Work In Higher Education Research Articles

Contribuições da fisioterapia para a Atenção Primária à Saúde a partir da residência multiprofissional

Abstract Introduction Multiprofessional residency in health (MHS) is a professional training program focussed on Brazil’s Unified Health System that aims to reorient techno-assistance logics and significantly contributes to the insertion and consolidation of physical therapy into primary health care (PHC). Objective To understand the perceptions of health professionals and managers about the contributions of the MRH to the insertion of physical therapy into PHC. Methods This qualitative study was based on hermeneutics and was conducted in the municipality of Aracati, Ceará, Brazil, with 15 professionals making up a convenience sample. Eligible were PHC professionals with higher education working in urban areas. The data were collected from March to June 2023 through semistructured interviews with the researchers. The data analysis was based on reading the material, organizing it into themes, and interpreting these in depth. Results The first contact with physical therapy occurs in scenarios that range from individual and shared consultations to health programs at school, whose actions are optimized by PHC from the MHS. There are numerous physical therapy care strategies, especially actions focussed on biopsychosocial aspects. The involvement of physical therapists in health promotion is revealed by the inclusion of professionals in health promotion groups. Health education from a multiprofessional perspective enhances care through promotion and prevention. Conclusion The MHS strengthens the need for physical therapy in PHC and enhances primary care.

Determinants of Leadership in Higher Education in European Countries

Rapid technological development, globalization, digitalization, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other factors cause significant transformations in education, which requires regular updating of forecasts of short-term and long-term trends in the development of the educational services market, determination of labour market needs, updating of strategies for training qualified specialists, etc. The research aims to identify the main determinants that determine the leadership of 31 European countries in higher education for 2017-2021. The following research methods were used to achieve the goal of the research: analysis and synthesis, comparison and grouping, induction and deduction, abstraction and logical generalization, tabular and graphic method, factor analysis (principal component method), cluster analysis (hierarchical, Ward’s method). The input data array includes fifteen different indicators (official statistical data of Eurostat and the European Commission) characterizing the development of higher education. The factor analysis was carried out using the principal component method proved that the most significant determinants determining the leadership of European countries in higher education are the number of students enrolled in higher education institutions, the number of new entrants, the number of teachers and scientific and pedagogical workers in higher education, state and private expenses for higher education, financial assistance to students of higher education, number of graduates by level of higher education. These variables are the basis of a hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward’s method. It made it possible to identify five clusters among European countries that differ in the determinants that determine the country’s leadership in higher education. All calculations were made in the STATA/SE 18.0 software package. Modelling found that funding is a determinant of leadership in higher education for the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Turkey is the leader in the number of students enrolled in higher education in 2017 and 2021. At the same time, for most of the studied countries, indicators of financing higher education and indicators characterizing the number of participants in the educational process tended to decrease in 2021 compared to 2017. The obtained results can be used by state and local authorities, as well as other interested parties, to harmonize the reforming of the higher education market, and higher education institutions to improve the quality of educational services and their compliance with the needs of the labour market.

Teacher’s Professional Qualifications in Terms of Competency Model Pedagogical Growth

The paper considers the system of professional qualifications for teachers of subject education and defines the most important criterion for obtaining a higher pedagogical education. As part of the implementation of the structural model of teacher education, bachelor's and master's programs are distinguished. Each level is an independent system, but in unity, they form a model of a complete higher pedagogical education. This study established the pedagogical model of professional growth of a bachelor's graduate at the formal and non-formal levels of education, and the pedagogical trajectory of a graduate of a master's program determined the deepening of qualifications and work in higher education. The results of this study indicate a clear system of qualification levels, however, at the level of its content – professional competence – there is no single description of its constituent competencies. In the context of the competence-based approach to teaching implemented in higher education, pedagogical and methodological competence for a teacher of any qualification, as well as research competence for a master's degree graduate, are defined as a key component of pedagogical qualification. Based on the analysis of previous studies of teacher training under the conditions of a competency-based model, regulations and standards, the previously defined competencies were identified as basic ones. The development of the basic competencies of a teacher is determined by the system of professional growth and, within the framework of the “lifelong learning” model, forms a system of continuous teacher education. The system of professional growth in this study is determined by the qualifications achieved and depends on the education system: for a teacher of secondary education, the model for improving pedagogical skills through obtaining qualification categories is determined as the basis, and for a teacher of higher education, obtaining an academic degree, title and professional growth by position is available. Lifelong education for a teacher in this study also depends on the level: in secondary education – an increase in the level of pedagogical and methodological activities, and in higher education – an increase in the level of scientific and pedagogical activity throughout the entire period of professional activity.

Being an appreciative educator in today's world: Unknowingly and knowingly using appreciative frameworks in higher education

AbstractThe authors share their stories on how they moved from unknowingly using appreciative frameworks in their life and work in higher education to knowingly applying it as appreciative educators. They share a co‐created definition of being an appreciative educator and how appreciative inquiry can be used today in higher education.

Survey and Strategies for the Mental Health Status of Workers: A Case Study of Qingdao City, Shandong Province

In order to investigate the mental health status and needs of the workforce, a survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire among 2,414 employees. The results revealed that “excessive perceived stress” is the most prevalent mental issue among workers. Furthermore, male employees exhibited slightly better mental well-being compared to their female counterparts, while those with lower educational qualifications typically enjoyed better mental health, whereas higher-educated workers were more prone to experiencing emotional problems. Married employees appeared to exhibit more favorable mentalwell-being. When exploring the factors influencing the mental status of workers, the research indicated that “family financial pressure,” “salary and benefits,” “social changes,” and “physical health” had the most significant impact on mental well-being. Additionally, female employees, individuals with a junior high school education or below, and married workers displayed the highest demand for mental services. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the mental health issues faced by the workforce and offer valuable insights for tailoring strategies to better address the diverse mental health needs of workers, thereby presenting pertinent recommendations for the enhancement of employees’ mental well-being.

Experiences of men in the minority: understanding men’s sense of belonging studying primary education, nursing and social work in higher education

ABSTRACT Male students are in the minority in nursing, social work and primary education university programmes leading to professional recognition. This article explores the experiences of men studying on these professional programmes in Higher Education (HE) in the United Kingdom. A phenomenographic methodology was used to explore male students’ conceptual understanding of their education experience. The findings suggest these students can struggle to ‘fit in’ across four conceptual categories (i) Forming Relationships; (ii) Standing Out and Singled Out; (iii) Confronting Gendered Expectations; (iv) Developing Careers. These categories are discussed in relation to the notion of a sense of belonging in HE enabling considerations of similarities and differences across male students’ experiences. All participants conceived their education experience as pervaded by gendered experiences which intersect with age, sexuality and choice of profession. Most male students in the study found ways to develop a sense of belonging within university life and to fit in socially but representational and communication practices meant that most had experience of exclusion, particularly during placements. Male primary education students experienced a greater sense of belonging within their peer group aided by greater numbers of males on the programme. We conclude that partnership working between university, placement staff and students is required to raise awareness, challenge and not perpetrate stereotypes in order to provide inclusive, supportive environments for male students in the minority.

Queer Precarities - Introduction for themed issue

In this introduction to the themed section, we begin to explore how queer and precarity might be used to analyse how vulnerabilities are constituted across diverse spaces. We situate the contents of the themed section in relation to the context in which it was worked on, defined by the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased precarisation of Higher Education workers in the United Kingdom, as well as current literature on queerness and precarity. The interdisciplinary articles that follow are the work of early career feminist and queer scholars. We introduce them as grappling with a range of manifestations of precarity and their intersections with various categories of identity that might be recognisable as queer. Foregrounding navigations of embodied and structural aspects of precarity, these articles highlight the practices and relationalities that can emerge from being ‘out of place’, as well as specific opportunities and limitations of the aesthetic, and share a concern with the masking of difference as a function of precarity, including via broad analytic categories such as ‘precarious’ and ‘queer’.

Fostering student-centered learning with design thinking in higher education

In this reflective article, we describe our experiences using Design Thinking (DT) to increase student participation and challenge the standard roles and ways of working in Higher Education. We put together a design team of students, academic teaching staff, and educational developers. The intentional mix of perspectives facilitates critical discussions about teaching and learning, and the shared responsibilities associated with developing, implementing, and engaging in it. We describe a framework for using DT in Higher Education, which particularly takes advantage of DT’s “user-centered approach” and “bias towards action”. Additionally, we present a practical example from within our project, Students’ University, and discuss its potential in contributing to a more student-centered teaching and learning environment. We conclude by offering a brief summary of the opportunities, challenges, and potential transformations achievable through the application of DT in Higher Education.

Legitimising quality work in higher education

ABSTRACT Quality work is a growing area of interest in higher education research, reflecting a broader political and scientific concern with how universities and colleges work with educational quality. However, the characteristics and theoretical underpinnings of the concept are understudied, and we have scarce knowledge about how different groups of staff in higher education work with quality. To address these gaps, this study explores how academic, administrative, and leadership staff at Norwegian higher education institutions approach and reason about quality work. This article draws on concepts of discretion and legitimacy to study how these staff groups engage in quality work, and the different ways in which they legitimise this work. The findings reveal commonalities and tensions in their approaches to and reasoning for quality work. The study contributes to the conceptual development of quality work, and the findings have notable implications for future policies and practices on quality work in higher education.

Unemployment and Development

Abstract We draw on household survey data from countries of all income levels and document that average unemployment rates increase with gross domestic product per capita. This is accounted for almost entirely by low—rather than high—educated workers. We interpret these facts in a model with frictional labour markets, a traditional self-employment sector, skill-biased productivity differences across countries, and unemployment benefits that become more generous with development. A calibrated version of the model does well in explaining the cross-country patterns that we document. Counterfactual exercises point to skill-biased productivity differences as the most important factor in explaining the cross-country unemployment patterns.

Tweeting with colleagues: A study of an institutional hashtag

Higher education work is often conducted in silos without the in-person interactions that characterize other educational settings. This is increasingly evident since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant shift in online communication and remote work. Educators might grow from understanding the types and quality of interactions that social media could facilitate. We investigate a dataset of 557 tweets from 51 participants over 2-years of an institutional hashtag in a College of Education. We analyze who tweets, the frequency of interactions, and supportive reasoning from seven participant interviews. Shaped by networked participatory scholarship utilizing a mixed-method research design, we discern tweeting differences based on role and found the most common reason to tweet is for affective reasons. Faculty and the college Twitter account encompass 66% of Tweets, with the least likes from the college, department, and university. Tweets receiving the most likes were generally positive and focused on faculty and student accomplishments. Individual interviews indicate the institutional hashtag led to a sense of connectedness, with regret toward not using the hashtag more frequently. We describe why participants tweeted, and offer benefits, drawbacks, possibilities, and suggestions for the use of an institutional hashtag to connect a networked institutional community.

The Education-Job Satisfaction Paradox in the Public Sector

We compare the self-reported satisfaction of workers, employed in the private and the public sectors across European countries, with their working conditions and pay and have reached a controversial conclusion. Although we have found there are more educated workers in the public sector than in the private sector, higher-educated workers report lower levels of satisfaction with their working conditions and income when employed in the public sector, which was the opposite for less educated workers employed in this same sector. In contrast, we found a positive association between education and job satisfaction for workers employed in the private sector.

Проблемы влияния процессов фальсификации в информационной среде на сознание студентов: регулирование в высшей школе

Challenges of the falsification processes impact in the information environment on the students’ conscious-ness is raised in the present paper. It shows the experience of teaching the disciplines in the St. Petersburg branch of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, which aims to form the student’s worldview. The relevance of the topic is due to the modern Russian realities in which the younger generation and the information environment play key roles. The primary aim of the paper is to analyze the pos-sibilities of regulating the influence of falsification in the information environment on the students’ conscious-ness by means of teaching and educational work in higher education. The paper summarizes some of the ob-jectives in the course of the work: conducting a sociological study at the St. Petersburg branch of the Financial University among lecturers; determining how the problem under consideration can be regulated in the class-room / extracurricular work with students; outlining the directions of educational work with students.

Household Registration System Reform and Firm Innovation: Evidence from China’s Scaled Industrial Firms

ABSTRACT China has relaxed its household registration system (HRS), making it easier for rural-to-urban migrants to settle in cities. By improving the stability of high-educated workers in firms, the HRS reform should enhance these firms’ innovation. We investigate how the HRS reform influenced scaled industrial enterprises’ innovation by exploiting the staggered HRS reform in different cities from 1998 to 2007. We find that the HRS reform significantly increased these firms’ innovation output, measured by patent counts. We further find that this positive effect mainly existed among knowledge-intensive firms.

How to Support Co-creation in Higher Education: The Validation of a Questionnaire

In this study, we regard co-creation as a collaborative process where students, lecturers and working field professionals from outside the university jointly develop innovative products, processes or knowledge. In co-creation all stakeholders equally contribute to the collaborative process and aim to create beneficial outcomes for each participant. Co-creation can be used as a valuable pedagogical method to support continuous interaction between learning and working in higher education to foster innovation. However, this process is not necessarily mastered by co-creation groups. In order to identify which components of this collaboration process can be further improved, we developed a questionnaire to assess co-creation processes in higher education. Students, lecturers and working field professionals participating in co-creation projects completed the questionnaire. We validated the questionnaire using a principal component analysis. The seven extracted scales proved to be sufficiently reliable. The final questionnaire consists of seven components: positive interdependence, individual accountability, collaboration, shared mental models, safe and supporting conditions, creative community, and group evaluation. We described how the tool can be used in practice.

An analysis of the impact of the increase in social security contributions approved in 2023

Rationale The latest pension reform, approved in 2023, included three measures to increase social security contributions, aiming to boost social security revenue. This article analyses the impact and calculates the ex ante effect of the changes approved. Takeaways •The growth in the maximum contribution base will have an uneven impact on workers and firms, among other reasons because the contributions made by middle-aged and more highly-educated workers and by employees of large firms are more likely to be subject to the cap on contributions. •The higher social security contributions approved in 2023 will also have an uneven impact across the wage distribution. In particular, effective contribution rates will increase more for high wage levels. •The recently adopted increase in social security contributions could boost social security revenue ex ante by 0.9% of GDP in 2050. But this revenue growth could be smaller if higher labour costs adversely affect competitiveness, wages or employment.

‘They burn so bright whilst you can only wonder why’

In this article we connect critical librarianship and its practices of information literacy (IL) with working-class experiences of higher education (HE). Although the research literature and professional body of knowledge of critical information literacy (CIL), is one of the most theoretically-developed areas of wider critical librarianship (Critlib) movement, working-class knowledge and experiences remain underrepresented. One reason for this is that the values, behaviour and assumptions of library and HE workers are shaped by a HE system which inculcates middle-class values and cultural capitals within students, and stigmatises working-class students as lacking or in deficit. Hegemonic, or non-critical, IL proselytises middle-class values and assumptions about academic practices and skills development including the notion of an ideal student with behaviour and markers of identity which reflect those most privileged by wider society. In contrast CIL, framed as the socially-just practice of IL is theoretically well-placed to support working-class library workers in destabilising this alongside middle-class accomplices. Employing Yosso’s (2005) concept of community and cultural wealth (CCW), we analyse how library workers can recognise working-class cultural wealth within the context of CIL and wider working practices. As such narrative accounts are lacking in the literature, we utilise collaborative autoethnography (CAE) (Chang et al., 2013) to consider and interpret our own experiences of libraries when we were university students ourselves, and more recently as HE workers of working-class heritage.

Microlearning through TikTok in Higher Education. An evaluation of uses and potentials

While social media is evolving rapidly, understanding its underlying and persistent features with the potential to support high-quality learning would provide opportunities to enhance competence acquisition and collaborative work in higher education. Moreover, the adoption of tools that students already use in their everyday lives facilitates the integration of new forms of learning. In this context, we have developed an initiative to disseminate content through TikTok in three modules of the Bachelor's Degree in Nursing course, with the aim of promoting quality learning through these microlearning environments. To this end, we have implemented these learning environments and evaluated the users’ perceptions, as well as their level of acceptance of the technology according to the Technology Acceptance Model. Overall, our results show high levels of satisfaction with regard to engagement and the content generated, as well as in terms of the acceptance of the technology. Our results do not show gender-specific variations, but we did detect slight variations depending on the subject in which the microlearning tool was deployed. Although for the most part these variations do not change the participants' assessment of their experience, it will be necessary in the future to determine the underlying reasons for these variations. In addition, our results suggest that it is possible to design a content creation system to promote quality learning through microlearning that can be transferred to other subjects, at least in the Bachelor's Degree in Nursing.

Transnational teacher educators in internationalised higher education in the Arabian Gulf

ABSTRACT This interpretive study contributes to an understanding of the work and beliefs of transnational teacher educators in diverse international contexts. Due to their influence on the development of future teachers in their host country, and the influence of those future teachers on future generations of learners, transnational university-based teacher educators are a particularly significant, yet understudied, group of mobile academics. The study investigates, through in-depth interviews and a selection task about preferred conceptions of teaching, how ten transnational teacher educators experience and conceive of their work in higher education in the Arabian Gulf cities of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Dubai. Despite diverse international backgrounds, participants in this study express common critically reflective, constructivist, and sociocultural conceptions of their work as teacher educators who are preparing future teachers to work in transformed schools in a region engaged in ongoing educational reform. They report that they explicitly model active, learning-centred strategies while coaching future teachers. They believe that their work is important for national capacity building, although they would welcome greater involvement in educational planning. They are cognisant of local cultural considerations, while noting pedagogical challenges around teaching students through English as the medium of instruction in higher education in the Gulf. This study yields understanding and provides implications for professional development and orientation programmes for transnational teacher educators migrating to work in such internationalised settings.

Universities, imperialism and the collective work ahead.

Universities, imperialism and the collective work ahead.