Retraction notice to “Interactive Teaching using Human-Machine Interaction for Higher Education Systems” [Computers and Electrical Engineering 100 (2022) 107811

Institutional pathways to TCM psychological acceptance abroad: A fuzzy Delphi evaluation of four Chinese colleges.

The impact of sociocultural background and parental education on academic performance and time management in mathematics and introductory courses.

ABSTRACT South Africa’s higher education system faces a deepening access crisis, as evidenced in the 2025 admission cycle when thousands of eligible students were excluded due to limited institutional capacity. With only 26 public universities serving a rapidly growing youth population, the mismatch between demand and available spaces has become a structural challenge with profound social and economic implications. This article interrogates South Africa’s higher education access crisis through the conceptual lens of the developmental state. It argues that while the state positions higher education as a key driver of development, the limited expansion of institutional capacity exposes tensions between equity objectives and the state’s developmental ambitions. Drawing on policy analysis, demographic data, and critical debates in higher education, the article situates South Africa’s experience within wider Global South struggles over access, capacity, and equity. The paper makes two contributions: first, it conceptualises higher education access not only as a matter of individual opportunity but as a question of state capacity, policy coherence and democratic legitimacy and second, highlights the policy implications of expansion and innovation debates for the future of higher education within South Africa’s developmental ambitions beyond 2030.

The development of critical reading and critical thinking skills is essential in teacher education, particularly for pre-service elementary school teachers who are expected to evaluate information critically and guide students in higher-order literacy practices. The increasing use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) in higher education provides opportunities to support students’ engagement with academic texts. However, limited research has examined how LMS engagement relates to students’ intention to participate in critical reading activities within teacher education contexts. The present study examines the relationship between LMS engagement and pre-service (PPG) students’ intention to engage in critical reading, as measured by the Critical Reading Intention Scale (CRIS), based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A quantitative survey design was employed involving 109 pre-service teacher students from three universities in Indonesia. Data were collected via an online questionnaire that measured LMS usability and critical reading intention. The data were analyzed using non-parametric statistical analysis. The results indicate a statistically significant relationship between LMS engagement and students’ critical reading intention (p < 0.05). These findings elucidate that LMS-supported learning environments may be associated with students’ attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived control regarding critical reading activities. The study highlights the potential role of LMS-based instructional design in supporting critical reading engagement in pre-service teacher education.

Previous post-entry language assessments (PELAs) research in higher education shows that academic language proficiency contributes to academic achievement. PELAs are particularly valuable for higher education systems with minimal or no admission requirements for identifying and supporting at-risk students. However, the availability of PELAs for languages beyond English, such as Dutch, is limited. Moreover, existing Dutch PELAs and their construct validity evidence are not publicly accessible, and predictive validity analyses typically do not reach the program-specific level. Therefore, the present study introduced the Ghent University Language Screening (GULS), an easy-to-administer, free, and publicly accessible Dutch PELA. More specifically, GULS evaluates first-year students' reading comprehension in higher education. First, we confirmed the construct validity of GULS at the model and item levels and its reliability using data from the two 3-year periods 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 (N1 = 12,527) and 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 (N2 = 17,204). Second, we examined GULS's predictive validity for academic achievement (i.e., Grade Point Average and study success) on data over the same two periods across 16 bachelor study programs (n1 = 8244; n2 = 10,891), followed by predictive validity analyses for each study program across the combined 6-year period. Results demonstrate that GULS is a valid and reliable PELA for assessing Dutch language proficiency, especially for first-year higher education students who require language support to ensure equal educational opportunities. As such, GULS functions as a predictor of first-year academic achievement. We discuss the potential application of GULS in future educational research and practice given its accessibility.

Abstract Recent years have witnessed transformative advancements in generative artificial intelligence, with profound implications for higher education. As universities increasingly integrate AI into teaching, learning, and research, there is an urgent need to craft policies that confront ethical challenges and promote its responsible use. This paper takes a first step towards developing a foundation for policy development by evaluating the current landscape of generative artificial intelligence policies across South African universities. Specifically, it examines how South African universities are beginning to govern the ethical use of generative AI in teaching and learning, by analysing the extent to which institutional guidelines embed core ethical principles. Drawing on four international AI-in-education frameworks, five ethical principles: transparency, accountability and responsibility, privacy, human agency and oversight, and inclusiveness and diversity were synthesised and used as a deductive coding frame for a qualitative document analysis of publicly available generative AI guidelines issued by South African universities, collected during February 2025. Only 46% of universities had institution-wide generative AI guidelines at the time of analysis, and ethical principles were unevenly operationalised. Transparency and student-centred accountability were strongly foregrounded through detailed expectations for disclosure and responsible use, whereas privacy, institutional data governance, staff accountability, and inclusiveness were addressed more briefly and often framed as advisory rather than enforceable obligations. The paper contributes to evolving discourse on higher education practice in the current era. The findings would enable actionable implications, providing a policy guideline for higher education, and the paper provides a national baseline of policy maturity regarding AI in education and a call for harmonised, privacy-by-design guidelines.

Purpose To critically assess how higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) implement entrepreneurship education (EE) amid strong national policy support, and to theorise why available resources are not fully mobilised. We theorise a mechanism of resource activation constraints and extend the resource-based framework by incorporating contextual challenges as a moderating dimension that shapes resource deployment in policy-driven contexts. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple-case study using semi-structured interviews with 32 enterprise educators and 12 senior administrators across five UAE HEIs (April–May 2023), complemented by secondary analysis of UAE entrepreneurship and SME policy documents (January 2022–April 2023). Data were analysed using template analysis. Findings We identify policy–practice variation and theorise resource activation constraints, in which VRIO-consistent resources (e.g. incubators, labs, partnerships and faculty expertise) remain underutilised due to accreditation structures, faculty turnover in a transient labour market, inconsistent depth of industry linkages and a fast-scaling entrepreneurial ecosystem. Public HEIs benefit from state-backed infrastructure, whereas private HEIs face greater complexity in resource coordination. Experiential pedagogy and industry engagement are unevenly enacted. Research limitations/implications Qualitative evidence from five HEIs limits generalisability but provides analytical insights to refine RBV applications in higher education. Practical implications HEIs and policymakers should prioritise faculty development that combines academic and entrepreneurial experience, embed incubators within institutional strategy, strengthen long-term industry linkages and enhance alignment between accreditation frameworks and experiential EE delivery to improve resource activation. Addressing these contextual constraints enables closer alignment between EE provision and national economic priorities. Social implications By informing EE policy and institutional practice, the findings support SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) by strengthening capacity for youth enterprise development in the UAE and the Gulf region. Originality/value The study extends the resource-based framework by incorporating contextual challenges as a moderating dimension that explains how institutional and environmental factors shape the organisation and utilisation of resources, thereby offering a transferable lens for policy-led and institutionally constrained higher education systems, including those in rapidly reforming Gulf and emerging-economy contexts.

Abstract This study examines the link between knowledge-intensive services (KIS) firms and higher education systems (HESs) across 24 EU countries. Using a novel dataset retrieved from Eurostat, ETER, Incites, and PATSTAT, our analysis proposes a new methodological approach in investigating the relationship between local HESs and the presence of KIS firms in EU NUTS-2 regions. We find that university spillovers—human capital, research, and third mission activities—enhance the number of KIS firms in a region, with larger and higher-quality institutions exerting a more significant effect. Furthermore, our findings highlight a positive correlation between the area of specialisation of universities and the industrial specialisation of a region. However, this result varies significantly across different KIS sectors, indicating the diverse nature of knowledge-intensive services. The findings may help policymakers understand the mechanisms attracting KIS firms and foster regional specialisation based on local knowledge.

In recent years, research collaboration has increasingly emerged as a key mechanism shaping knowledge production within higher education systems, particularly under conditions influenced by globalization and digital transformation. Despite this growing attention, the existing literature remains somewhat fragmented, often providing only partial insights into how collaboration networks evolve and how knowledge structures are formed. From this perspective, a more integrated and systematic examination appears necessary. Building on this premise, the present study adopts a bibliometric approach to explore the development of research collaboration in higher education. The analysis is based on 1,883 publications indexed in Scopus over the period 2015–2025. A combination of techniques is employed, including descriptive statistics, co-authorship and co-citation analyses, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic mapping, allowing for a multi-dimensional understanding of collaboration patterns and intellectual structures. The findings indicate a noticeable acceleration in research output, particularly after 2020, alongside a highly interconnected yet uneven global collaboration network dominated by countries such as the United States and China. At the author level, collaboration tends to concentrate within a limited number of core groups, while many scholars remain at the periphery. In addition, the field draws on diverse intellectual streams, and thematic analyses reveal emerging research directions, although several areas remain underexplored. Taken together, these findings provide a more comprehensive mapping of research collaboration in higher education. Beyond offering a structured overview, the study also generates policy-relevant insights for higher education governance, particularly in fostering more inclusive and sustainable collaboration networks.

As the top segment of the higher education system, postgraduate education serves as the core carrier for cultivating high-level professional and innovative talents, undertaking the vital mission of providing high-quality intellectual resources for social development. With the continuous expansion of postgraduate enrollment in China, various contradictions in the training process have gradually emerged, among which the dual predicament of "disordered life and stagnant research" faced by some postgraduates has become a typical issue. In life, they are trapped by academic pressure, time imbalance and social isolation, losing the autonomous rhythm of life and the sense of emotional gain; in research, they are restricted by confusion in topic selection, insufficient motivation and lack of resources, falling into a vicious circle of research internal friction and hindered achievement output. Based on the core concept of "helping people to help themselves" in social work, with ecological system theory and social support theory as the theoretical framework, and combined with the actual situation of postgraduate training in universities, this paper analyzes the specific manifestations and formation mechanism of postgraduates' dual predicament of "life and research" through literature review and semi-structured interviews. It further explores the paths and practical strategies of professional social work intervention from the micro individual, meso campus and macro social levels, aiming to provide practical references for alleviating the development predicament of postgraduates, optimizing the postgraduate training system in universities and improving the quality of postgraduate training, so as to help postgraduates realize the coordinated development of academic research and daily life.

Introduction. The article is devoted to an analysis of scientific papers about the history of Kuibyshev (Samara) State University. The purpose of the study is to examine the level of depth to which the topic has been investigated so far and identify gaps in the research of the history of SamSU. To reveal this topic, the following tasks were formulated: to analyze general research directions; to research scientific studies in regional historiography; to reveal the problems of research on the history of Kuibyshev (Samara) State University. During the investigation of historiographic sources, the following methods of historiographic analysis were used: comparative and chronological. In the historiography of the problem two periods are distinguished: the Soviet and the contemporary. The source base for this research consists of historiographic facts – the researches of Soviet and Russian historians: monographs, scientific papers, tutorials, and reference editions containing valuable information about the history of higher education in USSR and Russia and also about the history of regional universities, including Kuibyshev (Samara) State University. Results. However, the evolution of the higher education system in the regions of the USSR and Russia is still insufficiently studied. In regional historiography, there has been an increase in the number of publications on university studies in the recent period, compared with the Soviet stage. Historians began to research the university’s role in the socio-cultural development of the regions. Conclusion. Currently, there is a need to publish a general study on the history of Kuibyshev (Samara) State University and its role in the development of the socio-cultural dimension of the Samara region.

Abstract Recognising the urgent need to cultivate environmental citizenship to address the climate crisis, this paper investigates the pivotal role of carbon literacy in higher education. The study examines the relationship between students' carbon literacy—their integrated knowledge, skills and attitudes regarding climate change—and their engagement in environmental citizenship behaviours. The research was conducted at a large public university in Egypt, offering insight into climate change education (CCE) in a non‐Western, Global South higher education system. Employing a mixed‐methods sequential explanatory design, the study first quantitatively analysed survey responses from 1114 undergraduate students. This was followed by semi‐structured interviews with 30 students to explore the pedagogical experiences that underpin the quantitative results. The findings revealed a robust positive correlation between carbon literacy and environmental citizenship. A regression model indicated that carbon literacy components collectively accounted for 88.8% of the variance in environmental citizenship in this sample, with students' attitudes emerging as the most significant predictor. Qualitative data illuminated how pedagogical integration of climate topics directly influenced students' skills and concern, while also revealing challenges such as emotional burden. While we acknowledge recent critiques of ‘carbon tunnel vision’ in CCE, our focus on carbon literacy is framed as one important entry point into broader environmental citizenship rather than a comprehensive model of climate education. The study therefore suggests that strategically embedding carbon literacy in core curricula may be a promising policy lever for fostering environmental citizenship in higher education, and it offers context‐sensitive curriculum and policy recommendations for institutions seeking to strengthen their climate responses.

The article addresses the issue of international academic mobility for medical students at Osh State University in the context of global socio-educational transformations. Under conditions of increasing internationalization in higher education, the development of sustainable mechanisms that facilitate students’ integration into international academic and professional environments has become particularly significant for the higher education system of the Kyrgyz Republic. The study aims to identify the role of language training in shaping the international academic mobility of medical students in the Kyrgyz Republic and to substantiate the author’s conceptual model of a step-by-step transition from primary forms of international labor mobility to full-fledged academic and professional mobility, taking into account the socio-economic, legal, psychological, and educational characteristics of the national context. The research is based on a comprehensive approach to the study of primary labor and academic mobility processes among students in the Kyrgyz Republic. The empirical basis includes regulatory and strategic documents in the field of higher education and international cooperation, statistical data from universities on students’ participation in temporary employment programs and academic exchange initiatives, as well as the results of questionnaires and interviews with students who have experience in working abroad and participating in international educational programs. The theoretical framework relies on the works of national and foreign scholars addressing educational migration, the internationalization of higher education, language training, and academic mobility. A total of 381 medical students participated in the study. Sociological survey findings revealed that the majority of students demonstrate elementary levels of language proficiency and are primarily oriented toward participation in short-term labor mobility programs, such as Ferienjobs. The problem of academic mobility among students lies not so much in the absence of institutional mechanisms as in the insufficient alignment between the educational infrastructure and students’ actual starting capabilities.

ABSTRACT Collegiality – encompassing collaborative relationships, participatory governance, and the collective shaping of academic norms and professional identities – has long been a cornerstone of higher education. Yet, the sector’s transformations over the past four decades have challenged traditional collegial structures and practices. This study investigates how French academics interpret and enact collegiality amid these systemic changes, and the sensemaking dynamics they mobilise. The findings outline collegiality’s conceptual ambiguity and intuitive understanding and highlight its dual nature, integrating governance and social dynamics, and the fragmented experience shaped by contextual and systemic cues. They show that HE transformations can be regarded as a catalyst for the erosion of the meaning of collegiality as well as a source of more transparent and enhanced collegial practices. Finally, they reveal how academics engage in diverse sensemaking strategies, such as sensegiving, sensebreaking, sensehiding, sense-exchanging, and sensedemanding, to influence collegiality’s form in response to evolving institutional and environmental pressures. By applying a sensemaking lens to academics’ approach to collegiality, this work clarifies and enriches the concept, highlighting its emotional and cognitive dissonances, its critical voices, and emphasising the need for a renewed form that safeguards higher education’s organisational credibility, social cohesion, and scholarly authority.

The current study aims to examine the public relations (PR) strategies implemented in digital crisis management across the Jordanian universities. This study focuses on the aspect how PR managing authorities respond in order to deal with digitally mediated crises. Although, situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) has been largely utilized in the Western contexts, its applicability to Arab higher education institutions has not been under exploration. To bridge this gap, interviews of semi-structure type were managed with 13 PR managers working in Jordanian universities as managing officials. Institutional materials including social media reports and official press statements also supplemented these conducted interviews. The researchers analyzed the data thematically by using NVivo and systematized four SCCT strategy included clusters, i.e., denial, diminishment, rebuilding, and bolstering. Findings of the present study elaborate that denial strategies were not largely effective in the emerging digital crises; somehow, strategies related to ‘diminishment’ repeatedly shifted responsibility toward external barriers. Whereas rebuilding strategies specifically remedial actions and making sorry to public were more constructive in regaining trust, although their application was at times limited by reputational concerns. The findings also demonstrated that bolstering strategies along with great institutional achievements and offering thanks to stakeholders contributed a lot to supposed organizational integrity. Taken together, this study broadens the SCCT’s applicability to Arab higher education system and provides practical insights for PR practitioners and university management in order to main balance between responsibility, transparency and institutional repute in digitally concerned crisis communication.

The sustainable role of higher education and its governance logic is increasingly prominent in national artificial intelligence (AI) strategies. Based on core AI-related policy documents issued by China, Japan, and South Korea between 2017 and 2025, the corpus-based analysis conducts a systematic comparison, by means of text coding, from strategic positioning, policy architecture, educational philosophy, and a governance model. All three countries have established AI as a critically sustainable component of national development strategy and explicitly defined its functional role in higher education at the strategic level. However, varied distinct differences are found in the policy implementation approaches and governance structures. China adopts a centralized, state-led approach characterized by a high degree of integration among institutional instruments. Japan reinforces liberal education reform in the context of higher education and extends educational responsibilities across society through a lifelong learning framework. Driven by global technological competition, South Korea advances digital transformation of the education system, while building a trustworthy AI governance system. These divergent policy models reveal the sustainable interplay between national AI strategies and higher education. Overall, our findings indicate that the evolution trajectories of AI strategies affect the stability and adaptive capacity of higher education systems in the long term.

Abstract This research examines how invisible, taken-for-granted temporal structures in higher education institutions intersect with socioeconomic status—a typically invisible source of disadvantage—to perpetuate inequality. This study examines the experiences of low-income students from a temporal perspective, based on interviews with 70 low-income students in Israeli universities and colleges. Our study reveals how temporal policies and practices shape and perpetuate class-based inequalities and privileges in higher education. We identify two distinct mechanisms of temporal inequality: teaching/learning policies (including timetable structures, attendance requirements, and submission deadlines) and administrative-corporate policies (such as standardized degree completion times and inflexible tuition schedules). We argue that these policies and practices, constructed around the profile of higher-income students as “traditional” students, are sustained and justified by an ethos of meritocracy and neoliberal-corporate logic. Thus, we show the compounding effects of the intersection of two dimensions of invisible inequalities : the invisibilization of class-based inequalities through the normalization of temporal structures; and the neutralization of temporal inequalities through disregard of the significance of social class in shaping students' experiences. Consequently, in current higher education systems, time for studies is the privilege of higher-income students, while low-income students face a poverty penalty that manifests through lower academic performance, additional financial fees, and emotional costs.

Introduction Students' sense of belonging in higher education is closely linked to academic engagement, persistence, and well-being. However, less is known about how students' reported non-belonging relates to their perceptions of academic performance and employability. Methods This study examines these relationships across four Central and Eastern European countries (Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland), using microdata from 48,832 respondents participating in the EUROSTUDENT 8 survey. Guided by Tinto's integration theory, Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, and human capital theory, we conducted country-specific multiple regression models to identify correlates of students' reported non-belonging and its associations with academic self-perception and labor market expectations. Results Students' orientation toward higher education and financial circumstances consistently predicted reported non-belonging, while perceptions of a positive learning environment were strongly associated with lower reported non-belonging and more favorable academic and employability assessments. Higher reported non-belonging was significantly associated with lower self-perceived academic performance in all countries and with lower perceived employability in most cases. Discussion These findings highlight the importance of institutional climates and pedagogical practices in shaping students' integration and confidence in their academic and professional trajectories. The results underline the need for targeted strategies to reduce students' experiences of non-belonging as a resource for academic success and career readiness in diverse European higher education systems.

ABSTRACT Dual education aims to align students’ professional competencies with labour market needs. In Kazakhstan, its implementation faces challenges such as an unfavourable economic environment, legal framework gaps, and weak financial motivation among stakeholders. This article proposes and evaluates a facilitative approach to adapting the dual education model at the university level. The model emphasises collaborative identification and resolution of organisational challenges in dual education. The research explores methodological opportunities to enhance adaptability and efficiency within developing countries’ education sectors. Findings confirm the effectiveness of the facilitative approach in fostering organisational development and creating more flexible, adaptive, and efficient educational systems suited to national conditions. The results strengthen the theoretical basis for further studies on transferring innovative pedagogical approaches across contexts. The proposed model offers a conceptual contribution to improving the quality of professional training in universities of developing countries.