Structure Of Higher Education Research Articles

A communication and instruction approach to embodied cultural and social capital at a public, 4-year university

ABSTRACTIn this study, we explore how students identify and navigate the social structure of higher education and how, in doing so, they communicatively (re)produce socializing norms. To this end, we draw upon the work of the late educational sociologist Pierre Bourdieu to outline a critical communication pedagogical understanding of institutional socialization at a public, 4-year university. We conducted focus groups with 36 college students to understand their perceptions of (in)appropriate communicative behaviors, norms, and attitudes in higher education. We then discuss the importance of their perceptions of social and cultural capital, connect their ascriptions to the (re)production of existing social relationships, and advocate for a renewed focus on seemingly innocuous communication and instruction concepts and variables in light of our findings. Finally, we offer ways for instructors to intervene into the socialization process by making the culture of power visible to all educational participants.

State Power, Symbolic Capital, and the Hierarchy and Homogeneity of Higher Education in China: In the Example of Three Key Universities Policies After the Founding of New China

The structure of higher education in China is characterized by a high degree of hierarchy as well as strong homogeneity, differing from not only American higher education, which features a high degree of both hierarchy and heterogeneity, but also higher education in continental Europe, which exhibits a low degree of hierarchy. Previous studies have provided analysis of the structural characteristics of higher education in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, as well as their differences, but have been unable to explain the situation in China. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, this article proposes an explanatory model for the field of higher education as shaped by state power. The state created various forms of symbolic capital linked to economic capital in the field of higher education, and monopolized the quantity in which and means by which these are bestowed, thus causing differentiation in the total amount and composition of symbolic capital and economic capital between different schools, and forming a steeply stratified structure. The bestowal of symbolic capital was not restricted to a particular group of institutions of higher education: instead, the scope of this bestowal was gradually expanded, such that the vast majority of institutions of higher education regard the acquisition of symbolic capital and its attendant economic capital as the objective in their endeavors, resulting in the development of strong homogeneity between institutions. The article applies field theory to three key universities policies after the founding of New China, to describe and analyze the influence of symbolic capital on the field structure of higher education in China.

Creative convergent culture: Practice to profession

Two aims stem from the neopragmatist perspective employed in this research. The first is identifying and defining a creative convergent culture embedded in contemporary professions blossoming from visual communication technological improvements. The second is the challenges faced by creative educators trying to keep pace with this culture populated by technologically, organically educated students and incorporating both into their curricular and higher education structures. By collecting and interpreting data gleaned from creative professional interviews and a nationally (United States) distributed, post-secondary, creative educator survey, I was able to unravel the ideologies in disparate but intimately related academic fields, such as graphic design and mass communication. I found that the meta-disciplinary space of media arts (MA) encompasses student learning to navigate and produce informed aesthetics. Consequently, graduates who enter the creative professions are most successful if they are able to research problems, competently write and ethically design.

Remote education vs traditional education based on effectiveness at the micro level and its connection to the level of development of macro-economic systems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify the developed hypothesis on the basis of comparison of remote education and traditional education in terms of its effectiveness at the micro-level, as well as to determine the presence, degree and nature of correlation between the share of remote education and level of development of economic systems of separate states (macro-level). Design/methodology/approach The methodologies of this paper are based on the system approach and include methods of research investigation such as problem, logical, comparative analysis, synthesis and formalization, as well as a purposely designed author’s method of assessment of the effectiveness of remote education and traditional education. In addition to the specified methods, this methodology also includes the methods of correlation and regression analysis which are used by the authors to determine the presence and degree of correlation between the share of remote education and the state of macro-level economic systems. The authors have analyzed the correlation between the share of remote education in the higher education structure according to the summarized data of the ICEF Monitor and the existing studies and publications on this topic (y) with indicators of macro-level economic systems such as GDP, billions of dollars (x1); GDP per capita (x2); Education Index according to the United Nations Development Program (x3); Knowledge Economy Index according to The World Bank Group (x4); and the index of innovative development of socioeconomic systems according to INSEAD, WIPO and Cornell University (x5). The econometric analysis of the mentioned factors was performed after that. Findings The authors have come to conclusion that remote education is indeed much more effective at the micro-level, since it allows the students to receive similar educational services with greater convenience, a wider choice of higher educational institutions and at a lower cost compared to traditional education. At the same time, no negative influence of remote education on the macro-level economic system has been revealed; on the contrary, a positive, albeit slight, influence similar to traditional education has been found. For this reason, promotion of the formation and development of remote education is recommended instead of limitation, since it allows modernizing the educational system for the benefit of both supply and demand. Originality/value The research contributes to the development of the concept of socioeconomic development of economic systems through clarification of influence of remote education on it.

20 years of Bologna - a story of success, a story of failure

The Bologna Process is a unique harmonisation process taking place outside the policy-making framework of the European Union. It aims at enhancing the comparability and compatibility of higher education structures and degrees across Europe, as well as to institutionalise quality assurance mechanisms. The aim of this article is to provide a condensed, up-to-date overview of the Bologna Process with regard to structural characteristics, before embedding it into a discussion on processes on voluntary policy convergence and to which extent we should be able to find this kind of policy harmonisation in the realm of the Bologna Process. Related to this are questions why this, in principle, completely voluntary process of policy harmonisation, has appealed to so many countries and why they might or might not feel committed to the implementation of its policies and tools.

Impacts of college-level courses via Asynchronous Learning Networks: Some Preliminary Results

New Jersey Institute of Technology has been delivering college courses via an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) system called the Virtual ClassroomTM for a decade, using various media mixes. Currently, two complete undergraduate degree programs are available via a mix of video plus Virtual Classroom, the B.A. in Information Systems and the B.S. in Computer Science. This paper presents preliminary findings about impacts on students, and touches on some issues and potential impacts for faculty, individual universities, and the structure of higher education. Overall ratings of courses by students who complete ALN based courses are equal or superior to those for traditional courses. Dropout or Incomplete outcomes are somewhat more prevalent, while grade distributions for those who complete tend to be similar to those for traditional courses. For both students and faculty, more startup time devoted to solving the "logistics" of ALN delivery seems to be required at the beginning of courses. ALN delivery is not just a "different" way of doing the same thing, however; it is likely to change the nature and structure of higher education.

Singapore and Korea Towards Creative Economy in 21st Century: Comparative Analysis of Higher Education in Singapore and South Korea

This paper analyzes the most recent policies and trends in South Korean and Singaporean higher education. The main objective of this comparative analysis is to show similarities between South Korean and Singaporean strategies for their higher education structures, despite striking differences between the emergence levels of the two higher education systems. The comparison is designed to identify their most recent past, current efforts to progress in decentralization of tertiary education towards creative economy; to develop policies in order to increase competitiveness of domestic “world-class” universities; to attract a high number of international students, particularly full-tuition paying students; to attract and retain foreign talents. Certain programs, such as the provision of bonded scholarship for international students in Singapore and WCU in Korea, may appear controversial. Accordingly, the fine-tuning of referring policies and drivers is of vital importance.

Architecture of an Education and Research Network: Case of TogoRER

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have integrated all fields of activity today with a real effect on research and education. Thus, this has led the education and research community to build a global network of standards to take full advantage of the related benefits. Indeed, to propose an architecture of a solid education and research network especially for our country is to give a preliminary basis that would help in an efficient realization when our governments decide to support the creation of a national research and education network to stimulate the research. It is in this perspective that the education and research networks (RERs) have emerged. Through a study on the level of Internet coverage of the different public and private structures of higher education and research, based on national data collections and revealing a lack of adequate bandwidth, our investigations allowed to define a network architecture that can be implemented for the needs of education and research in Togo. This allows researchers, teachers and students to share information online, quickly and reliably. Its users are thus able to cooperate more effectively and have easier access to the best available resources. For this study, which concerns the case of Togo, the objective of this paper is to define and implement a better architecture of Togo's education and research network (TogoRER), which will be interconnected to the education and research network of West and Central Africa (WACREN) according to the national technical realities while drawing on the experience of certain countries, hence the problematic of this theme.

Bologna Process: At the Threshold of the Third Decade

The paper reviews a present state of the Bologna reforms in terms of their analysis made at the Paris Conference of European Ministers responsible for higher education. The paper is based on numerous materials presented to the Conference by major organizations and associations engaged in conceptual, methodological and regulatory support of the Bologna reforms (EUA, EURASHE, ENQA, ESU, etc.). Among the main challenges of this Bologna transformation stage are implementing studentcentered approach to education as well as focusing on learning outcomes in terms of the competencebased model. The article notes unevenness of the ongoing reforms, disregard of their implementation cohesiveness and a growing negative impact of the current financial and economic problems. The author dwells on difficulties in acquiring a new pedagogical paradigm which asserts a shift “from teaching to learning” in higher education didactics. There are also difficulties in implementing key Bologna commitments including adoption of a three-cycle structure of higher education, academic and professional recognition of qualifications, internal and external quality assurance. The paper highlights the need for a complex systematic work related to the development of strategies for the digitalization of education. The paper brings the experience of European universities concerning ethical practices, the fight against corruption in academic environment and educational management, eradication of incorrect citation and plagiarism in scientific researches, including usurpation of authorship. The paper concludes with outlining main development directions of the Bologna reforms for their third decade.

КАМ’ЯНЕЦЬ-ПОДІЛЬСЬКИЙ ІНСТИТУТ НАРОДНОЇ ОСВІТИ (1921 – 1930): УТВОРЕННЯ, ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ТА РЕОРГАНІЗАЦІЯ

The main thesis of the article is the formation, activity and reorganization of the Kamyanets-Podilsky Institute of Public Education as one of the Soviet scientific and educational centers of the 1920s The attention was paid to the purpose, tasks and work of the faculties of vocational education and social education, their contribution to the training of teaching staff for the region and republic. The publication’s purpose . On the basis of archival and published sources and works of domestic historians, highlight the main processes associated with the existence of Kamyanets-Podіlskіy IPE. Methodology. When writing our work, we used the following principles of historical research: historicism, objectivity, alternativeity, and systemicity. Various methods of conducting the research were also used, namely: historical-comparative, synthesis, biographical, retrospective, chronological, terminological and complex analytical. Scientific novelty. The main thesis of the article is the first comprehensive research on the founding and operation of the Kamyanets-Podіlskіy IPE, representing a new system of training pedagogical staff for a comprehensive school. Conclusions. Тhesis general structure of higher education, organization of educational process, research and public work of IPE is shown

The Viewpoints of Student-teachers of Farhangian University on Educational Ethics in the Academic Environments

Background and Aim: In the structure of higher education, adherence to ethical standards by teachers, adornment with ethical virtues and the transfer of moral values to the students have been of great importance. This research was conducted to explain the viewpoints of student-teachers of Farhangian University of Golestan province about educational ethics in the learning environments in the academic year of 2017-2018. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, individual interviews were conducted with 20 students-teachers studying at Farhangian University of Golestan Province, who were selected by purposeful sampling. The semi-structured interviews were used to obtain the data. For data analysis, the inductive content analysis method was used. The students' verbal consent was obtained for participation in the study. Findings: 220 primary codes were extracted from the interviews and after reviewing and summarizing them, four main concepts were obtained: observance of the class dignity by the teacher in the educational environment, observance of the teacher's dignity in the classroom, observance of the moral norms and standards of and Preserving the dignity of the classroom by students. Conclusion: Morality in the higher education determines the professional responsibilities of both teachers and students in the educational environments, and is one of the effective aspects in proving moral norms in their actions and character. Considering the perspective of the teachers as role models, fostering moral virtues is recommended in addition to observing moral norms. Please cite this article as: Badeleh AR, Saki R. The Viewpoints of Student-teachers of Farhangian University on Educational Ethics in the Academic Environments. Bioethics Journal 2018; 8(27): 7-18.

Theories in the Flesh and Flights of the Imagination: Embracing the Soul and Spirit of Critical Performative Writing in Communication Research

This critical essay describes and demonstrates the uses and unique contributions of performative writing as a form of inquiry into the materialities and mobilities of sociocultural communicative phenomena. Embracing an Anzaldúan approach, the author utilizes Mesoamerican Aztec and Chicanx history, iconography, and mythos to argue for an ontological reimaging of where research should begin and end. As a methodological intervention, this article challenges traditional impulses regarding where knowledge generation occurs, which knowledges are valid, and who counts as a valuable knowledge producer. By shifting genres, breaking grammatical rules, and creatively constructing poetics and rhythm (flor y canto), this “flight of the imagination” focuses on what Chicana, Latina, and indigenous scholars have termed “fleshing the spirit” or “spiriting the flesh.” By embracing the soul work and spirituality of writing, this piece offers an art-based approach to methodological inquiry that functions as a sharp critique of the White capitalist cisheteropatriarchal structure of higher education that maintains status quo understandings of knowledge. When rerouting our methodological impulses toward a critical and decolonial telos and embracing the soul and spirit of performative writing, I argue that our first move must be to make an ontological shift in how we see the world and our place in it—we must begin and end with “theories in the flesh.”

‘I am exhausted:’ everyday occurrences of being Native American

In this study, I used small stories narrative and Indigenous methodology to understand the everyday occurrences of Native American students and to highlight the complex relationship between their identity, their sense of belonging in graduate school, and their view of education. The experiences of the participants were marked by two things: the experience of ongoing colonization and the experience of defending Native identity. By focusing on the small narrative stories of their everyday experiences, my research illustrates how ongoing colonialization creates situations where students need to defend their identities. Not only is small stories research one way to avoid some of the more essentialist problems of grand narratives, it provides one possible way to move forward and to demonstrate and deconstruct the problematic power structures in higher education that prevent Native American students from accessing equity.

Harmonizing Higher Education at the Regional Level: The Case of ASEAN and the Philippines

Education is in the heart of Southeast Asia’s quest for equitable human development throughout the region. This has never been more pronounced than when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) formed the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) in 2003, ushering in a number of regional directives and initiatives to harmonize higher education among ASEAN member states. Yet, the process has not been easy due to fundamental differences in higher education structure, quality, and processes among member countries. In light of this, the study traced the institutional arrangements and policy responses that have taken place at both regional and national levels in pursuit of integrating higher education in the region. First, it reviewed the key mechanisms that ASEAN has established to foster harmonization. It then discussed the experience of the Philippines in relation to the three components of harmonization, namely, qualifications framework, quality assurance, and credit transfer. It showed that while the government has shown sufficient response to its regional obligations through legislation and administrative issuances, it needs to do much more to show its commitment and ensure involvement of all higher education institutions in the integration process.

Finnish adult students’ perspectives on short-cycle study programmes: motives and evaluations

ABSTRACT We investigated how students in Finland perceive short-cycle higher education programmes. In line with the European trend, Finland has piloted short-cycle study programmes in order to attract adult students into higher education. We found that the students were mainly satisfied with their studies, and that their orientations to studies and learning were extrinsic in nature. The strengths of the programme were perceived as related to the flexibility of the studies, the variety of teaching methods, and the extensive contents of the studies. The main challenges were associated with difficulties in using information and communications technology (ICT) within the studies, and issues with time management. The study sheds light on how more open higher education structures and study processes can promote participation in higher education among adult students.

Higher education after neoliberalism: Student activism as a guiding light

Contemporary college student activism has been particularly visible and effective in the past few years at US institutions of higher education and is projected only to grow in future years. Almost all of these protests and demands, while explicitly linked to social and racial justice, are sites of resistance to the neoliberalization of the academy. These activists are imagining a post-neoliberal society, and are building their demands around these potential new social imaginaries. Based on a discourse analysis of contemporary college student activist demands, to examine more closely the ways that student activists understand, resist, critique, and offer new alternatives to current (neoliberal) structures in higher education, it is suggested that student activists might be one key to understanding what’s next for higher education in a post-neoliberal context. The activists’ critiques of the structure of higher education reveal a sophisticated understanding of the current socio-political, cultural, and economic realities. Their demands show an optimistic, creative imagination that could serve educators well as we grapple with our first steps down a new road. Using their critiques and demands as a jumping-off point, this paper offers the blueprint for a new social imaginary in higher education, one that is focused on community and justice.

The implied PhD student of interdisciplinary research projects within monodisciplinary structures

ABSTRACTWhile the literature concerning doctoral students has looked at institutional setup and socialisation of students within higher education structures and across disciplinary boundaries, so far, little attention has been given to the socialisation of PhD students in the intersections between strategic interdisciplinary research projects and monodisciplinary institutional structures, which is the aim of this article. The study is based on interviews with 32 PhD students and principal investigators affiliated with five research projects in the Excellence Programme for Interdisciplinary Research at University of Copenhagen, Denmark. In analysing this empirical material, the analytical concept of the ‘implied student’ has worked as a sensitising concept, highlighting the expectations of PhD students, principal investigators, the institutions, the educational system, and the encounter between them. In the interviews, the PhD students emphasise the conundrum of having to fit into a confined disciplinary role, while simultaneously being expected to cross boundaries and deliver on predefined goals in the interdisciplinary research projects. The findings show that students cope with these expectations by limiting the scope for improvisation and experimentation; in other words, suppressing what MacLure points towards as education’s ‘other’. This calls for greater attention to be paid to the accumulation of expectations heaped upon such PhD students and how this affects the education of the future generation of researchers.

The Bologna Process Could Be at Stake: Some Thoughts from Spain

The arrival of the Bolognia Process, that is, the last European bold adventure in order to build both a common and strong European Higher Education Area had to mean a new chance to reset our higher education structure. Bolognia meant a new opportunity to set up a wide array of reforms with the focus in raising the quality assurance. Bolognia process was supposed to be surgery rather than just make-up. In the case of Spain the approval and development of the Bolognia Process has been little impact in the much needed turn-around of the higher education arena.

Resistance and dissonance in higher education: On doing things differently

The historical inequalities and imbalances, so deeply embedded in the institutional structures and discourse of higher education, continue to haunt university spaces as these institutions continue to veer along the precipice of transformation. While statues have been removed, buildings renamed, and fees adjusted, higher education in South Africa remains a largely disparate and alienating topography – no more so because of the gaping wounds left by iterative student protestations. Seemingly, the more leadership structures in higher education stonewalled student protestations, the more student resistance intensified – not only in scope, but in violence. In this sense, we are reminded of Foucault’s (1997) dyadic depiction of power and resistance – that is, that power necessarily provokes resistance, since without resistance, there can be no power. In this article, we reflect, on the necessity of resistance not only in relation to power, but as a practice that ought to be ubiquitous to higher education. And secondly, we argue that if higher education is to fulfil its ideological mandate of doing things differently for the sake of epistemological and public good, then it necessarily has to be underscored by dissonance.

The main tendencies of higher education in Ukraine in the context of the current challenges of European integration

Objective: This article is aimed at revealing the main tendencies in the field of higher education in Ukraine. The object of analysis is the changes in the structure of the system of higher education. Research Design & Methods: The article uses an institutional approach, which allowed to study the influence of non-economic factors on the structure of higher education and student migration. Findings: The research finding suggest that the main trends in the system of the higher education in Ukraine are: the domination of the share of state-owned educational institutions in the structure of educational institutions; reduction of the share of expenditures for higher education in the amount of total expenditures; the domination the share of social science, business and right in the structure of higher education; the general tendency to reduce the number of students studying in Ukraine also took place among foreign students. Implications & Recommendations: The system of higher education in Ukraine should be: a dynamic, flexible, adaptive, efficient system capable of adapting and converging in the context of European integration. It needs: updating of the legislative, adequate time requirements, creation and provision of opportunities for implementation of various educational models, educational institutions of different types and forms of ownership; introduction of mechanisms of institutional development in the activities of universities; intensification of international etc. Contribution & Value Added: The proposals developed may be useful for improving educational policy, forming a strategy, making managerial decisions in HEIs.