Portuguese Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

Distance Learning of Financial Accounting: Mature Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions

This research sought to explore self-reported satisfaction levels of mature students enrolled in the virtual financial accounting course of the first online-only bachelor’s degree in Portugal. While doing so, it attempted to generate understanding of which factors may affect undergraduate mature students’ engagement—herein measured in terms of overall satisfaction—with online learning, particularly, of financial accounting. Thereby, this research addresses several research gaps. First, unlike most recent empirical research, it provides evidence from a post-pandemic period, in 2022. Second, responding to calls for further education research in different contexts, Portugal poses a highly relevant, unexplored research setting since it was only in 2019 that the Portuguese government approved a legal regime to frame distance education at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Third, this research focuses on the overlooked, and yet growing, population of adult mature students. The research evidence emerges from 32 valid responses to a structured electronic questionnaire circulated to students at the end of a financial accounting module (in July 2022). Satisfaction rates from students’ own perspectives were derived in terms of (i) overall satisfaction, (ii) learning outcomes, (iii) e-learning process, and (iv) pedagogical practices adopted. The assessment of satisfaction levels was determined through Likert-type items with responses ranging from a minimum score of 1 to the highest score of 5. Data gathered were subject to quantitative analysis: descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, statistical tests, principal component analysis, and linear regression. High levels of satisfaction with distance education were uncovered. We found that pedagogical practices constitute the dimension that contributed the least (though, still importantly) to overall satisfaction as compared with learning outcomes and e-learning process. The results of this research offer the potential to contribute to the implementation of training offerings of online courses at other Portuguese HEIs as well as abroad.

Factors affecting social entrepreneurial intentions in a Portuguese higher education institution

Purpose This study aims to identify and explore the factors affecting social entrepreneurial intentions considering an educational institution in Portugal. It also intends to determine the relevance of moderating factors in the antecedents and entrepreneurial intention of these students. Design/methodology/approach A panel of 177 undergraduate students enrolled in a social entrepreneurship course between the academic years 2018 and 2021 is considered. The data is explored quantitatively considering descriptive analysis techniques, correlational analysis and hypothesis testing. Findings The findings reveal that entrepreneurial intention depends on multiple individual, organizational and contextual dimensions. Students' entrepreneurial intention remains unchanged regardless of the student’s profile. However, students' professional experience is a more relevant factor for the identification of organizational dimensions related to curriculum and critical pedagogy, while previous involvement in volunteer activities contributes to a higher prevalence of individual factors. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is original in exploring the role of entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents considering a heterogeneous students' profile. It offers theoretical and practical contributions by extending the literature on social entrepreneurial intention that can be used by higher education institutions to offer specific training more focused on the student's profile.

Student Academic and Social Engagement in the Life of the Academy—A Lever for Retention and Persistence in Higher Education

Research studies worldwide have focused on higher education dropout, persistence, and success. Given the profound changes in higher education that have taken place in recent decades, higher education institutions need to compete for students by attracting, retaining, and, ultimately, graduating them. Thus, higher education institutions increasingly offer actions that aim to foster student success. While a smooth and supported process of student transition from secondary to tertiary education is one of the key variables in higher education student retention and paramount for preventing student dropout, the student’s overall experience in higher education plays a pivotal role in their performance and success. This paper focuses specifically on higher education students’ academic and social involvement, notably through their engagement in extracurricular activities and decision-making processes, which are perceived as critical mechanisms in their persistence in higher education. The study used a qualitative approach with the analysis of four Portuguese higher education institutions. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with students and institutional leaders, complemented with document analysis, and explored through content analysis. The results reveal that, from the wide range of opportunities for involvement offered to students by the higher education institution, activities of an academic nature are the most sought after by students to complement their educational experience. However, students perceive involvement in extracurricular activities in general as critical, both to their overall education and preparation for the labor market and to an easier integration into the institutional environment. Hence, student involvement in cultural or recreational activities, alongside their involvement in institutional decision-making bodies and associative movements, is a privileged way of complementing students’ academic training and is perceived by them as important in their overall education, both as professionals and as individuals.

Biomedical and health informatics teaching in Portugal: Current status

BackgroundThe domain of Biomedical and Health Informatics (BMHI) lies in the intersection of multiple disciplines, making it difficult to define and, consequently, characterise the workforce, training needs and requirements in this domain. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, there isn’t any aggregated information about the higher education programmes in BMHI currently being delivered in Portugal, and which knowledge, skills, and competencies these programmes aim to develop. AimOur aim is to map BMHI teaching in Portugal. More specifically, our objective is to identify and characterise the: a.) programmes delivering relevant BMHI teaching; b.) geographical distribution and chronological evolution of such programmes; and c.) credit distribution and weight. MethodsWe conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study to systematically identify all programmes currently delivering any core BMHI modules in Portugal. Our population included all graduate-level programmes being delivered in the 2021/2022 academic year in any Portuguese higher education institution. ResultsWe identified 23 programmes delivering relevant teaching in BMHI in Portugal. Of these, eight (35%) were classified as dedicated educational programmes in BMHI, mostly delivered in polytechnic institutes at a master’s level (5; 63%) and located preferentially in the northern part of the country (7). Currently, there are four programmes with potential for accreditation but still requiring some workload increase in certain areas in order to be eligible.

Bibliometric Analysis and Benchmarking of Life Cycle Assessment of Higher Education Institutions

Higher Education Institutions (HEI), such as Universities and Institutes worldwide, are making efforts and setting goals to assess and minimise their environmental impacts, and to become more sustainable. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been considered a powerful approach to deal with environmental impacts of products and services. Thus, in this paper, a bibliometric analysis was carried out to benchmark the sustainability of HEI in terms of key areas, impacts, and barriers. Results indicate that, although some HEI are concerned with sustainability, LCA has not been systematically adopted in their assessments, and the main focus is on the calculation of carbon emissions. The lack of available internal information and managing commitment are the main barriers to adopting LCA in HEI. In the few cases where LCA was considered, it was observed that differences in scopes, functional units, intensities, and data reliability hamper comparisons, and lead to biased conclusions. In the end of the paper, the results of some Portuguese HEI are provided and discussed, showing the need for a better understanding of environmental assessment results.

A Multidimensional Model of Analysis of Students’ Global Experience in Higher Education

In the current higher education context, higher education institutions need, more than ever before, to compete for students, attracting, retaining and, ultimately, graduating them. To this end, actions are increasingly developed, and conditions are created to promote student success. The literature demonstrates that there is a strong link between the students’ experience and success. However, students’ experience cannot be controlled by the higher education institution, given the existence of previous subjective experiences that students bring when they enroll in higher education, which act as filters of their current experiences. The central goal of this study is to unveil the factors that students perceive as influencers on their global experience in higher education, which are reflected in their path, performance and success. The methodology used is qualitative, with in-depth interviews with students and institutional leaders from four Portuguese higher education institutions, complemented with documentary analysis. The results reveal that individual and organizational factors, alongside the students’ global experience, clearly influence their definition of a successful higher education student. Students build their representations of success based on the multiplicity and complexity of their experiences in higher education, affected by the features of the higher education institution and mediated by their personal history and life project.

The Study on the Internationalization Policy of Portuguese Higher Education

Portuguese higher education institutions have experienced avigorous internationalization process, involving personnel mobility and academic cooperation. This article analyzes the globalization of higher education within the overall framework of European Union education policy, and examines the transformation of Portugal's internationalization policies and institutions in higher education. Based on this analysis, the article summarizes the implications of Portugal's internationalization policies for China's higher education internationalization efforts in the areas of Sino-foreign cooperative education, international projects, external exchange and cooperation, at the theoretical, cooperative, and communicative levels. These implications have significant reference value for China's establishment of an internationally connected higher education internationalization policy.

The Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the Impact Ranking: Quality Education in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions

Sustainability based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is currently a relevant dimension for the competitiveness of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Portuguese HEIs will have, therefore, to adapt to the demands of the times and follow the Sustainable Development practices. Therefore, Quality Education is, then, a factor that allows HEIs to have competitive advantages, given that Education is a critical success factor for these institutions. Through a qualitative analysis of articles on the theme of Sustainability in Higher Education and the THE Impact Ranking platform, we tried to understand the impact that SDG 4 - Quality of Education has on Portuguese Higher Education Institutions, registered on this platform from 2019 to 2022. The main conclusion is that SDG 4 does not seem to be considered yet by Portuguese HEIs as a distinctive factor to obtain competitive advantage in the universe of HEIs.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Remote Learning during the Pandemic: A Case Study

The closure of higher education institutions (HEIs) due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to visible changes in pedagogical practices. With the lockdown, there was ambiguity and disagreement about the workload of teachers and students, and about what to teach and what strategies to select. For most instructors, the first challenge was to recreate the face-to-face experience. Worldwide, most universities have speedily adopted synchronous and asynchronous communication modes. Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco, Webex, Zoom, and Moodle were among the most used tools. The present study is based upon a quantitative approach, and it intends to analyse teachers’ perceptions of remote teaching during the first pandemic period. Data were collected through an online questionnaire during June and July 2020. The questionnaire had 27 questions divided into three main sections: sociodemographic characterization, e-Learning strategies, and remote assessment. The study population was teachers of a Portuguese HEI. A random sample was used with 547 participants. The main conclusions show that the less experienced teachers are, the more satisfied they feel with remote classes and remote assessment. On the other hand, the most experienced teachers used more tools during the remote teaching period and developed more strategies to perform remote assessment. Regarding the overall assessment of the emergency remote teaching, the participants consider that it was a positive period, and they were moderately satisfied with remote classes and the strategies and tools used during this period.

Overall Satisfaction with the Emergency Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of Higher Education Students in Portugal

Objective - The COVID-19 pandemic led to an abrupt transition to online classes in higher education, with no consideration for the specific students' conditions in Portugal and other countries. Therefore, this study aims to assess the students' perspectives on online learning classes during the lockdown in 2020. Methodology/Technique - The analysis is based on 2,107 valid answers from students of seven Portuguese higher education institutions that took synchronous online classes. Principal component analysis and binary logistic regression were the main quantitative methods used. Findings – This study identified five factors that, in all cases, significantly explain the students' perspective on the transition to online classes. These factors include not only pedagogical matters (teachers' overall quality) but also elements related to personal or motivational students' characteristics (performance and autonomy; constraints and obstacles to socialization; self-confidence while attending online classes) and technological issues (Internet access conditions). Notwithstanding, self-confidence is not a relevant factor for students with technical limitations concerning infrastructural matters. Novelty - Besides the contributions of this study, it is important to emphasize its relevance by combining the critical success factors in distance learning with different demographic variables, which are usually less explored by this literature. Notwithstanding, less robust and inconsistent results were found for those variables. Type of Paper: Empirical JEL Classification: I18, I23, I28. Keywords: COVID-19; emergency remote teaching; higher education; technical infrastructures; students' perspective. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Albuquerque, F; Santos, P.G.D; Martinho, C. (2022). Overall Satisfaction with the Emergency Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of Higher Education Students in Portugal, J. Mgt. Mkt. Review, 7(3), 116 – 128. https://doi.org/10.35609/jmmr.2022.7.3(4)

ONLINE COURSE "FROM IDEA TO FINAL PRODUCT": ORGANIZATIONAL, CONTENT, AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed unprecedented changes and challenges to the ways of learning, teaching, and communicating within educational institutions. Prophylactic isolation measures, adopted globally, have discontinued face-to-face teaching and precipitated distance learning. This reality highlighted the importance of online courses as creative initiatives to overcome space and time constraints in a limited pedagogical context. It was in this scope that the Project "Exploration of online methodologies in the development of competencies in the audiovisual area" emerged, proposing the creation of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in the audiovisual area (from the idea to the final product) and the development of the online platform LOOP for the implementation and availability of this and other courses held afterward. The project involves three Portuguese higher education institutions and one Spanish one, motivated to develop innovative proposals, both in research and education. Moreover, this network presents a diversity of training in degree courses, master's, and technological specialization programs, which allows us privileged contact with the students and helps us establish priorities and needs. This paper focuses on the survey and analysis, at the national and international level, of MOOCs dedicated to the themes of audiovisual production to expose parameters of both organizational and content scope. The methodological approach will be divided into two phases: a) identification of the criteria for analyzing courses through the literature review; b) and selection of the courses to be analyzed. This selection will be conducted through a database search, identifying the keywords in Portuguese, English, and Spanish: audiovisual online course; audiovisual free course; filmmaking course; scriptwriting course; video editing course; and other derivations. It is hoped to present a set of guidelines for developing the course related to the organization and the content.

Not Practicing What You Preach: How Is Accounting Higher Education Preparing the Future of Accounting

The accounting profession is undergoing significant changes due to revolutions in technology and markets. It is ever more important for higher education institutions (HEIs) to understand how to prepare professionals and students for the not-so-distant future. A review of the literature was conducted using VOS Viewer, focusing on the accountant’s profile in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and digital transformation. Then, the literature review’s findings were compared with the curricula of all Portuguese HEI accounting courses. The results show that transversal skills will be crucial in maintaining the relevance of the accounting profession, but HEIs seem to focus their curricula almost entirely on technical competencies/hard skills. There are, therefore, substantial divergences between what literature preaches and what education practices, not unlike what is being reported the world over. The origins and solutions to this apparent paradox are explored so as to contribute to good practices in other contexts and as a cautionary tale for other countries’ professional systems.

The Emergency Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of Higher Education Students in Portugal

The COVID-19 pandemic led, in Portugal as well in other countries, to an abrupt transition to online classes in higher education, with no consideration for the specific students’ conditions. Therefore, this study aims to assess the students' perspective on online learning classes carried out during the lockdown in 2020. The analysis is based on 2,107 valid answers from students of seven Portuguese higher education institutions that took synchronous online classes. Principal component analysis and binary logistic regression were the main quantitative methods used. This study identified five factors that, in all cases, significantly explain the students’ perspective on the transition to online classes. These factors include not only pedagogical matters (teachers’ overall quality) but also elements related to personal or motivational students’ characteristics (performance and autonomy; constraints and obstacles to socialization; self-confidence while attending online classes) and technological issues (Internet access conditions). Notwithstanding, self-confidence is not a relevant factor for students that had technical limitations in what concerns infrastructural matters. Therefore, besides confirming the factors behind the success of online classes, this research is relevant for highlighting the need to assure that students have the proper conditions regarding technical infrastructures to improve the overall quality of online classes. Keywords: COVID-19, emergency remote teaching, higher education, technical infrastructures, students’ perspective.

Sustainable practices of selected publiclylisted higher educational institutions in ensuring good health and well-being

Sustainable practices of selected publiclylisted higher educational institutions in ensuring good health and well-being

Resisting, accepting and supporting gender equality in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions: Leadership Profiles

In the European context, Portugal is the country with the lowest number of women (1.9% in 2016) at the top of the academic career and just 30% of women in the leadership of HEIs (She Figures 2018; Elsevier, 2021; Cabrera, 2019; Carvalho and Diogo, 2018). Paradoxically, it is also one of the European countries where female academics have the highest publishing productivity (Elsevier, 2021) and make up most of the doctorates (55% in 2016). Only very recently, however, these inequalities began to receive attention. In 2019, for example, women's participation in academic decision-making and leadership became required by law (National Law 26/2019) in all Portuguese public higher education institutions. And levelling effects of this law are soon expected since human resources management in the public HE institutions in Portugal is a centralised system (OECD, 2021). In this context it also becomes interesting to understand what academic leaders think about the promotion of gender equality in HEIs. This paper seeks to address this question. As part of a larger research project exploring gender equality issues in HEIs in Portugal we dethatched qualitative interviews conducted with HEIs leaders throughout the country. The project also involved secondary analyses of national and international data on gender equality and four case studies in HEIs with an action research approach. The outcome of the analysis was an exploratory typology identifying three specific profiles among interviewees – Resisting, Accepting, and Supporting – conveying different ways of understanding and dealing with gender equality issues in HEIs. Overall, this qualitative analysis found a greater awareness about Gender Equality than what has been reported in previous research (e.g. Carvalho, White and Machado-Taylor 2013; Carvalho, Özkanli and Machado-Taylor, 2012; Carvalho and Machado-Taylor, 2010). The paper describes and illustrates each of these profiles and discusses implications of these findings for promoting gender equality in HEIs in Portugal and beyond.

Supporting the Development of Pre-Service Primary Teachers PCK and CK through a STEM Program

STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) education has received great attention in recent years not only for promoting interest and learning in these areas but also for encouraging children and young people to pursue careers in them. This research explored the effects of a STEM program in developing the primary pre-service teachers’ Content Knowledge (CK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) about sound. A qualitative and interpretative study analyzed the impact of a STEM program on the CK and PCK of 18 pre-service primary teachers that were attending a master’s degree program in a Portuguese higher education institution. The data was collected from their lesson plans, field notes, a focus group interview, and participants assignments throughout the STEM activities carried out. Findings revealed several scientific misconceptions and weaknesses in the participants’ PCK. Nevertheless, there was a clear positive impact on pre-service teachers’ CK and PCK, specifically regarding the principles underlying STEM integration that was proposed in the conceptual framework.

Knowledge management in public universities in Brazil and Portugal

The objective of this research was to investigate which indicators facilitate or are barriers to Knowledge Management and which therefore behave as enablers or inhibitors of innovation and social effectiveness in higher education institutions in Brazil and Portugal, in the perception of managers in education. It is a quantitative study operationalized through a survey with descriptive purpose. Data were collected through questionnaires and their treatment was operated on electronic spreadsheets. The results showed that both the Brazilian and the Portuguese higher education institutions have a satisfactory performance in knowledge management, especially in the process of knowledge acquisition. However, the section that deals with knowledge assessment, and which is related to the strategic process, showed that the organizational strategy has not taken on the role of a learning process overtime, which can compromise innovation capability and social effectiveness of institutions in the future. Through this study, facilitating indexes and knowledge management barriers were identified in the public service of education in Brazil and in Portugal.

Factors Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risk among Employees at a Portuguese Higher Education Institution.

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to assess the CVD risk (CVDRisk) in a sample of workers at a specific workplace: a higher education institution in Portugal. Data were collected using a questionnaire (e.cuidHaMUs.QueST®) with 345 HEI workers from June 2017–June 2018 with a high response rate (93.3%). Two constructs of risks for CVD were considered: (i) metabolic risk and hypertension (CVDRisk1); and (ii) modifiable behavioural risk (CVDRisk2). Logistic regression analyses were used to establish a relationship between risk indexes/constructs (CVDRisk1 and CVDRisk2) and groups of selected variables. The most prevalent CVD risk factor was hypercholesterolaemia (43.2%). Sixty-eight percent of participants were in the construct CVDRisk1 while almost half of the respondents were in CVDRisk2 (45.2%). The consumption of soft drinks twice a week or more contributed to a significantly increased risk of CVD in CVDRisk1. Lack of regular exercise and lack of daily fruit consumption significantly increased the risk of CVD in CVDRisk2. The challenge to decision makers and the occupational medical community is to incorporate this information into the daily practices of health surveillance with an urgent need for health promotional education campaigns in the workplace.

Determinants of Students' Satisfaction in an Online Environment in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions

Online education assumed an increasing relevance in the last two years in face of the successive pandemic-motivated lockdowns by SARS-Cov-2. Considering the potential strengthening of this type of education in Portugal, particularly in the context of higher education, this study aims to analyze the perspective of students on three vectors of the online education quality, namely the overall quality of classes, the assessment process, and the online teaching tools available. Students' perceptions regarding these vectors will be assessed from the demographic variables, and factors that underlie online education according to the literature. The research is based on a quantitative methodology. Data was carried out through a structured questionnaire applied online, which had the answers of 2,107 students from different courses and higher education institutions in Portugal in July 2020. Factor analysis and logistic regression were used. The findings identified a significant association between the three vectors of the quality of online education proposed, and the factors usually proposed in the literature that are part of the student, instructor, and technology dimensions. It is expected that this research provides the inputs to the different players involved either in the implementation or development of courses offered through online learning in Portugal.

The mediating role of entrepreneurial intention between creativity and social innovation tendency

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationship between creativity, entrepreneurial intention and social innovation tendency within academic community members (namely, students and professors/researchers).Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was administered to nearly 300 students and professors/researchers in Portuguese higher education institutions, whereupon a mediation analysis was performed to understand the aforementioned relationship.FindingsThe results indicate a positive relationship between individual creativity, entrepreneurial intention and social innovation tendency and that entrepreneurial intention mediates the relationship between creativity and social innovation tendency.Research limitations/implicationsFirstly, the results obtained to fit the specific characteristics of the sample used, suggesting that it would be risky to extrapolate to other contexts. Secondly, although the constructs used to measure variable creativity are based on the extant literature, these may be open to debate and possibly, therefore, alternative measures could have been used.Practical implicationsThe findings of the paper have important practical implications within the university context, namely: that study programmes should be designed to address the entrepreneurial potential of their students, teaching and research staff; that social entrepreneurship, volunteering activities and the development of creativity skills should be stimulated; and, finally, that social innovation should be at the core of a university’s mission.Originality/valueTo the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first time that the relationship between creativity, entrepreneurial intention and social innovation tendency has been empirically tested. To do this, a conceptual framework is proposed which suggests that individual creativity can be perceived by means of three interconnected constructs (the self, family and university creativity), which, in turn, predict entrepreneurial intention and social innovation tendency.