German Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

AI in higher education: Booster or stumbling block for developing digital competence?

Since the Artificial intelligence (AI) revolution catalyzed by ChatGPT, the discourse of students’ digital competence has become prevalent in German higher education institutions (HEIs). While educators recognize the potential for using AI in higher education, concerns persist about students needing more necessary skills. This paper presents findings from a comprehensive lecturer survey that provides insights into educators’ perspectives on the opportunities and challenges associated with AI integration in HEIs. Furthermore, it addresses the conditions required for successful AI implementation in German HEIs to promote, rather than hinder, students’ digital competence and future skills.

Adult refugees and asylum seekers’ basic need satisfaction and educational success in pre-study programmes in Germany

Host country education can be crucial for the social integration as well as labour market outcomes of refugees and asylum seekers. To meet the same admission criteria for studying at German higher education institutions (HEI) as other international student applicants, refugees and asylum seekers can attend pre-study programmes at preparatory colleges or language centres of HEI. According to the self-determination theory, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is relevant to learning motivation and success in educational contexts. This paper examines the differences in the satisfaction of basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and learning motivation between refugees and other international student applicants, and the extent to which these differences explain inequalities in the probability of success in pre-study programmes. Data from participants in pre-study programmes at 18 HEI show no significant differences in basic need satisfaction and learning motivation between the respective groups of learners. While basic need satisfaction and motivation make only a small contribution to the explanation of success in pre-study programmes, the biographical and social situation manifested in previous study experiences, age, and social resources seem to be of significance. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПСИХОЛОГО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ ВИКЛАДАЧІВ ПРОФЕСІЙНИХ НАВЧАЛЬНИХ ЗАКЛАДІВ У НІМЕЧЧИНІ

Relevance. Ukraine's European integration orientation requires the implementation of the accumulated experience of teacher training in the European Union; given Germany's leading economic indicators, it is necessary to analyse its experience of training teachers of vocational institutions in terms of mastering the issues of the psychological and pedagogical block. Aim: to determine the peculiarities of psychological and pedagogical training of vocational educational institutions teachers in Germany and to substantiate recommendations for the psychological and pedagogical training of vocational teachers in Ukraine. Methods: analysis and synthesis – to determine the state of psycho-pedagogical training of vocational teachers in Germany; comparative analysis to find similarities and differences in the psycho-pedagogical training of vocational teachers in Germany and Ukraine; generalization – to formulate conclusions and recommendations for the psycho-pedagogical training of vocational teachers in Ukraine. Results: it was found that the number of credits allocated for psychological and pedagogical training of teachers in Ukraine and Germany is approximately the same. At the same time, the national system of teacher training in vocational education is characterised by the reverse distribution of credits for psychological and pedagogical training. As a rule, at the bachelor's degree, Ukrainian students receive the whole complex of "academic psychological and pedagogical training", and in the master's degree they consider certain issues of teaching disciplines in their specialisation. Practical training is identical in Ukrainian and German higher education institutions that train teachers for vocational (vocational and technical) education. A significant difference is observed in the organisation of students training for research activities. The national system is characterised by the training of students in this area at the master's level. Conclusions: it is necessary to focus the attention of Ukrainian university education on meeting the expectations of students to receive proven instructions for their future work (to shift the emphasis from the encyclopaedic study of educational theories to practical training); to integrate psychology issues directly into the problems of teaching and organising the educational process; to develop a unified standard of psychological and pedagogical training for teachers of vocational (vocational and technical) education institutions, taking into account current trends and credit differentiation; to begin training students to conduct empirical research at the bachelor's level.

Configuring motivational pathways to manage academics’ individual motivation for engagement: Insights from German higher education institutions

Configuring motivational pathways to manage academics’ individual motivation for engagement: Insights from German higher education institutions

Думи на водещите броя

Issue 55 of the scientific e-journal “Rhetoric and Communications” continues its tradition of offering in-depth research by Bulgarian and foreign scholars and experts on current topics in the field of rhetoric and communications. The focus is on the theoretical reflection on three important topics – media credibility and PR communication; European cohesion policy and the manifestations of media deficits in a virtual environment; the role of media in the educational process and trends in doctoral education. Included in the issue are the results of research on the rhetoric of trust as a stimulus for regional news media in the Netherlands; the features of discourse on PR strategy and principles of behaviour as a condition for building and maintaining relationships between organisations and society. Conclusions are drawn from an analysis of discussions of Euro-Atlanticism in virtual environments and of the communication of European cohesion policy. To researchers of the educational process, we offer articles on strategy and reform in Serbia, and on doctoral education in Germany and Bulgaria. A.W.M. (Willem) Koetsenruijter and J.C. (Jaap) de Jong from Leiden University in the Netherlands thematise proximity as a unique advantage for regional media, which differentiates them from national news organisations and is an incentive to avoid the rhetoric of exclusion, regionalism and xenophobia. This article provides a theoretical context for the rhetoric of trust in regional news media and proximity as a quintessential news quality. In the study, the researchers thematise the notion of proximity as a rhetorical device and analyse 52 interviews with journalists from regional Dutch news media to explore how they argue for trust in their media. Dimitrina Stefanova explores trust as the component structure of PR strategy and as a condition for successfully building and maintaining relationships between organisations and society at large. The basis for the analysis is expert research and special reports from the past four years of the Edelman Trust Barometer and Edelman Data & Intelligence. The findings are related to the specifics of the discourse on PR strategy and principles of conduct. Desislava Antova examines the discussions on Euro-Atlanticism that are realised on a verbal and visual level in a virtual environment, in particular on the social network Facebook. She uses the method of rhetorical analysis, which focuses on messages and their effects in a specific political context and in an election campaign and situation. It provides opportunities to identify some manifestations of Euroscepticism and Euro-Atlanticism in a virtual environment. The article is an occasion to discuss media deficits, the need for legal regulations regarding fake news and especially the misuse of terms without embedding specific content in them. Communicating European cohesion policy is the topic of Aseniya Dimitrova’s article. She provides a theoretical overview and review of the academic literature related to media coverage and communication of the European Union (EU) cohesion policy. Publications in English and Bulgarian (from scientific journals) and results of research projects that are related to communicating the cohesion policy are examined. The aim is to highlight the main approaches, themes and gaps in scientific knowledge on the topic to date. Aseniya Dimitrova analyses the relationship between the funds and support for the European Union as a whole, as well as its impact on the sense of European identity. Ivan Cvetanović examines the new education process in Serbia. He raises the issue of academic honesty and the legal system in education. Ivan Cvetanovic reviews best practices of US scholars and analyses examples of negative manifestations in the structure and organisation of educational institutions in Serbia. He mainly discusses perspectives on the relationship between all parties responsible for successful education, the role of democratic media in education, and making education a “specific form of cultural memory.” Adriana Toneva presents a study of the legal framework and strategic documents of doctoral education in Germany. The paper presents a content analysis and secondary data analysis and specifies the requirements for admission and doctoral studies in three different federal states. Practices of collaborative research in the framework of a common research work and trends of internationalisation at all levels in German higher education institutions are summarised. Nadia Birezakli analyses doctoral education in Bulgaria in the light of the Bologna Process and the European Education Area. The article outlines the perspectives and challenges for doctoral education and provides recommendations for optimising the educational and research process within the framework of doctoral education in Bulgaria. The paper concludes that there is a gradual harmonisation in the practices and quality of doctoral training. Under the rubric of “Book Review” Prof. Ivanka Mavrodieva presents the books by Ventsislav Bondikov “PR as an object of knowledge. Towards a Philosophy of Public Relations” and “Critical Debates on PR”. Брой 55 на сп. „Реторика и комуникации“, април 2023 г. се издава с финансовата помощ на Фонд научни изследвания, договор № КП-06-НП4/72 от 16 декември 2022 г. Issue 55 of the Rhetoric and Communications Journal (April 2023) is published with the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund, Contract No. KP-06-NP4/72 of December 16, 2022.

Practical training of future translators in Germany

The article deals with the practical aspects of training future translators in German higher education institutions. It is established that the practical training of these specialists is carried out in various ways: integration of practical tasks and works into translation course modules, internships in translation agencies and companies, internships, and a semester abroad. It has been found that universities with a large number of students have their own practical training centres, which makes it easier to find a practice site and get an internship. Practical training is aimed at the comprehensive development of skills and abilities of future translators, covering basic requirements, specialised knowledge, linguistic competence, professional-specific knowledge, translation competence and mastery of information technology. In translation classes, students complete various exercises. Translation exercises are divided into general translation exercises and then specialised translation exercises. In general translation classes, the level of difficulty is even lower, so that students can establish themselves as a beginner translator at the initial stage. Technical translation exercises deal with texts from specific subject areas, such as economics, technology or medicine. In addition to doing own translation or interpreting, discussing the results in a group is extremely important. Students learn from each other, critique each other and receive valuable feedback. Students can develop their linguistic, translation and intercultural competences during study abroad placements. This can be done in the form of an internship or as part of a study programme in one or more of more countries. The so-called foreign semester is quite common, which involves a student studying a similar programme abroad. There, students improve their foreign language skills, acquire the ability to communicate with foreign-speaking people, and sensitise themselves to cultural differences. The structure of the programmes for translators includes compulsory subjects, mandatory subjects and free choice subjects. The students are required to study a practical course in the chosen foreign language, translation, internships (including foreign ones), and write and defend a qualification paper.

Content aspects of bachelor's training in translation in german higher education institutions

The article deals with the issue of the content of bachelor's degree programmes in translation at classical and applied universities in Germany. The issue of ensuring quality training of translators has become particularly relevant in recent years in the context of Ukraine's intensive movement towards integration into the European Union. It has been established that there are differences between the programmes of different universities in terms of the courses offered, the number of credits and the content of the modules. It has been determined that the structural division of bachelor's degree programmes in translation training is common, which includes three blocks: compulsory subjects, compulsory electives, and free choice subjects. The programmes under consideration have in common the following: studying a practical course in the chosen foreign language, translation, internships (including foreign ones); writing and defending a bachelor's thesis. The programmes of universities of applied sciences are more practice-oriented than those of classical universities. The Bachelor's degree programme in Translation at the University of Leipzig is aimed at providing students with theoretical and methodological knowledge and practical skills in translation and interpreting. The programme also provides for an introduction to the cultures of the countries whose languages are studied, as well as translation technologies. The bachelor's degree programme in Translation provides for a student's academic workload of 180 credits. The structure of the bachelor's degree programme in translation at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is modular and consists of modules in translation and science, subject-specific and interdisciplinary additional qualifications, and a bachelor's thesis. The main part of the content of the University of Heidelberg's translation programme is aimed at developing competence in translating general and technical texts. The main part of the content of the translation programme at the University of Heidelberg is aimed at developing competence in translating texts of general and technical subjects. Students acquire the ability to apply their knowledge of the linguistic and cultural peculiarities of the languages they study; to translate in selected language pairs; and to justify their translation. At the same time, they learn to use appropriate auxiliary tools, including monolingual and multilingual reference books, specialised terminology databases, online dictionaries, CAT tools, localisation tools, and concordance software. This enables future translators to search for and process additional information on their own.There are two study options (A or B) within the Bachelor's degree programme in International Communication and Translation at the University of Hildesheim. By choosing option A, students study two foreign languages. Those who choose option B study one foreign language, and the rest of the credits are obtained through applied disciplines and modules from the compulsory elective block. In addition, the offer of disciplines is constantly expanding, mainly in the area of information technologies and intercultural communication. Translation programmes differ in their content, which is reflected in their titles: Translation, Translation Studies, International Communication and Translation, and Specialised Translation. Higher education institutions that offer bachelor's and master's degree programmes in translation have valuable years of experience in training these professionals. In addition, they are focused on meeting the needs and demands of employers, shaping the content of their programmes accordingly. Since the range of employment of domestic translators will be wider than it is today in the near future, it is worthwhile to use the experience gained in training them in Europe, particularly in the Federal Republic of Germany.

College television at German higher education institutions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Higher education institutions (HEIs) create a range of media products. Among them are college media produced by students. Even though this heterogeneous media form exists throughout Germany and is therefore part of HEIs’ public visibility, it remains unnoticed in the field of higher education communication. This study aims to examine the specific type of college television (CTV) in terms of organizational and editorial structures and altered workflows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study combines a two-wave online survey among all operating German CTV stations in 2017 and 2021 with a qualitative social media analysis of twelve stations. In 2017, intra-curricular CTV operations rated a higher satisfaction level than extra-curricular cases, whereby the explicit support and cooperation with the HEI scores better. The data shows that CTV operations with an intra-curricular linkage to the respective HEI enjoyed a more stable continuity than extra-curricular operations, some of which were forced to cease production over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has limited the CTV operations’ workflows in terms of access to equipment and social exchange but has also stimulated a shift in topic selection and distribution strategy.

Implicit resilience theories: a qualitative study of context-shapers at higher education institutions

ABSTRACT High dropout rates in STEM disciplines are certainly among the most crucial challenges that higher education is facing. While prior research has mainly applied an individual-centered approach that has helped identify factors explaining student dropout, an important yet under-examined issue is how those responsible for shaping the academic environment of students vary in their implicit assumptions of why some students persist while others drop out. In this study, we shift the focus toward the narratives regarding the reasons for student drop out. We report on an in-depth qualitative interview study comprising 59 deans of studies, administrators (i.e. quality managers and student advisors), and student representatives. This group of individuals contributes to the challenge of reducing student dropout by shaping the teaching and learning environment of students at German higher education institutions. Our grounded-theory model indicates that these context-shapers attend to different implicit theories on what constitutes resilient versus non-resilient students. The implicit resilience theories, in turn, result in dropout being legitimized in different ways, which determines the judgements made by context-shapers in terms of actions suitable to reduce student dropout.

Sustainability governance toward an organizational sustainability culture at German higher education institutions

PurposeHigher education institutions, as influential social institutions, play an important role in promoting social responsibility and sustainable practices. However, approaches to implementing sustainable development (SD) in higher education institutions (HEIs) themselves remain fuzzy. One way to achieve holistic embedding can lie in organizational culture. This study aims to examine ways by which internal sustainability governance can promote sustainability culture by using empirical data from German HEIs.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses factor analysis to identify relevant governance indicators. With a regression analysis, this study assesses the indicators’ effects on organizational sustainability culture in HEIs. A moderator analysis tests potential determinants derived from literature and their influence on sustainability governance and sustainability culture.FindingsOperationalizing formalized sustainability governance for holistic implementation reveals a gap in sustainability management at HEIs. This study proposes a model for operationalizing sustainability governance and shows an effect on sustainability culture at the formal organizational level.Originality/valueBased on the operationalization of sustainability governance, this empirical study provides evidence for the development of a holistic approach along a sustainability culture in organizations. This paper proposes a model for operationalization, analyzes multiorganizational data and shows the effects of sustainability governance on formalized organizational sustainability culture. This paper provides a transorganizational perspective for implementing SD following a top-down approach.

Configuring Motivational Pathways to Manage Academics’ Individual Motivation for Knowledge Transfer: Insights from German Higher Education Institutions

Configuring Motivational Pathways to Manage Academics’ Individual Motivation for Knowledge Transfer: Insights from German Higher Education Institutions

Refugees’ pathways to German Higher Education institutions

Since 2015, Germany has followed a welcoming policy for refugees and has made efforts to integrate them in German society through initiatives such as development programs. However, very few refugee students have actually managed to enter German Higher Education (HE) institutions. Using a qualitative methodology, the researcher interviewed Arab refugee students studying in pre-academic and academic degree programs in Germany, to obtain answers to the following two main questions: 1) What are the main challenges that refugee students have experienced on their path to Germany as a host country? 2) What are the challenges that refugee students faced in HE in Germany and how does the German HE system respond to their needs? The findings suggest that, despite Germany’s desire to open up access to HE for refugees, the implementation of the policies adopted often sets administrative and social challenges to refugee students along their pathways to German HE institutions. These challenges include rigid access policies and procedures, unwelcoming public discourse and feelings of alienation. Nevertheless, students positively valued the new window of opportunity and universally applicable procedures offered in Germany, although they had not quite provided adequate responses to the refugees’ needs. The paper concludes with implications for policy makers wishing to open pathways for refugees to HE in intercultural academic spaces where they can interact and integrate within the academic community in preparation for their full integration into their host society.

The latest trends in translator training in German higher education institutions

The article focuses on identifying current trends in translator education in German higher education institutions. The focus is on the educational content of future interpreters. The following trends in the organization and content of translator study have recently become particularly important in German universities: compulsory practice abroad, study of specialized information technologies, offering dual specialization, implementation of translation programs with a narrow specialization, interdisciplinary orientation in the study of special courses, formation of soft skills. It is suggested that these trends should be taken into account in the educational process of domestic higher education institutions.

Satisfying Students’ Psychological Needs During the COVID-19 Outbreak in German Higher Education Institutions

The COVID-19 outbreak has been a worldwide challenge for the higher education community. Under lockdown measures, meeting students’ needs and encouraging their engagement in academic work have never been more urgent and challenging. In this study, we investigated the relationship between students’ satisfaction with institutional strategies, students’ optimism and pessimism, satisfaction with basic psychological needs, engagement in academic work, intention to drop out from studies, depression, and well-being. We conducted an online self-report study on N = 477 German college and university students (77.25% females, mean age = 23.96 years, SD = 4.78). The results of structural equation models showed that students’ satisfaction with institutional strategies was positively related to their basic psychological need satisfaction and engagement. Students’ optimism was positively associated with need satisfaction and engagement, whereas pessimism was negatively associated with them. Furthermore, students’ academic engagement was negatively linked to dropout intentions, whereas psychological need satisfaction was linked to depression and well-being. The findings of this study suggest that acknowledging students timely about the institutional strategies of examinations and courses and supporting students to engage academic activities are important institutional tasks during crisis.

Advancing HEIs\u2019 third-mission through dynamic capabilities: the role of leadership and agreement on vision and goals

Higher education institutions (HEIs), once considered among society’s most resilient institutions, are facing challenges due to changes in governments’ and society’s expectations of them. Within the sector, there is a global call for new models and practices, requiring HEIs to develop the management capabilities once reserved for businesses. In this sense, they will pave entrepreneurial pathways and contribute to economic, technological and societal developments in their regions, thus adding a third mission (engaging socio-economic needs and market demands) to the traditional two (education and research) and transforming themselves into more entrepreneurial institutions. Dynamic capabilities enable transformation processes by allowing the dynamic sensing and seizing of opportunities and risks and the promotion of iterative change and reconfiguration. Scholars have called on HEIs to develop such dynamic capabilities in order to transform themselves and better respond to their sector’s challenges. Nevertheless, the understanding of how dynamic capabilities might advance HEIs’ third mission is still an underexplored concept, and in this paper, we propose mechanisms that promise to transform dynamic capabilities into third mission advancement. We have developed numerous theoretically grounded hypotheses and tested them with a partial least squares structural equation model into which we funnelled data collected from key decision-makers at German HEIs. The results suggest that dynamic capabilities do indeed influence third mission advancement; however, this relationship is mediated by the role of leadership and organisational agreement on vision and goals.

Taking stock: Employability as an outcome of higher education. Evaluating developments in the German higher education system

AbstractThis article uses the example of Germany to elaborate on the historical development, the current practice, and recent debates on employability. Employability as an outspoken aim of higher education was only established in recent decades due to the introduction of Polytechnics, the expansion of higher education, and the Bologna‐Process. Despite the diversity of the higher education sector (e.g., universities; universities of applied science), the assumption of equality means that degrees from any institution are of equal value according to the level of study. As in other countries, German higher education institutions have established measures to improve employability such as changes in the curricula or the establishment of career services. However, challenges remain to measure the employability and the employability outcome of HE. The article concludes that the identification of specific subject‐related and transferable skills and competences and their transferability to the labour market remains an ongoing task to increase the employability of graduates in Germany.

Access for Syrian refugees into higher education in Germany: a systematic literature review

ABSTRACT In the early years of the twenty-first century, the European Union faced an influx of refugees from war-torn areas of the world. By the end of 2015, nearly a million new refugees had arrived in Germany alone, half of them from Syria. Understanding how the Syrian refugee population has interacted with the German system of higher education is crucial for serving those students. This systematic review of studies published on this topic between 2015 and 2020 discusses the challenges experienced by Syrian refugee students accessing German higher education, the support they have received from German higher education institutions (HEIs), and policy reforms recommended by the studies reviewed for managing the influx of refugees into German higher education. I offer a synthesis of the contributions and gaps in the literature and propose thoughts for future research in this area for advancing our knowledge on the experiences of refugee students in accessing HE and easing their integration into HEIs, to the benefit of the internationalization of Germany’s HEIs and the country’s labor market.

The development of multicultural effectiveness in international student mobility

International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to increase students’ multicultural effectiveness and their (international) job market potential. In the present study, we investigated ISM effects by addressing the following three research questions: First, how do future sojourners differ from control students in terms of their pre-departure multicultural effectiveness? Second, how does ISM affect the development of multicultural effectiveness above and beyond effects of students’ demographic characteristics, their cultural and educational background, and their previous international mobility experiences? And third, do any of these variables moderate ISM development effects and thus help to explain who benefits most from ISM? We used a sample of N = 3070 students at German higher education institutions who were assigned to three groups (i.e., control students with no mobility plans, present sojourners who participated in ISM during the study period, and a waiting group of future sojourners who participated in ISM in the semester sequencing the study period). The analyses with (moderated) latent change models showed substantially higher pre-departure multicultural effectiveness in present and future sojourners compared with control students as well as positive effects of ISM on the development of multicultural effectiveness. The strongest effects were observed amongst students without previous international mobility experiences. Theoretical implications for the understanding of adaptive development in a globalized world as well as practical inferences for ISM outreach and recruitment strategies are discussed.

Hierarchy of Higher Education System in Germany: Historiographical Analysis

The paper considers the development of hierarchical features in the German higher education system and studies the historical background of ongoing processes of differentiation among German higher education institutions. The widespread ambition to establish internationally competitive ‘world-class universities’ as ‘flagships’ stimulates the differentiation processes of national higher education systems. The objective of this research is to examine the institutional stratification of the German higher education system in its historical development. We use historiographical methods and analyze the accessibility and selectivity of the higher education system as stratification criteria. The paper overviews methodological approaches to the differentiation of the higher education system developed by leading Russian and German researchers. The applied methods let us explain the homogeneity of the German higher education system by the historical role of universities and the influence of their principles and educational standards. The research demonstrates that the current challenges for the German higher education system (internationalization, increasing competitiveness and massification) lead to institutional differentiations. The research results indicate that processes of informal vertical and horizontal stratification are occurring in the German higher education system, regarding both research and education activities. The hierarchy of German higher education sections is based on general vectors in developing, management and national policy of higher education and reflects the most effective interaction between higher education institutions and other stakeholders of higher education. Finally we conclude, that it is useful to project studied experience of institutional development of German higher education system to Russian realities.

Belonging as a Resource of Resilience: Psychological Wellbeing of International and Refugee Students in Study Preparation at German Higher Education Institutions

After 2015, several German higher education institutions (HEI) expanded their capacities for the study preparation of refugees. Nowadays, international and refugee students prepare for higher education degree programs through languages courses and subject-specific preparation courses at universities and colleges. So far, empirical research on refugee students’ wellbeing, in comparison to international students is scarce. This article elaborates on study preparation at German HEIs and refugee students’ psychological wellbeing. I focus on the mechanisms of subjective social exclusion/inclusion. I examine novel survey data from international and refugee students (final sample N = 904) by path analysis structural equation modelling. Results show on one hand that feelings of social exclusion reduce wellbeing, but on the other hand course belonging can function as a social resource of resilience for refugee students in study preparation. HEIs can strengthen feelings of social inclusion and psychological wellbeing of refugee students by fostering their belongingness in study preparation courses.