the field of business administration, the process of regeneration started. A quality improvement process called “A Scientific Wave” was initiated to support the student's development regarding skills in critical and analytical approaches, presentation techniques and media and information literacy skills. The Scientific Wave includes different quality aspects and applies a holistic approach to improve educationquality and accentuate progression of knowledge throughout all courses of the program. Furthermore, work-integrated learning, WIL, is applied as an educational and pedagogical model throughout the program to reinforcethe link between work life and learning-theory and practice. Earlier research statesthat successful integration of media and information literacy in higher education should be based on close collaboration between librarians and discipline faculty, strategic anchoring and visualization in curriculums, syllabi, course objectives and examinations, and developed in line with the mission of the university. The Scientific Wave is here viewed as a co-creative continuous process based on the separate but still complementary skills of librarians and faculty to provide students with tools for critical and creative thinking in today’s digital society.

Регионализация как основа модернизации современного музыкально-педагогического образования

The article is devoted to the relevant problem of regionalizing modern musical and pedagogical education. The purpose of the study is to identify the structural components of the content of the regional ethno-grade component of multinational Stavropol in the musical and pedagogical formation of the region, as well as the study of the patterns of their interaction. In accordance with the purpose of the article, a source-edge analysis of scientific sources on issues, as well as a comparative analysis of the inclusion of local lore content in the content of educational material at different historical stages of the development of domestic education. The scientific novelty is characterized by a new cultural approach to the development of the content of the regional component of multinational Stavropol in the musical and pedagogical formation of the region. As a result, the model of the bachelor's training program in the direction of the preparation of future music teachers in providing their professional competencies on the implementation and implementation of a regional ethno-grade component into a community pedagogical practice is proposed.

Measuring and evaluating education quality of future public administration employees at private university in the Slovak Republic

The private School of Economics and Management of Public Administration in Bratislava educates experts for public administration in Slovakia through bachelor and master study programs. The high percentage of graduates employed in governing bodies and municipalities proves the high quality of theoretical and practical level of education. The scientific and pedagogical personnel and particulary the ingenious and comprehensive education quality control system has its share in achieving distinct results. The authors of this article present a well-established system of education quality. They analyze and evaluate the system of quality measuring and evaluating using internal tools and procedures. The article pays special attention to the external form of quality measurement and evaluation through independent international institution Trendence. Criteria and areas of evaluation are assessed throughout the university, Slovakia, and Europe, which is presented by more than 1,000 higher education institutions.

Service Learning to Increase Utilization of X Video Editing Software Features within Limited Facilities for the Youth of Gereja Kristen Pasundan Cideres

The service learning in multimedia skills for teenagers and young people as training program for the community was conducted through the expertise of Bachelor Program in Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Kristen Maranatha, for Gereja Kristen Pasundan (GKP) Cideres. The purpose of this training was to equip people with skills or knowledge that can be useful in daily activities. As this training was given during the Covid-19 pandemic, by requirement of health and safety protocols, the service learning was implemented online via the internet in a form of webinar. Online digital activities are increasingly important as conventional physical interactions and communication in work or study environment become unsafe and to be avoided or to be done less often than usual. Unfortunately for most people, technical skills for working or studying online are not yet adequate, especially in multimedia using some recent tools and softwares. So in this program, basic multimedia producing skills using Microsoft Photos (video editing feature) and Microsoft Power Point were introduced. The end result of the training was satisfactory, as those who participate are being able to produce simple digital multimedia presentation using the aforementioned tools and softwares. The training program was held online on November 28th, 2020 via Zoom Meeting Application, and was made possible thanks to the collaboration of Bachelor Program in Computer Engineering with the Directorate of Student and Alumni Affairs, Universitas Kristen Maranatha.
 Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic; multimedia; service learning

European experience of physical therapists training: Introduction of new master degree programs in Ukraine

Improving the quality of education and training of future physical therapists in Ukraine is possible provided that the experience of the best European educational programs is taken into account. During 2018-2021, Ukraine is implementing the EU Erasmus + Program in the direction of KA2 ‒ "Cooperation for innovation and exchange of best practices ‒ Development of higher education potential" project "Innovative rehabilitation education in Ukraine: Introduction of new master degree programs in Ukraine (REHAB)". Among the participating partners are four representatives of higher education institutions of Ukraine and Europe.
 The main goals of the project are: to increase the professional potential of teachers of domestic universities; creation of new resources for teaching, learning, assessment; creation of a special educational infrastructure necessary for the implementation of new master's programs in physical therapy.
 At the first stage of the project implementation, own educational programs in physical therapy were analyzed and a comparative description with similar European educational programs was made. In the second and third stages of the project, an innovative educational environment was developed and created for the training of future physical therapists. Particular attention is paid to practice-oriented training of future physical therapists. Methodological support for conducting an objective structured clinical examination has been developed.
 The results of this project at Sumy State University are: analysis and updating of the educational-professional program "Physical therapy" of the first (bachelor's) level of higher education; development of the project of the educational-scientific program "Physical therapy" of the second (master's) level of higher education; development of educational and methodological support of educational components of bachelor's and master's educational programs in physical therapy; development of three electronic courses for the educational-scientific program of the second (master's) level "Physical therapy"; development of methodological support for conducting an objective structured clinical examination in the specialty 227. "Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy"; creation of four rehabilitation educational and scientific laboratories and organization of the educational process on their basis; increasing the professional competence of all teachers of the Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Sports Medicine of SSU; participation of students in academic mobility activities, various forms of non-formal education within the project.

Nursing Students' and Preceptors' Experiences with Using an Assessment Tool for Feedback and Reflection in Supervision of Clinical Skills: A Qualitative Pilot Study.

Background There is a need to improve students' learning in clinical practice. Undergraduate students need guidance when it comes to transferring knowledge from the classroom to clinical practice in community health services. Competence Development of Practical Procedures (COPPs), a simulation assessment tool, was used to explore students' and preceptors' experiences with feedback and reflection during the supervision of clinical skills in real practice. Method This was a pilot study with a qualitative exploratory and descriptive research design. Four students in their first year of a bachelor's programme in nursing and four preceptors participated. Data were collected from eight clinical skills performance assessments, audio recordings of supervision, and open-ended questionnaires. Data were systematized, categorized, and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings. Participants' experiences were divided into five categories: “learning environment, an atmosphere of respect, acceptance, and encouragement,” “students' reflections on their own personal learning,” “students' reflections on various care situations,” and “students' and preceptors' assessment and feedback.” Participants found COPPs easy to use and providing structure for assessment, feedback, and reflection during supervision. Concepts related to learning clinical skills became visible for both students and preceptors and helped students assess their performance of clinical skills. Through verbalization and reflection in supervision, participants established a consensus around what students knew and what they needed to learn. Conclusions The students and preceptors experienced the tool as a supportive structure to enhance feedback and reflection for the learning of clinical skills in municipal healthcare services. COPPs filled a gap in practice by providing a language for students and preceptors to articulate their knowledge and increasing students' awareness of what constitutes a good performance. The tool supported the coherence of concepts, enhanced clinical reasoning, and promoted deeper thinking and reflection, and the students gained insight into their own needs related to learning clinical skills.

UC Irvine pilots bachelor's program for incarcerated people

It's a common misconception that when a person goes to prison, they will be unlikely to rejoin society. In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 95% of all those in state prisons will be released at some point. And a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice found that prisoners who participated in educational opportunities while in prison were 40% less likely to return to prison once released.

UC Irvine pilots bachelor's program for incarcerated people

It's a common misconception that when a person goes to prison, they will be unlikely to rejoin society. In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 95% of all those in state prisons will be released at some point. And a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice found that prisoners who participated in educational opportunities while in prison were 40% less likely to return to prison once released.

UC Irvine pilots bachelor's program for incarcerated people

It's a common misconception that when a person goes to prison, they will be unlikely to rejoin society. In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 95% of all those in state prisons will be released at some point. And a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice found that prisoners who participated in educational opportunities while in prison were 40% less likely to return to prison once released.

Influence of COVID-19 on Students’ Sign Language Learning in a Teacher-Preparation Program in Saudi Arabia: Moving to E-Learning

This research aims to uncover higher education students’ experiences regarding sign language learning with online learning platforms and learning experiences during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in one of the teacher-preparation programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as learning the basics of sign language is one of the essential elements in the teacher-preparation program for future teachers to be able to interact with their deaf students. Qualitative research method, structured individual interviews were employed to collect data to understand students’ experiences, knowledge, expectations, and thoughts of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the sudden and unplanned movement to online teaching tools on their sign language learning and practices. A total of 24 female students enrolled in a special education bachelor program were interviewed in this study. Fifteen participants thought that the COVID-19 crisis influenced their sign language learning and practices, while six of the interviewees reported no impact, and three were not sure. Data revealed some disadvantages, difficulties, and concerns of learning sign language through e-learning tools and some advantages of sign language learning using e-learning tools during the COVID-19 pandemic and are presented alongside examples of the interviewees’ statements. This study presented some practice recommendations like integrating digital game-based learning, web and phone applications to practice sign language to endorse effective and innovative sign language learning and practices techniques.

Comparative study on the independent learning activity of young people in the bachelor's and master's programs

During the late adolescence, it can be reached the highest level of mental operative functions and other intelligent human manifestations. Abstract mental operations can be done at this level: synthesis of syntheses, generalization of generalizations, abstraction of abstractions. Students go through many attempts to find which is their personal style of learning new materials, new contents. The study was conducted on a number of 31 participants. The group was divided into two subgroups: 16 students in the 5th year at Faculty of General Medicine and 15 master students in the second year at University of Sports, Sports Performance program. The used instrument consists of 21 questions (11 questions are about the individual studying process of the participants and 10 are about their beliefs about the teaching process of academics in courses), along with 4 more questions related to personal data. It is an opinion questionnaire. The teaching style of academics differs: those of Faculty of General Medicine are focusing on a lecture type style (75%), and University of Sports on an interactive style (67%). We discovered differences in the process of self-learning: between continuous and discontinuous style. For medical students, there was a longer distribution of the self-taught learning process; instead, University of Sports students organize their learning time in the last part of the semester. University of Sports students are more concerned with on the development and refinement of their personal practical skills, but also of the subjects they work with (kids or athletes), their goal being to accumulate their own experience as rich as possible from working with as many individuals and less to take from the experience of other colleagues. The coach-athlete/sports teacher-pupil relationship is more personalized and longer-lasting than the doctor-patient relationship.

Enhancing reflection on medical and surgical nursing among nursing students: A participatory action research study

BackgroundMedical and Surgical Nursing (MSN) is a core course in baccalaureate nursing programs that requires active and effective teaching and learning strategies to enhance students' engagement. ObjectiveTo develop and implement an effective learning process for students undertaking the MSN course. DesignThis participatory action research study used reflection as the center of action in the cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting and re-planning. SettingThe study was conducted at a University in southern Taiwan. ParticipantsThirty nursing students in their second year of a bachelor program in nursing, aged 19 to 20 years, were recruited via email and completed the study. MethodsThe data were collected from February to June 2019 through reflective workshops, group discussions, individual interviews, and field notes. A qualitative content analysis was performed. Four criteria were considered to ensure the trustworthiness of the study process: reliability, validity, transferability, and authentic citations. ResultsFour key themes – two challenges and two adaptive strategies - emerged in relation to the spiral process of improving teaching and learning in the MSN course. Participants experienced two main challenges: the large amount of multidisciplinary knowledge expected, and the rapid pace of the course. The two adaptive strategies were: recognizing their own unique way of learning and becoming an active learner and achiever. ConclusionsThe project helped students to identify their own learning challenges, recognize the need to modify their attitudes and approaches to learning, improve teaching and learning in the MSN course, and identify the characteristics relevant to becoming an active learner and achiever.

Dental hygiene student attitudes about benefits of baccalaureate degree and factors impacting entry-level program choice.

Although the bachelor's degree is the entry-level degree option supported by the American Dental Hygienists' Association, the majority of dental hygiene programs remain associate degree. The aim of this study was to explore factors impacting entry-level program choice and examine attitudes and perceptions of dental hygiene students pertaining to a bachelor's degree (BS) as the entry-level degree. A cross-sectional survey research design was utilized with a convenience sample of dental hygiene students (n=429) from the United States and Canada. The 33-item survey had four sections: demographics, factors influencing program choice, attitudes, and perceptions of a BS. Descriptive and inferential analysis was used to explore the relationship between variables. The completion rate was 91% (n=384). Factors that most influenced program choice included: location (74%), cost (68%), and time to completion (47.7%). Students with mothers who graduated from college were more likely to rank time to completion as their number one factor (37%) (χ2[df2]=19.6, p<0.001, phi=0.33). Students in bachelor's programs were significantly more likely to believe a bachelor's degree better prepared clinicians for duties required in future practice and that the entry-level degree should be raised to a bachelor's degree (p<0.001). While more students in associate degree program agreed there were opportunities in education without a bachelor's degree (p<0.05). Cost, time to completion, and location were the factors influencing students' program choice. While the dental hygiene profession advocates raising the entry-level degree to a bachelor's programs, less than 40% of dental hygiene students supported this change.

Globalisation brought into the classroom – reflections from the local context in social work and nursing education

In increasingly globalised societies higher education meet challenge to integrate the international and intercultural dimensions into their services, strategic plans, education programmes and research. There were few discussions around the concept of “Internationalization at home” (IaH) during the last years in the academic community. This article generally outlines a process of IaH in higher education, by giving examples from the bachelor programmes of Social Work and Nursing Education at Malmö University, Sweden. The internationalisation of the curriculum at home was shown to have a much greater impact than individual mobility alone. The authors of the article present their own analysis about possibilities to understand the culture, profession in the process of IaH improving professional and intercultural competences. Modern society poses a challenge for professionals – to think globally and to act locally.

UC Irvine pilots bachelor's program for incarcerated people

It's a common misconception that when a person goes to prison, they will be unlikely to rejoin society. In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 95% of all those in state prisons will be released at some point. And a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice found that prisoners who participated in educational opportunities while in prison were 40% less likely to return to prison once released.

Анализ квалификационных работ студентов в свете перехода на новые образовательный и профессиональные стандарты. 10 лет направлению обучения 35.03.08 «Водные биоресурсы и аквакультура» в Российском государственном гидрометеорологическом университете

The article demonstrates the role of students’ practical activities in studying with the educational program of the bachelor's degree educational programme 35.03.08 "Aquatic bioresources and aquaculture" at the Russian State Hydrometeorological University. It is shown that the role of students’ practical activity increases in connection with the approval of new Educational and Professional Standards. It is emphasized that the indicator of the level of students’ professional skills in practical activity is the preparation of the qualification work in the framework of the State Final Certification. The qualification works were analyzed: 64 bachelors’ final qualification works and 8 master's theses. It is pointed out that the relevance and scientific and practical significance of the topics of the qualification works, as well as the wide coverage of problems related to the state and artificial breeding of aquatic bioresources, confirm the practice-oriented educational program and its high practical significance. In choosing the topics of the qualification works, the students were guided by their relevance, innovation and prospects, and also showed an interest in exotic types of aquaculture.

Evaluating the use of informational technologies by students of healthcare colleges for academic purposes over a five-year period.

This study aimed to assess the extent to which healthcare students use five informational technologies for daily academic purposes and to examine the changes in student perceptions toward these technologies over five years. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in 10 different colleges in seven governorates. We conducted a survey using the instruments developed from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The surveys were administered to convenience samples of students at the colleges of pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry in the participating universities. The survey was conducted three times over three different years: 2015, 2018, 2020. Five Information and Communication Technology components were included in the study: electronic course management (ECM), internet, computer, audio recording/commentary, and PowerPoint slides. The surveys were electronic and administered using Qualtrics Survey Software. For most respondents, the survey links were administered electronically via Facebook groups to convenience samples of students of the Bachelor programs. Kruskal–Wallis test was used to measure the difference among the three (years) surveys results. The multiple linear regression analysis was used to measure the associations between the five predictors of the TAM and the outcome variable (actual use of technology). There was a total of 3,113 valid surveys collected in 2015, 2018, and 2020. Nearly two thirds of participants were females. Most students did not have enough experience in using ECM before classes closure in March 2020. Lack of facilitating conditions and infrastructures like an expert technical support team and stable internet connections are negatively impacting students’ acceptance of technology use in education. Moving from mainly face-to-face learning with partial electronic use in 2015 and 2018 to totally virtual learning in 2020 had a negative impact on the perceptions of healthcare college students of the five technologies across the five TAM domains (perceived usefulness, facilitating condition, ease of use, attitude toward use, intention to use) and the actual use of these technologies. The TAM successfully explained the factors influencing the actual use of technologies by healthcare college students. Continuing technical support and training can reduce students’ electronic challenges. Technical status assessment needs to be done at the beginning, mid and end of the semester to evaluate the technical challenges facing students in online learning. The study tools are internationally adoptable to evaluate the student perceptions of the ICT implementation for research and academic annual assessment purposes.

Gendered Social Capital Guiding Women Career Planning: A Quantitative study at University of the Punjab

Social capital is manifested through the relationships and networks that the human species own. Further, it is strengthened with trust and reciprocity. It inculcates the value of helping each other based on the principle of ‘Mutually Beneficial Actions’. Various actors and agents play their roles in producing the social capital, yet women play the most vital role in its production due to their domestic chores, more frequent engagement with family and neighborhood. Thus, it is an essential to know that if she takes an equivalent benefit from the social capital. The primary objective of the present research determines out the role of social capital in women’s career planning. The informal social networks, family, friends, and neighborhood are selected to the social capital. In the meantime, 150 female respondents from the University of the Punjab were selected using the non-probability convenience sampling technique from the final year of the Masters and Bachelors program. The findings of the study showed as the positive relation of social capital with career planning.

Information Systems Outcomes based Assessment at Jouf University for ABET Accreditation

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Criteria for Computing Accreditation Commission Programs are based upon knowledge, presentation skills, communication skills, team work and leadership skills that the students gain through the curriculum in a program. The student outcomes (SOs) are the procured skills and knowledge which the student accomplishes through the curriculum. Each program needs to have its own SOs and to evaluate it as per defined assessment cycle, just as to accomplish program educational objectives (PEOs). The continuous improvement plan depended on assessment and evaluation of the program SOs and PEOs. In this paper, an advancement cycle for continuous improvement, for Information systems (IS) program at College of Computer and Information Sciences (CIS), Jouf University, Sakaka, Aljouf, Saudi Arabia, to accomplish the accreditation is discussed. The proposed cycle is appropriate to get the accreditation for bachelor program in information systems discipline and to fulfill the ABET criteria. In result, we will show how the SOs and PEOs were surveyed and assessed through curriculum accordingly. Based on these processes, ABET team has visited CIS college, which had accomplished extraordinary achievement and all of the programs have completely accredited on August 2018 and the next visit to the computing and engineering programs will be on 2026.

Comparative Approach in Teaching German as the Second and Czech as the First Foreign Language: the Case of Prepositional Government of Verbs

The article focuses on the comparative approach in teaching German as the second foreign language simultaneously with Czech as the first foreign language at the Russian State University for the Humanities. The bachelor program “Slavistics and Central European studies: languages, culture and literature of the Czech Republic and Austria” at the RSUH has some unique features: from the first year of this program students learn simultaneously two foreign languages: Czech as the first foreign language and German as the second one, therefore, they often make mistakes in German due to the influence of their mother tongue, Russian, as well as English, learned at school, and Czech. If the teacher of German has a good command of the Czech language, he or she can use some similarities between German and Czech that have appeared due to their long-term language contact and convergent evolution. The prepositional government of some Czech and German verbs is one of these similarities that distinguish them from the Russian language. And many mistakes are made by students in their target languages due to the verbal government of Russian. But with that said this language transfer could be avoided or reduced if we show that plenty of German and Czech verbs have analogous verb government. In order to check this statement, we have made a set of exercises (substitution drill and translation “Czech – German”, “German – Czech”, “Russian – Czech, German”), which contained four couples of German and Czech verbs with prepositional government. The testing of these exercises on seven second-year-students of the RSUH has shown that such exercises could help students to focus on Czech-German grammatical similarities and reduce the influence of the Russian language.