Irish Higher Education Research Articles

Higher education retention in Ireland and Scotland: the role of admissions policies

AbstractThis article provides new insights into the role played by higher education (HE) selection policies in influencing student retention by exploring drop-out patterns in Ireland and Scotland. The Irish and Scottish HE systems differ in relation to the emphasis placed on grades and subjects studied at school and to the degree of autonomy enjoyed by HE institutions in the student admissions process. We investigate whether these system differences matter for student retention using administrative data from national student records and logistic regression modelling. The findings show that in Ireland, HE students have higher chances of dropping out than in Scotland and there are inequalities in these chances among students from different social backgrounds. Moreover, the association between subject matching (but also school grades) and the chances of dropping-out is stronger in Ireland than in Scotland. We conclude that the tighter student selection criteria in Scotland improve retention and reduce social inequalities in drop-out rates. Moreover, admission criteria are found to be important not only to explain between-country differences in drop-out rates but also within-country differences among different HE institutions.

A comparative Study of the Fifth Generation University in Iran's Higher Education (case study: Iran and Selected Countries)

Introduction: This study aimed to study the comparison of fifth generation universities in higher education in Iran and selected countries in a qualitative and comparative way. Method: In this research, the Kandel method was used to identify the components of the fifth generation university, and the Boley method was used to analyze the data to extract common and non-common components. The data collection method was web-based and purposive sampling. By checking the keywords in the databases, the articles that were published in both English and Farsi in the field of the components of the fifth generation university until September 21, 2022 were selected and carefully studied and analyzed Results: With thematic analysis of 23 components of the fifth spiral model to¬ as the base model of the fifth generation university.5 Components that were abundant between one and 3 countries were removed and the effective components that were abundant in more than 5 countries remained. After the merger of the component, which was of a single nature, 3 similar components (sensitive to the environment) were. The developer of environmental sustainability and the use of fashion 3 for the production of knowledge and innovation and 15 components between selected countries and Iran were extracted as differential components. Conclusion: Finally, according to the results of this research, in order to reach the fifth generation university, the need to design and present appropriate strategies by managers and decision makers، To reduce the distance of differential universities with the leading universities in this field.

The Hybrid Model of Academic Capitalism in Iranian Higher Education: A Complex Interplay of Neoliberal and State-Controlled Practices

The Hybrid Model of Academic Capitalism in Iranian Higher Education: A Complex Interplay of Neoliberal and State-Controlled Practices

‘Go away and make a big thing of yourself somewhere else’: precarious mobilities and the uses of international capital in Irish academia

AbstractThe article interrogates the ‘mobility imperative’ and its impact on precarious academics. Drawing on 40 biographic interviews with academics with experience of long-term precarity in Irish higher education, and using a Bourdieusian framework, we identify the specific conditions, uses and impacts of international mobility for these workers. This method offers a unique retrospective advantage for an analysis of the utility of international capital for a cohort of workers typically excluded from studies of international mobility. Among the specific obstacles we identify which are faced by precarious academics in the accumulation and conversion of international capital are the lack of or compromised initial social capital; the dubious value of international capital in Irish academia, especially when associated with precarity; and the difficulty for workers to construct acceptable career scripts when both precarity and mobility have led them off-script. We suggest that the ability to accumulate and convert usable forms of international capital while working abroad is in part predetermined by prior struggles in the national field.

Resistance and Power in Irish Higher Education: ORCID and the Monitored University

PurposeCreated in 2012 ORCID now enjoys global status as a Persistent Identifier (PID) in the academic community. The international literature has been generally positive towards this new piece of research infrastructure, particularly based on its obvious potential to aid name disambiguation. However, a small number of commentators have highlighted negative issues with ORCID, as well as the way in which they are increasing mandated by publishers, funders, and even employers. This research sought to critically evaluate perceptions of ORCID in the Technological University (TU)/Institute of Technology (IoT) sector in Ireland. MethodologyThis study adopted a mixed methods approach involving an online survey with academics in Ireland's TU/IoT sector and a survey of senior librarians. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore the qualitative data collected via open-ended questions. FindingsThe results indicate that most lecturers have only minimally engaged with ORCID. Thematic analysis of responses from faculty identified six distinct themes. The majority of themes identified were negative towards ORCID, with many lecturers appearing unsure about its purpose, having only registered for ORCID because of external pressure. Faculty were also concerned that ORCID could facilitate external monitoring, as well as them being resistant to the effort involved in keeping an ORCID profile up to date. ORCID was also seen as a potential source of danger, although some lecturers had started to use their ORCID profile to promote their work. Perceptions amongst librarians were very different, with librarians notably more in favour of ORCID. Three themes were identified: name disambiguation, facilitation of linkages with other IT systems, and future potential. OriginalityThe paper offers a critical analysis of ORCID adoption in Ireland based on perceptions amongst two stakeholder groups, academics and librarians.

A critical evaluation of ‘English for academic purposes (EAP)’ program in Iranian higher education from specialists’ perspective: A grounded theory

The ‘English for academic purposes’ program, or the so-called ‘specialized English’ program, is one of the key educational sub-systems in Iran's higher education, which has experienced a life of about four decades. Reviewing the related research to this program in the higher education system shows that although it has been evaluated from different angles and mainly from the viewpoint of teaching methods and materials, we have rarely seen its critical evaluation from a broader perspective, understanding such necessity and using grounded theory, the opinions of eleven specialists in the field of English for academic purposes (EAP) have been qualitatively examined and analyzed. The findings indicate that this program is faced with serious shortcomings in two main areas of policymaking and implementation, which were classified into seven sub-areas.The results of this research can help higher education policymakers, curriculum designer, instructors and other stakeholders in the process of revising and implementing this program.

Inequalities in undergraduate participation and performance in Irish higher education

AbstractThis paper focuses on two aspects of gender inequality in Irish higher education: inequality in participation by gender and inequality of performance by gender, institution and subject. We use a rich set of data from the Higher Education Authority of Ireland which detail inter alia enrolment in institutions of higher education—Universities and Institutes of Technology—and record the class of degree received by graduating students, by subject and gender. The first aspect was the participation of women. Although more women enrolled as full‐time undergraduates in universities than did men, the reverse was the case in the Institutes of Technology. This had much to do with the subject structure of universities vis‐à‐vis the Institutes of Technology in tandem with the subject preferences of women and men. The second issue was inequality in performance. A major conclusion of this paper is that after enrolment there was little difference between the success rates of women and men in receiving first‐class degrees in the different subjects but there was considerable difference between the institutions.

Prevalence, risk, and protective factors of health among Irish university students

Abstract Background Young adulthood (18-25 y) is associated with increased engagement with risky health behaviours, with those in transitionary phases most vulnerable. The transition to higher education (HE) make such settings important in health promotion. However, global evidence suggests that the health-related behaviours of HE students are both sub-optimal, and worsening. Our objectives, therefore, are to determine prevalence and risk of various health behaviours, and to identify protective factors in Irish HE students. Methods Using an anonymous, repeated measures (annually 2019-2022) cross-sectional student survey of health behaviours (physical activity, mental health and wellbeing, healthy eating, healthy environment, addictive behaviours, and sexual health), data on 4924 participants (2019:N=1302, 2020:N=1128, 2021:N=967, 2022:N=1527), 58.5% identifying as female (2877), aged [mean(SD)] 21.8 (6.3) years are eligible. Most respondents (60.4%, N = 2539) are undergraduates in first year. Results Preliminary prevalence data show vaping has risen from 10.8% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2022. Those reporting poor mental health (MHI-5) has also increased from 17.4% in 2019 to 21.5% in 2022. Similarly, happiness declined from 2019 to 2022 (2019, 6.5, (1.92) | 2022, 6.09 (2.00). Further work will aim to calculate prevalence of health indicators (weighted means and 95% CIs) each year; dichotomise variables where necessary and perform logistic regression to determine if health behaviours (i.e., substance use, physical activity etc.) are associated with illness indicators (i.e., GAD, general mental health, BMI, happiness etc.), controlling for gender, economic status, course of study, marital status, sexual orientation, age and underlying health conditions. Conclusions While the results so far are concerning, they align with existent literature. Outcomes may be of interest to HE health services and policy makers in determining how to optimise the student health. Key messages • The health of students in HE settings is at risk. • Emphasis should be placed on factors that enhance the health of students.

Developments in Iranian higher education and their implications for doctoral education

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of major developments in Iran’s higher education system and their implications for doctoral education. In all, four major developments __ massification, privatisation, internationalisation, and the coronavirus pandemic __ are investigated, and their impact is analysed. The results indicated that, despite continuing turbulence, doctoral education in Iran has continued much as before because the system has limited flexibility in facing new national and international requirements. In view of the latter, it is argued that there is a need for policymakers to consider revising the nature and goals of doctoral education.

The challenges and strategies in Iranian higher education: the post-COVID age

The challenges and strategies in Iranian higher education: the post-COVID age

‘Everyone should have a wife’ – extreme work, eldercare, and the gendered academy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

This research explores the micro-level experiences of women with eldercare responsibilities in academia. We present academia as a site of extreme work and a gendered space. The ‘ideal academic’ is predicated on neoliberal logic, where long hours, uninterrupted career paths, and being care-less in terms of responsibilities are rewarded. Our study is set within the Irish Higher Education (HEI) sector where we undertook in-depth interviews with female academics who have eldercare responsibilities. Our findings reveal eldercare as an ‘invisible’ form of care, while research, arguably a substantive performance metric in academia was also experienced as an invisible pursuit taking place outside normal working hours. The interplay between these two invisible forces had disastrous consequences for women during the pandemic, as they attempted to respond to the intensification of elder care needs while extreme work in academia became normalised and research metrics continued to be a key measure of excellence, regardless of context. Our findings highlight the need to reshape the identity of the ‘ideal academic’ and dismantle the link between intense work patterns and success. Equally, the recalibration of HR policies, and performance metrics, to support staff with care responsibility emerged as vital in ensuring a sustainable academic workforce.

Insights into Student Perceptions: Investigating Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tool Usability in Irish Higher Education at the University of Limerick

This research study scrutinizes the perception of Artificial Intelligence (AI) utilities, particularly focusing on the student cohort at the University of Limerick, Republic of Ireland. The research aims to compile an exhaustive assortment of both affirmative and critical perspectives to construct a holistic comprehension of the students' viewpoints. Utilizing a quantitative research design that entails the distribution of survey questionnaires to a sample size of 120 students spanning multiple departments and faculties, of which 93 students responded. The survey questionnaire consists of 9 questions meticulously structured to procure insights into the students' opinions with AI utilities like Chat GPT. The findings are highlighting the strengths and shortcomings of AI tools in education and critical thinking, suggesting potential areas of enhancement. It is illuminating the interplay of hope and fear among the students in relation to the use of AI tools in their educational journey and critical thinking with learning.

Ethics and Privacy in Irish Higher Education: A Comprehensive Study of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools Implementation at University of Limerick

This research paper presents an insightful investigation into the perceptions and ethical considerations of students regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in academia, particularly focusing on the University of Limerick in Ireland. Herein, AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT have emerged as valuable assets in promoting interactive learning and enhancing student engagement. Thus, this research aimed to explore the privacy and ethical considerations students have regarding the use of AI tools in education. Using a quantitative methodological approach, the study solicited the attitudes, opinions, and patterns of students towards AI utilities. The study revealed intriguing perspectives on data privacy concerns associated with AI tools. Students from technology and science-focused schools displayed a higher degree of concern, suggesting their deeper understanding of potential privacy implications. Conversely, students from arts, humanities, and social sciences, and law politics & public administration displayed slightly lower levels of concern.

Invisible and uncertain: postdoctoral researcher careers in Irish universities

ABSTRACT In an Irish Higher Education (HE) context the careers of postdoctoral researchers (PDRs) have received little research attention. Within the international HE policy context they are positioned as important contributors to Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs) mission to be engines of the ‘knowledge economy’. Yet, despite their importance to HEIs, PDRs experience uncertain career paths and challenging workplace conditions. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the working lives of PDRs in Irish HEIs. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 postdoctoral researchers. Interviews explored their pathways to employment, work practices, relationships and conditions in the workplace and the challenges and opportunities experienced. Complex and conflicting ideologies surround the role of PDRs in Irish HEIs. Though largely positive about their work practices, their lives are framed by fluid contractual relations that impact personal and family life and their career advancement. This study adds to the limited research on the working lives of postdoctoral researchers in Irish HEIs and contributes to the wider debate on best practice in postdoctoral employment. Suggestions are offered for how career development within HEIs might be enhanced for those who pursue a career as a researcher in academia.

The future of international marketing of higher education in Iran: A case study of the experience of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

The future of international marketing of higher education in Iran: A case study of the experience of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Electronic Flipped Classrooms as a Solution to Educational Problems Caused by COVID 19: A Case Study of Research Course in Iran Higher Education

A review of the related literature shows that flipped learning has greatly affected the students’ academic progress. However, despite a large number of studies on different forms of electronic learning, electronic flipped classrooms and traditional electronic(virtual) learning have not been compared to date. This study was an attempt to investigate the impact of traditional electronic, text flipped, and video flipped learning on improving the graduate students' theory and practical knowledge of research methodology. To meet the goal, the researchers employed a quasi-experimental research method, which is quantitative. The researcher selected three intact classes consisting of 48 postgraduate students majoring in social sciences and communication sciences and exposed each class to one form of electronic learning. The findings showed that flipped classrooms were more effective than traditional electronic learning, and text flipped learning was more effective than video flipped classes. The findings can be used by universities as well as university teachers to use electronic flipped classes as an alternative form of electronic learning It can be concluded that the universities need to encourage flipped classrooms in graduate and postgraduate courses as far as the universities can offer face-to-face classes.

Conceptualization of green curriculum in Iran's higher education system

Today, the world is facing various environmental hazards as a result of non-standard human activities, and different societies are forced to find solutions to manage and solve them. Universities are one of the significant social institutions in every society, which generally take on special duties when a crisis occurs. Regarding the management of environmental risks, one of the tasks assigned to universities is to implement the idea of a green university, which has often been implemented in different parts of the world in the form of greening the physical environment of the university. While green education in general and green curriculum in particular can increase the effectiveness of universities' activities in this field. Hence, this qualitative research aimed to conceptualize the green curriculum in Iran's higher education system. The population was the curriculum experts who have been active in the field of sustainability and environmental management. Moreover, a collection of authentic scientific papers related to the research objectives were also used in order to further enrich and complete the data. Data analysis was done through semantic content analysis. The results led to extraction of 47 codes related to the concept of the green curriculum. Accordingly, the concept of green curriculum can be categorized in three dimensions: concepts aimed at the society, concepts aimed at the learning ecosystem, and concepts aimed at the classroom and learners.

The Futures of the Faculty Promotion Regulations in Iran: a scenario approach

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of drivers, macro trends and uncertainties related to them in the course of developing the future regulations for the promotion of university faculty members, and drawing alternative scenarios about the promotion regulations in the horizon of 2035. For this purpose, relying on qualitative methodology and using cross-effect analysis matrix tools and MicMac software, the main drivers of change in this field were identified and analyzed. Then, by using the Senario Wizard software and expert panel, the main uncertainties were determined and possible scenarios for the future of the regulations for the promotion of faculty members in the horizon of 2035 were explained and narrated. According to this, while analyzing the structural relationships of impact and effectiveness among key components, five dominant forces of discourse of higher education in Iran including society's expectation (industry, market and government) from higher education, economy of higher education, competitiveness and internationalization of higher education and emerging challenges and development of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary sciences were considered as drivers of change. Finally, the three scenarios of "Wisdom and Knowledge Think Tank", "Science and Technology University" and "Logic and Value School" as alternative futures for the promotion system of academic faculty members were explained and the conditions of the regulations in each of the mentioned scenarios were described and compared with each other.

A Study on the Experiences of Higher Education Good Governance in European and North America Countries; Some Lessons Gained for Higher Education in Iran

Higher education, in order to achieve its strategic goals in society, requires governance understanding in a sustainable trend so that it can correctly define and outline its mission and step towards it firmly. Research knowledge and experiences of the advanced countries in this field may certainly contain some considerable and –sometimes - valuable lessons gained in policies for higher education systems in other countries, especially for Iranian higher education system suffering from some ineffective traditional procedures and avoiding up-to-date governance methods. In this article, by applying the research method of document analysis and using the purposeful sampling method, the identification and qualitative analysis of good governance experiences in higher education of three selected countries - including Germany, England and Canada - has been addressed in the four measures of quality affairs, academic independence and financial management. Data gatherings were done by searching contents of universities’ websites, published articles, essays, reports, governmental and academic manuscripts. Data was qualitatively analyzed at two levels of open and axial coding. From the study and analysis of the experiences of good governance in higher education of selected countries, in the dimension of quality measures, including evaluation and quality assurance in the context of agreed frameworks, multiple use of the evaluation system, validation and quality assurance, transparency and accountability, and improvement were identified as the logic of evaluation and quality assurance of higher education. Systematic synergetic management and planning, and network management based on scientific reference were experiences that were represented in the dimension of university management and planning. Morover, in the financial planning measures, experiences such as contingency budgeting based on scientific indicators, and diversity of support in providing financial resources were identified. In the end, the article, by enumerating the findings obtained from its research in the experiences of the governance of the selected countries, has recommended to all the policy makers and officials of the country's higher education to study and review them as lessons that can be learned for awareness and to create a well-considered platform in order to use them effectively, in the framework of appropriate and updated action plans in the field of governance of higher education.

A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between Students' Final Grade and their Evaluation of Professors' Teaching in the Next Semesters

Student evaluation of professors is one of the common tools of universities to improve the quality of teaching in classrooms. Since in Iran's higher education system, student evaluations are used for annual promotion, contract extension or change of status, and the promotion of professors' scientific rank, the correct analysis and interpretation of the results of these evaluations is of foremost importance. This longitudinal research, which is a panel study, has analyzed the relationship between students' grades and their teacher's evaluation in the following semesters. The statistical population of the research was made up of more than 200,000 pairs of "Student's Final Grade-Teacher's Evaluation Grade" which were obtained from students in the conditions of face-to-face education before the pandemic. After conditioning and sifting the data, the final analysis has been done on the grades-evaluations of 3098 students during four semesters as a research sample. The regression analysis of the random effects model showed that with a one-unit increase in the final grade of the student, his/her evaluation grade of the teacher's teaching in the next semesters increases by about five percent. Additional analyzes showed that the grade can create a special mental attitude in the student, which can affect the student's evaluation of the professor even three semesters later. It seems that university administrators, educational councils, and university admissions boards should revise the guidelines for calculating and interpreting data from student evaluations, taking into account the various consequences of grade inflation at the university level.