Implications For Higher Education Policy Research Articles

How the level of student research autonomy in higher education affects learning efficiency by shaping motivation: A case of instructional disconformity

This study aims to examine the effects of different instructional interventions (i.e., autonomy-supportive, controlling, or a combination thereof) on student motivation and academic research performance. Here, a total of 328 s-year Chinese students majoring in mathematics completed the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) survey before and after the intervention involving an array of research-related assignments. Learners in the autonomy-supportive group showed a lower level of amotivation and higher intrinsic motivation compared to the pretest; the differences were 2.62 and 11.95 points. Their level of extrinsic motivation remained unchanged. The controlling intervention had the opposite effect, causing the mean extrinsic motivation score to increase by 10.25 points. The hybrid approach showed significant improvement in all three scales: amotivation (−3.82 points), extrinsic motivation (+4.35 points), and intrinsic motivation (+7.13 points). The autonomy-supportive teaching style corresponds to lower scores in mathematical modeling (72.30), linear algebra (74.62), and numerical analysis (77.65). High standard deviations indicate that research activity scores are spread out over a wide range. The controlling instructional approach yielded higher scores (83.95, 81.68, and 81.88 points, respectively) with the smallest standard deviations. Learners in the hybrid group scored the highest (86.98, 82.30, and 82.90 points, respectively), with moderate standard deviations indicating a well-balanced performance. The findings indicate that a hybrid approach, which combines autonomy support with instructor control, is the most effective in enhancing both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among students, as well as improving their academic performance. The implications for higher education policy include the necessity of developing and implementing hybrid learning models that cater to the individual needs of students while providing the requisite level of support and oversight.

How Pedagogical Modes Influence Students’ Employability: The Evidence from China

This study explores how two typical pedagogical modes, namely, problem-based and employment-based pedagogical mode, contribute to the employability of university and college students. Based on analysis of a total sample of 428 undergraduates from Chinese universities and colleges using structural equation modelling, the results show that students’ absorptive capacity was positively related to their employability. The employment-based pedagogical mode, considering the absorptive capacity as a partial mediator, was positively related to students’ employability. The problem-based pedagogical mode, considering the absorptive capacity as a complete mediator, was positively related to students’ employability. Absorptive capacity act as an important mediator variable when the employment-based and problem-based pedagogical mode influence students’ employability. Based on the findings, specific suggestions and managerial implications for higher education policy, manpower training, and future research are provided.

Nep 2020 Curriculum Reform And Pedagogical Innovations In Higher Education

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in India represents a significant shift in the approach to higher education, emphasizing curriculum reform and pedagogical innovations to meet the evolving needs of learners and society. This literature review and conceptual analysis explore the implications of NEP 2020 on curriculum development and pedagogy in higher education. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks in curriculum studies and pedagogy, the paper examines key changes introduced by NEP 2020 and reviews existing literature on curriculum reform and pedagogical innovations in higher education, both within the Indian context and globally. Through a synthesis of literature, the paper identifies common themes, emerging trends, and challenges in curriculum reform and pedagogy. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative research approach, utilizing data collection methods such as literature review and conceptual analysis. The conceptual analysis section examines NEP 2020 in action through case studies of institutions implementing reforms, highlighting both successes and challenges. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for higher education policy and practice, recommendations for future research, and reflections on the impact of NEP 2020 on curriculum and pedagogy in Indian higher education.

College Promise Programs as Symbolic Politics

Since the Tennessee Promise’s 2014 launch, “free college” or “Promise” programs have proliferated rapidly and converged on design features: a “last-dollar” award and community college applicability. Researchers who study these programs’ effects generally presume they are tuition-reducing endeavors. In contrast, we argue that many such programs are exercises in “symbolic politics,” that is, they perform organizational altruism and meet survival imperatives while minimally reducing real costs. We illustrate this by detailing the creation, implementation, and results of a Promise program at a large community college. Cost concerns and the need to appeal to critical publics led the college to adopt a last-dollar design and numerous eligibility criteria. Consequently, few applicants were funded. However, many applicants believed they had received the scholarship, the college’s enrollment increased, and the program received widespread acclaim. We discuss implications for higher education policy and the applicability of symbolic politics to organizational action.

Contested Whiteness: Useful Heuristic or Reinscribing Dominance?

This paper takes a relatively new concept in discussions of race and racial identity – that of contested whiteness – and expands upon it substantially. I first review literature on racial incongruence and mismatch and then provide a theoretical amplification of contested whiteness by situating it in theories of racial formation and whiteness as property. I identify a diverse subset of undergraduate and graduate students who can be described as contested whites. These are groups of postsecondary learners who grapple with racial contestation along the borders of whiteness on a daily basis, either from social forces, institutional logics, fellow students, or faculty and staff. In conceptualizing this population and the attendant dynamic of racial contestation, I elucidate the power formations of white supremacy and the policing of its borders as a potent, but covert dynamic that maintains contemporary U.S. race relations. I share stories of contested whiteness from data gathered using this heuristic and argue that it allows for a more complete revelation of the operations of white supremacy. Implications for higher education policy, practice, and research are considered.

In Defense of Dignitary Safety: A Phenomenological Study of Student Resistance to Hate Speech on Campus

ABSTRACT Frequent incidents of racist hate speech on college and university campuses continue to instigate an ideological battleground between legal purists, anti-racist scholars, and those otherwise situated somewhere therein. We find that arguments from legal purists are predicated upon a false-equivalency between racist and anti-racist speech where the effect, value, and embedded power dynamics of the former are often disregarded. We engage in a phenomenological analysis of a four-year, private institution – Clearview College (CVC)—where a controversial speaker was invited to campus by a conservative student organization. We specifically interrogate how the seemingly race-neutral free speech policies at CVC, which were informed by the “Chicago Principles,” were racially structured in impact. We utilize a conceptual framework that demarcates intellectual safety and dignitary safety as a foundational point of departure to analyze the responses from 20 undergraduate students. The responses from focus groups revealed two primary themes: (1) racist hate speech as a threat to dignitary safety, and (2) institutional retribution against students defending their dignitary safety. Implications for higher education policy and praxis are provided.

Examining effects of students’ innovative behaviour and problem-solving skills on crisis management self-efficacy: Policy implications for higher education

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented challenges for the higher education community worldwide, one of which is that students have had to maintain their learning while dealing with the crisis conditions. However, a systematic understanding of students’ individual crisis management still remains absent despite its importance. The newly emerged and ongoing phenomenon has leveraged the role of crisis management in the context of education, which is even more essential with the forthcoming uncertain future. This study investigates factors related to students’ crisis management self-efficacy in higher education during the pandemic. Particularly, survey data were collected from 387 undergraduate students to investigate the effects of innovative behaviour and problem-solving skills on crisis self-efficacy. Structural Equation Modelling was applied to conceptualise and empirically test a model that examines the relationship between crisis self-efficacy and related factors. Moreover, the study aimed to assess the role of technology abilities in students’ crisis management self-efficacy and academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research results provided some compelling evidence for the positive effects of innovative behaviour and problem-solving skills on crisis management self-efficacy. This study also discusses some feasible implications for higher education policy and future research directions.

Success factors for English as a second language university students’ attainment in academic English language proficiency: exploring the roles of secondary school medium-of-instruction, motivation and language learning strategies

Abstract Displaying a strong competence in English as a second language (L2) is a major advantage for university graduates in personal development and career advancement. There are limited studies that have explored how the implementation of English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) in non-Anglophone universities can affect students’ academic English proficiency. This mixed-method study explores how both the learners’ variables (motivation and L2 learning strategies) and the medium-of-instruction policy implemented at secondary and university settings can contribute to students’ success in academic English learning at a bilingual university in Hong Kong. The findings of a large-scale questionnaire reveal that the effect of medium-of-instruction in students’ secondary school education is not a significant predictor of students’ academic English language proficiency at university. The findings suggest that university students who previously attended secondary schools which adopt medium-of-instruction other than English tend not to be disadvantaged in improving their academic English proficiency. Institutional factor (i.e. provision of EMI lectures at university) and learners’ variables, including students’ L2 strategy use and motivation, are statistically significant predictors of the student’s English language proficiency. The implications for higher education policy in Hong Kong and worldwide will be discussed.

Why are women opting out of academic careers in higher education in Ghana? Implication for policy and practice

ABSTRACT This article is grounded on an exploratory inquiry to explain the low rates of female academics in Ghana’s higher education sector and its implication for higher education policy and practice. Though our article shows the continued presence of institutional barriers, the evidence suggests that these are strongly fortified by dispositional (women’s choices), and situational (cultural) barriers largely instigated by societal norms and social pressures. The evidence in this article suggests that earlier literature has taken too narrow a view of the nature of barriers to women’s career advancement in the higher education sector in the particular context of Ghana. The traditional gender norms are the main barrier to women pursuing academic careers, both because they influence what other people think a woman can do, or should choose to do, and because women have in many cases internalised these gender norms and share them. Our article highlights key implications for higher education policy towards female employment participation.

Bridging the Distance? How Proximity and Online Learning Shape Communities’ Adult Participation in Public Universities

The issue of proximity for adult students has become increasingly salient as age demographics shift in higher education and states propose initiatives to increase adult degree completers. One way of alleviating proximity barriers for adults at universities has been to increase online courses and degrees. Nationally, online education experienced double-digit expansion between 1999 and 2010, followed by moderate but consistent growth in the years that followed. Using county-level data from 1999 to 2018 in Arkansas, we examined how a community’s proximity to public universities is associated with its adult participation in public universities. To understand how this relationship may have changed with the proliferation of online education, we created growth models that control for time-varying community factors during this time (e.g., unemployment, population density, community college participation, and poverty). Our findings illustrate that participation grew sharply from 1999 to 2010 before stabilizing between 2011 and 2018, mirroring national online education trends. As proximity decreased, so did a county’s adult participation, but this effect was not mitigated by the growth of online education. Interestingly, unemployment and poverty did not account for variation in a county’s adult student participation. Implications for higher education policy and future research on adult participation are discussed.

Gender Inequity in Jordanian Higher Education Leadership: Analysis and Recommendations

Gender Inequity in Jordanian Higher Education Leadership:Analysis and Recommendations Richard Savior (bio) Introduction The higher education system in Jordan has experienced significant growth over the past 25 years as a series of government-led reforms have sought to help the country transform from a predominantly agrarian to an industrialized nation. The focus of these changes was to bring the country's educational policies and programs in line with the demands of a 21st century knowledge-based economy.1 These reforms strengthened the institutional [End Page 1] capacity of the country's Ministry of Higher Education in terms of policy formation, strategic planning, quality of curriculum, and student assessment but failed to address the goal of gender equity in the country's higher education leadership.2 Women in Jordan have made great gains in higher education and are now earning more degrees than men. According to UNESCO, women now make up 54 percent of the total enrollments at Jordanian colleges and universities.3 While advancements in educational attainment are important, women continue to face significant barriers in higher education employment and advancement: women hold a small fraction of senior leadership positions and are also underrepresented in tenured and full professorships, which in turn limits opportunities to advance into formal leadership positions at colleges and universities.4 Barriers to women's advancement are complex as women are not simply denied top leadership opportunities but lack the critically needed institutional and government support required to build a pipeline to such advancement.5 Even when women do all the right things to prepare for such opportunities, they face challenges embedded within institutional structures and cultural systems that require transformative change. Women often must balance the responsibilities of life with their educational and career aspirations that men may not be aware of or acknowledge.6 These imbalances in equity and opportunity have consequence not only to emerging female leaders in higher education but as role models to their students. The purpose of this study was to assess the demographics of Jordanian college and university faculty and senior leadership and examine how gender specifically influences perceptions related to gender inequity in higher education leadership. The study follows a quantitative research design that incorporated data collected from surveys with senior Jordanian higher education leaders. The findings of this study reveal differences in how the issue is perceived, the factors that contribute to those inequities and offer recommendations for progressive measures and serve to highlight [End Page 2] the strategic implications for higher education policy and practice. The research is however limited by the absence of longitudinal data to review longer-term outcomes. Literature Review A review of the existing literature determined that while there have been ample studies on the factors that limit employment opportunity and advancement of women in the Jordanian labor market,7 studies focused on the higher education space were quite limited8 and did not examine potential measures that might serve to address the underlying inequities. Gender inequities in Jordanian higher education are manifested on multiple levels. The country has never had a female minister of education, women make up less than a fifth of its workforce, and women hold just 4 percent of board of trustee seats.9 What is perplexing is that while in school, Jordanian females outperform their male counterparts in just about every subject and at every age level. To cite one example, at the University of Jordan, the country's largest university, women outnumber men by a ratio of two to one and earn higher grades in science, technology, engineering, and math as well in a range of other subjects.10 Although Jordan has achieved parity in access to education in both primary and secondary schools, Jordanian women's educational achievements are not being reflected in their participation in the economy. Despite earning higher grades and more degrees than men, women in Jordan are unlikely to put their degrees to paid use for very long-only one in five workers in Jordan are female.11 In general, women do not go on to have long professional careers after graduating, but rather spend much of their lives working at home as wives and mothers. Specific to employment in...

Issues and Problems in Educational Surveillance and Proctoring Technologies

Introduction. The increase of online course offerings due to COVID 19 has substantially increased eproctoring technology used to streamline classroom management and assessment. Faculty and students are increasingly concerned about the requirements of these systems. This presentation will: Explore the experiences of eproctoring internalized by college. Categorize this population's experiences and concerns in the context of eproctoring and surveillance. To do so, the following research questions are considered: How is eproctoring described in scholarly literature, social media, and student print media? What components of eproctoring surveillance are viewed as detrimental to student learning using these sources, and how do the impacted individuals describe these components? Research Methods. The presenters rapid review method is intended to provide timely decision-making information compared with standard systematic reviews. This method demonstrates the urgency and impact of eproctoring technologies on students. Institutions may use this information to make informed and holistic decisions on the specialized software they acquire and implement. For this study, the unit of analysis refers to unique student responses to eproctoring. The authors include (a) Peer-reviewed scholarly literature, (b) traditional print, (c) student print media defined as newspapers and magazines, (b) social media. Preliminary data (N = 20) describes e-proctoring surveillance technology as anxiety-provoking, intrusive, discriminatory, and adversarial. Stakeholders actively push back against e proctoring requirements and demand transparency, aligning with prior research on student privacy (Ifenthaler & Schumacher, 2016). Implications for Higher Education Policy or Practice. This study's results inform policymaking around assessment practices, standardizing expectations, and creating eproctoring standards and policies that center students' rights, personhood, and privacy that outweigh the need for convenient assessment.

UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS AMONG FRESH GRADUATES

This paper attempts to explore the topic of the unemployment crisis among fresh graduates. The two main objectives of the study are to examine the influence factors of the unemployment crisis among fresh graduates in Malaysia, and the primary determinant of the unemployment has culminated in many policy implications for higher education. The unemployment rate among fresh graduates increased to 25% in 2020 than the year before, jumping from 13.8%. The null hypothesis is that employer preference, candidate attributes, and economic instability have no significant effect on the unemployment crisis. The information for the paper typically originates from a questionnaire survey method, with one hundred and thirty fresh graduates' participation in this study. The statistical approach is required to analyze numerical data using SPSS applications. Descriptive analyses such as frequency and simple percentages on demographic characteristics were used to analyze data. Inferential statistics such as linear bivariate correlation was used to test the formulated hypothesis. The finding demonstrated a significant association between employer preference, candidate attributes, and economic instability with the unemployment crisis. This finding would shed light on more preparation for fresh graduates' employability who preserve searching for a job by the education ministry. Hopefully, a revision in the academic higher education curriculum is considered to meet the job market's and stakeholders' needs for better graduate employability.

The Mental Health Effects of Student Activism: Persisting Despite Psychological Costs

As student activism continues to roil campuses, concerns have arisen about the mental health costs associated with activist-oriented civic engagement. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 42 self-identifying student activists from across the United States, this study examines how activists describe the impact of their activism on their mental health. While just under one third of the respondents perceived a positive effect, 60% of the respondents noted adverse consequences to their psychological well-being. Nevertheless, these respondents remained committed to continuing their activism. Four factors surfaced in activists’ reflections on their mental health, which, while not responsible for positive mental health outcomes, did help offset the stress, exhaustion, and guilt associated with activism. These four factors included social capital or connection to others, a sense of purpose, effecting change, and self-care and collective care. Respondents credited these factors with helping them to sustain the emotionally and physically difficult work of activism. Implications for higher education policy and practice are discussed.

Universities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing Views about How to Address the Financial Impact

Universities were forced to move instruction online and send residential students home due to the pandemic, resulting in financial shortfalls. Governing boards, administrators, and governments made decisions including eliminating faculty and staff, and programs yet these decisions were rarely inclusive of university stakeholders or innovative. This study’s purpose is to examine and compare viewpoints of stakeholders in relation to addressing the financial impact of the pandemic in hopes of capturing innovative and effective pathways for universities. Because the purpose involved describing and comparing these viewpoints, the researcher selected a unique mixed method, Q methodology [Q] for this study. In Q, participants sort statements related to the topic into a grid such that their Q-sort provides a snapshot of their subjectivity. Participants’ sorts are grouped empirically into factors, each representing unique viewpoints. Three distinct viewpoints emerged: 1) Focus on teaching mission and students, 2) University as a business, and 3) University as community. Views 1 and 3 were dominated by university faculty while View 2 was dominated by non-faculty including administrators and staff. Q’s determination of distinguishing statements within each view provides the ability to compare these views’ uniqueness. The three views and consensus among the views represent rejection of decisions to lay off faculty or close programs, among others, in order to balance university finances. The importance of tenured faculty in relationship to shared governance and academic freedom is especially stressed by two of the viewpoints. Implications for higher education policy, innovation, democratic problem-solving, and governance are discussed.

More than learning English? The impact of university intensive English language program attendance on international student academic achievement

This study frames intensive English language programs (IEPs) in institutions of higher education as potential vehicles for social justice among marginalized international students. In this study we examine the differences in academic achievement between international students who enter a university through an English proficiency test and those who pass through an IEP. We compared both populations through nearly 900 cases, out of a sample of 4888, who had similar language proficiency at the time of enrolling at a large research-intensive university in the Southwest of the United States. The results revealed great similarity between the populations of students indicating that as an intervention-style program, the IEP was successful in meeting the linguistic and academic needs of the students. The study also revealed potential implications for higher education policy in ensuring both program quality and benefit to students. The paper also raises issues of equity in terms of the lack of analysis in long-term outcomes for these types of programs compared to other interventions, the need for expansion of international student data collection by institutions of higher education and overall transparency in pre-university programs.

Food Insecurity in Maine Higher Education

In 2017–2018, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Campus Compact conducted a statewide analysis to assess the extent and subsequent effects of food and housing insecurity within the college student population. A total of 26 higher education institutions (community colleges and private and public four-year colleges and universities) throughout the state of Maine received surveys to investigate food and housing insecurity. This study reports on the findings from the 1,704 completed surveys from 24 of those campuses. We found significant food insecurity among respondents. The results demonstrate how food insecurity relates to institutional, geographic, and student characteristics. We discuss the implications for higher education policy across Maine and practices at individual institutions.

The role of hybrid learning spaces in enhancing higher education students’ employability

AbstractGraduate employment rates and self‐reported employability are increasingly a feature of higher education funding measures. However, graduate outcomes do not denote the whole learning experience of the student nor is the student experience reducible to a single statistic. This paper discusses a design‐centric approach to employability development which was enacted within a hybrid learning space. The study engaged 52 final‐year speech pathology students, their lecturer, the lead researcher and a career practitioner (advisor) at an Australian university. Students first created personalized employability profiles using an established online self‐reflection tool. The online tool produced a personalized report and enabled students to access developmental resources relating to employability and student success. The project team used anonymized student data to transform a previously generic “careers” workshop into a targeted workshop in which students explored individual and cohort findings and participated in developmental activities informed by the data. The initiative’s contribution to learning space research is in its composition as a hybrid learning space in which educators and students engaged as learners and developers of their online learning spaces, and educators collaborated to analyze student data and inform learning and teaching enhancements within the same study period. It is anticipated that the data from subsequent years will inform the curricular review, particularly if subsequent student cohorts express similar concerns. Implications for higher education policy and practice are discussed.

Students positioned as global citizens in Australian and New Zealand universities: A discourse analysis

ABSTRACT Higher education plays a critical role in producing society’s leaders by preparing graduates with the knowledge, capabilities and disposition to appreciate diversity and address social injustice. Many higher education institutions within and beyond Australia have aimed to internationalise their curricula to ensure students achieve capabilities that enable them to contribute to an evolving global knowledge economy. However, the inclusion of global citizenship as a graduate attribute embedded in internationalised curricula, and the processes to achieving this, are highly contested. Guided by a discourse analysis approach, this study explored how Australian and New Zealand universities position students as global citizens in public web pages. Publicly available policy and other text documents on university websites relating to internationalisation and/or global citizenship were collected and screened. Those that met inclusion criteria were analysed to identify discourses and to further understand how higher education institutions describe their plan to advance and achieve global citizenship agendas. Two key themes were generated: expressions of internationalisation policy and global citizenship as an obscured educational intention. These findings are further elaborated, providing an outline of the possible implications for higher education policy and practice relating to the internationalisation of curriculum for global citizenship and its potential impact on educators and students.

‘You have to work from where they are’: academic leaders’ talk about language development

ABSTRACT Language development is integral to learning, teaching and assessment. In higher education language is usually only discussed when it becomes visible through errors or unexpected uses. Occasionally, national or institutional policies support the fundamental role of language development. More often, language development provision is sporadic. Despite academic leaders' role as key stakeholders in institution-wide language development strategies, their conceptualisations of language development have rarely been subject to in-depth study. This qualitative case study investigates academic leaders’ understandings of language development in higher education, both students’ and their own. An inductive thematic analysis of the data reveals three significant themes relating to language, learning and context. The contribution of this article is the analysis of inconsistencies and contradictions within those themes through the lens of language as a social semiotic. The analysis highlights how students’ language development opportunities can be limited by institutional practices and raises policy implications for higher education.