Higher Education Graduates Research Articles

Keep It Up Switzerland! Four Empirical Studies on Dual Vocational Education and Training

ABSTRACT This thesis adds empirical evidence to the growing literature on dual VET using Switzerland as a case study. The first chapter examines lower-secondary education students’ occupational choices upon entering dual VET. I show that it is possible to provide those students with low-cost personalised information that expands the set of occupations they consider. The second chapter examines whether having done dual VET as a first career step is beneficial for higher education graduates entering the labour market. Our findings indicate that dual VET is beneficial right after graduation. The operating channels are human capital, screening and signalling. The third chapter examines how a reduction in firms’ hiring costs influences firms’ provision of apprenticeship positions. Our findings show that the impact is very small on the number of apprenticeship positions having no effect on the probability of providing apprenticeship positions. The fourth chapter examines whether young people in countries with VET pathways have a smoother transition onto the labour market. We find that mixed education systems that include both general education and VET are best. Depending on the circumstances, dual VET is preferable over school-based VET. Overall, the evidence in this thesis supports strengthening dual VET in a country’s education system.

Knowledge of Mothers Regarding Management of Fever in their Children Under Five Years of Age in Al-Hilla City

Background: Improper fever definitions will lead to excessive treatment with its adverse consequences, or missed fever, or delayed diagnosis of dangerous illness. Mothers’ care for a feverish child can sometimes be inappropriate and harmful. Objective: To assess knowledge of mothers regarding definition and management of fever in their children under five years of age and to identify the association between mothers’ knowledge and mothers’ socio demographic factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 302 mothers of alive children aged bellow five years. The mothers were interviewed (face-to-face) after giving their verbal consent to participate in this study by using a systematic questionnaire, which included mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics and questions related to fever management. It was carried out at Babylon Teaching Hospital for Maternity and Children, Al Imam Al Sadiq Teaching Hospital, and Al Noor Hospital For Children in Al-Hilla City, Iraq, from February 1 to June 15, 2022. Results: The mean age of mothers was (27.07 ± 6.33) years, 16.56% of mothers were higher education graduates, 86.75% were housewives. 0.66% of mothers had insufficient knowledge regarding fever management, 65.23% had moderate knowledge, and 34.11% had high knowledge. The mothers’ knowledge was in significant association with the mothers’ educational level, mothers’ occupation, using internet, and in significant negative correlation with number of alive children that the mothers had. Conclusion: About two-thirds of the mothers had moderate knowledge regarding fever management, about one-third had high knowledge, and less than one percent of mothers had insufficient knowledge.

К ВОПРОСУ О ВОЗМОЖНОСТИ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ ФОРСАЙТ-МЕТОДОВ ДЛЯ УЧЕТА ПОТРЕБНОСТЕЙ РЫНКА ТРУДА В УЧЕБНОМ ПРОЦЕССЕ

The article deals with the organization of the educational process in conjunction with the needs of the labor market. The problems associated with the employment of higher education graduates are raised. Data on the characteristics of employment of graduates, the quality of the education received are given. The argumentation of the possibility of using foresight methods to take into account the needs of the labor market in the educational process is given.

К вопросу о методологии разработки цифрового профиля выпускника высшей школы

This article reveals the methodology of developing a digital profile of a graduate of a higher school. The relevance of the topic is connected with the solution to the tasks of the state program “Digital Kazakhstan” concerning the improvement of digital literacy in secondary, technical and vocational, and higher education. Nowadays, the development of an electronic portfolio of teachers and students is widely used, which allows systematically accumulating a variety of information about their professional and educational achievements. At the same time, being specific and understandable for internal subjects of higher education, they are not informative enough for external stakeholders, the main of which are employers. The recent measures taken to the issue of the Diploma Supplement do not fully meet the requirements of digitalization. In this regard, there are problems of collecting, storing, and issuing detailed information about the competencies of graduates of higher education and the dynamics of these competencies, which would be available to key recruits. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that the basis for the development of a digital profile of a student/graduate of a higher school is a competence model, which contains three components (affective, cognitive, activity), five generalized indicators (1.1 Socially significant personality qualities, 1.2 Professionally significant personality qualities, 2.1 Knowledge (academic achievements), 2.2 Knowledge (scientific achievements), 3.1 Skills and abilities), for the measurement of which criteria will subsequently be developed and descriptors will be given at three levels (optimal, acceptable, critical). The purpose and objectives of this article are selection and construction of a methodology for developing a digital profile in the form of an algorithm of actions aimed at revealing the essence of the digital profile, designing a competence model of a graduate of a higher school as an image of the expected result of professional training of future specialists. The methodology of developing a digital profile involves a number of sequential steps: 1) research and disclosure of the essence of the digital profile of a student/graduate of a university; 2) designing a competence model of a graduate of a higher school as an image of the expected result of professional training of future specialists. This formulation of the question determines the general logic of the research, ensures that methodological approaches and scientific methods correspond to the goals and objectives of developing a digital profile of a student/graduate of a higher school, which is fundamentally different from the electronic portfolio used today in the real practice of higher education.

Closing the Digital Gender Gap among Foreign University Students: The Challenges Ahead

In today’s world, new and advanced forms of technology are increasingly providing great changes in universities, thus generating new possibilities and impacting pedagogy and learning methodology. Unfortunately, not all students can use these tools in the same way and with the same ability. Not only are there digital gender gaps that limit women from enjoying these learning opportunities, but there are also digital gaps between foreign and natives’ students who have been trained in these technologies in their countries of origin, which impedes the achievement of the sustainable development goals planned for 2030. This study addresses theoretical foundations on the digital gender gap in university studies and provides an econometric analysis, through a simple linear regression, on the existence of a correlation between this digital gender gap and the university study gap by gender. A more specific analysis is also presented on the digital gender gap in the case of foreign students from four groups of countries, according to their income. The results show, on one hand, that differences in the access and use of technologies represent one of the factors that affects the percentage of graduates in higher education by gender; on the other, that there is a highly visible digital divide between countries with high income, compared to low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Формирование креативности студентов средствами электронной среды Moodle

The authors investigate the problem of the formation of creativity of students of economic university. The importance of solving this problem in the context of improvement of the quality of training of graduates of higher education from the standpoint of professional orientation of training is emphasized. The article highlights the role of e-learning environment Moodle (modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment) as a means of formation of the creativity of future bachelors of economics. The possibilities of electronic environment Moodle are demonstrated for creating of training courses, filling them in the form of electronic resources (lectures, practical tasks, questionnaires, tests, forums, etc.), providing interactive interaction of subjects of the educational process. In the course of the study, a table of indicators of the level of formation of the creative-activity component of students’ mathematical competence was built to identify creativity. Based on the results of the pedagogical experiment, the assessment of the formation of the creative-activity component of mathematical competence of future bachelors was carried out. The article presents the results of generalized indicators of the dynamics of the formation of the creative activity component at the subject, interdisciplinary and professional stages of multilevel mathematical training in economic university.

FORMATION OF SANITARY AND HYGIENIC COMPETENCE IN HOTEL AND RESTAURANT SPECIALTY STUDENTS

The article theoretically highlights the mechanism of sanitary-hygienic competence formation among students of higher education majoring in “Hotel and restaurant business”. It has been established that this problem has its relevance and the need for its fastest solution, namely by revising the conditions of the educational process of higher education institutions. This involves the formation of students at a high level of safe and responsible behavior regarding the care of their health. The factors that directly affect the process of forming sanitary and hygienic competence among student youth of higher education institutions are analyzed. Ways to create an optimal educational process for the formation of sanitary-hygienic competence in first-level higher education graduates of the “Hotel and restaurant business” specialty are proposed. This approach will allow the future specialist to create a health-saving environment for employees of service establishments.The state of health of young people plays an important role in the formation of an economically and socially sustainable state. After all, the health and well-being of society is the driving force behind the development of the state, especially in the matter of the reproduction of productive forces (human resources), as a universal reserve. Particular attention is paid to the health care of young people as a socio-medical and pedagogical-psychological problem of the state with the search, development and implementation of effective health-forming technologies.The approach is designed to provide information about the professional activities of a future specialist in the service sector, namely the formation of a health-saving environment in which employees can work effectively. The existing sanitary and hygienic competence implies being ready to preserve the health of both one’s own and nearby.
 Keywords: sanitation; hygiene; competence; health; healthy lifestyle; acquirer; educational process; educational institution; youth; education.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can: Effects of Entrepreneurship Orientation on Entrepreneurship Intention of Saudi Agriculture and Food Sciences Graduates

Entrepreneurship plays a significant role in achieving the national agenda and the development of nations. The leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) pays significant attention to the role of entrepreneurship by supporting the Saudi Vision 2030 and its programs, e.g., the National Transformation Program and the Human Capability Development Program. The current research examines the effects of entrepreneurship orientation on entrepreneurship intentions among agriculture and food sciences graduates in KSA. More exactly, the research examines the interrelationship and effects of risk-taking, innovativeness, and pro-activeness on the entrepreneurship intentions of higher education graduates, especially among agriculture and food sciences graduates. It also examines the mediating effect of innovativeness and pro-activeness between entrepreneurship orientation and entrepreneurship intention. For this purpose, a pre-examined questionnaire was collected randomly from 440 graduates at several KSA universities. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) supported all research hypotheses and confirmed a direct significant effect of risk-taking on the entrepreneurship intention of students and an indirect effect through innovativeness and pro-activeness. The results confirmed complimentary mediation of innovativeness and pro-activeness in the link between entrepreneurship orientation and entrepreneurship intention. The findings of the research offer some implications for scholars and policymakers in the Saudi context, which are discussed.

ICT in higher education: learning as usual or a “new normal”?

PurposeThis study examines students’ perspectives towards the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT), during this sudden shift to remote online education due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. The aim is to identify the predictors of learning outcomes and understand if they are here to exist as the new normal.Design/methodology/approachThe independent variable motivation, managing emotion, and acceptability of ICT, are examined as potential determinants of perceived learning outcomes in remote online education. An aggregate of 220 responses from the students of management graduates in higher education were collected to examine the predictors of learning outcomes using regression model in SPSS software. In addition, ANOVA technique was used to compare and assess managing emotion, motivation, and ICT acceptability of male and female students in remote online education.FindingsResults indicate that motivation, managing emotion and acceptability of ICT are significant predictors, which affect students’ perceived learning outcomes. Furthermore, the study reveals that managing emotions and motivation levels of female students are higher than male students in remote online education.Practical implicationsResearch identifies the antecedents of student learning outcomes in management education. These finding may be useful for educators and management to understand the factors influencing students' learning outcomes and to develop various modules to make remote online learning effective.Originality/valueThis research contributes significantly in investigating the antecedents of students learning outcome and provide insights regarding student’s perspective towards sudden shift to remote online education due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.

Employment Outcomes of Higher Education Graduates from during and after the 2007–2008 Financial Crisis: Evidence from a Romanian University

In the current article, we seek to understand the ways in which unfavorable macro-level circumstances influence the employment outcomes of university graduates, in the long term. We use the 2007–2008 financial crisis as a historical setting and compare data about the later employment outcomes of 772 students who graduated a bachelor’s program at a public Romanian university before and after the financial crisis. The comparison includes a quantitative perspective and a qualitative one and refers to: duration of the job search after graduation; seniority levels; number of jobs held; profile of the first job gained after graduation; current status on the labor market; localization of the current employer; profile of the current job; satisfaction with the career status; perceived employability. Additionally, we also explore the influence of the following micro-level determinants on employment outcomes: attendance to internships programs; employment during the attendance of the BA program; and choosing to continue education with a master’s program. The findings suggest that, although the group who graduated during the financial crisis indeed faced some initial setbacks, manifested through longer waiting times before securing their first job, they currently have objectively superior employment outcomes compared with their counterparts who graduated after the crisis. Subjectively, the members of the two groups show similar levels of satisfaction with their career status. The analysis of the micro-level determinants shows that they have a positive influence on individual employment outcomes, and this may be of interest in the future in increasing graduates’ resilience on the labor market and supporting their sustainable employment.

Portal E-Sertifikat dengan QR Code Menggunakan PHP dan MYSQL

The increasing globalization of integrated system communication technology makes the world seem to be borderless, especially with the increasingly widespread use of the internet (interconnection network). One of the most developed cyber activities related to the use of the internet is electronic business transactions, the definition of Electronic Transactions is legal acts carried out with using computers, computer networks and other electronic media. Meanwhile, an electronic system is a series of electronic devices and procedures that function to prepare, collect, process, analyze, store, display, announce, transmit and/or disseminate electronics. Currently, the need for information in activities to get certificates such as seminars, training, webinars and others is sought after by not only students but also the general public. This is due to the large number of companies that require a certificate of activity when applying for a job and graduation in Higher Education. In handling the process of processing data activities which includes member registration, activity planning, certificate printing to report printing until now is still running traditionally in the sense that certificate printing is carried out collectively so that data processing often occurs loss and damage to data on activities that have been carried out and the length of time for printing certificates, this is because certificate printing is carried out 1 (one) week after the activity is carried out.

Factors Affecting Graduate Competence in Independent Learning Policies Independent Campus


 
 
 
 Learning in the Merdeka Campus provides challenges and opportunities for the development of innovation, creativity, capacity, personality, and student needs, as well as developing independence in seeking and finding knowledge through realities and field dynamics such as ability requirements, real problems, social interaction, collaboration, self-management, performance demands, targets and achievements. Through an independent learning program that is well designed and implemented, students' hard and soft skills will be formed strongly.The tight competition in the world of work entering the industrial era requires university graduates to compete by equipping themselves with various skills. The competence of college graduates is one of the determining factors to be able to compete in the world of work. Higher education graduates are mainly required to be up to date with the development of science and technology so that they can become graduates who are ready to use and are competitive. It is undeniable, with the advancement of science and technology, the roles and functions of humans have begun to be replaced by information technology that was created to simplify and accelerate human work. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence the competence of college graduates, namely emotional intelligence, learning behavior and academic achievement. Graduate competence refers to the Graduate Competency Standards according to the National Higher Education Standards, namely Attitudes, Knowledge and Skills. The scope of the research is final semester students at the Raflesia Polytechnic with 120 respondents. Data collection techniques using a Likert scale 1-5 questionnaire. The analysis used statistical tests, namely the F test and t test with the help of SPSS. The results showed that simultaneously emotional intelligence, learning behavior and academic achievement had a significant effect on graduate competence, while partially emotional intelligence and academic achievement had a significant effect on graduate competence
 
 
 

ENABLING A SUPPLY CHAIN SCOR MODEL FOR STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING AND GROWTH OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN JORDAN

As higher education is has become more productive and business-like in the past two decades, it is not surprising that business techniques have been promoted as the best method for higher education institutions to meet the challenges associated with these changes. This study enables the SCOR model of supply chain management for strategic decision-making and growth of the higher education sector in Jordon. The relevant data were taken from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, public records, blogs, articles, journals, theses, and dissertations. The study finds that the university supply chain is majorly used to reduce the gap between higher education graduates and the job industry. The study also finds that the SCOR application in the education sector will help the educational institutes to better develop the plan to execute in the future and better use the resources, which will help develop a better curriculum, deliver the best course with the help of resources, and, as an end product, graduate students with knowledge and skills that the service industry needs without the gap in the supply and demands. In conclusion, the study finds that the SCOR model presents a good catalyst for higher education organizations for consideration in change.

Industry Feedback on the Work performance of NEUST Advance Higher Education Graduates

An academic institution may have a splendid statement of vision and mission, may have the best curriculum, may have offered the best laboratory, library, and student services as well as may have state of the art facilities and equipment; but still, how their graduates perform outside the school particularly at work shall be the ultimate measure of the quality of education that the school provides.NEUST is one University with a very noble vision and mission. It continuously seeks to improve its operations, processes, and procedures to ensure that it will surely realize its vision and mission. It has even gone as far as forming local and international linkages, venturing into researches, sending faculty to scholarship and training, curriculum revision, and so forth. Indeed, it seems that the only thing yet left for it to do is determine how the graduates perform outside the school, particularly at work. However, such cannot be determined unless a study is made. It is for this reason that this tracer study is conducted. This is a simple descriptive survey facilitated by the internet's social networking services. Sources of data were 35 industry heads purposively chosen based on having employees who graduated from the NEUST Graduate School and their willingness to participate as respondents in this research undertaking.

The spatial distribution of urban community gardens and their associated socio-economic status in Tehran, Iran

Urban community gardens are a type of green space presenting a diverse role in urban systems. They can also be beneficial for solving the matter of food insecurity by providing self-sufficiency and resilience in low-income communities and increasing the continuity of agricultural activities. Even though plenty of research has been conducted around community gardens, there is a noticeable research gap concerning case studies in different geographic contexts, especially in the Middle East. This paper in response to the said gap aims at mapping the spatial distribution of community gardens and their socio-economic attributes in Tehran, Iran. A methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews, qualitative and descriptive analysis along with tools such as ArcGIS was employed and secondary data were obtained from various sources such as the Tehran statistical yearbook of the year 2020. The results demonstrate that currently there are a total of 26 community gardens in Tehran and they run based on governmental funds and support with a strong educational motive backing them up. There is also an evident geographical distribution imbalance in terms of gardens placement with them mostly being present in the southern part of the city, while in the northern districts the idea of community gardens has almost been nonexistent. Only districts 22, 8, and 7 among northern districts in Tehran have community gardens. In the southern part, district 19 includes the majority of gardens having seven in total. In short, gardens are mainly placed in areas with lower average land prices, median household income, and higher education graduates.

The Factors Influencing Intergenerational Mobility Levels among Higher Education Graduates in Brazil: A Comparison of the Years 2004 and 2018

The paper aims to analyze the levels of educational intergenerational mobility of students graduating from higher education in the years 2004 and 2018 and to identify the characteristics associated with the chances of higher levels of educational intergenerational mobility. The paper's main contribution is to provide evidence regarding how public policies contributed to intergenerational mobility. Moreover, the results highlight the persistent inequalities, which are often veiled by apparently positive results that do not conform to the real conditions necessary to break the cycle of poverty between generations. We use data from the Brazilian National Student Performance Exam (ENADE) and estimate an Ordered Probit. The study innovates in the use of data from university graduates, construction of mobility levels, calculation of mobility in relation to the father and the mother separately and controlling for the effect of higher education expansion policies. The results show that greater chances of intergenerational mobility in relation to parents are linked to the following conditions: being a woman; being over 24; a lower income family; not white or yellow; financially helping the family; studying in private institutions; having a scholarship or a Fies loan; being a ‘quota student’ and being a distance learning.

Juxtaposing generic skills development in collaborative knowledge work competences and related pedagogical practices in higher education

This study employs the term knowledge work competence to address generic aspects of higher education graduates’ expected learning outcomes. Twenty-eight higher education courses were investigated: 1069 students responded to the Collaborative Knowledge Practices (CKP) questionnaire to rate their self-evaluated competence development. From the same courses, 56 teachers provided descriptions of the course pedagogical practices. First, students’ self-reported generic collaboration competence gains were analyzed statistically for differences between courses. Second, qualitative categorization of the pedagogical practices based on rich description of pedagogical designs and teachers’ reflective responses was carried out. This offered a categorization with elaborated descriptions and a clustering to three types of enacted pedagogical practices. Finally, the study juxtaposed these previous two results to investigate how the pedagogical features were related to students’ self-evaluations on collaboration competence gains. The findings highlighted one cluster of pedagogical practices, collaborative knowledge creation with systematic support for epistemic and group work, as most beneficial for student competence gains. In it, professional ways of working were explicitly modeled and practiced, teacher support for knowledge creation during contact teaching was available, and time was reserved for reflection with students. Such pedagogical practices are important to ensure graduates’ fluent transition to complex knowledge work.

Graduate Unemployment and Its Duration: Evidence from Selected Cities of Oromia National Regional State

Generally, it is believed that higher education lowers the risk of unemployment. However, in developing countries including Ethiopia despite the expansion of higher education graduate unemployment has become a concern. It is threatening the stability and peace of the counties. Accordingly, the study had an objective of identifying determinantsof graduate unemployment and its duration based on data collected from 600 graduates in selected towns of Oromia National Regional State. To analyze the data, logistic regression and Weibull regression were employed. The result from the logistic regression model identified that level of education, specialization, place of residence (town), and year ofgraduation significantly affect the employability of graduates. The findings from the Weibull regression for survival analysis also showed that level of education, specialization, year of graduation, and place of residence were important in determining the duration of graduate unemployment. The result further revealed that graduates of engineering had 33.5% less hazard rate compared to graduates of natural science. Similarly, the hazard rate of level I graduates was higher than that of the other levels of graduates. These results imply the need for considering employability when opening a program and inclusion of entrepreneurship in the curriculum to make graduates innovative and forward looking.

MEANING AND ROLE OF HIGHER SCHOOL FOR BULGARIAN REGIONS’ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

This article is a partial picture of higher education in Bulgaria and the need to provide quality educational services at the regional level. The exhibition presents the importance and role of higher education in the recruitment of the regional elite and the quality of staff. A methodological framework that is proposed, assumes the systematization of the accumulated theoretical and practical experience in the field of higher education. Some deficiencies have been systematized, which affect the quality of education and the mismatch between business expectations at the level of planning regions, as well as the impact on municipalities and the need for staff for higher education graduates in the country. The main trends and conditions in which higher education in Bulgaria is developing and the search for opportunities to increase its role within the Bulgarian regions are outlined. In practice, regional development can become a national priority by building a quality educational environment and having a balanced regional development.

The Formation of Student's Foreign Language Communicative Competence as a Component of Social Culture Within the Context of Educational and Scientific Globalization

Since cultural and professional contacts between representatives of different countries are actively developing, the ability to establish intercultural relations and solve operational problems in professional and social spheres is one of the critical professional characteristics of higher education graduates. The intensification of global integration processes determines the state's social order for the education of high-skilled, communicatively competent graduates, highly mobile and competitive in the European and global labor markets. The increasing scale of international cooperation requires future specialists not only the rapid and effective implementation of innovative technologies but also the use of foreign experience in the relevant professional sphere, effective professional communication with international partners, change, and adaptation to new social conditions. In the Ukrainian higher education sector standards, a communicatively competent specialist is characterized as a person who can understand and accept the ethical norms and models of communicative behavior of other cultures, shows adaptability and interpersonal skills in communication, and has tolerance to foreign partners. Furthermore, the future specialists' tasks include the organization of fruitful cooperation with foreign partners, including the lifelong learning ability, managing information flows, preventing potential communication difficulties, and identifying and eliminating the causes of conflict situations. Therefore, training professional skills that promote the development of foreign language communicative competence is a priority task of higher education. Thus, the ability to effectively communicate is one of the most popular qualities in today's market because, in different spheres of activity, there is a constant need for people who can present new projects, stand up for ideas, lead discussions, and refute and convince opponents. Understanding the importance of the multicultural society problem within the context of globalization and especially the Ukrainian society, and the need for multicultural education is becoming increasingly important. While applying the competence approach in education based on one's abilities and social status, it is crucial to form multicultural competencies and acquire the appropriate level of interpersonal relationships experience for successful social functioning. This research aims at the theoretical and practical study of the process components of forming students' foreign language communicative competence within the context of their activities in the educational and scientific sphere, taking into account the rapid development of social culture and worldwide globalization of education and science. Methodology. We used the analytical method of studying the set question together with synthesis, abstraction, generalization, explanation, and classification to analyze scientific research on this issue. We applied observations, comparisons, and measures to prepare the practical part of the work. Results. According to the study results, the research team systematized and determined the opinions of domestic and foreign scientists on the structure and specific features of foreign language communicative competence development and the ways of this communicative skills optimization type among students.