Higher Education Perspective Research Articles

Character Strengths and First-Year College Students’ Academic Persistence Attitudes: An Integrative Model

Higher education scholars produce the majority of research on student persistence. However, counseling psychologists may be uniquely situated to help students persist toward graduation by enhancing strengths. The present study integrated counseling and higher education models to examine college students’ character strengths (i.e., hope and gratitude) as predictors of student persistence variables (i.e., academic integration and institutional commitment). Drawing on higher education theories of persistence, we examined the mediating effects of academic integration on the associations between character strengths and institutional commitment among first-year undergraduate students ( N = 653). Controlling for social support, greater academic integration mediated the associations between character strengths and institutional commitment in a structural equation model. Consistent with higher education theories emphasizing academic integration as a precursor to institutional commitment, character strengths may be important for understanding academic integration and persistence. Implications for prevention and the integration of counseling psychology and higher education perspectives are discussed.

Human Creative Potential of Philosophy: a Strategic Perspective of Higher Education


 The paper reveals the human creative potential of philosophy, which is seen in the fact that philosophy, as “the technique of knowledge in freedom through creation of ideas”, can help the personality to master the technique of thinking and technique to be, and brings him/her into the broad contemporary context, which holds and opens the universal values and sense of humanity, comprehended in their past, present and future forms, and thus acts as a “advocate” and “therapist” of humanity. This potential of philosophy is extremely pertinent and should be actualized in the humanistic strategies of higher education in modern conditions, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. But for that philosophy (and philosophers) has to prove the praxeology effectiveness of its core functions – humanistic, worldview, cultural, therapeutic and maximize its human creative potential and mission in general. That implies an update of the philosophical education.

Openness in higher education

The purpose of this study is to analyze the phenomenon of openness in higher education and its trends and technologies of expanding educational opportunities in the digital information society of Moldovan universities. The main concepts of openness in education are associated with the practice of online learning and constructivist approaches, technical optimization of delivering information, continuous professional development and globalization of higher education. Since skilled knowledge becomes the main value of the market, then higher education perspective as a tool of knowledge reproduction is transformed into the basic space of openness and accommodation to innovative use of educational resources. The key issues related to openness in order to impact higher education target the development of Open Educational Resources (OER), as well as implication of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), relatively new online learning trend. There are institutional practices of the adoption and use of open education technologies in some international universities and organizations, which could be extended as well to create an open learning system in the Republic of Moldova, focusing on national practices of education. Openness of Moldovan HEIs is a strategic choice for the future in a rapidly changing educational market that should proliferate.

Enhancing Education for Sustainable Development in Environmental University Programmes: A Co-Creation Approach

The purpose of this study is to analyse co-creation approach as a strategy at HE as a prerequisite for a successful implementation of sustainable development (HESD), while considering student collaboration in university processes. A questionnaire was handed in to 395 undergraduate environmental students from twelve Ecuadorian universities to test a structural equation model that included four variables—participation, co-creation, satisfaction, and trust. It is worth noting that these topics are increasingly relevant in competitive and innovative universities when promoting management in HESD. The results verify that student participation, as one of the key ESD skills, has a significant and positive influence on co-creation as a generator of student satisfaction and trust, especially in this context. Co-creation, from a higher education perspective, from the premise that students are the centre of the learning process, reinforces the education quality principles in an innovative way, and promotes the HESD perspectives.

Openness in Education: Claims, Concepts, and Perspectives for Higher Education

Characteristics of openness can be found in many respects throughout the history of education. From Comenius’ call for pedagogical reform to postmodern educational theory, requirements of access, social justice, creativity, knowledge sharing, innovation, and capacity building have been emphasized in various ways. The chapter provides an outline of different understandings and notions of openness in educational contexts as well a discussion of their relevance for openness towards academic knowledge cultures and different forms of knowledge. Finally, the contribution highlights organizational, methodological, and critical perspectives as three aspects which appear to be undervalued in current debates about openness in higher education.

Corporate Identity Management and Employee Brand Support: Enhancing Marketisation in Higher Education Sector

Marketing literature has recognized Corporate Identity Management (CIM) in higher education sector as an important area of research. Moreover, current research trend within the continuum of CIM has indicated some ambiguities surrounding corporate identity in higher education. In fact, there is paucity of empirical studies on corporate identity from a higher education perspective. Consequently, the objective of this study is to examine the relationships between university’s CIM and employee brand support as well as its relevant causal mechanisms in the higher education sector in Malaysia. The study employed a survey (472) with Malaysian university staff as respondents to test the research hypotheses and the proposed conceptual model. Findings of the study indicated that the Malaysian university staff has some external validity in exploring CIM and employee brand support. The results also demonstrated that the CIM in universities should be merged with strategic communication. Finally, this study provides a better corporate identity management to policy makers, regulators, managers and government in the higher education sector. For example, institutions can inculcate employee brand support in their academic staff to ensure corporate identity management moves in the right direction. Keywords: corporate identity management, employee brand support, image, visual identity, higher education

Constructivist tenets applied in ICT-mediated teaching and learning: higher education perspectives

ABSTRACTThis study describes how a professor-instructor of a Master of Arts (MA) programme in Contemporary Issues in an Adult Education classroom applied constructivist tenets to address an ICT-mediated teaching and learning class. The study provides an analysis of the professor's constructivist pedagogical approach in designing curriculum, engaging in learner-centred teaching delivery, developing an assessment method and using educational technologies including the Sakai Learning Management System for the teaching and learning. The University of Ghana was the study area. A qualitative, descriptive case study design was used. The data collection methods were document review, observation and interviews. All the 14 MA students were sampled to be interviewees but 11 applicants were available for the interviews. Convenient sampling method was used. The findings included the unique success associated with using constructivist tenets in teaching and learning. From an international readership perspective, this paper calls for higher educational institutions everywhere to emulate the experience of the University of Ghana.

Relationship between New Network Media and Development of University Students from the Perspective of Higher Education in China—Taking a Renowned University in China as an Example

Network media has become a new normal under new environment in this innovative age, and new network media has been applied to higher education. Taking a Renowned University in China as an Example, author used the basis of developmental psychology theory, summarized new characteristics of new network media and university student’s development, and stated the response from and development of higher education, brought forth new ideas of the relationship between new network media and development of university students.

ADVANTAGES OF IMPLEMENTIG QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN HIGHER EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION:In response to globalization and due to the standardization and requisite of quality objective, there is a pervasive interest in the ISO 9001:2000. In particular, it focuses on the benefits and success factors in adopting ISO 9001:2000. It is trusted that the study findings may contribute to the constant debate on this area and, thus, may help other colleges, universities and teachers to maximize benefits, anticipate issues and develop strategies towards a firm implementation of this standard.The QMS has become a common choice of strategic management tools in the higher education setting. Consequently, implementation of QMS is critical in confirming the effective and efficient implementation of work processes and procedures to achieve the college goal to provide the educational services to various stakeholders.The education and educational organizations are experiencing extraordinary changes in established systems and delivery technologies, customer needs, and also government prospects (Prabhu, Appleby, Yarrow, & Mitchell, 2000); (Piskar & Dolinsek, 2006). In the perspective of higher education, a perceptible trend is in place i.e., increasing competition among universities and higher education institutions are attracting students across the globe. 'Quality' has risen as a theme employed as they compete with each other (Sohail, Rajadurai, & Abdul-Rahman, 2003).LITERATURE REVIEW:Previous research on the implementation of ISO 9000 in education can be classified under four categories: the significance of ISO 9000 to education (Welch, 1998); (Peters, 1999); (Waks & Frank, 1999); (Mc Adam & Welsh, 2000) benefits and limitations of ISO 9000 (van den Berghe, 1997); (Moreland & Clark, 1998); (Peters, 1999); (Waks & Frank, 1999); (Zuckerman & Rhodes, 2000); (Ayudhya, 2001); (Chan & Lai, 2002); (Mc Adam & Welsh, 2000); (Sohail, Rajadurai, & Abdul-Rahman, 2003); (Stimson, 2003); (Bevans-Gonzales & Nair, 2004); (Singh & Sareen, 2006) implementation issues of ISO 9000 (van den Berghe, 1997); (Moreland & Clark, 1998); (Peters, 1999); (Zuckerman & Rhodes, 2000).Generally, there is a paucity of empirical studies about the implementation of ISO 9000 in educational institutions. Moreover, most of the existing empirical studies refer to the 1994 version of this standard, although there are a few exceptions (Singels, Ruel, & Van De Water, 2001); (Thonhauser & Passmore, 2006). This research is a further progress to understand the benefits and success factors of ISO 9000 in educational institutions.Motivation for ISO 9000 Certification and Implementation Effort of ISO 9000 QMS:Motivation for ISO 9000 certification is one of the factors that can impact the implementation of ISO 9000 QMS and the performance of ISO 9000 certified organizations (Sun, 2000); (Huarng, Horng, & Chen, 1999); (Singels, Ruel, & Van De Water, 2001); (Gotzamani & Tsiotras, 2002); (Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, & Fitsilis, 2010); (Prajogo, 2011). Some researchers (Escanciano, Fernandez, & Vazquez, 2001); (Zaramdini, 2007); (Dissanayaka, Kumaraswamy, Karim, & Marosszeky, 2001) listed all the necessary inspiration factors in their studies.The two main motivating factors to implement ISO-9000 in a college's business department in the United Arab Emirates are the need to maintain consistent delivery despite high rate of faculty turnover and; to comply the face of frequent changes in policies and regulations. The QMS provided a platform for easy updating and accessing the latest rules and regulations.As a result of high faculty turnover (Gulf Talent Report, 2015), groups of new faculty join the department every term. There is a need to familiarize the newcomers with the processes as well as providing them with teaching material that has been used in previous terms to help them update the existing and create new material for teaching and assessment. …

Quality Assurance Driving Factors as Antecedents of Knowledge Management: a Stakeholder-Focussed Perspective in Higher Education

Similar to many other types of organisations, the successful development of higher education institutions generally depends on proactive multi-stakeholder management strategy. As a social responsibility of universities, quality assurance (QA) of higher education is already an established research domain. However, the issues that serve as driving factors in higher education’s quality are acknowledged in this vast knowledge stream in a dispersed way. An objective of this paper is to provide a quick snapshot of the major QA driving factors in higher education. Another objective here is to discuss the significance of these existing QA driving factors in higher education as prospective antecedents of knowledge management among the key stakeholders in the higher education sector and beyond. An inductive constructivist approach is followed to review the relevant QA driving factors from the extant scholarly views. A number of relevant factors are precised from the literature that would be instrumental to uphold quality in higher education. The discussion demonstrates that these factors are also significant to transfer and share knowledge between the key stakeholders not only for universities, but also for businesses, governments and other organisational stakeholders. The paper proposes a framework of the QA drivers’ application for meaningful knowledge transfer between diverse stakeholders and clarifies the framework’s managerial implications. This conceptual framework specifies different scenarios and perspectives of QA drivers’ application in the global education sector. The academic novelty is based on the inductive approach applied in the paper. QA practitioners will be able to follow these factors as steering phenomena to effectively assure quality, in relation to their multi-stakeholder relationships in higher education and beyond.

Invisible higher education: Higher education institutions from Central and Eastern Europe in global rankings

The starting point of this study is the argument that not only rankings of higher education institutions (HEIs) are inescapable, but so is the constant criticism to which they are subjected. Against this background, the paper discusses how HEIs from Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEECs) are (non)represented in the main global university rankings. The analysis adopts two perspectives: 1) From the point of view of higher education in CEECs – what are the specificity, basic problems and perspectives of higher education in CEECs as seen through the prism of the global ranking systems? 2) From the point of view of the ranking systems – what strengths and weaknesses of the global ranking systems can be identified through the prism of higher education in CEECs? The study shows that most of the HEIs from CEECs remain invisible in the international and European academic world and tries to identify the main reasons for their (non)appearance in global rankings. It is argued that although global rankings are an important instrument for measuring and comparing the achievements of HEIs by certain indicators, they are only one of the mechanisms – and not a perfect one – for assessing the quality of higher education.

Supporting Electronic Collaborative Experiences at Universities Based on Learning Spaces and LAMS

The development of networks and web based environments combined with modern learning theories compose the new area of Learning Spaces aiming at enhancing interactive processes between educators, the Net generation's learners and the educational content. Collaboration at a distance (e-collaboration) supported by advanced learning technologies is today feasible and effective at a large scale opening up new perspectives in higher education. The paper presents a case study at the Hellenic Open University regarding the development of a learning sequence aimed at achieving high degrees of interactions among students, students and educators, and also at guiding them between face-to-face meetings when they prepare an essay. The Learning Space of the case study is realized by authoring sequences of learning activities using an LMS LAMS. Extending the case study, a methodology is illustrated to author collaborative sequences using LMS addressing to Open Universities in particular and also to conventional Universities in general.

ICT Capacity Building: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Rwandan Policies from Higher Education Perspective

Abstract With the development of technology in the 21st Century, education systems attempt to integrate technology-based tools to improve experiences in pedagogy and administration. It is becoming increasingly prominent to build human and ICT infrastructure capacities at universities from policy to implementation level. Using a critical discourse analysis, this study investigates the articulation of ICT capacity building strategies from both national and institutional ICT policies in Rwanda, focusing on the higher education. Eleven policy documents were collected and deeply analyzed to understand which claims of ICT capacity building are made. The analysis shows that strategies for building ICT capacities are evidently observed from national level policies and only in two institutional policies (KIST and NUR). Among 25 components of ICT capacity building used, the ones related to human capacity are not plainly described. Additionally, neither national nor institutional policy documents include the creation of financial schemes for students to acquire ICT tools whilst learners are key stakeholders. Although there is some translation of ICT capacity building strategies from national to some institutional policies, planning for motivation and provision of incentives to innovators is not stated in any of the institutional policies and this is a key to effective technology integration.

Digital Curation as a Core Competency in Current Learning and Literacy: A Higher Education Perspective

<p class="3">Digital curation may be regarded as a core competency in higher education since it contributes to establishing a sense of metaliteracy (an essential requirement for optimally functioning in a modern media environment) among students. Digital curation is gradually finding its way into higher education curricula aimed at fostering social media literacies. Teachers are urged to blend informal and formal learning and since most people informally use curation in their daily lives for compiling relevant information, it may be fairly easy to adopt digital curation in teaching and learning. Teachers, however, require considerable insight in incorporating various informal digital curation tools in educational practices. The SECTIONS model may assist in guiding decisions around the suitability of digital curation tools for a higher education environment. Including digital literacy training in the professional development of academic staff members may sensitize them to the possibilities that incorporating digital approaches in curricula offer. The Five Cs of Digital Curation framework may guide academic staff members in compiling suitable digital material. There as yet appears not to be a pedagogy that fully acknowledges the various digital curation processes. A pedagogy of abundance, acknowledging that content often is freely available and abundant, may eventually prove relevant in this regard.</p>

Competency‐based education: The employers' perspective of higher education

BackgroundThis article presents the results of a recent research study conducted to understand how employers viewed degrees earned through competency‐based education programs and, specifically, how employers perceived graduates from these programs for hiring.MethodsThis two‐phase, sequential mixed methods study explored whether employers valued such degrees and whether they considered job applicants possessing credentials from competency‐based education programs to be equally academically prepared for the workplace as candidates who had graduated from traditional, credit‐hour‐based programs. The participants in both phases of this study were human resource professionals and hiring managers from a range of business models, industries, and employee population sizes who were members of a targeted human resource organization.FindingsThe number one finding of the study was the lack of familiarity that employers possess of the CBE model, but it is clear that employers have strong views of what they require from new hires and new college graduates. The research results also indicated that employers have an interest in learning more about the CBE model of education.ConclusionsEmployers would like to have a voice in identifying what skills and competencies are needed by their workforces, and they believe it is in a college's best interest to seek out their input. They have noted that credentials from competency‐based programs can be of value to their organizations if the competencies that a student masters are aligned with employer needs.

RETRACTED: Affordances and constraints of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) for learning and teaching in higher education: Teachers' perspectives

Abstract This paper reports on a study aiming at examining the affordances and constraints of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) for varied pedagogical practices from teachers' perspectives in higher education. Seventeen teachers from eight departments and centers participated in the one-year study. The affordances and constraints of BYOD were examined under the “framework of affordances and constraints in BYOD-supported learning environment”. Data collection included class observations, class videos, field notes, resources on the BYOD website and teaching plans. Content analysis was adopted in the data analysis. The research findings show that (1) seven types of BYOD conceptualized affordances were identified for varied pedagogical purposes; and (2) three types of constraints of BYOD were singled out in pedagogical practices. Discussions regarding the affordances and constraints are made and implications are explored.

Performance-based budgeting for continuing and lifelong education services: the Thai higher education perspective

ABSTRACTThis study presents analyses of panel data from 2007 to 2011 from various authoritative sources of information on public universities in Thailand. The focus is on factors that influence the budgetary decision-making process in providing educational services to the general public under a recently implemented performance-based budgeting system. Results from fixed effect regression models show that student headcount, political influence and economic conditions are not statistically significant variables in the decision-making process, which establish budgetary expenditures for educational services. These findings seem to contradict those in existing literature that have relied on analyses of data from surveys, interviews and questionnaires. This study contributes to the literature by providing quantitative data analysis and providing accurate information that could assist university administrators in preparing their universities’ budgets.

Assessing service quality in secondary schools: the case of Jordan

Purpose – Since conducting the literature review revealed that assessing quality in secondary schools has been an unexplored territory, and where most educational service quality research studies have mainly focussed on assessing quality from a student’s perspective in higher education, comes into play with a two-fold objective: first, to identify the quality dimensions most vital to students in a developing country such as Jordan, and then to develop a framework consisting of these dimensions; and second, to investigate the extent of satisfaction of students enrolled into international qualifications in Jordan by measuring the gap between expectations and perceptions. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A focus group meeting consisting of experts in the field of secondary school education, specifically in internationally recognized qualifications, was conducted. These expert’s objective input helped develop the framework for assessing quality in secondary schools. Findings – A framework was developed specifically to suit private secondary schools in Jordan with reference to the SERVQUAL model. The resulting questionnaire is intended to be distributed to over 200 students enrolled in an international qualification program among private schools in Jordan. Research limitations/implications – The framework could be considered as a form of reality check for schools supplying school administrations in Jordan with a suitable tool to measure whether they are exceeding their students’ expectations. This framework might not be applicable to public schools in Jordan, since it was customized to be applied in schools who have adopted international qualification(s). Originality/value – This study contributes to quality service research that addresses the context of high schools in a developing Middle-Eastern country.

The Contribution of E-Learning to the Implementation of a Lifelong Learning Perspective in Higher Education

The Contribution of E-Learning to the Implementation of a Lifelong Learning Perspective in Higher Education

Multicultura e interculturalidad: implicaciones de una ausencia en la educación

Resumen Reflexión teórica desde las perspectivas sociológica – antropológica de la educación, sustentada en los enfoques de la multicultura e interculturalidad. Se parte de varios estudios realizados en la residencia estudiantil de la Universidad de Cienfuegos, al centro - sur de Cuba. Estos han combinados análisis cuantitativos y cualitativos, considerando variables e indicadores socio demográficos, relacionados con la satisfacción en el acceso a la cultura, la salud, las relaciones y dinámicas sociales, mediadas por una estructura social clasista y sociocultural que distingue especificidades en la biografía cultural de individuos y grupos. Se concedió importancia a la significación dada a la residencia como escenario relevante de la vida educacional, las percepciones de las relaciones múltiples y diversas entre los grupos que tienen presencia en ella, así como los niveles de diálogos en los ámbitos académicos, científicos y sociales. Se analizaron varios documentos, y se realizaron observaciones, entrevistas estructuradas y en profundidad. Desde este contexto se muestran las implicaciones del déficit teórico en la gestión formativa en la residencia universitaria, limitando el alcance del proyecto educativo como concreción curricular, para el desarrollo de procesos socializadores más coherentes. Se concluye que la ausencia de estas perspectivas teóricas en la educación superior posibilitaron que la visión política ocupara la primera interpretación del proceso, expresada en la acción solidaria y aun cuando se muestran resultados concretos de importancia en cuanto al número de alumnos graduados, el proceso formativo fue limitado en el diálogo profundo, la socialización cultural para la lograr la unidad en la diversidad.