Subject Disciplines Research Articles

Dealing with mathematical anxiety: Should one size fit all?

Many students who have to study mathematics as an enabling subject within higher education experience mathematical anxiety to a greater or lesser extent. This affliction can impact student learning and achievement in mathematics and so a number of strategies have been suggested for alleviating mathematical anxiety or at least moderating its effects. This paper reports on a comparison of the mathematical anxiety experienced by two groups of students each studying a different subject discipline. The results indicate that the groups have quite different levels of anxiety and the differing contributing factors between the groups suggest that approaches to remediation need to be tailored to reflect these factors.

Doctoral dissertations awarded of education in India: A study (2010–2014)

The study seeks to examine the doctoral dissertations awarded in the field of education in India during 2010-14. The study primarily aims at assessing the trend of doctoral research undertaken across the length and breadth of India in education. The data for the present study was compiled from the bibliography of doctoral dissertations, published by the Association of Indian Universities in the field of Social Sciences, for the years 2010 to 2014 individually. The study revealed that, in all 983 doctoral degrees were awarded in the subject discipline of education in India during the period of study, at an average of 196.60 doctoral degrees each year. A total of 5788 doctoral degrees were awarded in the field of Social Sciences during 2010 to 2014, out of, which 983 (16.98%) were awarded in education, which is the highest among all the subject disciplines in social sciences. Of the awarded degree, 177 (18%) were awarded alone from Gujarat.

COMPETITIVENESS OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE GLOBAL SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

The article deals with topical issues of ensuring the competitiveness of universities and national systems of higher education, primarily Russian, in the context of globalization. Ensuring a high level of competitiveness of the education system on the world arena is based on effective strategies for the development of national universities. The implementation of these strategies should contribute to the achievement of the level of world standards in education, research and development. The most representative examples of a competitive university are the so-called “world class universities” (WCU), included in the well-known international ratings (ARWU, THE, QS) are world-class universities. The strategy of achieving a level of competitiveness by a specific university, which makes it possible not only to get and gain a foothold in the international rating, but also to rise, is directly connected with the national (state) strategy for the development of higher education. According to S. Marginson, in the context of the globalization of education in different countries of the world, three basic models of strategies for the development of world-class universities (“breadth”, “deep” and combined – “breadth and depth”) are practiced. The strategy for the development of the Russian system of higher education was initially based on a strategy “deep” (the program for supporting Russian universities “5 in 100”). However, at present, the emphasis has shifted to the strategy of promotion in the disciplinary (subject) rating. It, quite correlates with the target scenario, formulated in the “Strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation”, approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

STEM Education in the Twenty-First Century: Learning at Work – An Exploration of Design and Technology Teacher Perceptions and Practices

Teachers’ knowledge of STEM education, their understanding, and pedagogical application of that knowledge is intrinsically linked to the subsequent effectiveness of STEM delivery within their own practice; where a teacher’s knowledge and understanding is deficient, the potential for pupil learning is ineffective and limited. Set within the context of secondary age phase education in England and Wales (11–16 years old), this paper explores how teachers working within the field of design and technology education acquire new knowledge in STEM; how understanding is developed and subsequently embedded within their practice to support the creation of a diverse STEM-literate society. The purpose being to determine mechanisms by which knowledge acquisition occurs, to reconnoitre potential implications for education and learning at work, including consideration of the role which new technologies play in the development of STEM knowledge within and across contributory STEM subject disciplines. Underpinned by an interpretivist ontology, work presented here builds upon the premise that design and technology is an interdisciplinary educational construct and not viewed as being of equal status to other STEM disciplines including maths and science. Drawing upon the philosophical field of symbolic interactionism and constructivist grounded theory, work embraces an abductive methodology where participants are encouraged to relate design and technology within the context of STEM education. Emergent findings are discussed in relation to their potential to support teachers’ educational development for the advancement of STEM literacy, and help secure design and technology’s place as a subject of value within a twenty-first Century curriculum.

Exploring the effectiveness of new technologies: Improving literacy and engaging learners at risk of social exclusion in the UK

This paper explores the effectiveness of new technologies in developing literacy within subject disciplines of secondary school students at risk of social exclusion. The research was undertaken as a collaborative project across five schools, including qualified and pre-service teachers in the United Kingdom. This paper provides an overview of the study and presents key findings related to impact on student progression and engagement and impact on teachers. The research indicates the affordances of the software supported more flexible, collaborative and creative learning opportunities, improved literacy and engagement with learning.

The cultural construction of subject discipline knowledge: comparing ‘abstraction’ in two international contexts

This paper uses a comparative methodology to examine the teaching of abstraction in two mathematics lessons, in Denmark and England. In doing so it aims to extend previous work by the authors, examining the effect of local, cultural issues on the form of teaching in order to understand how these also affect the subject content too. The analysis draws on two theoretical frameworks: the work of Hazzan and Zazkis to make sense of mathematical abstraction; and of Bernstein to provide a framework for examining pedagogic discourses at classroom level. The work compares two lessons, one each in England and Denmark, drawing out the ways in which teachers’ situated activities help to construct different versions of the subject matter – mathematical abstraction in this case. We assert that as well as abstraction being a practice which is constructed socially, cultural practices also mean that this is done differentially for, and by, groups of pupils and their teachers in ways which are likely to exacerbate the former’s differences, not reduce them. Some implications of this insight are discussed at the close.

The empire that Xoliswa built: entrepreneurship case study

Subject area Entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability The case can be pitched to undergraduate and postgraduate students and is applicable especially in cases when lecturers want to teach an introduction to entrepreneurship. Case overview This case study is about Xoliswa Tini and how she started Xoliswa Tini Properties, an emerging and growing player in the South African property industry. This case seeks to be used not only by commerce students but also by those outside this subject discipline. The motivation here being that entrepreneurship is not restricted to a specific subject discipline. The case profiles how an ordinary person from humble beginnings becomes an important player in an industry that she may have been excluded from based on her gender and race. This case can be used specifically to motivate and inspire students on the importance and processes that accompany the entrepreneur. The case can be used within an academic setting to teach undergraduate and postgraduate students. Outside the academy, individuals training in the area of entrepreneurship can use the case in their facilitation. Expected learning outcomes To facilitate the case study participant in: understanding the lived experience of an entrepreneur from how they started to key high and low highlights on the entrepreneurship journey; providing an analysis of the role of the micro- and macro-environment in influencing the entrepreneur’s journey and their decisions; appreciating the difficulties the entrepreneur faces in establishing their journey and the strategies used to deal with such difficulties. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Development of ontological approach in e-learning when studying information technologies

The results of the studies, directed toward the development of methods and models of the ontologically controlled e-courses on the basis of ontologies of the set of subject disciplines, mechanisms of ontologic management and the architecture of the system of the automated construction of courses, were presented The possibilities of ontological approach to electronic learning were analyzed. It was shown, that the ontological knowlwdge bases are one of the components of innovative technologies in e-learning and can become a basis for developing effective e-courses in different disciplines and specialities It was shown that the ontological approach to development of e-courses, on condition of automation of this process, ensures the reduction of costs for their creation and enhances the result of learning. The concept of developing the ontologically managed e-courses, which includes the use of methodology of e-courses synthesis on the basis of ontologies of subject disciplines and the library of reference information, was developed. There was demonstrated an example of creation of the ontologically controlled e-course on the discipline “Data bases” with the help of the program of compiling ontograhs and automated construction of e-courses developed in Java language. The process of developing e-courses on the basis of its information and functional models was demonstrated. It was shown, that a high degree of formalization and structurization of ontology of subject discipline as well as the integrated ontological approach to the innovative methods of e-learning can serve as a platform for creating effective e-courses in the system of higher education.

Perception of academic learning environments and perceived impact on articulation of employability skills; a mixed methods study

This study reports on the findings of a mixed methods study that was undertaken to establish student perceptions of academic learning environments and the perceived impact of these on their articulation of employability skills. This was so student perspectives on employability could be used to inform reflection on pedagogic practices for their educators in higher education. Using a purposive sample of 250 students based in a recently modernised Sciences Complex Building in a Higher Education Institution (HEI), the study was cross sectional and descriptive by design. The social learning spaces researched were perceived by participants to provide optimal academic learning environments for their development of knowledge, skills and professionalism through certain signature pedagogies as they progressed through their programmes of study. Students also expressed the view that their acquisition of functional skills were significantly more important than any personal attributes/characteristics that they brought to programmes. What also mattered was whether the importance of certain graduate skills to the workplace had been made explicit to them so that they could see the relevance of their studies to practice. In defining 'graduateness', in employability terms the research concluded that it was necessary to consider how it was shaped by the context of delivery of subject disciplines, stages of academic progression, and the use of social learning spaces, as they all had a significant impact on the perceptions students held about their potential employability upon completion of their academic programmes.

Taxi Professors: Academic Labour in Chile, a Critical-Practical Response to the Politics of Worker Identity

This paper discusses the organisation of academic labour as an expression of contemporary capitalism in Chile. The focus of our analysis is on so called ‘taxi professors’, hourly paid academics that carry out the majority of teaching at Chilean universities. Drawing on 23 qualitative interviews, we discuss the daily work routines of taxi professors, focussing on travel to work, gender, the labour process, academic freedom, self-management and the organisation of collective struggle among hourly paid workers. In contrast to the mainstream literature on academic identity, the discourses of hourly paid academics are not shaped merely by their sense of ‘precarity’, their belonging to a disciplinary subject or professional expertise, but fundamentally by the alienating and exploitative conditions of work to which they are exposed. This understanding of hourly paid academic labour in terms of an alienated form of capitalist work will be linked to academic writing that suggests a critical-practical activity that seeks to counteract the sense of ‘helplessness’ reflected in the discourses about academic identity. The practical aspect of this activity is presented as the possibilities of platform co-operativism, expressed in this context as co-operative forms of higher education, grounded in a critical reading of Karl Marx’s labour theory of value where value rather than labour is the focus of critical analysis.

Content- and proximity-based author co-citation analysis using citation sentences

Abstract Author co-citation analysis (ACA) has been widely used for identifying the subject disciplines of authors. Citations can reveal the explicit relationship between authors as well as their subject research fields. However, previous studies have seldom considered citation contents that convey useful implicit information on the authors or the influence of the links between the authors’ subject fields by taking citation locations into account. This study aims to reveal the implicit relationship in the authors’ subject disciplines by considering both citation contents and proximity. To this end, the researchers propose a new ACA method, called content- and proximity-based author co-citation analysis (CPACA). For the study, we extracted citation sentences and locations from full-text articles in the oncology field. The top 15 journals on oncology in Journal Citation Reports were selected, and 6,360 full-text articles from PubMed Central were collected. The results show that the proposed method enables the identification of distinct sub-fields of authors to represent authors’ subject relatedness.

Work-based learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how transdisciplinarity is woven into the key curriculum components of individually negotiated work-based learning (WBL) programmes and to focus upon the performative value of knowledge in the work context. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws upon WBL academic literature and the authors 22 years operational experience of WBL. Findings – The paper suggests that while university-level WBL can enhance the performance of organizations and individuals it is also inherently challenging and challenged by the hegemony of subject disciplines and disciplinary-based university structures. WBL is concerned with knowledge which is often unsystematic, socially constructed and is action focused in order to achieve outcomes of significance to work. This contests the supremacy of the role of the university in curriculum design, delivery and validation of knowledge and means that work-based knowledge is often seen as transdisciplinary rather than conforming to traditional subject disciplines (Boud and Solomon, 2001). Research limitations/implications – Central to the distinctive nature of university WBL programmes is the role of the external organization as a partner with the university and the individual learner in the planning of learning activities which are intended to have significance for the workplace. For individual knowledge to become organizational knowledge, and thus fully contribute to the intellectual capital of the organization, it must be shared and accepted by others. It follows that a key concern for organizations must be the facilitation of the recognition of knowledge and this goes beyond using a transdisciplinary lens when guiding and assessing the work of individual higher education students. Practical implications – The paper has practical implications for the design and facilitation of WBL programmes at higher education level. Originality/value – Provides an informed and sustained examination of the concept of WBL and knowledge.

Advancing Qualitative Research Using Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS)? Reviewing Potential Versus Practice in Published Studies using ATLAS.ti and NVivo, 1994–2013

Qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) programs are well-established research tools, but little is known about how researchers use them. This article reports the results of a content analysis of 763 empirical articles, published in the Scopus database between 1994 and 2013, which explored how researchers use the ATLAS.ti™ and NVivo™ QDAS programs.* The analysis specifically investigated who is using these tools (in terms of subject discipline and author country of origin), and how they are being used to support research (in terms of type of data, type of study, and phase of the research process that QDAS were used to support). The study found that the number of articles reporting QDAS is increasing each year, and that the majority of studies using ATLAS.ti™ and NVivo™ were published in health sciences journals by authors from the United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, Canada, and Australia. Researchers used QDAS to support a variety of research designs and most commonly used the programs to support analyses of data gathered through interviews, focus groups, documents, field notes, and open-ended survey questions. Although QDAS can support multiple phases of the research process, the study found the vast majority of researchers are using it for data management and analysis, with fewer using it for data collection/creation or to visually display their methods and findings. This article concludes with some discussion of the extent to which QDAS users appear to have leveraged the potential of these programs to support new approaches to research.

What Motivates Authors of Scholarly Articles? The Importance of Journal Attributes and Potential Audience on Publication Choice

In this article we examine what motivations influence academic authors in selecting a journal in which to publish. A survey was sent to approximately 15,000 faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers at four large North American research universities with a response rate of 14.4% (n = 2021). Respondents were asked to rate how eight different journal attributes and five different audiences influence their choice of publication output. Within the sample, the most highly rated attributes are quality and reputation of journal and fit with the scope of the journal; open access is the least important attribute. Researchers at other research-intensive institutions are considered the most important audience, while the general public is the least important. There are significant differences across subject disciplines and position types. Our findings have implications for understanding the adoption of open access publishing models.

Supporting the Adoption of Technology Enhanced Learning by Academics at Universities

This paper makes a number of recommendations to academic leaders and practicing academics on promoting the uptake of technology-enabled learning (TEL) across their institutions and on their programmes. The approach throughout is to privilege the academic voice and to reflect the views of practicing academics and their students. The authors – the heads of an academic department and of a service department - describe their case study approach, primarily covering staff and students in two different universities. The results are analysed in the context of existing change and adoption models. The authors conclude that existing models are inappropriate and posit their own model for the adoption of TEL, described as ‘Policy-led, large-scale, incremental adoption.’ The impact of the study is assessed. The authors acknowledge that there is no single best practice for full adoption of TEL across a university. We contend that this analysis and these recommendations will equip academic leaders and curriculum designers to deliver the benefits of effective adoption of TEL across subject disciplines.

“I chose to become a teacher because”. Exploring the factors influencing teaching choice amongst pre-service teachers in Ireland

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the suitability of the FIT-Choice scale for use within an Irish Initial Teacher Education setting with a cohort of first year pre-service teachers (n = 143), from across five different subject disciplines. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to examine participants’ motivations for choosing teaching as a career, as well as their perceptions about teaching. The results were found to be consistent with the original FIT-Choice structure thus supporting the validity of the FIT-Choice scale within this Irish Initial Teacher Education context. Prior teaching and learning experiences, as well as perceived ability, were found to be the strongest influential factors in participants’ decision to become a teacher. These findings further highlight the prominence given to subject-based knowledge in Ireland. The relationships between participants’ motivations for becoming a teacher and their satisfaction with career choice were also examined. Choosing teaching as a fallback career was negatively related to satisfaction, whereas a desire to work with children was found to be a significant positive predictor.

Developing an Original Argument: A Strategy for College Writing

ABSTRACTAn essay's motive or research problem consists of the rhetorical moves illuminating why that essay matters—what puzzling elements of a primary source it resolves, which contradictions in the data it explains, or what gaps in the literature it fills. This article invites college instructors to dedicate some of their classroom time to teaching students how to construct original, motive-driven arguments. More specifically, the article describes the conceptual triangle technique that uses a simple three-point concept map as the first step in active argument building. This technique is simple and flexible enough to be adapted across subject areas, data, and disciplines. The focus on scholarly motive in general and the use of the conceptual triangle in particular can be effective ways to help academic writers at all levels to develop original arguments that matter.

Assessing disciplinary differences in faculty perceptions of information literacy competencies

Purpose – Uncovering faculty members’ conceptions of Information Literacy (IL), as well as exploring their perceptions with regard to the importance given to a previously defined set of core IL competences grouped into four categories: searching, evaluation, processing and communication and dissemination. Ascertaining the possible differences among the five knowledge branches (arts and humanities, sciences, social and legal sciences, health sciences, and technical disciplines); and understanding the importance granted to a set of learning improvement initiatives by the faculty. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The survey was completed by a set of faculty members from the University of Granada (Spain). Data were collected using the IL-HUMASS survey. The research is based on subjective data, first approached from a descriptive point of view. Later, data correlation, analysis and non-parametric tests were used with the goal of finding significant differences of faculty perceptions among the relevant academic areas. Findings – Results suggest that more than half of the surveyed faculty have what the authors define as an Academic Concept of IL. The IL categories of communica\tion and dissemination and searching were graded in significance by the staff as being “very important,” while those of evaluation and processing were assigned a slightly lesser rating of “important.” Results suggest that IL awareness falls into two broad groups differentiated by subject discipline: those from health sciences, social and legal sciences and arts and humanities representing the first group, and sciences and technical disciplines the other. Research limitations/implications – This approach address the subjective status of faculty concepts in a single university, but also in all knowledge branches. Future research is needed. Originality/value – This is one of the few papers regarding faculty perceptions of IL.

Content and language integrated learning in the Netherlands: teachers’ self-reported pedagogical practices

ABSTRACTIn recent years, a surging uptake of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has permeated the European context. This article presents the outcomes of a study about the self-reported pedagogical practices of CLIL teachers in the Netherlands. To investigate these teachers’ pedagogies, a questionnaire was designed, validated and, subsequently completed by 297 teachers (218 CLIL teachers and 79 regular teachers) from secondary schools across the Netherlands. This allowed a detailed investigation of the nature and range of pedagogies of CLIL teachers as well as differences between CLIL teachers of different subject disciplines. The results of the CLIL teachers were compared to a sample of regular teachers. Three main findings emerged from the study. First, CLIL teachers report using more pedagogical approaches focusing on providing students with diverse input and scaffolding than approaches focusing on developing students’ language and their knowledge of disciplinary literacies. Second, the subject discipline of a CLIL teacher seems to influence the pedagogical approaches they report using. Third, there is a notable difference between the kinds of pedagogies reported by CLIL teachers and their regular counterparts.

Diversity als pädagogische Herausforderung aus osteuropäischer Sicht

The article considers major elements of the pedagogical metatheory of diversity in educationa systems as a new area of research by international comparison. Nowadays there are numerous studies in various countries that examine specific ways of dealing with different dimensions of diversity. The author analyzes the educational transition of post-Soviet countries from the diversity of specific pedagogical concepts, models and stratgies to the devlopment of a complex metatheory of diversity. The development of this metatheory is influenced by American and Western European researchers’ theoretical studies, as well as intensive project work in which Russia and other Eastern European countries are heavily involved. In the article a transdisciplinary methodology is suggested as the scientific foundation of this metatheory. This approach surpasses the limits of interdisciplinary connections between subject disciplines and requires a complex examination of diversity in society, culture, science, and economic and education systems. The article looks at the most important posits of metathory, for example: a broad philosophical and pedagogical vision of inclusive education, organizational diversity of educational institutions which deal with heterogeneity, education for „rational“ tolerance as opposed to absolute tolerance.