Tertiary Education Sector Research Articles

The development and use of performance measures in New Zealand tertiary education institutions

This article provides a 30-year history of the development, use and impact of performance measures on tertiary education institutions in New Zealand. The study reveals that performance measurement emerged from the new public management initiatives and the multiple logics of government reforms to help address efficiency and accountability concerns of the tertiary education sector. The performance measurement culture became central to shaping and reshaping the character of educational politics, government policies and the management of educational outcomes. Performance measurement also created a web of unintended consequences with its own tensions, cynicism and complications. Enacted by the market logic and complemented by the business logic to maximise profits, performance measures compromised academic quality and caused rivalry with the norms of the academic profession. The study recommends that the distorting effects of performance measurement requires profound rethinking and careful management to ensure that it accomplishes what it is intended to accomplish.

The Food Literacy Action Logic Model: A Tertiary Education Sector Innovative Strategy to Support the Charitable Food Sectors Need for Food Literacy Training.

Food literacy is seen as a key component in improving the increasing levels of food insecurity. While responsibility for providing training falls on the charitable service organizations, they may not have the capacity to adequately reach those in need. This paper proposes a tertiary education - (university or higher education) led model to support the food literacy training needs of the food charity sector. A cross-sectional study comprised of online surveys and discussions investigated food services offered by Western Australia (WA) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) agencies, food literacy training needs for staff, volunteers and clients, and challenges to delivering food literacy training programs. Purposive sampling was used, and ACT and WA charitable service originations (survey: ACT n = 23, WA n = 32; interviews: ACT n = 3, WA n = 2) were invited to participate. Findings suggest organizations had limited financial and human resources to address the gap in food literacy training. Nutrition, food budgeting, and food safety education was delivered to paid staff only with limited capacity for knowledge transfer to clients. The Food Literacy Action Logic Model, underpinned by a tertiary education engagement strategy, is proposed to support and build capacity for organizations to address training gaps and extend the reach of food literacy to this under-resourced sector.

Modernizing China's Tertiary Education Sector: Enhanced Autonomy or Governance in the Shadow of Hierarchy?

AbstractThe Chinese government has acknowledged that in order to turn Chinese universities into world class institutions, it will have to grant them a greater degree of autonomy. However, the reforms that have been introduced to achieve this goal run counter to a long tradition of central government oversight. The question now presenting itself is how much actual control government has devolved to universities. The qualitative evidence presented in this paper, obtained through interviews with university presidents and Party secretaries, not only confirms that, as one might expect, Chinese universities continue to operate “in the shadow of hierarchy,” but also and more importantly that formal efforts to devolve authority are being rendered ineffective by informal pressures and control mechanisms. Discussion reflects on the state of play in Chinese public administration studies, and urges public policy researchers examining devolution in China to account for both formal reforms and everyday “lived experiences.”

Evaluating the student experience with enrolment assistance in an integrated student support service program at the University of Southern Queensland

Interviews with students who accessed enrolment support were undertaken to explore reasons students utilised this service, and how integrated student support service models can impact on student transition, retention and success. Results indicate that students primarily required support with course enrolments because of the new environment they were studying in, not being accustomed to existing processes and a lack of confidence. In addition, along with the existing service model, the integration of enrolment support into the student support service model had a positive impact on the student experience and engagement. The implications of these findings for the tertiary education sector are considered in light of the increasing focus on student engagement and success.

Work–life balance among working university students in Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how working university students in Ghana are able to combine work and study, and the effect of this on their academic performance. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory survey method is used to collect data from 360 working students randomly selected from four universities in Accra, Ghana. The study employs the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r2) to test two hypotheses and both are affirmed by the results. Findings It is found that combining schooling with work results in less time for studies which negatively affects academic performance. Again, difficulty in finding time for studies due to work requirements ranks the highest, and finally, students receive slightly better support from their academic institutions than from their employers. Research limitations/implications The study focussed only on perspectives from working students in Ghana. The dimension of employers and officials of academic institutions was not investigated. Practical implications The findings imply that to achieve sustainable development in the tertiary education sector and even in industry, all stakeholders – universities, policymakers, employers, students, etc. – must find practical ways to assist these students to combine work and study. Originality/value The study bridges the empirical gap of this critical phenomenon in the Ghanaian context. It will inform government and corporate policy on higher-level skill development among the workforce, and also tertiary institutions on how to address the needs of the critical mass of working students.

The centralisation of elearning resource development within the New Zealand vocational tertiary education sector

The tertiary education sector is subject to significant and rapid change such as disruption from technology, diminishing government funding, demand for more personalised learning, and the need to meet the demands of a rapidly changing workplace. These changes create challenges. The centralisation of skills and resources has been mooted as potentially contributing to solutions for some of these challenges such as maintaining quality at scale, and maximising cost effectiveness. The lack of research, however, around centralised development of elearning resources makes it difficult to argue that such a claim applies to elearning resource development. This article describes the extent and form of functional centralisation of elearning resource development in the vocational tertiary education sector within New Zealand. Findings established that three categories of organisational centralisation exist; decentralised, centralised, and highly centralised. The majority of the institutions in this study fitted the centralised or highly centralised categories. These findings can be used to inform decisions around organisation of elearning resource development, the composition of central teams, and the centralisation of entire sectors within tertiary education.

Let the Music Bands Rock! Live Entertainment at Midlands State University Main Campus

The potential of music to positively influence humans’ well-being has punctuated people’s lives from birth to death. This article explores the state of live music entertainment at Midlands State University main campus in Senga, Gweru. I set out to find out what entertainment opportunities are available for MSU students. Through questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions, the study solicited students’ and staff members’ views on the leisure activities available on campus. I sought their suggestions on how on-campus entertainment could be improved. The findings show a critical need to reclaim students’ entertainment spaces in Zimbabwe’s tertiary education sector. University management needs to consider facilitating on-campus live music entertainment for students in order to avert the dangers they face when they seek entertainment from places off campus. Students are prone to arbitrary relationships, drug abuse, robbery and exorbitant costs when they visit night clubs in town for entertainment. The university stands to benefit financially if live music shows are managed and organised within its premises. Students’ responses indicate that the MBMT ensembles which currently provide music at formal gatherings need to be augmented with gigs that are purely intended for students’ entertainment. Joint shows with popular music artists recommended by students themselves can be arranged with management, re-aligning their ideology to view live music entertainment in a positive way as a fundraising enterprise. The conclusion proposes the inclusion of a live music entertainment officer in the Student Affairs Department to ensure that students’ entertainment needs are well-planned, managed and availed on-campus.

Economic aspects of public procurement parameters in tertiary education sector

Public procurement is a very important area of competitiveness development of the countries. Significant public sector financial resources are allocated through public procurement. Over the last decade, there has been a growing demand for an investigation of the efficiency of public procurement processes. In the research studies, analyses focusing on methodological aspects, efficiency assessment models, economic and transaction costs and other economic parameters in relation to public procurement have begun to appear gradually. Their importance has increased in the recent period, especially in the era associated with a lack of financial resources in the economic and social spheres. A correct determination of the mechanisms ensuring the implementation of transparent competition is able to allow improvement of competitive environment. Such aspects prompt this study, which is aimed at examination of the selected parameters of public procurement in the tertiary education sector and their impact on the final cost of the public procurement contract. There are no such sectoral analyses within the national environments, making it difficult to create an international comparative basis. The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of the selected public procurement parameters on the final price. These parameters are subcontractor participation, European funds funding, usage of electronic auction, type of procured item, and procurement procedure. Besides these ones, public procurement processes also influence the final price. Approximately, a share of 95 % from the expected price is reflected in the final price, whilst a mean regression coefficient of the number of offers reaches a level of -17499.07 in the year 2017. The outcome of the analysis can help the procurers to identify the behavior of public procurement and to confirm or disprove the significance of the parameters that are examined using the quantitative methods. The results of this analysis are beneficial for national policymakers as well as national and international benchmarking.

Considering how tertiary education providers can best support the mental health and wellbeing of their students

The topic of mental health and wellbeing is currently prevalent in society and widely represented in the media. Sometimes anxiety and depression, which are disorders with diagnostic criteria, challenge mental health and wellbeing and pose problems for society. Given this, and the added pressures of tertiary study, it is important to learn more about how to best support student mental health and wellbeing now and in the future. This article reports on a study based in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which focussed on understanding mental health and wellbeing, specifically in the tertiary education sector. The aim of the study was to develop a clear understanding of how tertiary providers can best respond to the mental health and wellbeing of their students. Data were gathered from 115 members of the general population to understand how mental health is perceived, gauge perceptions of future trends and develop a plan to support tertiary communities. Key findings suggest the tertiary environment has a significant impact on student mental health and wellbeing, and some providers may be falling short of meeting shifting needs. In addition, participants predicted that anxiety and depression will continue to impact most students, and in order to respond effectively, tertiary providers need to take a much more co-ordinated approach in order to support their students’ mental health and wellbeing.

Interprovincial differences in labour force distribution and utilization based on educational attainment in Indonesia, 2002–2015

AbstractIntroducing an employment variable with five levels of educational attainment per capita and employing inequality decomposition, this study addresses three questions. How does labour force vary by education and provinces? How does labour force utilization vary by education and provinces? What are the potential causes of differences? We find that the no‐primary‐education group is more endowed in less‐developed provinces and allocated most unequally among education groups across provinces, despite past universal primary education policies. The senior‐secondary‐education group with the largest labour share is a growing concern due to the lower employment rate and largest interprovincial inequality.

Dynamic interaction between higher education and economic progress: a comparative analysis of BRICS countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper insight on how education boosts economic progress in key emerging economies. This project is aimed at exploring the interactive dynamics between the tertiary education sector and economic development in BRICS countries. The author also aims to examine how the structure of higher education contributes to economic expansion.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses the time series data of BRICS countries across approximately two decades to determine the statistical causality between the size of tertiary enrollment and economic development. The linear regression model is then used to figure out the different impact levels of academic and vocational training programs at the tertiary level to economic development.FindingsData from all BRICS countries exhibited a unidirectional statistical causality relationship, except the Brazilian data. The national economic expansion Granger Caused increased tertiary enrollment in Russia and India, while in China and South Africa, higher education enrollment Granger Caused economic progress. The impact from tertiary academic training is found to be positive for all BRICS nations, while tertiary vocation training is shown to have impaired the Russian and South African economy.Research limitations/implicationsThis project is based on a rather small sample size, and the stationary feature of the time series could be different should a larger pool of data spanning a longer period of time is used. In addition, the author also neglects other control variables in the regression model. Therefore, the impact level could be distorted due to possible omitted variable bias.Practical implicationsTertiary academic study is found to have a larger impact level to all countries’ economic advancement, except for China, during the time frame studied. There is a statistical correlation between the education and economic progress. This is particularly true for BRICS countries, especially China. But the exception is Brazil.Social implicationsThe government should provide education up to the certain level, as there is a direct correlation to the job creation and economic progress. Furthermore, the government should also work closely with industry to ensure growth of industry and creation of new jobs.Originality/valueThe comparative analysis and evaluation of the dynamic interaction of tertiary enrollment and economic output across all five BRICS nations is unique, and it deepens the understanding of the socioeconomic development in these countries from a holistic management perspective.

Die intensionele afwyking van die norme van Standaardafrikaans in advertensies

The intentional deviation from the norms of Standard Afrikaans in advertising. The visibility of Afrikaans in the market place (media) and the growth of a different type (non-Standard) of Afrikaans in industries such as the music, film, publication industry, et cetera may be indicative of the symbolic and instrumental positioning of Afrikaans in the market place, in contrast to the hostility sometimes experienced in the tertiary education sector. The advertising industry is one such public sphere where Afrikaans is used. Language is used in a distinct manner in different genres which often deviates in a specific way and for specific reasons from the norms of Standard Afrikaans. To classify language as a deviation implies measurement against one or other norm. In the analytical section of this article, the norms (internal, external and universal) of Standard Afrikaans will be applied to print advertising language to motivate the functionality and acceptance of such (strategic) deviation in the construction of a plausible marketing message. Based on the theoretic principles of text linguistics, the intentionality and acceptance of the deviations of the prescribed norms play a significant role in constructing an implied marketing message. This does not imply the acceptance of unintended language errors but intended deviations of the prescribed norms that have a functional (communicative) market-driven role accepted by the intended audience. The study concludes with an overview of the most evident grammatical characteristics of the Afrikaans language in advertising.

Landscape architecture and environmentalism in the expansion era for Australian universities: the work of Bruce Mackenzie and Associates

The 1960s and 1970s were an era of expansion of the tertiary education sector internationally with entirely new universities developed at an unprecedented pace. In the Australian context, the quintessential start-up suburban campus was usually set within a greenfield site - typically on postagricultural land at the fringe of rapidly expanding suburbia. An effective role for landscape architecture often materialised from symbiotic relationships between architects, engineers, planners, horticulturalists, and others. A significant driver in shaping and enacting a clear vision for a distinctive quality of campus landscape came internal to university administration. Communities consisting of academic staff, administrative staff, and other interested and talented practitioners have been found to be crucial in defining a niche for landscape architects in campus design, marking a significant moment in the recognition and due regard that would be paid to a small but influential profession on the Australian scene. This paper records the themes that define the distinctive nature of the Australian condition. Focusing on campus designs by Bruce Mackenzie and Associates (BMA), the paper provides a preliminary assessment of the roles and influence of people, organisations, and events in the creation of the modern campus in Australia. It concludes that the most effective results were achieved when the landscape architect was engaged at the formative stages of campus development and had broad support inclusive of collaboration with other consultants and with university administrators and on-ground staff. A significant ingredient for success in achieving innovative results was found to be the existence within the university of communities of interested and engaged people with joint aims and ambitions for the creation of high quality campus landscapes, often in line with a culture of environmentalism. Such communities often go unheralded yet without their involvement the establishment of campus landscapes that celebrated the conservation of Australian indigenous plants and forms may not have been as readily achieved.

International tertiary student experience in Australia: A Singaporean perspective

Over the past decade, the growing market of international students has resulted in changing expectations students have about the products offered by tertiary education providers. This is especially evident in Australia where, due to its geographical proximity, universities are increasingly attracting a large number of students from the Asia-Pacific region. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study that investigated Singaporean student perceptions of and interactions with the Australian culture whilst studying at an Australian based university. The study uses this context to provide a better understanding of the role that host countries and universities play in facilitating the educational experiences of students who choose to study in foreign countries. Analysis of data from four group interviews held with Singaporean students reveals an in-depth understanding of how the interactions between international students and those of the host destination influence the experience of the international students. Practical implications relating to the management of the international student experience are presented for the Australian tertiary education sector.

Building a national eye-care service in post-conflict Timor-Leste.

ProblemViolent conflict left Timor-Leste with a dismantled health-care workforce and infrastructure after 2001. The absence of existing health and tertiary education sectors compounded the challenges of instituting a national eye-care system.ApproachFrom 2001, the East Timor Eye Program coordinated donations and initially provided eye care through visiting teams. From 2005, the programme reoriented to undertake concerted workforce and infrastructure development. In 2008 full-time surgical services started in a purpose-built facility in the capital city. In 2014 we developed a clinical training pipeline for local medical graduates to become ophthalmic surgeons, comprising a local postgraduate diploma, with donor funding supporting master’s degree studies abroad.Local settingIn the population of 1.26 million, an estimated 35 300 Timorese are blind and an additional 123 500 have moderate to severe visual impairment, overwhelmingly due to cataract and uncorrected refractive error.Relevant changesBy April 2018, six Timorese doctors had completed the domestic postgraduate diploma, three of whom had enrolled in master’s degree programmes. Currently, one consultant ophthalmologist, seven ophthalmic registrars, two optometrists, three refractionists and four nursing staff form a tertiary resident ophthalmic workforce, supported by an international advisor ophthalmologist and secondary eye-care workers. A recorded 12 282 ophthalmic operations and 117 590 consultations have been completed since 2001.Lessons learntInternational organizations played a pivotal role in supporting the Timorese eye health system, in an initially vulnerable setting. We highlight how transition to domestic funding can be achieved through the creation of a domestic training pipeline and integration with national institutions.

Assessing Citizen Science Participation Skill for Altruism or University Course Credit: A Case Study Analysis Using Cyclone Center

A common challenge in citizen science projects is gaining and retaining participants. At the same time, the tertiary education sector is constantly being challenged to provide more meaningful and practical work for students. Can participation in citizen science projects be used as coursework with real practical experiential-learning benefits, without affecting the citizen science project outcomes? We seek to begin to answer this question via a case study analysis with Cyclone Center (CC), which asks participants to classify tropical cyclone characteristics through analysis of infrared satellite imagery. Skill of individual users has previously been shown to be obtainable once classifiers have looked at approximately 200 images using an expectation-maximisation likelihood approach. We use skill scores to determine if participation for course credit or altruism influenced skill for volunteers and students from two universities under three increasingly complex categories of classifications (eye or no eye; stronger, weaker, or the same; and which of six fundamental storm types). A bootstrap resampling approach was used to account for discrepancies between sample sizes. Overall, there is limited evidence for substantive differences in classification performance between credit awarded and altruistic participants, with only one finding of significance at

Regulation and its discontents: the Indian judiciary and higher education

ABSTRACTThe role of the judiciary in strengthening regulatory regimes is well regarded. In developing countries where regulatory bodies are captive to powerful interest groups, the judiciary is regarded for its activist role in providing participatory access to groups excluded from the policy process. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the limits of the judiciary as a gatekeeper of regulatory governance. Using the case of regulation in India’s tertiary education sector, it shows how the judiciary’s track record of enabling elite actors to influence policy, often at the cost of legislative mandates, can undermine regulation.

Internal borders and migration in India*

Internal mobility is a critical component of economic growth and development, as it enables the reallocation of labor to more productive opportunities across sectors and regions. Using detailed district-to-district migration data from the 2001 Census of India, the paper highlights the role of state borders as significant impediments to internal mobility. The analysis finds that average migration between neighboring districts in the same state is at least 50 percent larger than neighboring districts on different sides of a state border, even after accounting for linguistic differences. Although the impact of state borders differs by education, age, and reason for migration, it is always large and significant. The paper suggests that inter-state mobility is inhibited by state-level entitlement schemes, ranging from access to subsidized goods through the public distribution system to the bias for states' own residents in access to tertiary education and public sector employment.

Challenges and Curriculum Transformation in the Higher Education Sector in South Africa: A Case Study in WASH to Improve the Training of Pharmacists

Abstract Introduction: South Africa is a member state of the “BRICS” bloc (BRICS2017.org, 2017) and the G20 group of the 20 nations/economic blocs, which between them account for the majority of the world’s trade and economic activity. It faces many developmental challenges which are mirrored in its higher education sector. In this article, the authors seek to provide an overview of the challenges that South African higher education faces in the achievement of the developmental goals of the country. The focus of this paper is a case study in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) to improve context-specific responses that trains pharmacists on knowledge and skills. Methods: The study was performed as a combination of calculations and a literature review to obtain the background or current status of the higher education sector and developmental planning in South Africa. For this, data were extracted from the Statistics South Africa reports, relevant professional articles on South African higher education sector and results of postgraduate research. Workshop results which were obtained as a collaboration between a public and a private higher education institution and results of postgraduate research were used as the paradigm for transformation and decolonisation of the curriculum for a professional degree in South Africa. Results and discussion: Challenges exist in the South African tertiary education sector and the graduation rate currently stands at 65.1% of the target set by the National Development Plan. Around 58.1% of all students do not complete their university/post-secondary education, which could provide a partial explanation for the skills shortage in South Africa. Decolonisation and transformation of the tertiary education curriculum are major topics in the discourse on higher education in South Africa. The authors propose that one way to achieve this would be inclusion of research results and group activities in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene as a topic for possible and partial transformation of the Bachelor of Pharmacy curriculum. Conclusions: The current article summarises some of topics and challenges that drive the current discourse, developmental and curriculum debate in higher education in South Africa. Student access and through put at tertiary institutions need to be improved and the curriculum needs to be transformed.

What do business school academics want? Reflections from the national survey on workplace climate and well-being: Australia and New Zealand

AbstractThis research discusses the findings from a study undertaken for an exploration of the critical issues around the working conditions, workplace climate, and well-being of business school (predominantly management) academics in Australia and New Zealand. With an ageing workforce, and almost half of the Australian and New Zealand workforce intending to retire, move overseas, or leave the sector within this decade, amidst rising demand in the tertiary education sector, the effective retention of this key skilled workforce is pertinent. With data from a survey conducted in 2017 involving 451 business school academics in Australia and New Zealand, this research note highlights several key issues around the areas of workplace climate and well-being which importantly, are within the control of management. Specifically, these salient workforce issues include work intensification, burnout, and poor work–life balance.