Showing papers on "Higher education published in 2007"

The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities

Abstract: Globalization and internationalization are related but not the same thing. Globalization is the context of economic and academic trends that are part of the reality of the 21st century. Internationalization includes the policies and practices undertaken by academic systems and institutions—and even individuals—to cope with the global academic environment. The motivations for internationalization include commercial advantage, knowledge and language acquisition, enhancing the curriculum with international content, and many others. Specific initiatives such as branch campuses, cross-border collaborative arrangements, programs for international students, establishing English-medium programs and degrees, and others have been put into place as part of internationalization. Efforts to monitor international initiatives and ensure quality are integral to the international higher education environment.

Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter

Abstract: Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter, by George D. Kuh, Jillian Kinzie, John H. Schuh, Elizabeth J. Whitt, and Associates. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005. ISBN 0787982202. Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter by George D. Kuh, Jillian Kinzie, John H. Schuh, Elizabeth J. Whitt, and associates addresses the long-standing issue of the utility of theory and research to professional practice. They address this important issue by asking what properties and conditions are common to those colleges and universities that achieve higher than predicted levels of student engagement and graduation. Put differently, the documentation of effective educational practice constituted the aim of their research project. Accordingly, they named this Project DEEP (Documenting Effective Educational Practices). Through the pursuit of this question and the effective educational practices it richly documents, this book makes an important contribution to practice and clearly demonstrates the usefulness of research to practice. For the community of scholars organized around the study of higher education, the contribution of this volume lies in its heuristic value to theory development and further research. This yolume consists of four parts and 14 chapters. Part 1 includes an introductory chapter that describes the methodology used to identify a set of higher performing baccalaureate-granting institutions. From this set of collegiate institutions, the Project DEEP team selected a diverse set of 20 colleges and universities: research universities, liberal arts colleges, and residential and commuter institutions. Kuh and his colleagues assert that effective educational practices can be found at a wide variety of colleges and universities. The DEEP research team conducted two visits to the campuses of the 20 selected colleges and universities, during which they reviewed documents, visited classrooms and laboratories, observed faculty and staff meetings, and talked with more than 2,700 people. Appendix A of the volume describes in greater detail the research methods used. Through the campus visits and review of pertinent documents, the DEEP research team identified six properties and conditions common at each of the 20 colleges and universities. Part 2 of this volume includes six chapters (chapters 2 through 7), each of which is devoted to one of the six attributes that foster student success. These six chapters extensively describe the focal properties and conditions used by DEEP colleges and universities. Such extensive descriptions facilitate their application by other colleges and universities. The following titles of these six properties and conditions give a general sense of their essence: "Living Mission and 'Lived' Educational Philosophy," "An Unshakable Focus on Student Learning," "Environments Adapted for Educational Enrichment," "Clear Pathways to Student Success," "An Improvement-Oriented Ethos," and "Shared Responsibility for Educational Quality and Student Success." Higher education practitioners will find the contents of these six chapters immensely valuable to practice. Part 3 of this volume consists of five chapters, a chapter devoted to each of the five clusters of effective educational practices that the DEEP team used to identify the 20 overperforming colleges and universities: academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environments. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) encompasses each of these five clusters. These five chapters describe the policies and practices of the DEEP colleges and universities reflective of the focal cluster of educational practice. Higher education practitioners will also find the polices and practices described in each of these five chapters useful and worthy of possible implementation by their college or university. …

Entrepreneurship education: a systematic review of the evidence

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore different themes within entrepreneurship education via the use of a systematic literature review (SLR) Systematic literature reviews are recognized method

Race, Culture, and Researcher Positionality: Working Through Dangers Seen, Unseen, and Unforeseen

Abstract: This author introduces a framework to guide researchers into a process of racial and cultural awareness, consciousness, and positionality as they conduct education research. The premise of the argument is that dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen can emerge for researchers when they do not pay careful attention to their own and others’ racialized and cultural systems of coming to know, knowing, and experiencing the world. Education research is used as an analytic site for discussion throughout this article, but the framework may be transferable to other academic disciplines. After a review of literature on race and culture in education and an outline of central tenets of critical race theory, a nonlinear framework is introduced that focuses on several interrelated qualities: researching the self, researching the self in relation to others, engaged reflection and representation, and shifting from the self to system.

Critical success factors for e-learning acceptance: Confirmatory factor models

Abstract: E-learning, one of the tools emerged from information technology, has been integrated in many university programs. There are several factors that need to be considered while developing or implementing university curriculums that offer e-learning based courses. This paper is intended to specify e-learning critical success factors (CSFs) as perceived by university students. The published e-learning critical success factors were surveyed and grouped into 4 categories namely, instructor, student, information technology, and university support. Each category included several measures. The categorization was tested by surveying 538 university students. The results revealed 8 categories of e-learning CSFs, each included several critical e-learning acceptance and success measures. The level of criticality of each measure was represented by its validity coefficient. Confirmatory factor modeling approach was used to assess the criticality of the measures included in each CSF category.

Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education

Abstract: – To date, little attention has been given to the circumstances in which the process of developing key competencies for sustainable development may take place. The purpose of this paper is to consider, the possibilities both of formal and informal learning and their relationship to competence development within higher education., – An explorative, qualitative study based on focus groups was designed using different groups from formal and informal learning settings., – The development of key competencies is based both on cognitive and non‐cognitive dispositions and asks for multiple contexts. Through combining formal and informal learning settings within higher education – as part of a new learning culture – a variety of contexts can be given and competence development can be enhanced., – While aspects of both formal and informal learning settings could be identified, the interdependencies between them remain elusive., – Based on the findings, some main aspects for acquiring competencies can be pointed out that may be crucial in higher education settings., – The paper analyses the implications for both formal and informal learning settings of new ways of developing key competencies within higher education. Particular attention is given to interdisciplinarity and students' self‐responsibility.

The role of education quality for economic growth

Abstract: The role of improved schooling, a central part of most development strategies, has become controversial because expansion of school attainment has not guaranteed improved economic conditions. This paper reviews the role of education in promoting economic well-being, focusing on the role of educational quality. It concludes that there is strong evidence that the cognitive skills of the population-rather than mere school attainment-are powerfully related to individual earnings, to the distribution of income, and to economic growth. New empirical results show the importance of both minimal and high-level skills, the complementarity of skills and the quality of economic institutions, and the robustness of the relationship between skills and growth. International comparisons incorporating expanded data on cognitive skills reveal much larger skill deficits in developing countries than generally derived from just school enrollment and attainment. The magnitude of change needed makes it clear that closing the economic gap with industrial countries will require major structural changes in schooling institutions.

Rethinking assessment in higher education : learning for the longer term

Abstract: Part 1: Setting the Scene 1. Assessment for the Longer Term 2. Reframing Assessment as if Learning was Important Part 2: The Context of Assessment 3. Assessment in Higher Education: An Impossible Mission? 4. Learning Assessment: Students' Experiences in Post-School Qualifications Part 3: Themes 5. Contradictions of Assessment for Learning in Institutions of Higher Learning 6. Grading, Classifying and Future Learning 7. Assessment Engineering: Breaking Down Barriers between Teaching and Learning, and Assessment 8. Rethinking Feedback and Assessment-for-Learning 9. Conceptions of Self-Assessment: What is Needed for Long Term Learning? 10. The Place of Peers in Assessment 11. Assessment and Emotion: The Impact of Being Assessed Part 4: The Practice of Assessment 12. Writing about Practice for Future Learning 13. The Contribution of Sustainable Assessment to Teachers' Continuing Professional Development 14. Developing Assessment for Informing Judgement

Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning.

Abstract: All rights reserved. Published 2008 US $29.95 Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning – Western Edition represents the first report on the state of online learning among higher education institutions in the fourteen western states. The study is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Based on responses from nearly 400 colleges and universities, the report addresses the following key questions:

Reflections on the Transition from Elite to Mass to Universal Access: Forms and Phases of Higher Education in Modern Societies since WWII

Abstract: Reflections on the Transition from Elite to Mass to Universal Access: Forms and Phases of Higher Education in Modern Societies since WWII Forthcoming in Philip Altbach, ed., International Handbook of Higher Education, Kluwer. 2005. Martin Trow Introduction This chapter seeks to reflect and update a set of concepts, first introduced over 30 years ago, regarding the transformation of higher education (Trow, 1973). 1 The ideas of this original essay, as nicely summed up recently by British author John Brennan (2004), illustrate three forms of higher education: (1) elite—shaping the mind and character of a ruling class; preparation for elite roles; (2) mass—transmission of skills and preparation for a broader range of technical and economic elite roles; and (3) universal—adaptation of the ‘whole population’ to rapid social and technological change. Table 1 (p.63) provides a useful summary of these stages of higher education development. Brennan observes that “While these may not capture all of the nuances of current higher education debates, they nevertheless appear to be remarkably prescient of some of the key issues that we face as we embark in the UK on the move, in Trow’s terms, from mass to universal higher education . It should also be emphasized that Trow never saw these distinctions as empirical descriptions of real higher education systems, rather as models or ‘ideal types’ to aid our comprehension of such systems. And a further point to remember is that although he saw these forms as sequential stages, he did not regard it as inevitable that the later stages would completely replace the earlier ones. In particular, he saw definite possibilities of examples of elite forms surviving in the mass and universal stages.” 2 Three decades later, this chapter revisits some of these concepts and models, exploring the question of their continuing usefulness in understanding modern systems of higher education, so much larger, more diverse and complex than the systems the earlier paper addressed. And it raises the question of whether and where those concepts would need to be modified to illuminate

Successful implementation of user-centered game based learning in higher education: An example from civil engineering

Abstract: Goal: The use of an online game for learning in higher education aims to make complex theoretical knowledge more approachable. Permanent repetition will lead to a more in-depth learning. Objective: To gain insight into whether and to what extent, online games have the potential to contribute to student learning in higher education. Experimental setting: The online game was used for the first time during a lecture on Structural Concrete at Master's level, involving 121 seventh semester students. Methods: Pre-test/post-test experimental control group design with questionnaires and an independent online evaluation. Results: The minimum learning result of playing the game was equal to that achieved with traditional methods. A factor called ''joy'' was introduced, according to [Nielsen, J. (2002): User empowerment and the fun factor. In Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, July 7, 2002. Available from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020707.html.], which was amazingly high. Conclusion: The experimental findings support the efficacy of game playing. Students enjoyed this kind of e-learning.

Knowledge, Higher Education, and the New Managerialism: The Changing Management of UK Universities

Abstract: The nature of Higher Education in the UK has changed over the last three decades. Academics can no longer be said to carry out their work in 'ivory towers', as increasing government intervention and a growing 'target culture' has changed the way they work. Increasingly universities have transformed from 'communities of scholars' to 'workplaces'. The organization and administration of universities has seen a corresponding prevalence of ideas and strategies drawn from the 'New Public Management' ideology in response, promoting a more 'business-focussed' approach in the management of public services. This book examines the issues that these changes have had on academics, both as the 'knowledge-workers' managed, and the 'manager-academic'. It draws on a detailed study of academics holding management roles ranging from Head of Department to Vice Chancellor in sixteen UK universities, exploring their career histories and trajectories, and providing extensive accounts of their values, practices, relationships with others, and their training and development as managers. Drawing on debates around 'New Public Management', knowledge management, and knowledge workers, the wider implications of these themes for policy innovation and strategy in HE and the public sector more generally are considered, developing a critical response to recent approaches to managing public services, and practical suggestions for improvements which could be made to the training and support of senior and middle managers in universities. The book will be of interest to all teaching, researching, or managing in Higher Education, Education policy-makers, and academics and researchers concerned with Public Management, Knowledge Management, or Higher Education.

Effective leadership in higher education: a literature review

Abstract: This article is a review of the literature concerned with leadership effectiveness in higher education at departmental level. The literature derives from publications from three countries: the UK, the USA and Australia. Surprisingly little systematic research has been conducted on the question of which forms of leadership are associated with departmental effectiveness. The analysis of the studies selected resulted in the identification of 13 forms of leader behaviour that are associated with departmental effectiveness. The findings are considered in relation to the notion of competency frameworks and, in the conclusion, their general implications are explored in relation to the notion of substitutes for leadership.

The use of computer technology in university teaching and learning: a critical perspective

Abstract: Despite huge efforts to position information and communication technology (ICT) as a central tenet of university teaching and learning, the fact remains that many university students and faculty make only limited formal academic use of computer technology. Whilst this is usually attributed to a variety of operational deficits on the part of students, faculty, and universities, this paper considers the wider social relations underpinning the relatively modest use of technology in higher education. The paper explores how university use of computer technology is shaped into marginalized and curtailed positions by a variety of actors. From the ‘writing’ of ICT at a national policy level through to the marginalization of ICT within the lived ‘student experience’, a consistent theme emerges where computer technology use is constructed in limited, linear, and rigid terms far removed from the creative, productive, and empowering uses which are often celebrated by educational technologists. In the light of such constraints, the paper considers how these dominant constructions of a peripheral and limited use of ICT may be challenged by the higher education community. In particular, it concludes by reflecting on current critical thinking about how educational technologists can foster a more expansive and empowered use of computer technology within university settings.

The Cultural Interface.

Abstract: For a while now I have been researching and writing about Australian Indigenous education issues. Like you all, I have seen much good work and learnt much from what is going on across the country and internationally to improve outcomes for Indigenous learners in formal education processes. And still we go on with the struggle and with the limitations that Western sciences and practices place on us in the process. This paper draws together theoretical propositions from the work we have been progressing for the higher education sector over the past decade and to point to some foundational principles that can help establish some early beginnings with Indigenous education as a discipline in the higher education sector.

Perspectives on Blended Learning in Higher Education

Abstract: This article explores the benefits and challenges of blended learning in higher education from the perspective of students, faculty, and administration that have had direct experience with this form of course delivery. Students indicate that a blended learning model provides them with greater time flexibility and improved learning outcomes but that initially they encounter issues around time management, taking greater responsibility for their own learning, and using sophisticated technologies. Faculty suggest that blended courses create enhanced opportunities for teacher-student interaction, increased student engagement in learning, added flexibility in the teaching and learning environment, and opportunities for continuous improvement. They state that the challenges faced in developing such a course include a lack of time, support and resources for course redesign, acquiring new teaching and technology skills, plus the risks associated with delivering a course in a blended format. From an administrative perspective, blended learning presents the opportunity to enhance an institution’s reputation, expand access to an institution’s educational offerings, and reduce operating costs. The challenges consist of aligning blended learning with institutional goals and priorities, resistance to organizational change and lack of organizational structure and experience with collaboration and partnerships.

Settling into Campus Life: Differences by Race/Ethnicity in College Involvement and Outcomes

Abstract: The enrollment of minority students in higher education has increased over the past 30 years, in both absolute terms and as a proportion of the student body. From 1976 to 2000, the number of Black students enrolled in degree-granting institutions rose 14.9%, while Hispanic enrollment increased by 25.4% (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2002, see Table 206). The vast majority of these students attend predominantly White institutions. According to figures from the Digest of Educational Statistics, only 15.9% of Black students in 2000 were enrolled in historically Black colleges and universities (NCES 2002, see Tables 206 and 222). As the number of Hispanic and Black students enrolling in higher education expands, so does the need to understand what constitutes a successful transition to college for these students. There are several reasons to suspect that acclimating to the new college environment may be different for these students than for their White and Asian counterparts. As will be shown later in this article, Black and Hispanic students are more likely to be first generation college students and to be from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds; in addition to these family background characteristics that may put them at a disadvantage, they may be subject to adjustment difficulties rooted in the experience of being a minority student on a predominantly White campus (Allen, 1992; Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996; Nora & Cabrera, 1996; Smedley, Meyers, & Harrell, 1993; Steele, 1997, 1998; Steele & Aronson, 1995, 1998). This article explores racial and ethnic differences in adjusting to college and the consequences different adjustment strategies have on college outcomes. Prior research has pinpointed the transition to college as a crucial period of time that, in many ways, sets the stage for later college success or failure (Gall, Evans, & Bellerose, 2000; Hurtado, Carter, & Spuler, 1996; Padilla, Trevino, Trevino, & Gonzalez, 1997; Terenzini, Rendon, Upcraft, Millar, Allison, Gregg, & Jalomo, 1994; Tinto, 1987). I begin by summarizing the major perspectives in education on the roots of college attrition. In the process of comparing and contrasting these perspectives, I highlight three prominent factors that may affect adjustment and subsequent success in college: minority status, socioeconomic disadvantage, and being a first generation college student. Looking at the social and academic connections students make on campus, I explore the importance of the college transition process. In the course of transitioning to college, students form various connections to others on campus. I introduce a variety of indicators of these social and academic connections and examine their relationship to college grades and satisfaction with college. I examine Black and Hispanic students separately to understand how their adjustment to college may be different from that of White and Asian students. Adjustment to College and Attrition As with any major life change, beginning college requires a process of adjustment. Models of college attrition vary in their consideration of the adjustment process, but for most, this is a crucial part of the college attrition puzzle. The model of student integration proposed by Tinto (1987) has been widely utilized (and critiqued) in the literature on higher education. (1) Tinto presents a longitudinal, predictive model of attrition that places integration into the academic and social systems of the institution at the center of the attrition process. Integration into the college environment is an emergent process that is largely a function of formal and informal interactions students have on campus, in both academic and social capacities. Through interactions in the social and academic realms, students either reaffirm or reevaluate their initial goals and commitments. Students who lack sufficient interaction with others on campus or have negative experiences may decide to depart the university as a result of this reevaluation. …

Comparative education : the dialectic of the global and the local

Abstract: Part 2 Introduction: Reframing Comparative Education: The Dialectic of the Global and the Local Chapter 3 1. Technocracy, Uncertainty, and Ethics: Comparative Education in an Era of Postmodernity and Globalization Chapter 4 2. Institutionalizing International Influence Chapter 5 3. The State, Social Movements, and Educational Reform Chapter 6 4. Culture and Education Chapter 7 5. The Question of Identity from a Comparative Education Perspective Chapter 8 6. Equality of Education: A Half-Century of Comparative Evidence Seen From a New Millennium Chapter 9 7. Women's Education in the Twenty-First Century: Balance and Prospects Chapter 10 8. Control of Education: Issues and Tensions in Centralization and Decentralization Chapter 11 9. Beyond Schooling: The Role of Adult and Community Education in Postcolonial Change Chapter 12 10. The Political Economy of Educational Reform in Australia, England, and the United States Chapter 13 11. Higher Education Restructuring in the Era of Globalization: Toward a Heteronomous Model? Chapter 14 12. Education in Latin America: Dependency, Underdevelopment, and Inequality Chapter 15 13. Education in Asia: Globalization and its Effects Chapter 16 14. Education in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities Chapter 17 15. Russia and Eastern Europe Chapter 18 16. Education for All in Africa: Still a Distant Dream Chapter 19 17. Comparative Education: The Dialectics of Globalization and its Discontents

Cross-border flows of students for higher education: Push-pull factors and motivations of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau

Abstract: Within the context of broad literature on cross-border flows for higher education, this article examines the distinctive case of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau. These territories are a sort of bridge between the fully domestic and the fully international. Hong Kong and Macau higher education plays a dual role, as a destination in itself for higher education and as a stepping-stone for students’ further international development. Patterns in Hong Kong are slightly different from those in Macau, and the territories may thus be usefully compared with each other as well as taken as a pair for comparison with other parts of the world. The paper begins by noting the literature on the ways that push and pull factors influence student mobility, and then turns to motivations in pursuit of academic and professional growth, economic benefit, individual internationalisation, and enhanced social status. The paper shows that flows of mainland Chinese students are driven by both excess and differentiated demand. Analysis of the distinctive features of this pair of territories adds to wider conceptual understanding of the nature of cross-border flows for higher education.

Knowledge, higher education, and the new managerialism

Abstract: Knowledge, higher education, and the new managerialism , Knowledge, higher education, and the new managerialism , دانشگاه تهران

The role of engagement in inspiring teaching and learning

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to integrate notions of the improvement of student learning through a focus on the concept of engagement, and adds to that broader discussion through a recent empirical study of the perceptions of students gathered through a case study in a UK university. It is proposed that student engagement lies on a continuum from disengaged to engaged, and also exists at a number of levels within which the same student may exhibit different degrees of engagement. We argue that if the built‐in alienating influences within higher education are to be countered, multi‐faceted engagement is required. Learners, we conclude, are more likely to engage if they in turn are supported by teaching staff who engage with: students, with the subject, and with the teaching process, and furthermore that the classroom teacher requires support in achieving this.

Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives.

Abstract: Foreword (Will Kymlicka). Preface (James A. Banks). Contributors and Conference Participants. Reviewers. PART ONE: Crosscutting Issues and Concepts. Introduction: Democratic Citizenship Education in Multicultural Societies (James A. Banks). 1. Migration, Citizenship, and Education (Stephen Castles). 2. Higher Learning: Educational Availability and Flexible Citizenship in Global Space (Aihwa Ong). 3. Unity and Diversity in Democratic Multicultural Education: Creative and Destructive Tensions (Amy Gutmann). PART TWO: The United States and Canada. 4. Culture Versus Citizenship: The Challenge of Racialized Citizenship in the United States (Gloria Ladson-Billings). 5. Citizenship and Multicultural Education in Canada: From Assimilation to Social Cohesion (Reva Joshee). PART THREE: South Africa and Brazil. 6. Citizenship Education and Political Literacy in South Africa (Kogila A. Moodley and Heribert Adam). 7. Citizenship and Education in Brazil: The Contribution of Indian Peoples and Blacks in the Struggle for Citizenship and Recognition (Petronilha Beatriz Goncalves e Silva). PART FOUR: England, Germany, and Russia). 8. Diversity and Citizenship Education in England (Peter Figueroa). 9. Ethnic Diversity and Citizenship Education in Germany (Sigrid Luchtenberg). 10. Citizenship Education and Ethnic Issues in Russia (Isak D. Froumin). PART FIVE: Japan, India, and China. 11. Expanding the Borders of the Nation: Ethnic Diversity and Citizenship Education in Japan (Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu). 12. Crisis of Citizenship Education in the Indian Republic: Contestation Between Cultural Monists and Pluralists (T. K. Oommen). 13. Ethnic Diversity and Citizenship Education in the People's Republic of China (Wan Minggang). PART SIX: Israel and Palestine. 14. Diversity and Citizenship Education in Israel (Moshe Tatar). 15. Educating for Citizenship in the New Palestine (Fouad Moughrabi). PART SEVEN: Curriculum for Diversity, Democracy, and Citizenship Education. 16. Diversity, Globalization, and Democratic Education: Curriculum Possibilities (Walter C. Parker). Diversity, Democracy, Globalization, and Citizenship: A Bibliography. Name Index. Subject Index.

Facilitating online discussions effectively

Abstract: This article presents a synthesis of the theoretical and research literature on facilitating asynchronous online discussions effectively. Online courses need to be designed so that they provide motivation for students to engage in productive discussions and clearly describe what is expected, perhaps in the form of a discussion rubric. Additionally, instructors need to provide discussion forums for socio-emotional discussions that have the goal of nurturing a strong sense of community within the course as well as group discussion forums for content-and task-oriented discussions that center on authentic topics. In order to facilitate discussions effectively, instructors should generate a social presence in the virtual classroom, avoid becoming the center of all discussions by emphasizing student–student interactions, and attend to issues of social equity arising from use of different communication patterns by culturally diverse students [e.g., Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., and Archer, W. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 7–23; Rovai, A. P. (2003). Strategies for grading online discussions: Effects on discussions and classroom community in Internet-based university courses. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 15(1), 89–107].

Research focus and methodological choices in studies into students' experiences of blended learning in higher education

Abstract: The paper reviews representative research into blended learning in universities, taking into account the methodology used, the focus of the research and the relationship between the two. In terms of methodology, most research was classifiable as case-studies, survey-based studies or comparative studies. A small number of studies take a comparatively more holistic approach and one of the outcomes from this review is a recommendation for more holistic studies to be undertaken. In the studies reviewed, the focus of the research is often related to the degree of methodological complexity. That is, less methodologically elaborated studies tend to have a more specific focus, while the studies employing a more complex methodology tend to report more varied aspects of the students' learning experience. It is argued that educationally useful research on blended learning needs to focus on the relationships between different modes of learning (for example, face-to-face and on-line) and especially on the nature of their integration. In particular, such research needs to generate usable evidence about the quality of the students' learning experiences and learning outcomes. In turn, this demands appropriately powerful methodologies, rooted in a firm theoretical foundation.

Rethinking Faculty Work: Higher Education's Strategic Imperative

Abstract: Preface. About the Authors. PART ONE: HIGHER EDUCATION' S CHANGING CONTEXT. 1. The Changing Context for Faculty Work and Workplaces. 2. Trends in the National Workplace. 3. Faculty Appointments and Faculty Members: Diversification, Growth, and Diversity. 4. The Academic Profession Today: Diverse Appointments to Meet Diverse Needs. 5. Attracting and Retaining Excellent Faculty. PART TWO: THE FRAMEWORK. 6. The Framework of Essential Elements. 7. Respect: The Foundation for the Essential Elements. 8. Shared Responsibility and Joint Leadership. PART THREE: THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS. 9. Equity in Academic Appointments. 10. Academic Freedom. 11. Ensuring Flexibility in Academic Appointments. 12. Professional Growth. 13. Collegiality. 14. Why Rethink Faculty Work and Workplaces? A Call to Action. References. Name Index. Subject Index.

Stratification in higher education: a comparative study

Abstract: In this book, scholars from Western and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Israel, Australia, and the United States assess the links between the mass expansion of higher education and inequality in the national context. Findings were analysed comparatively with each country chapter containing a detailed description of tertiary education and changes and reforms to it over recent decades. Logit regressions of several educational transitions are reported, including eligibility for higher education, entry into higher education, and entry into first-tier higher education. Findings from the research provide evidence of the relationships among institutional expansion, differentiation and privatisation, and the stratification of individual educational opportunity. The chapters are as follows: More inclusion than diversion: expansion, differentiation, and market structure in higher education / Richard Arum, Adam Gamoran, and Yossi Shavit. Part one, 'Diversified systems', contains the chapters: Israel: diversification, expansion, and inequality in higher education / Yossi Shavit, Hanna Ayalon, Svetlana Chachashvili-Bolotin, and Gila Menahem; Japan: educational expansion and inequality in access to higher education / Hiroshi Ishida; South Korea: educational expansion and inequality of opportunity in higher education / Hyunjoon Park; Sweden: why educational expansion is not such a great strategy for equality - theory and evidence / Jan O. Jonsson and Robert Erikson; Taiwan: higher education - expansion and equality of educational opportunity / Shu-Ling Tsai and Yossi Shavit; United States: changes in higher education and social stratification / Josipa Roksa, Eric Grodsky, Richard Arum, and Adam Gamoran. Part two, 'Binary systems', contains: Great Britain: higher education expansion and reform - changing educational inequalities / Sin Yi Cheung and Muriel Egerton; France: mass and class - persisting inequalities in postsecondary education / Pauline Givord and Dominique Goux; Germany: institutional change and inequalities of access in higher education / Karl Ulrich Mayer, Walter Muller, and Reinhard Pollak; The Netherlands: access to higher education - institutional arrangements and inequality of opportunity / Susanne Rijken, Ineke Maas, and Harry B. G. Ganzeboom; Russia: stratification in postsecondary education since the Second World War / Theodore P. Gerber; Switzerland: tertiary education expansion and social inequality / Marlis Buchmann, Stefan Sacchi, Markus Lamprecht, and Hanspeter Stamm. Part three, 'Unitary and other systems', contains: Australia: changes in socioeconomic inequalities in university participation / Gary N. Marks and Julie McMillan; The Czech Republic: structural growth of inequality in access to higher education / Petr Mateju, Blanka Rehakova, and Natalie Simonova; Italy: expansion, reform, and social inequality in higher education / Ettore Recchi.