Higher Technical Education Research Articles

Comparative analysis between a STEM-based learning process and traditional teaching

The use of technology in education has modified teaching and learning processes. New concepts such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are changing traditional learning. The purpose of STEM education is to prepare students for university engineering courses and higher technical education. The main aim of the study reported on here was to understand the influence of a STEM-based teaching process in different socio-educational dimensions. This was done by comparing the results achieved with a traditional expository teaching process with different groups of students. A quasi-experimental design was applied. A sample of 231 Spanish students from the first year of secondary education (ESO) was chosen. The results show that the STEM approach was significant in all the dimensions of study and, according to teachers, was more influential for student motivation and grades. The results also show that the STEM teaching approach was significant in all the dimensions of study. These dimensions are motivation; teacher-student, student-content and student-student interactions; autonomy; collaboration; depth of content; resolution of problems; class time, student ratings; and teacher ratings. According to teachers, the strongest influence was on the students’ motivation and qualifications.

Optimisation of IT teaching materials for students of humanities and social sciences

The demands of the 21st century mean that without digital competence and basic IT skills we cannot thrive in society. This is particularly true for students leaving higher education. Today, it is not only students in engineering and science who need to acquire ICT and IT skills. Although the latest version of the National Curriculum sets the development of digital competences as a task, the previous curriculum did not require students leaving public education to have these competences. For this reason, it is particularly important in higher education in the humanities and social sciences to develop digital competences in addition to IT skills. The paper presents the history of the introduction of IT and computing in higher education, and the process of how these subjects have been replaced in the humanities as well as in technical higher education because of the Bologna process. In addition, it presents the elements of the implementation of an IT course in an LMS system. It presents good practices and tools to increase not only students' knowledge but also their motivation, digital competences and interest in IT content.

New Directions for CTE Research: Opportunities and Priorities

Evidence that high school career and technical education (CTE) can smooth the transition to college and the workforce has grown in the early 21st century. This growth in evidence has occurred alongside a resurgence of interest and recognition in the reality that less than half of new high school graduates ever complete a postsecondary degree or certificate, and that not all employment requires a bachelor's degree. This paper contextualizes the evidence on impacts of CTE in high school, related literature for CTE in community college, and consider the areas of critical future needs for research. It does this by placing the early 21st century growth in CTE evidence in context with changes in federal and state policies, highlighting where innovation and change has outpaced the research evidence and created new opportunities to learn.

Association between secondhand smoke exposure in pregnant women and their socioeconomic status and its interaction with age: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundExisting evidence highlights that exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is a risk factor for pregnant women’s health and is possibly affected by individual characteristics. This study aimed to explore the effect of individual socioeconomic status (SES) on SHS exposure among pregnant women in the third trimester and the interaction effect of age.MethodsA total of 678 nonsmoking pregnant women with a median age of 29.0 years from 14 communities in a medium-sized city were recruited for this survey. Exposure to SHS was defined as the self-reported smoking habit of a spouse/partner. Individual SES characteristics consisted of marital status, educational attainment, employment and per capita monthly income.ResultsThere were 238 (35.1%) participants who suffered from SHS exposure. Compared to the pregnant women who were employed, those who were unemployed were more likely to suffer from SHS exposure (OR = 1.572, 95% CI: 1.013–2.441). Participants who had a high school or technical secondary school education were more likely to be exposed to SHS than those with a college education or above (OR = 1.601, 95% CI: 1.029–2.449). Advanced age was a protective factor for participants with a college education or above (OR = 0.939, 95% CI: 0.884–0.997), but age increased the risk of SHS exposure among women who had unstable marriages (OR = 1.256, 95% CI: 1.019–1.549).ConclusionExposure to SHS was very common among pregnant women in the third trimester. Pregnant women with a low SES and an older age should be considered a key population for the implementation of public health interventions.

Spatial heterogeneity of urban–rural integration and its influencing factors in Shandong province of China

Based on nighttime light data and statistical data, this study calculated the level of urban–rural integration (URI) of Shandong province, researched spatial heterogeneity of URI levels by local spatial autocorrelation analysis, Geodetector, and geographically weighted regression, and analyzed its influencing factors and spatial heterogeneity. The results concluded that: (1) The spatial pattern of urban–rural integrated level is consistent with the level of regional economic development in Shandong province. The level of URI is higher along the Qingdao–Jinan railway and along the coast, whereas the level is lower in southwest Shandong and northwest Shandong. (2) The cities of Yantai and Weifang are High–High cluster areas of urban integration, and Jining is a Low–Low cluster area. The spatial agglomeration characteristics are not significant in other cities. (3) Among the main factors affecting URI, the explanatory power of the rural population with high school or technical secondary school education or above, the area of urban construction land, and the secondary and tertiary industry GDP to the spatial pattern of URI in Shandong province are 73.58%, 62.08%, and 58.66%, respectively. As the key factors, spatial heterogeneity, such as north–south differences, southwest-to-northeast differences, and east–west differences, is evident.

Heterogeneity in High School Career and Technical Education Outcomes

High school Career and Technical Education (CTE) has received increased attention from policymakers and researchers in recent years. This study fills a needed gap in the growing research base by examining heterogeneity within the wide range of programs falling under the broad moniker of CTE, highlighting the need for nuance in research and policy conversations that often consider CTE as monolithic. Using student-level course-taking records, unemployment insurance, and National Student Clearinghouse data, we examine outcomes including earnings, postsecondary education, and poverty avoidance. We find substantial differences for students in fields as diverse as health care, Information Technology (IT), and construction. We also highlight heterogeneity for student populations historically overrepresented in CTE, and we find large differences in outcomes for CTE students, particularly by gender.

EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS EFFICIENCY FOR PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FORMATION IN STUDENTS OF TECHNICAL SPECIALTIES DURING SOCIAL DISCIPLINES STUDYING

In todayʼs technogenic world, technology plays a special role, improving the quality of life and creating living environment for future generations. The question of the responsibility of technical specialists for the results of scientific and technological progress becomes extremely important. Higher technical education responds to public demand, defining responsibility as one of the key generic competencies of a specialist, a sign of their professional maturity. The article grounds the pedagogical conditions of formation of professional responsibility of students of technical specialties in the course of studying social disciplines. This is done on the basis of the notion of phronesis, i.e. the use of interdisciplinary connections of social disciplines for formation of ability to correlate own responsible behaviour with socially significant ideals; application of contextual learning; systematic monitoring of the process of formation of professional responsibility by means of information and communication technologies. The method of diagnostics of formation of professional responsibility of future specialists of technical profile is offered. The results of the experimental study of the effectiveness of the introduction into educational practice of the proposed pedagogical conditions for the formation of professional responsibility, which was conducted with students of Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University (Ukraine) have been presented. The experimental study confirmed the effectiveness of pedagogical conditions for the formation of professional responsibility of students of technical specialties in the process of studying social disciplines and the feasibility of their introduction into vocational training in higher education institutions.

Implementation of Virtual Reality in Health Professional Higher Education: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

BackgroundThe use of virtual reality in higher education show great potential to promote novel and innovative learning experiences. Until recently, virtual reality has mostly been used in technical higher education, but lately medical education programs have begun using virtual reality. Virtual reality for health professional education improves the knowledge and skills of health professionals compared with traditional or other digital education initiatives. However, the implementation of technology in higher education is slow because of barriers to technology use and innovative and successful practices are not shared. It is, therefore, of great interest to explore how virtual reality is implemented in higher health professional and continuing education.ObjectiveThe aim of this scoping review is to identify studies that reported implementation of virtual reality in higher health professional education, to identify barriers and facilitators for implementation, and to highlight research gaps in this area.MethodsThe scoping review will be conducted according to JBI Evidence Synthesis methodologies. CINAHL, the Academic Search Elite and Education Source electronic databases, and Google Scholar will be searched for studies published between 2017 and 2022. In addition, manual searching of key items, reference tracking, and citation tracking will be performed. Searches for white papers will also be manually conducted. All authors will independently extract data from full-text papers. We will use qualitative content analysis to abstract the findings.ResultsThe literature searches were conducted in January and February 2022. The review is expected to be completed by fall 2022, after which time it will be submitted for publication.ConclusionsWe anticipate that, from the review, we will be able to coordinate recommendations for and present the challenges of virtual reality initiatives in health professional education programs. We will present recommendations for future research.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/37222

COMPUTER GRAPHICS AS A MEANS OF INTEGRATION OF GENERAL SECONDARY AND HIGHER TECHNICAL EDUCATION

It is known that high-quality knowledge of people forms the basis of the modern sustainable development of society. This applies to all available stages of education, including general secondary and higher technical education. An important point is the mutual coordination of the specified stages, that is, their integration. The effectiveness of the entire educational process largely depends on its successful implementation. The outlined question represents an actual socio-cultural problem, since at present there is no simple answer regarding the optimal ways to solve it.
 According to the authors of the article, one of the ways for the productive implementation of this task is the widespread use of information technologies in the educational process, for example, computer graphics. The emphasis on the latter is due to the fact that for many disciplines the necessary components are various images, including those that change over time. The main advantage of such tools over others is their visibility. As a result, this ensures effective assimilation by students of the submitted educational material, its fruitful future use.
 The performed analysis of existing textbooks for secondary school showed that computer graphics is presented within the framework of the subject "Informatics", but its integrating role for other disciplines is not emphasized. Particularly acute in the considered plan is the situation with the appropriate preparation of students for training at technical universities, where at the initial stage an appropriate high level of graphic-geometrical knowledge and skills is required. Their absence determines the occurrence of critical moments in the educational process of a higher technical school. Note that the appropriateness of the above competences for the rest of the universities may be the subject of other scientific studies.
 This publication is devoted to some theoretical and practical proposals for improving the described situation. The prospects for further research are also highlighted in this article.

Features of training of vocational education teachers in Germany

Influenced by the processes of European integration, globalization and, in particular, in order to build a single European higher education area, an important task of Ukrainian educators is to study the practical experience of our foreign colleagues in training teachers for vocational schools at all levels. Among the European countries where close attention is paid to the quality of teacher training, in particular in the field of vocational education, Germany stands out. The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of modern training of teachers of vocational education in Germany with the prospect of using progressive German experience in the Ukrainian system of training/retraining of teachers for institutions of professional and higher technical education. A detailed analysis of the German teacher training system, carried out in the course of this study, allowed us to make some important generalizations. First, it is worth noting the high expediency and effectiveness of Germany's extensive system of institutions, which, thanks to a clear division of functions, contribute to the effective organization of three-stage training of qualified teachers for vocational education. Secondly, the analysis of the content of the curriculum for future teachers of vocational education in Germany shows an attempt to train competitive professionals not only in the vocational education system, but also in the labor market in general. Third, the developed Standards for teachers in the field of educational sciences effectively influence the implementation of training programs for teachers of vocational education, requiring the formation and further improvement of their competencies in the field of teaching, education, evaluation and implementation of innovations. Finally, it is worth noting the urgent need to use the achievements of the German experience of practical training of VET teachers in the Ukrainian system of training and retraining of teachers for institutions of professional and higher technical education

The Impact of Distance Learning on the Teaching-Learning Process of Mathematics in Higher Technical Education

The Impact of Distance Learning on the Teaching-Learning Process of Mathematics in Higher Technical Education

Effects of Teaching Behaviors on the Effectiveness of Classroom Learning Time

Vocational and technical higher education in China has made great progress. However, classroom learning inefficiency is still observed. Based on the composition theory of classroom instructional time and the characteristics of classroom teaching in vocational and technical colleges, evaluation indexes of the effectiveness of classroom learning time were proposed in this study, and the effects of teaching behaviors on the effectiveness of the classroom learning time were analyzed through the observation on teaching behaviors and learning efficiency. Using the classroom teaching of "equivalence calculation in engineering economy" in a vocational and technical college in Chongqing, China as the subject, the classroom observation results were given, while the effects of frequency, cumulative time and the essence of teaching behaviors on the average value of learning time effectiveness (AEVp) and learning effectiveness per unit time (EV) were analyzed. Results show that the longer the time spent on a teaching behavior, the greater the AEVp would be, while EV differs, and "questioning"-typed teaching behaviors usually had positive effects on EV. Results indicate that the conversion of reasonable intervals between teaching behaviors helps to improve EV, and arrangement of personalized learning tasks and the strategies of answering questions need to be taken seriously. This study revealed the relationship between teaching behaviors and the effectiveness of classroom learning time, which may provide the evidence for optimizing instructional design and provide a path to fulfill the personalized learning needs.

Status of Sedentary Time and Physical Activity of Rural Residents: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study in Eastern China.

BackgroundThe urbanization process may affect the lifestyle of rural residents in China. Limited information exists on the extent of sedentarism and physical activity (PA) level of rural residents in middle-income countries. This is the first survey on sedentary time (ST) and PA among rural residents in eastern China.MethodsThis cross-sectional observational study randomly samples rural adults from Zhejiang Province in eastern China (n = 1,320). Participants' ST and PA levels were determined from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form through face-to-face interviews, and the influencing factors of PA levels were assessed through multi-class logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe findings showed that the daily ST of the participants ranged from 30 to 660 min, with a median of 240 min (P25, P75:120, 240 min), and 54.6% of participants were sedentary for 240 min or above. The daily ST in men, people aged 18 to 44 years, people with bachelors' degree and above, people working for government agencies or institutions, people with unmarried status, and people with an average income of < 2,000 Yuan was longer than that of other respective groups (p < 0.01). In contrast, the daily ST of people with hypertension or with patients with osteoporosis or osteopenia was less than that of normal people (p < 0.01). Additionally, 69.4% of participants generally had a low level of PA (LPA). Compared with those living in northern Zhejiang, people living in southern Zhejiang who were aged 18–44 years, had bachelor's degree or above, were farmers, and had household incomes below 10,000 Yuan per month were more likely to engage in LPA compared to people > 60 years, with high school or technical education levels or with junior college degrees, working in government agencies and institutions, and with household income above 10,000 Yuan per month (p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was no correlation between ST and PA levels.ConclusionMost rural residents in the Zhejiang Province of eastern China had longer daily ST and a LPA. This was predominant in men, young people, highly educated people, unmarried people, and middle to high-income people. Health education programs should be targeted toward specific population groups to decrease the ST and increase PA.

An Online Student-Oriented Assessment Program for the Core Subjects of Bachelor and Master Studies in Technical Higher Education

The paper emphasizes positive experience in the use of Information and Communication Technology in education and training programs. It is shown that ICT has helped improve the scope, quality and effectiveness of these programs. The initiatives of the University Politehnica of Bucharest in this domain have enabled users of ICT to focus on the precise learning needs and abilities of the students. Furthermore, ICT has improved efficiency in the monitoring and overall management of the training process. The paper evolves the idea according to which the benefits already gained in industry can also be achieved in the public education sector, provided that the necessary investment in technical facilities and related training is made.

The Study of Mathematics - an Investment with Profound Implications for the Future of the Romanian Society

The paper highlights the fact that in Romania, the Reform of Education, Training and Human Resource Development is an integral part of the transition to a democratic society and market economy. Having as starting point the research performed within the project developed under the patronage of the Romanian Ministry of Education, POSDRU/56/1.2/S/32768, project entitled The Training of University Teachers and Students in the Field of Using Modern Tools to Teach–Learn–Assess for the Mathematical Subjects in Order to Acquire Important Professional and Practical Skills for the Labour Market, the paper emphasizes the fact that Romania has made progress in all these areas since the Reform of Education began. The paper proves that harmonizing the curriculum for the mathematical disciplines taught in technical higher education is a challenge to promote and support changes that meet the needs of the new economy and society as well as the interests of all young people and adults, in the face of a shortage of financial and human resources. The rapid expansion of higher education and its growing cost are focusing attention on issues of quality, relevance and efficiency for mathematical subjects.

A comparison of earnings related to higher technical and academic education

ABSTRACT Not much is known about higher technical education in England, but current education policy looks positively at it to improve labour productivity and social mobility. We provide updated estimates of individual earnings differentials associated with such education, compared to achieving degrees, for all secondary school leavers in 2003. We find an early advantage of higher technical education, which erode over time. By age 30, most degree holders earn more. However, for men with higher technical education in STEM, earnings remain significantly above those of many degree holders. For women, such differences were not found.

Education sector policies and their role in the integration of workplace learning and higher education: A case of Tanzania’s higher technical and engineering education

Abstract Tanzania’s education system has been passing through different changes in its policies and strategic implementation plans. As a result, improvements in various areas, such as increased students’ enrolment rate, improved pass rates, and improved infrastructure at all levels have been realized. This pilot study aimed at understanding the awareness and perception of policymakers, employers, instructors, and students of the importance of policies in integrating workplace learning and technical higher education. With the main question being, how stakeholders in the education sector perceive the importance of policies in integrating workplace learning and technical higher education. In order to answer the above question, a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted with policymakers, employers, instructors, and students. Most of the interviewees stated that policies have significant roles in ensuring the smooth integration and implementation of these two learning modes. On the other side, several challenges were mentioned in policy implementation and realization of the strategic plans. These challenges were categorized as those related to the public’s and students’ awareness and readiness, financial constraints, educational institutes’ readiness, and operationalization of the organizations and educational institutes. From this pilot study, insightful information is gained on the importance of having policies that take into account all main stakeholders in higher education.

SOME SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE WORK ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFESSIONAL TEXTS IN TECHNICAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

The article discusses the problem of teaching reading in non-linguistic universities and states that it is one of the most burning one. It also gives a brief description of some features of the work with professional literature in technical higher education institutions. Exercises and materials in the article demonstrate the variety of forms and methods of the work with professional texts in specialty in technical universities. The role of silent reading is described and different methods and techniques of the work when forming skills of productive reading and their improvement at all stages of learning a foreign language are considered. It is stated that reading is one of the most important types of communicative and cognitive activity. It also promotes mastering all aspects of foreign language and speech activity. Authors believe that by teaching students to read, one can develop the skills of recognizing and distinguishing language models in the text, gradually bringing these skills to automatism. Some of these issues are analysed both in theoretical and practical aspects.

Database problems and solutions in technical higher education

The article describes teaching the subject “Database” using the method of the Flipped classroom, and its effectiveness differs from the traditional method of teaching. Additions have been made to further develop the flipped classroom method, and we have made recommendations for the use of several mobile applications on smartphones in order to organize the lesson properly.

Advantages and disadvantages of the virtual learning environment from Ukrainian as a foreign language for students of the 2nd course of technical higher education institution

Advantages and disadvantages of the virtual learning environment from Ukrainian as a foreign language for students of the 2nd course of technical higher education institution