Showing papers in "Higher Education in 2017"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed the associations among higher-order thinking skills (reflective thinking, critical thinking) and self-monitoring that contribute to academic achievement among university students.
Abstract: The present study assessed the associations among higher-order thinking skills (reflective thinking, critical thinking) and self-monitoring that contribute to academic achievement among university students. The sample consisted of 196 Iranian university students (mean age = 22.05, SD = 3.06; 112 females; 75 males) who were administered three questionnaires. To gauge reflective thinking, the “Reflective Thinking Questionnaire” designed by Kember et al. (Assess Eval High Educ 25(4):380–395, 2000) was utilized. It includes 16 items measuring four types of reflective thinking (habitual action, understanding, reflection, and critical reflection). To assess critical thinking, the “Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal”(2002) was utilized. It comprises 80 items and consists of 5 subtests (inference, recognizing unstated assumptions, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation). Self-monitoring was measured via 8 items of the self-regulation trait questionnaire designed by O’Neil and Herl (Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA, 1998). The results demonstrated that critical thinking and all components of reflective thinking positively and significantly predicted achievement with habitual action having the lowest impact and reflection exhibiting the highest influence. Self-monitoring indirectly exerted a positive influence on achievement via understanding and reflection. It was also found that among the four subscales of reflective thinking, reflection and critical reflection predicted critical thinking positively and significantly. Self-monitoring had a positive and significant impact on critical thinking. It also significantly and positively influenced understanding as well as reflection.
165 citations
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that higher education students can be differentiated based on their preferences for elements of a flipped classroom, resulting in two clusters of students: those who embrace most aspects of flipped classroom environment as well as prefer it (labeled as flip endorsers) and those who are close to neutral on some elements of flipped teaching environments, but who especially do not endorse the pre-learning aspects (labelled as flip resisters) Flip endorsers were found to have more positive attitudes towards the course activities and to have felt more involved and engaged in the content.
Abstract: Despite the popularity of the flipped classroom, its effectiveness in achieving greater engagement and learning outcomes is currently lacking substantial empirical evidence This study surveyed 563 undergraduate and postgraduate students (61 % female) participating in flipped teaching environments and ten convenors of the flipped courses in which the student sample was enrolled Results suggest that higher education students can be differentiated based on their preferences for elements of a flipped classroom, resulting in two clusters of students: those who embrace most aspects of a flipped classroom environment as well as prefer it (labelled “Flip endorsers”) and those who are close to neutral on some elements of a flipped classroom environment but who especially do not endorse the pre-learning aspects (labelled “Flip resisters”) Flip endorsers were found to have more positive attitudes towards the course activities (both pre-class and in-class) and to have felt more involved and engaged in the content These findings shed some light on the types of students who might prefer flipped classrooms, but more importantly identify those who are likely to resist a change to a flipped classroom environment The findings also suggest that although students may find the flipped classroom more difficult, student outcomes and active participation in class activities do improve when course convenors (a) use a theoretical perspective to inform their flipped teaching strategy, (b) integrate assessment into the design of their flipped classroom, and (c) flip the entire course
159 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated the role of work-integrated learning (WIL), more specifically work placements, in developing pre-professional identity among undergraduates and found that placements can offer a valuable platform for fostering identity construction.
Abstract: Pre-professional identity is a complex phenomenon spanning awareness of and connection with the skills, qualities, behaviours, values and standards of a student’s chosen profession, as well as one’s understanding of professional self in relation to the broader general self. It is an important, yet under-explored, aspect of graduate employability and can influence academic success, well-being and productivity. This study investigates the role of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), more specifically work placements, in developing pre-professional identity among undergraduates. It uses qualitative data, in the form of structured reflections, gathered over two time periods from 105 business students in a Western Australian university. Findings indicate that work placements can offer a valuable platform for fostering identity construction. Students use the experience to make sense of their intended profession through observing, questioning and interacting with seasoned professionals. Appraising and reflecting on their experience, through learning activities and assessment, are highlighted as important elements of placement design and critical for students to question and make sense of what they observed and learned. Strategies are presented for industry and education practitioners to enhance pre-professional identity development among undergraduates. The study underlines the important role of work placements in preparing students for graduate-level employment, beyond the traditional focus on non-technical skill development and the application of disciplinary knowledge.
146 citations
TL;DR: Recently, in the wake of the Bologna Declaration and similar international initiatives, there has been a rapid increase in the number of university courses and programmes taught through the medium of online learning.
Abstract: Recently, in the wake of the Bologna Declaration and similar international initiatives, there has been a rapid increase in the number of university courses and programmes taught through the medium ...
127 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a realist review was conducted to identify inhibiting and promoting organisational context elements impacting quality culture, its working mechanisms and associated outcomes, and the authors identified leadership and communication as being of key importance in binding structural/managerial and cultural/psychological elements.
Abstract: There is a growing belief that higher education institutions should nurture a ‘quality culture’ in which structural/managerial and cultural/psychological elements act in synergy to continuously improve education. Notwithstanding the positive connotation of the ‘quality culture’ concept, its exact configuration remains subject to debate. A realist review was conducted to identify inhibiting and promoting organisational context elements impacting quality culture, its working mechanisms and associated outcomes. Leadership and communication were identified as being of key importance in binding structural/managerial and cultural/psychological elements. Leaders are central ‘drivers’ of quality culture development through their ability to influence resource allocation, clarify roles and responsibilities, create partnerships and optimise people and process management. Adequate communication is considered a prerequisite to diffuse quality strategies and policies, evaluate results and identify staff values and beliefs. It is proposed that the working mechanisms of quality culture comprise increased staff commitment, shared ownership, empowerment and knowledge. Associated outcomes related to these mechanisms are positive effects on staff and student satisfaction, continuous improvement of the teaching–learning process and student and teacher learning and development. Institutions striving for the development of a quality culture should best operate from a contingency approach, i.e. make use of quality management intervention approaches which are tailored to the organisational context.
120 citations
TL;DR: The most frequent reasons for considering dropping out were difficulties in achieving a balance between work, personal life and doctoral studies and problems with socialization, according to a survey of 724 social sciences doctoral students as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Despite the increasing popularity of doctoral education, many students do not complete their studies, and very little information is available about them. Understanding why some students consider that they do not want to, or cannot, continue with their studies is essential to reduce dropout rates and to improve the overall quality of doctoral programmes. This study focuses on the motives students give for considering dropping out of their doctoral degree. Participants were 724 social sciences doctoral students from 56 Spanish universities, who responded to a questionnaire containing doctoral degree conditions questions and an open-ended question on motives for dropping out. Results showed that a third of the sample, mainly the youngest, female and part time students, stated that they had intended to drop out. The most frequent motives for considering dropping out were difficulties in achieving a balance between work, personal life and doctoral studies and problems with socialization. Overall, results offer a complex picture that has implications for the design of doctoral programmes, such as the conditions and demands of part-time doctoral studies or the implementation of educational proposals that facilitate students’ academic and personal integration into the scientific community in order to prevent the development of a culture of institutional neglect.
120 citations
TL;DR: A review of research on the development of ideas about the knowledge-based economy (analysed here as "economic imaginaries") and their influence on how social forces within and beyond the academy have attempted to reorganize higher education and research in response to real and perceived challenges and crises in the capitalist order since the mid-1970s is given in this paper.
Abstract: This article begins with a brief review of research on the development of ideas about the knowledge-based economy (analysed here as ‘economic imaginaries’) and their influence on how social forces within and beyond the academy have attempted to reorganize higher education and research in response to real and perceived challenges and crises in the capitalist order since the mid-1970s. This provides the historical context for three ‘thought experiments’ about other aspects of the development of academic capitalism. The first involves a reductio ad absurdum argument about different potential steps in the economization, marketization and financialization of education and research and is illustrated from recent changes in higher education. The second maps actual strategies of the entrepreneurial university and their role in shaping academic capitalism. The third speculates on possible forms of ‘political’ academic capitalism and their changing places in the interstices of the other trends posited in these thought experiments. The article ends with suggestions for a research agendum that goes beyond thought experiments to substantive empirical investigations.
117 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a synthesis model consisting of a three-stage process was proposed to explain why and how 42 international students chose Mainland China as their study abroad destination, which revealed that China's future development prospects distinctively attract international students to choose China as the study-abroad destination.
Abstract: In terms of international student mobility, although Mainland China is commonly perceived as a major “sending” nation of international students, it is often overlooked as an important “receiving” nation of international students. Despite its tremendous leap to the third top destination choice of international students, existing research on the motivation and decision-making process of international students who choose to study in Mainland China is minimal. In order to address this gap in the literature, this study seeks to explain why and how 42 international students chose Mainland China as their study abroad destination. A synthesis model consisting of a three-stage process—motivation to study abroad/in China, the city/institution search and selection, the evaluation of the programme—is proposed to explain their decision-making process. Findings reveal that China’s future development prospects distinctively attract students to choose China as their study abroad destination. This research also discusses the growing number of descendants of Chinese migrants who wish to return to their place of origin, China, for higher education in search of their cultural identity. Implications highlight the need for Mainland China government to ensure high-quality education to continue attracting an increasing number of talented students from around the world. Suggestions for future research are also provided.
113 citations
TL;DR: The relationship between academic mobility and knowledge and identity capital and their mutual entanglement as academics move, internationally, has been discussed in this paper, where the authors argue that the contemporary movement of academics takes place within old hierarchies among nation states, but such old hierarchyies intersect with new academic stratifications which will be described and analysed.
Abstract: Academic mobility has existed since ancient times. Recently, however, academic mobility—the crossing of international borders by academics who then work ‘overseas’—has increased. Academics and the careers of academics have been affected by governments and institutions that have an interest in coordinating and accelerating knowledge production. This article reflects on the relations between academic mobility and knowledge and identity capital and their mutual entanglement as academics move, internationally. It argues that the contemporary movement of academics takes place within old hierarchies among nation states, but such old hierarchies intersect with new academic stratifications which will be described and analysed. These analytical themes in the article are supplemented by excerpts from interviews of mobile academics in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Korea and Hong Kong as selected examples of different locales of academic capitalism.
103 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a working definition on transition and take stock of the existing empirical lines of research on the subject of students' transition into higher education, and argue that a more international perspective and studies using different methodologies (including mixed-method approaches) are fruitful to advance this field further.
Abstract: In introducing the special issue on students’ transition into higher education, we emphasise the importance of expanding our understanding of students’ enculturation in higher education. Next to this, the editorial presents a working definition on transition and takes stock of the existing empirical lines of research on the subject of students’ transition into higher education. Further, we evidence that research primarily stems from Western countries and predominantly applies either a quantitative or a qualitative approach. We argue that a more international perspective and studies using different methodologies (including mixed-method approaches) are fruitful to advance this field further. Finally, we give an introduction on the nine empirical contributions in this special issue, stemming from an equal number of countries and applying quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.
98 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a person-oriented and mixed-method approach was adopted to explore the emotions individual students experience during the first year at university, and three emotion clusters were identified, which differed in terms of the deep and surface approaches to learning, study success and study progress.
Abstract: The demands and pressures during the first study year at university are likely to arouse a variety of emotions among students. Nevertheless, there are very few studies on the role of emotions in successful studying during the transition phase. The present study adopts a person-oriented and mixed-method approach to explore, first, the emotions individual students experience during the first year at university. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to group students (n = 43) on the basis of the emotions they described in an interview. Second, the study investigates how the students in the different clusters scored on approaches to learning (as measured on the Learn questionnaire) and how they succeeded (GPA) and progressed (earned credits per year) in their studies. Three emotion clusters were identified, which differed in terms of the deep and surface approaches to learning, study success and study progress: (1) quickly progressing successful students experiencing positive emotions, (2) quickly progressing successful students experiencing negative emotions and (3) slowly progressing students experiencing negative emotions. The results indicate that it is not enough to focus on supporting successful learning, but that attention should also be paid to promoting students’ positive emotions and well-being at this time.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the first-year challenges in German higher education from a student perspective focusing on the nexus of the individual and institutional factors relevant for successful transition to higher education.
Abstract: While study success and completion rates are important issues in educational policy, research highlights the particular relevance of the first year in higher education (HE) for students’ future academic performance and achievement. In Germany, the recent reform of degree programmes appears to have created new challenges related to students’ transition to HE, yet little is known about the specific requirements students perceive as critical for their first-year experience. The present study, therefore, seeks to explore the first-year challenges in German HE from the student perspective focusing on the nexus of the individual and institutional factors relevant for successful transition. Following the critical incident technique, data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with 25 students from all six faculties of a German university. We employed the qualitative content analysis to examine first-year challenges in terms of the critical requirements emerging from the interviews. First, the thematic analysis of the data resulted in identifying a broad range of personal, organisational, content-related and social requirements students perceived as critical for transition to HE. Second, the quantitative analysis of code occurrence suggested that personal and organisational requirements are most relevant from the students’ perspectives. Finally, the single-case analysis of the interviews disclosed that individual students experience an accumulation of first-year challenges revealing the interconnectedness of critical requirements. In sum, the findings offer a systematic overview of the first-year challenges as well as provide detailed insights on how the interplay of institutional and individual factors contributes to the transition to HE.
TL;DR: This paper explored students' study behavior throughout a flipped and a regular course by means of bi-weekly diaries and found that students' behavior in the flipped course did not appear to be very different from that of students in the regular course.
Abstract: The flipped classroom is becoming more popular as a means to support student learning in higher education by requiring students to prepare before lectures and actively engaging students during lectures. While some research has been conducted into student performance in the flipped classroom, students’ study behaviour throughout a flipped course has not been investigated. This study explored students’ study behaviour throughout a flipped and a regular course by means of bi-weekly diaries. Furthermore, student references to their learning regulation were explored in course evaluations. Results from the diaries showed that students’ study behaviour in the flipped course did not appear to be very different from that of students in a regular course. Furthermore, study behaviour did not appear strongly related to student performance in both the flipped and the regular course. Exploration of student references to their learning regulation in the course evaluations showed that some students experienced the flipped course design as intended to support their learning process. Other students, however, demonstrated resistance to changing their study behaviour even though changing study behaviour is expected in order to benefit from the flipped classroom. Further research on the relationship between students’ learning regulation and actual study behaviour and course results is necessary to understand when and why implementing the flipped classroom is successful. Recommendations that may help more effective flipped classroom implementation include considering the prior history between students and instructor(s), the broader curriculum context, and frequent expectation communication especially with large numbers of students and non-mandatory lecture attendance.
TL;DR: The authors explored the orientations towards university of undergraduates in Germany and England, two countries where the diffusion of market conditions in higher education policies has been somewhat contrasting, but these were less based on those countries’ unequal engagement with tuition fees and rankings and more to do with other aspects of their university cultures and the world beyond their degrees.
Abstract: There is a great deal of discussion in the academic literature around how the current conditions in higher education frame students as customers. Observers are of the view that rankings and marketing, an increased focus on student satisfaction, and particularly tuition fees, encourage an instrumental, passive attitude towards a university education. Given the volume of attention directed towards this topic, it is perhaps surprising that there is relatively little scholarship that examines it empirically. Some who have addressed it presumed a customer/consumer orientation in students and have been somewhat—but not entirely successful—in generating evidence to confirm those assumptions. It appears that the expectations of this instrumental, passive orientation are being realised in part, but that this is also mediated by other dispositions. What could be considered to be missing from the analysis thus far is an exploration of how students make university-related decisions (not simply what choices are based on) and how they understand the respective roles of the student and university. This study begins to fill that gap, exploring the orientations towards university of undergraduates in Germany and England, two countries where the diffusion of market conditions in higher education policies has been somewhat contrasting. Distinctions between the German and English students did emerge, but these were less based on those countries’ unequal engagement with tuition fees and rankings and more to do with other aspects of their university cultures and the world beyond their degrees. This suggests that how people approach their time as students is more complex than some of the literature assumes. Furthermore, at the very least, any consideration of this topic must include an analysis of how students themselves understand and experience their higher education and broader social contexts.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss how impact is generally measured within science and beyond, which effects impact measurements have on the science system and which problems are associated with impact measurement, including inequality, random chance, anomalies, the right to make mistakes, unpredictability and a high significance of extreme events.
Abstract: Impact of science is one of the most important topics in scientometrics. Recent developments show a fundamental change in impact measurements from impact on science to impact on society. Since impact measurement is currently in a state of far reaching changes, this paper describes recent developments and facing problems in this area. For that, the results of key publications (dealing with impact measurement) are discussed. The paper discusses how impact is generally measured within science and beyond, which effects impact measurements have on the science system and which problems are associated with impact measurement. The problems associated with impact measurement constitute the focus of this paper: Science is marked by inequality, random chance, anomalies, the right to make mistakes, unpredictability and a high significance of extreme events, which might distort impact measurements. Scientometricians as the producer of impact scores and decision makers as their consumers should be aware of these problems and should consider them in the generation and interpretation of bibliometric results, respectively.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that transition is not a one-off event that occurs when students first enter universities but is an on-going process that is repeated over time.
Abstract: This paper argues that transition is not a one-off event that occurs when students first enter universities but is an on-going process that is repeated over time. We draw on qualitative data from a longitudinal project on “non-traditional” students who entered a research-intensive university in Scotland direct from further education colleges. This cohort of 45 was asked about their views on college and university learning in a study that was conducted throughout their time at university; a sub-sample of 15 was then followed up 10 years later. Our data suggest that four significant transitions, or set of critical moments, can be identified: the loss of a sense of belonging on coming to university, learning to fit in by the end of the first year, changing approaches to learning and belonging in the final years of study and changing selves in the years following graduation. At each point, positive relationships with peers and staff made a significant difference to how these transitions were managed. Moreover, the changes experienced continued to have an impact on the personal and professional lives of the cohort.
TL;DR: The authors found that many Chinese students are dissatisfied with their range of friendships and that they find it more challenging to socialise with students of other nationalities than other students do, and pointed out a number of barriers to integration, with cultural distance playing a major role, but also argue for the impact of individual factors.
Abstract: According to UNESCO statistics, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sends far more students to study overseas than any other country in the world. Similarly, from the receiving countries’ point of view, PRC students form by far the highest proportion of international students. In many respects, this is a success story, but it also poses a number of risks to universities. This paper focuses on one of those key risks that of student dissatisfaction (including from PRC students themselves). Using a sequential mixed-method study, it addresses two research questions: (a) Chinese students’ level of satisfaction with their social integration into the university community and (b) the barriers that Chinese students’ perceive in becoming more socially integrated into the university student community. The research finds that many Chinese students are dissatisfied with their range of friendships and that they find it more challenging to socialise with students of other nationalities than other students do. They point out a number of barriers to integration, with cultural distance playing a major role, but also argue for the impact of individual factors. The paper concludes by considering the implications for universities and suggestions for further research.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the results of preliminary research into how Portuguese academics and employers perceive the responsibility of different higher education stakeholders (students, teaching staff, higher education institutions, employers, and policy-makers) for developing graduate employability.
Abstract: This paper reports the results of preliminary research into how Portuguese academics and employers perceive the responsibility of different higher education stakeholders—students, teaching staff, higher education institutions, employers, and policy-makers—for developing graduate employability. The study was conducted 8 years after the implementation of the Bologna Process, the reform that placed employability firmly on the agenda of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Portugal. This paper aims to assess the extent to which higher education is held responsible for developing employability, and to characterize the activities undertaken by the two actors to achieve that end. In particular, with respect to academics, we characterize curricular and other changes to study programmes, and, with respect to employers, their participation in activities undertaken by HEIs meant to ease the transition of students to the labour market. The data comes from a survey responded to by 684 Portuguese academics and 64 employers. Academics and employers alike were found to attribute high responsibility for developing employability to higher education, suggesting that the political message of the Bologna Process regarding the relation between higher education and the labour market has been assimilated. However, the activities reported by both types of respondents indicate only an average commitment to developing employability. Here, the low participation of employers in internal institutional activities is noteworthy, suggesting that the recognition of employers as stakeholders in higher education, as advocated by policy-makers, has yet to happen in Portugal.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that assumptions underpinning academic performance management need to be rethought to recognise the fundamentally intrinsic motivational nature of academic work and propose a re-design of academic performancemanagement to improve productivity based on the evidence.
Abstract: Neoliberal reforms in higher education have resulted in corporate managerial practices in universities and a drive for efficiency and productivity in teaching and research. As a result, there has been an intensification of academic work, increased stress for academics and an emphasis on accountability and performativity in universities. This paper critically examines these developments in institutions and draws on evidence from universities across the sector and a detailed case study in one university to identify the impacts of these changes on academic work. Given its ubiquity and the link of academic productivity to institutional experience, the paper argues that assumptions underpinning academic performance management need to be rethought to recognise the fundamentally intrinsic motivational nature of academic work. The paper explores the effects of performance management on individual academics as a case study in one institution and proposes a re-design of academic performance management to improve productivity based on the evidence.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors scrutinize a set of paradoxes arising from a mismatch between contemporary discourses that praise and promote mobility in and internationalization of higher education, and the everyday effects of mobility and internationalisation on university teaching and learning practice.
Abstract: This paper scrutinizes a set of paradoxes arising from a mismatch between contemporary discourses that praise and promote mobility in and internationalization of higher education, and the everyday effects of mobility and internationalization on university teaching and learning practice. We begin with a general characterization of the discourse of mobility and internationalization in a European context and then turn to Denmark as a specific case in which we unfold and discuss three paradoxes in turn: internationalization and linguistic pluralism, internationalization and intercultural understanding and, finally, internationalization and competitiveness. We then link our deconstruction of the three paradoxes to a critique of the concept of “parallel language policy,” widely promoted in the Nordic context, and show how it potentially undermines the ideals of internationalization.
TL;DR: In this article, a bibliometric analysis of 1610 articles from 399 different journals from 1996 to 2013 was performed using SCOPUS to answer the following research question: Has the quality assurance of teaching and learning become a research specialty?
Abstract: The quality assurance of teaching and learning as part of universities’ governance and quality management has become a major subject in higher education and higher education politics worldwide. In addition, increasing academic attention has been paid to the quality assurance of teaching and learning, as is evident from the growing number of articles in specific journals of higher education. This paper maps the development and content of research in the literature regarding the quality assurance of teaching and learning. For this mapping, a bibliometric analysis of 1610 articles from 399 different journals from 1996 to 2013 was performed using SCOPUS. The aim of this mapping is to answer the following research question: Has the quality assurance of teaching and learning become a research specialty? A co-citation analysis identifies the following four thematic clusters: an Assessment-Cluster, a Quality-Cluster, a Quality-Management-Cluster and a Student-Evaluation-of-Teaching-Cluster. Based on a categorization of the literature’s core content, two distinct views on the quality assurance of teaching and learning become evident, representing an antagonistic tension in the research between an education strand and a management strand of research. Several indications from the empirical evidence in this paper suggest that the quality assurance of teaching and learning is (becoming) a specialty. The identification and awareness of a specialty as a cognitive organizing characteristic combining two and more categories of research topics are of great importance for the creation of knowledge in the complex interdisciplinary research field of higher education.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make the case for an ethical posthuman Bildung which recognises the inseparability of knowing and being, the materiality of educative relations, and the need to install an ecology of ethical relations at the centre of educational practice in higher education.
Abstract: My central argument in this article is that the notion of Bildung may offer conceptual sustenance to those who wish to develop educative practices to supplement or contest the prevalence and privileging of market and economic imperatives in higher education, which configure teaching and learning as an object available to measurement. I pursue this argument by making the case for an ethical posthuman Bildung which recognises the inseparability of knowing and being, the materiality of educative relations, and the need to install an ecology of ethical relations at the centre of educational practice in higher education. Such a re-conceptualisation situates Bildung not purely as an individual goal but as a process of ecologies and relationships. The article explores Bildung as a flexible concept, via three theoretical lenses, and notes that it has always been subject to continuing revision in response to changing social and educational contexts. In proposing the possibility of, and need for, a posthuman Bildung, the articles offer a critical review of the promise of Bildung and outline some of the radical ways that a posthuman Bildung might reinvigorate conceptualisations of contemporary higher education.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of temporary employment on job satisfaction and personal lives of recent PhD graduates are assessed, and the authors show that the highest educated are not exempt from the negative influences of temporary jobs.
Abstract: In this study, we assess the effects of temporary employment on job satisfaction and the personal lives of recent PhD graduates. Temporary employment is becoming increasingly prevalent in many sectors, but has been relatively common in academia, especially for early career scientists. Labor market theory shows temporary employment to have a conspicuous negative influence on the job satisfaction and well-being of employees, but also identifies groups that may be exempt from these negative influences, such as the highly educated. Here, we study the effect of temporary employment on the highest educated group in the labor force, PhD graduates. We present findings of a survey of 1133 respondents who obtained their PhD from one of five Dutch universities between 2008 and 2012. Compared to PhDs employed on a permanent contract, PhDs on a temporary contract are less satisfied with their terms of employment, especially if they have no prospect of permanence. Temporary contracts with no prospect of permanence also decrease satisfaction with job content. Conversely, self-employment increases satisfaction with job content. Educational level required for the job also influences job satisfaction to a large degree: working below PhD level negatively affects job satisfaction. Finally, the type of contract affects different aspects of the personal lives of PhDs, such as the ability to obtain a mortgage, the stability of family life, and the possibility to start a family. In conclusion, we show that the highest educated, i.e., PhD graduates are not exempt from the negative influences of temporary employment.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted an interview with thirty-three Australian university educators from a mix of disciplines and institutions to understand how assessment is designed "on the ground" to assist in resolving the tension between educators' aspirations for assessment design and actual assessment implementation.
Abstract: There are dissonances between educators’ aspirations for assessment design and actual assessment implementation in higher education. Understanding how assessment is designed ‘on the ground’ can assist in resolving this tension. Thirty-three Australian university educators from a mix of disciplines and institutions were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the transcripts indicated that assessment design begins as a response to an impetus for change. The design process itself was shaped by environmental influences, which are the circumstances surrounding the assessment design, and professional influences, which are those factors that the educators themselves bring to the process. A range of activities or tasks were undertaken, including those which were essential to all assessment design, those more selective activities which educators chose to optimise the assessment process in particular ways and meta-design processes which educators used to dynamically respond to environmental influences. The qualitative description indicates the complex social nature of interwoven personal and environmental influences on assessment design and the value of an explicit and strategic ways of thinking within the constraints and affordances of a local environment. This suggests that focussing on relational forms of professional development that develops strategic approaches to assessment may be beneficial. The role of disciplinary approaches may be significant and remains an area for future research.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate whether and to what extent the macro-determinants of traditional student mobility are also related to offshore enrolment and examine the relation between the two phenomena in order to assess whether they could be considered substitutes.
Abstract: Transnational higher education (TNHE) is one of the most important, even if often neglected, aspects in the internationalisation of higher education. TNHE constitutes a strategy for universities to expand recruitment. Nonetheless, it is often argued that TNHE could constitute a way for the countries where it is implemented to retain their students and to become themselves destinations for students from abroad. Numerous questions about TNHE’s potential to substitute traditional international student mobility currently feed the debate among scholars and stakeholders. The scarcity of data makes it difficult to answer these questions. This paper offers a macro-level panel data analysis of enrolment in Australian higher education within Australia, i.e. onshore, and abroad, i.e. offshore. Two goals are pursued: first, to investigate whether and to what extent the macro-determinants of traditional student mobility, as identified by the previous research, are also related to offshore enrolment and second, to examine the relation between the two phenomena in order to assess whether they could be considered substitutes. The results indicate that the macro-factors which influence onshore enrolment are also related to offshore enrolment, even if some of these relations occur in different ways and with different strengths. Studying abroad seems to be connected particularly with the lack of labour market opportunities in the home country. No substitutive linkage is found between offshore and onshore enrolment, confirming, as hypothesised by the previous research, that the two types of enrolment are absorbing different segments of international students.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make the case for a multidimensional strategy to probe higher education's competitive transformation and argue for analyzing three core phenomena: varieties of academic capitalism, the discursive construction of inequality, and the transformation of hierarchies in competitive settings.
Abstract: The higher education sector has been undergoing a far-reaching institutional re-orientation during the past two decades. Many adjustments appear to have strengthened the role of competition in the governance of higher education, but the character of the sector’s emerging new political economy has frequently remained unclear. Serving as the introduction for the special issue, this article makes the case for a multidimensional strategy to probe higher education’s competitive transformation. In terms of conceptualizing the major empirical shifts, we argue for analyzing three core phenomena: varieties of academic capitalism, the discursive construction of inequality, and the transformation of hierarchies in competitive settings. With respect to theoretical tools, we emphasize the complementary contributions of institutional, class-oriented, and discourse analytical approaches. As this introduction elaborates and the contributions to the special issue demonstrate, critical dialog among different analytical traditions over the interpretation of change is crucial for improving established understandings. Arguably, it is essential for clarifying the respective roles of capitalist power and hierarchical rule in the construction of the sector’s new order.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identified three overall factors that enabled first-year students to adjust and integrate successfully to the university environment, and used content analysis to categorize the findings into themes and sub-themes.
Abstract: The South African higher education sector is faced with high attrition and low retention rates. Studies conducted by the Council on Higher Education in South Africa have found that 50% of black students who access university study drop out, and the majority of dropouts occurred in the first year of study. While these studies revealed what the challenges were and why they occurred, not much has been done to overcome or prevent the challenges. Therefore, knowledge on how first-year students could be assisted and guided to adjust successful to the university environment is paramount. The goal of this article is to determine which factors enable new students’ successful adjustment to the university environment. Identifying these factors was deemed important because they could be used to assist and guide new student cohorts. Thirty-two first-year students were the research participants, and data were collected from all of them through a questionnaire, two written reflective pieces, the students’ results and individual interviews. Content analysis, using a three-stage open coding process, was used to categorize the findings into themes and sub-themes. The findings revealed that 20 of the 32 students had difficulty overcoming their transition challenges and failed some or all their subjects at the end of their first year of study. The remaining 12 students overcame their challenges and achieved study success. They identified three overall factors that enabled them to adjust and integrate successfully to the university environment.
TL;DR: The authors explored students' understandings of plagiarism in relation to institutional plagiarism discourses at a New Zealand university and found that plagiarism should be framed as a learning to write, rather than as a moral issue.
Abstract: Plagiarism is a concept that is difficult to define. Although most higher education institutions have policies aimed at minimising and addressing student plagiarism, little research has examined the ways in which plagiarism is discursively constructed in university policy documents, or the connections and disconnections between institutional and student understandings of plagiarism in higher education. This article reports on a study that explored students’ understandings of plagiarism in relation to institutional plagiarism discourses at a New Zealand university. The qualitative study involved interviews with 21 undergraduate students, and analysis of University plagiarism policy documents. The University policy documents revealed moral and regulatory discourses. In the interviews, students predominantly drew on ethico-legal discourses, which reflected the discourses in the policy documents. However, the students also drew on (un)fairness discourses, confusion discourses, and, to a lesser extent, learning discourses. Notably, learning discourses were absent in the University policy. Our findings revealed tensions between the ways plagiarism was framed in institutional policy documents, and students’ understandings of plagiarism and academic writing. We suggest that, in order to support students’ acquisition of academic writing skills, plagiarism should be framed in relation to ‘learning to write’, rather than as a moral issue.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared 191 international and 409 American students' involvement in college life, the extent to which the involvement is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, and language background.
Abstract: Using longitudinal survey data, this study compares 191 international and 409 American students’ involvement in college life, the extent to which the involvement is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, and language background, and the extent to which the involvement influences overall satisfaction. Major findings include: International and American students had similar amount of interactions with faculty, and student–faculty interactions had the biggest, positive impact on overall satisfaction for both groups; international students had more frequent positive and negative cross-racial interactions than American students, and negative cross-racial interactions decreased international students’ overall satisfaction; international students felt lonely more frequently than American students, yet loneliness did not decrease international students’ overall satisfaction. Implications for research provide recommendations for studying international students’ cross-racial interactions in relation to overall satisfaction, and for adapting and revising the conceptual model developed in this study in further research on what makes international students satisfied. Implications for practice focus on improving cross-racial interactions and student–faculty interactions, recommending concrete actions that can be offered to all students as well as special interventions targeting international students. The practical significance of conducting comparative institutional self-study between international and American students is also discussed in the context of how services for international students are structured on college campuses.
TL;DR: In this article, a new scale, subject area affinity, was developed to explore the extent to which students identify with their area of study and imagine being part of it in future.
Abstract: This paper considers relationships between approaches to learning, learner identities, self-efficacy beliefs and academic achievement in higher education. In addition to already established survey instruments, a new scale, subject area affinity, was developed. The scale explores the extent to which students identify with their area of study and imagine being part of it in future. The new scale showed strong psychometric properties when it was tested on a sample of 4377 students at a research-intensive university. The new scale correlated positively with both the deep approach and self-efficacy scales. The new scale also correlated negatively with the surface approach scale. K-means cluster analysis identified seven distinct groups of students who espoused interpretable combinations of approaches, self-efficacy and subject area affinity. Cluster membership was associated with differences in academic achievement. Implications are discussed.