Mass Higher Education Research Articles

Engineering modelling requirements for integration of assistive technology as a pathway for inclusive education in the disability unit

The phenomenon of 'massification in higher education ', which refers to the significant increase in the number of students enrolling in universities, has made it difficult for inclusive education to be attainable owing to unknown reasons that are encumbering the students living with disability from having a sense of belonging. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the relationship between students living with disability and social justice through inclusivity in higher education with the aid of Assistive Technology (AT) to conceptualise a framework. The researchers employed a mixed methods approach to collect and analyse data statistically and descriptively. The requirements for integrating the model to ease the lack of consideration of students living with disability in the digital age were evaluated and critically reviewed regarding its impact on students’ sense of belonging in the digital age. The major findings from this study elucidate the factors perceived as the central requirements for mitigating the lack of inclusivity and social justice in higher education. The procurement of ATs was topical as most respondents (83%) categorically opined the need to improve this process by making timely purchases of the proper ATs from reliable service providers. The successful implementation of this framework could significantly enhance the educational experience of students with disabilities at the University of Venda, making it a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. The findings on the appropriateness of ATs for students overwhelmingly indicated that many of the available devices and technologies meant to assist learners were not fit for the tasks they were intended for. The university should establish a procurement committee and a high-level action plan outlining the requirements for delivering assistive products & services.

Massification of Higher Education in Türkiye and Its Challenges

In the last 20 years, the education system in Türkiye has witnessed massive growth and transformation from primary- and secondary education to higher education. Significant improvements have been made in enrollment rates at all levels of education, reaching a level comparable to OECD countries. In this context, this study focuses on the transformation and massification of higher education in Türkiye. The net enrollment ratio in higher education in Türkiye has increased from 10% to 46% during this period. Especially, the establishment of higher education institutions in all cities has contributed positively to women's access to higher education, and for the first time, the enrollment and graduation rates of women have surpassed those of men. The increase in the supply of higher education and easier access has raised the proportion of higher education graduates from under 20% to over 40% in the 25-34 age group during this period. At the same time, the average length of education for the population aged 15 and over is increasing every year. Additionally, this study identifies problem areas and proposes solutions to ensure the sustainability of the expansion in higher education during this period. The evaluation identifies insufficient face-to-face teaching capacity in the higher education system and attempts to compensate for this deficiency with distance education programs as the primary problem area. Especially since 2015, almost half of the students who have enrolled in higher education have been able to enroll in distance education programs. Therefore, increasing face-to-face teaching capacity in higher education and reducing the proportion of distance education in higher education stand out as challenging issues. The second problem area is highlighted as being related to the limitations in scientific knowledge production performance of higher education institutions and the number of doctoral graduates. Despite an increase in the number of doctoral graduates from all disciplines every year, sustaining the growth achieved during this period is highly inadequate. This problem not only negatively affects the capacity for scientific knowledge production but also creates significant challenges, especially in meeting the need for faculty members in newly established universities, thus adversely affecting the quality of higher education. The study also offers some recommendations for addressing these problems.

For the society as a whole: higher education and the public good in Poland

AbstractUsing a qualitative case study of the Polish higher education system, the article problematises the relationship between higher education and the public good. It emerges from an international comparative study including 11 national cases and contributes to the growing body of literature on the cultural specificities of the public good(s) in national higher education systems. Seeing the public good as a holistic ideal, transcendent to the higher education reality, it traces different meanings with which it is filled by main actors of the system: policymakers, representatives of collegial bodies, faculty and managers at two public universities (33 semi-structured interviews). The article discusses the public good in Poland in four areas: its general definition, the state’s role in higher education, and national and global contributions. Contradictions exposed in the study of Polish higher education’s discourses on the public good (national vs. global; state vs. academic community; mass higher education vs. elite higher education) serve the purpose of further elaborating the concept.

A systematic review of key success factors in postgraduate studies

Background: Massification of higher education and growth in undergraduate students has propelled a wave of students seeking advanced degrees. Increasing numbers of postgraduate students reflect the performance of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and highlight the need to study key elements affecting postgraduate academic success. Purpose: This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to identify key success factors related to postgraduate studies. Research approach: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were used to guide the reporting of this review. Articles in ScienceDirect, Jestp.com, Ed.gv, Tandfonline.com, Oup.com, Springer.com, Researchgate.net, Sagepub.com, Wiley.com, Alt.ac.uk, and Stor.org were searched between January 2013 and January 2023. Results: A final 28 studies from 14 countries were reviewed to provide a holistic assessment of major factors affecting postgraduate academic success. The most common success factors in postgraduate studies are teaching and learning methods, quality research supervision, research capacity building, library services, Postgraduate Student Office workshops, and student characteristics. Limitations within some factors were also reported. Conclusion and implication: The study concluded that postgraduate students’ ability to function effectively depends on adequately implementing and managing critical and complex factors. The results of the study will inform postgraduate programme practitioners.

University-Industrial Complex as a spatial fix for local development: Massification of Higher Education in Turkey

Turkish higher education has been massified in a fast-paced reform wave through widespread proliferation of public universities in less developed cities, accompanied with the state-led student loan expansion since the early 2000 s. From a geographical-historical materialist lens, this paper elucidates the duplicitous character of the massification project, arguing that rather than democratizing the access to higher education, this transformation prioritized the benefits of local capital accumulation in the newly emerging urban centers to the detriment of the educated youth, entrapping the latter in unemployment, underemployment, and indebtedness, rendering them a diversely skilled relative surplus population. Based on two-year long qualitative research, the paper identifies three intertwined youth enclosures that have functioned as constitutive mechanisms of a spatial fix, forming what this paper conceptualizes as the university-industrial complex: physical enclosure of the university youth in emerging production sites as disposable cheap labour force, temporal enclosure of the graduates in long-term debt relations with the state, and finally social enclosure of the youth for their reproduction in predatory local economies of non-metropolitan cities.

Research on "One-stop" Student Community Comprehensive Management Model

With the advent of informationization of education, massification of higher education, and the widespread popularity of credit system and course selection system, college students' reliance on and demand for student community is increasing, and student community is becoming the most frequent and stable place for students to communicate and interact, and an important educational position outside the classroom, and the status of student community is becoming more and more prominent in the system of education in colleges and universities. The construction of "one-stop" student community comprehensive management mode is an exploration of the way and path of nurturing, and is an important initiative to promote the comprehensive reform of " comprehensive nurturing" and to cultivate new talents of the times. Drawing on the experience of community construction in other universities, Southwest University for Nationalities is taking strong initiatives in twelve areas to promote the construction of the "one-stop" student community by combining the advantages and characteristics of the university. Since its popularization and application in 2019, it has become an important position for promoting the high-quality development of universities and has become a useful exploration that highlights the fundamental attributes and unique advantages of socialist universities with Chinese characteristics.

Intra-clan marriage in modern times: the role of elite education in assortative mating

Studies have shown a tendency for educational elites to marry within the elite circle in China. However, little research explores how they find a partner and the platforms’ roles in the process. We fill this gap by focusing on an online dating platform targeting alumni of elite universities. We interviewed the core staff of the platform to examine its operations. Through thematic analysis, we analyzed users’ self-representations in their dating profiles and the platform’s relatively high matching success rate. To achieve assortative matching for its elite users, the platform developed a large elite user base by setting university prestige as a dating threshold, hiring staff from elite universities, and providing profile editing and posting services. Users highlighted their privileged family backgrounds, elite university experiences, time-consuming hobbies, and preferences for a soulmate, as they aimed to attract similar partners. Our research reveals a new form of intra-clan marriage that has emerged with the massification of higher education. This homogamy, based on high levels of cultural capital, forms a social enclosure that may reinforce cultural inequalities beyond higher education.

Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Socio-Demographic and Political Recruitment Factors (1983-2024)

Assembly of Experts of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Socio-Demographic and Political Recruitment Factors (1983-2024)

Ethics and Research-Focus Politics in Higher Education

There has been growing concern for ethical conduct in higher education due to several reasons. Massification in higher education, quantitative-oriented output measures, and the pressure on academics to publish are commonly indicated as the core reasons behind ethical violations. In addition to these reasons lack of instructive measures and limited research to inform these instructive measures can be counted as factors contributing to the rise of ethical violations in the academy. Like the case of lower levels of education, higher education is also a value-driven field of conduct. Although recent scholarly concerns focus on ethical conduct in research and publication ethics, teaching in higher education demands equal attention. Research on ethics in various conducts of higher education institutions including teaching, research, and publication processes is important to guide the students, academics, and institutions for ethical conduct. In this issue of HEGP, the first article titled “Plagiarism Awareness and Practices Engagement: Evidence from Adeleke University Basic Medical Sciences Undergraduate Students” by Makinde, Olatunji, Ogunniran and Makinde investigated the relationship between plagiarism awareness level and plagiarism practices engagement level by medical sciences undergraduate students. In their investigations, the authors documented the reasons behind plagiarism as well. The study documented several possible reasons behind plagiarism in medical education. The time pressure to return the assignments and problems in accessing information are the key factors causing plagiarism in medical education, according to the study. These results suggest a similar logic with ethical violations in research and publication ethics. Interestingly the study suggested that the students are knowledgeable about the types of plagiarism. The second article of this issue, titled “Establishment Policies of Research Universities: A Critical Analysis of Global and Turkish Perspectives” by Ozsoy and Balyer investigated the research university initiative in Turkey based on a critical literature review and document analysis. The analysis focused on the values and practices underlining the research university initiative in Turkey. The study documented the need to clarify the research university mission and deploy the necessary resources to give momentum to the research university initiative. We expect that the articles on this issue will contribute to higher education research and practice.

Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence Application in Higher Education

The role of Higher Education in any society is inevitable when it comes to harmonious personality development of the youth and nation-building. The promising higher education system is research-oriented and is open to newer dimensions of teaching-learning pedagogy. One of the recent advancements in this sector is the emergence of the application of artificial intelligence which has eventually led to the emergence of New possibilities and challenges as well. The Massification of Higher Education and the diversified nature of curriculum has no doubt increased the workload of the teacher and the nature of the job has also undergone drastic changes. With changing times the teaching-learning methods including testing , measuring and evaluative processes involved in it , have experienced lots of changes recently with the interventions of the latest technology in the process. It is surprising to see how the application of artificial intelligence has aptly equipped not only teachers and teachers but also the whole system involved in the higher education system with its latest techniques. Despite all this, the use and application of artificial intelligence in higher education scenarios is still unclear to some extent especially in a country like India with different kinds of limitations when it comes to the use of technology. This paper tries to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence and its role in the higher education system and finally the role of teacher in this respect.

Enablers and barriers to the construction of motives for learning at the university: The student’s perspective

<span lang="EN-US">The massification of higher education and the migration to online formats imply changes that affect the ways that people learn and their motivation for learning. In this sense, the motivational orientation of the student can make a difference in learning. This article aims to describe the enablers and barriers to </span><span lang="EN-US">students’<em> </em>motivation for learning from the perspective of Chilean University students in the areas of health and education. The study was conducted through virtual group interviews. The analysis was carried out on the participants’ accounts from a constructivist approach to grounded theory. The results showed a valuation of the practical and altruistic motives as a structuring motivational axis. In line with the self-determination theory, the existence of a protected space in the classroom appears as an essential motivational enabler of learning, and virtuality is a critical motivational barrier.</span>

Innovative Strategies for Fostering Student Engagement and Collaborative Learning among Extended Curriculum Programme Students

Massification in higher education has made the satisfaction of students’ needs unattainable among university lecturers. In contrast, the use of innovative strategies for collaborative learning enhances student engagement in the heterogeneous student context. Moreover, this paper aims to explore strategies for fostering student engagement through collaborative learning among first-year students at the University of Venda. To answer the research question of whether innovative learning designs in teaching and learning can foster students’ engagement and collaborative learning, subsequently, this paper employed a mixed-methods approach to gauge the effectiveness of different teaching strategies on student outcomes. Significantly, the purposive sampling approach was used to sample a group of 200 students in the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP). The researchers used participant observation and narrative inquiry as data collection instruments in this paper. Furthermore, the students in their respective groups were assigned topics from the English and Biology modules to use their talents to demonstrate their understanding of certain complex concepts in these modules. The non-surprising findings of this paper elucidated that collaborative learning expedites students’ mastery of key concepts and subject content through the integration of talents. The module lecturers introduced students to these innovative designs to ensure collaborative learning and effective student engagement. The key findings articulated that these aspects, namely role-playing exercises, group projects, peer-to-peer learning, use of talents, peer feedback, and so forth, have the potential to improve student performance and academic success. The implication of this study is that students learn to work together, delegate responsibilities, improve participation, and communicate effectively to attain a common goal. Using these strategies, lecturers promote collaboration among students and foster a more engaging and interactive learning experience. This paper further recommends the integration of students’ talents as an effective strategy to foster student engagement and collaborative learning to track and monitor at-risk students at an early stage.

The Tension Between Chinese Peasants’ Family Capital Reproduction Strategies and Massification in Higher Education

This paper is focused on the tension between Chinese peasants' family capital reproduction strategies and the existing higher education system. Under an institutionalised urban-rural segregation, most rural residents are not entitled to some of the basic social welfare guarantees available to urban residents, such as pensions. As a preparation for the future of their children as well as for themselves, peasants have a strong urge to invest in their children's higher education as their family capital reproduction strategy. However, higher education institutions, without sufficient funding from the government, have to increase enrolment size and charge high tuition fees. Increase in the cost of higher education has strongly impacted on the family economy of rural residents, and the rapid expansion of the system has resulted in an employment crisis for college graduates. Bourdieu's theory of capital reproduction will be applied in the analysis of several cases of rural parents and their children who have participated in higher education. The research eventually leads to the conclusion that, under urban-rural segregation, Chinese peasants are compelled to convert their limited economic capital into academic capital, while the reversibility of this capital conversion is hardly objectively guaranteed.

What factors contribute to higher grades in a first-year undergraduate management unit: an exploratory study at an Australian university

ABSTRACT There are multiple challenges associated with participating in a first-year undergraduate management unit at the university level. Students’ performance in such units is a critical milestone in their learning journey and can create positive/negative inertia for their future performance and continuation in a program. Through exploratory abductive analysis of 990 undergraduate students’ performance in a first-year, first-semester management unit at an Australian university, we find that tutor’s qualification, tutor’s gender, student’s age, entry score, number of simultaneous degrees undertaken, and number of tutorials attended are critical factors for success. Our data indicates tutor’s experience, student’s gender, and engagement with the learning management system and discussion forum do not have a statistically significant influence. As the massification of higher education has led to a growing body of international students in Australian universities, we also compare and contrast the effect of these factors between international and domestic cohorts. Our results indicate that critical factors influence domestic and international undergraduate students differently (positive vs. negative vs. non-linear). We propose a theoretical model by connecting empirical constructs, current theories, and emerging theoretical constructs. The practical implications relevant to business school leadership teams and faculty members in Australian and other similar universities are also discussed.

The winner’s curse? Temporal and spatial impacts of higher education expansion on graduate employment and social mobility

ABSTRACT The massification of higher education has dramatically changed the association between credentials and jobs in advanced countries, while its impacts in transitional economies have received less academic attention. To address this research lacuna, the paper utilizes rich information from China’s national surveys of college graduates from 2003 to 2019 and multiple waves of census data to explore the temporal and spatial effects of tertiary education expansion on college graduates’ job sorting. Regression results from the fixed effects model and the two-stage least-squares model indicate that, on the temporal dimension, the higher education expansion has weakened ties between college credentials and quality jobs over the past 20 years. Recent graduates are more likely to work in informal, non-urban, and non-public sectors, and the college earnings premium has also declined. There is a persistent gap in employment outcomes between bachelor’s and associate degree holders. On the spatial dimension, the growing enrolment size leads to skill sorting towards low skilled regions. The study argues that the dynamic effects of college credentials may be explained by labour market flexibility and cohort crowding after higher education expansion. This paper calls for a critical reflection on the merit of further massification of higher education in developing economies, regarding its potential impacts on intergenerational inequality and regional inequality.

The Positional Effects of Education on Social Capital in the UK

Social research consistently identifies education as a key driver of social capital, providing skills, experiences and values facilitating social interaction. This theory cannot explain, however, why indicators of social capital (such as social trust) have not increased despite the massification of higher education in Europe and America. Efforts to explain this paradox have suggested the sorting effects of education may be more important for understanding how it is related to social capital. Empirical applications of this theory have produced mixed results, however, and the literature is dominated by a US focus and methodological disputes that make determining generalizability beyond the US difficult. This research attempts to reconcile some of the methodological disputes and examines the sorting effect of education on social capital in the UK. It finds no evidence of educational sorting for behavioral indicators of social capital, but strong evidence for social trust.

Obrazovanje Albanaca u Jugoslaviji poslije Drugog svjetskog rata do 1974.

The paper carefully deals with the constitutional aspect and the development of education in Yugoslavia, with special emphasis - Albanians. After the Second World War, Yugoslavia faced numerous problems both politically and economically. The first reforms that this country had to undergo initially required help from countries such as the Soviet Union. Among the first steps to be taken were the legislative reforms undertaken in 1946 by adjusting the Yugoslav Constitution. This constitution sanctioned important aspects of the political, economic, educational and cultural life of the country. The political life after the Second World War in Yugoslavia had undergone radical changes making it possible for countries like Macedonia to become independent states or to be created from scratch. The only country which was politically eliminated in this aspect was Kosovo, which was left under Serbia from 1945. By oppressing Kosovo politically in all aspects of life, Serbia exercised a segregationist policy towards the Albanian people of Kosovo. Harsh measures were exercised against the Albanian minority, including their relocation to Turkey through various Yugoslav-Turkish agreements, the imprisonment of many political personalities, etc. Political rights of expression were denied and political pressure continued at the national level. These forms were present continuously and did not stop until 1968 when the political situation began to change. Indeed, the Albanian minority in Yugoslavia made good use of the political circumstances after 1968 when, in general demonstrations in all the cities of Kosovo, they opted for more national rights and requested the establishment of the University of Prishtina. Non-Albanian minorities were included in the Yugoslav republics in all spheres of life. Since they were not in large numbers, their presence was not revealed apart from the Hungarians. The Hungarian minority also began to enjoy greater rights with the amendment of several articles of the constitutions of 1946, 1953, 1963 and 1974. The presence of Hungarian schools was evident with several such schools and a lot of students who were allowed to use and be instructed in their mother tongue. Other small minorities such as Russians, Bulgarians, Germans and others were few in number. The Albanian population in Yugoslavia was distributed across several republics such as Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and to a lesser extent Croatia and Slovenia. Political power in Yugoslavia which was largely led by Serbs until 1966 through the iron hand of Alexander Rankovic did not allow the Albanians to even use their national flag and to express any kind of dissatisfaction through various demonstrations or manifestations. The period between 1966-1974 was decisive for Albanians in Yugoslavia, especially since many important steps were taken in political terms, such as the replacement of Serbian politicians with Albanians, the establishment of many different schools and the massification of higher education in general. The Yugoslav constitutions with their reforms changed the direction of comprehensive development of political, social, economic and cultural life for all non-Albanian and Albanian minorities in Yugoslavia. The author has followed the descriptive and analytical scientific methods for dealing with this important issue for general historiography. A serious Yugoslav and Albanian literature covering this socially and scientifically important study has been used.

Mass higher education and the slow road to freedom

Mass higher education and the slow road to freedom

Massification of Higher Education in Malaysia: Managing Institutional Equity and Diversity

Massification of Higher Education in Malaysia: Managing Institutional Equity and Diversity

Student Support Services Towards Institutional Change and Development

Assurance of quality and assessment of the current state of services provided by government-funded colleges and universities are constantly dominating the agenda in most countries. Developing countries in the Asia Pacific, such as the Philippines, are concerned with continuously improving their academic standards while pursuing greater access and opportunity. Quality arrangements are now being sought to balance quantity, quality, and public accountability as it moves toward mass higher education with a greater diversity of students and modes combined with tightened or limited resources. As a result, SUCs (State Universities and Colleges) and LUCs (Local Universities and Colleges) are expected to constantly respond to changes in the higher education environment to address their students' diverse learning and support needs. Under such circumstances, this study is relevant. The main objective of this research is to cover the student assistance services offered by SUCs and LUCs, given that higher education institutions are focusing on meeting the standards assigned by recognized accreditation agencies on a standard-by-standard basis. Since HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) place a high value on quality assurance, and institutional and program accreditation leveling for global recognition, this study determined the current state of SSP as perceived by student respondents. This research is limited to a particular degree program (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration) from the following government-funded HEIs: University of Makati (UMak), Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST), Bulacan Agricultural State College (BASC), Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), and Bulacan State University (BulSU).