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Showing papers on "Higher education published in 2014"


20 Feb 2014
TL;DR: The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (ILMLF) as discussed by the authors ) is a framework for information literacy for higher education that includes guidelines for using it in higher education.
Abstract: Suggestions on How to Use the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframeworkapps#suggestions) Introduction for Faculty and Administrators (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards /ilframeworkapps#introfaculty) For Faculty: How to Use the Framework (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframeworkapps#usefaculty) For Administrators: How to Support the Framework (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards /ilframeworkapps#adminsupport)

763 citations


01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: In this paper, the effectiveness of using e-learning in teaching in tertiary institutions is investigated by reviewing some contributions made by various researchers and institutions on the concept of elearning, particularly its usage in teaching and learning in higher educational institutions.
Abstract: This study investigates the effectiveness of using e-learning in teaching in tertiary institutions. In institutions of higher education, the issue of utilizing modern information and communication technologies for teaching and learning is very important. This study reviews literature and gives a scholarly background to the study by reviewing some contributions made by various researchers and institutions on the concept of e-learning, particularly its usage in teaching and learning in higher educational institutions. It unveils some views that people and institutions have shared globally on the adoption and integration of e-learning technologies in education through surveys and other observations. It looks at the meaning or definitions of e-learning as given by different researchers and the role that e-learning plays in higher educational institutions in relation to teaching and learning processes, and the advantages and disadvantages of its adoption and implemention.

698 citations


01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: The grade change tracking online education in the United States is the topic of the annual Sloan Online Survey of Colleges (Sloan-C) as discussed by the authors, which has been published every year since 2006.
Abstract: Permission is hereby granted for all non-commercial use of this report provided that notification is given to bsrg@babson.edu and proper attribution is included. Commercial use may also be granted – inquire at bsrg@babson.edu. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Grade Change-Tracking Online Education in the United States is the eleventh annual report in this series on tracking online education in the United States. It was originally known as the Sloan Online Survey, in recognition of our founding sponsor, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Foundation saw the need for the first of these reports and continued that commitment, supporting this independent study, offering full privacy for all respondents as well as free distribution of all report publications. We thank them for this. We also thank our current partners, the Sloan Consortium and Pearson, for supporting our research with the same degree of independence and autonomy. Beginning in 2006, the College Board agreed to include our online enrollment questions as part of their Annual Survey of Colleges, providing increased coverage of all of US higher education institutions. We thank them for seeing the value in our reports, and being such a pleasure to work with. The report was edited and reviewed by Nate Ralph and we thank him for his suggestions, corrections, and careful attention to detail and consistency. As always, we would also like to thank the people most important to these survey reports: the thousands of respondents who took the time to provide us with such detailed and thoughtful responses. We understand you are very busy people, and appreciate your effort. These reports would not be possible without you, and we hope you find them useful. PARTNERS Pearson Pearson has brought a wide array of experience in higher education to this project and will be producing the e-book version of the report and an infographic highlighting the results. Pearson, the world's leading learning company, has global reach and market-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing (NYSE: PSO). Pearson helps people and institutions break through to improved outcomes by providing innovative print and digital education materials, including personalized learning products such as MyLab and Mastering, education services including custom publishing, content-independent platforms including the EQUELLA digital repository, and the Pearson LearningStudio online learning platform and OpenClass online learning environment. The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) has been a long-time supporter and distributor of the national online learning reports in this series for the past ten …

620 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study applies a framework for institutional BL adoption to 11 U. S. institutions participating in a Next Generation Learning Challenge (NGLC) grant and attempting to transition from an awareness/exploration of BL to the adoption/early implementation phase and identifies patterns and distinctions.
Abstract: Relatively little of the current research on blended learning (BL) addresses institutional adoption issues. Additional research is needed to guide institutions of higher education in strategically adopting and implementing blended learning on campus. The authors conducted a prior study in which they proposed a framework for institutional BL adoption (Graham, Woodfield, & Harrison, 2012), identifying three stages: (1) awareness/exploration, (2) adoption/early implementation, and (3) mature implementation/growth. The framework also identified key strategy, structure, and support issues universities may address at each stage. The current study applies this adoption framework to 11 U. S. institutions participating in a Next Generation Learning Challenge (NGLC) grant and attempting to transition from an awareness/exploration of BL to the adoption/early implementation phase. The study also compares U.S. institutional strategy, structure, and support approaches to BL adoption and identifies patterns and distinctions.

420 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that future research in the field needs to foreground students' lived realities and to broaden its theoretical and empirical base if students' capabilities to navigate change a...
Abstract: Student transition into higher education has increased in importance in recent times, with the growing trend in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development nations towards universal higher education provision and the concomitant widening of participation to include previously under-represented groups. However, ‘transition’ as a concept is largely employed uncritically in the field. In making these transition assumptions explicit, this article argues that there are three distinct accounts in the research literature, which inevitably lead to different approaches to transition policy, research and practice in higher education. While the third – transition as ‘becoming’ – offers the most theoretically sophisticated and student-sympathetic account, it is the least prevalent and least well understood. The article further argues that future research in the field needs to foreground students' lived realities and to broaden its theoretical and empirical base if students' capabilities to navigate change a...

370 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UN DESD) is presented, focusing on the role of UNESCO ESD Chairs in advancing sustainability-oriented learning and competences in higher education.

351 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define the necessary attributes of STEM programs designed to engage all students, describe a number of model programs focused on student engagement, and discusses assessments in progress.
Abstract: With the "flattening" of the global economy in the 21st century, the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has taken on new importance as economic competition has become truly global. STEM education has evolved into a meta-discipline, an integrated effort that removes the traditional barriers between these subjects, and instead focuses on innovation and the applied process of designing solutions to complex contextual problems using current tools and technologies. Engaging students in high quality STEM education requires programs to include rigorous curriculum, instruction, and assessment, integrate technology and engineering into the science and mathematics curriculum, and also promote scientific inquiry and the engineering design process. All students must be a part of the STEM vision, and all teachers must be provided with the proper professional development opportunities preparing them to guide all their students toward acquiring STEM literacy. By focusing on student engagement, educators from institutions of higher education and K-12 schools can work together to develop pedagogical models that provide rigorous, well-rounded education and outstanding STEM instruction. This paper defines the necessary attributes of STEM programs designed to engage all students, describes a number of model programs focused on student engagement, and discusses assessments in progress.

325 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The process and challenges of collecting, organizing and mining student data to predict academic risk, and report results on the predictive performance of those models, their portability across pilot programs at partner institutions, and the results of interventions on at-risk students are depicted.
Abstract: The Open Academic Analytics Initiative (OAAI) is a collaborative, multi-year grant program aimed at researching issues related to the scaling up of learning analytics technologies and solutions across all of higher education. The paper describes the goals and objectives of the OAAI, depicts the process and challenges of collecting, organizing and mining student data to predict academic risk, and report results on the predictive performance of those models, their portability across pilot programs at partner institutions, and the results of interventions on at-risk students.

322 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the goals, assumptions, and underlying logic of selected change strategies with potential relevance to STEM higher education settings for a target audience of change agents, leaders, and researchers.
Abstract: Background Prior efforts have built a knowledge base of effective undergraduate STEM pedagogies, yet rates of implementation remain low. Theories from higher education, management, communication, and other fields can inform change efforts but remain largely inaccessible to STEM education leaders, who are just beginning to view change as a scholarly endeavor informed by the research literature. Purpose This article describes the goals, assumptions, and underlying logic of selected change strategies with potential relevance to STEM higher education settings for a target audience of change agents, leaders, and researchers. Scope/Method This review is organized according to the Four Categories of Change Strategies model developed by Henderson, Beach, and Finkelstein (2011). We describe eight strategies of potential practical relevance to STEM education change efforts (two from each category). For each change strategy, we present a summary with key references, discuss their applicability to STEM higher education, provide a STEM education example, and discuss implications for change efforts and research. Conclusions Change agents are guided, often implicitly, by a single change strategy. These eight strategies will expand the repertoire of change agents by helping them consider change from a greater diversity of perspectives. Change agents can use these descriptions to design more robust change efforts. Improvements in the knowledge and theory base underlying change strategies will occur when change agents situate their writing about change initiatives using shared models, such as the one presented in this article, to make their underlying assumptions about change more explicit.

313 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors see higher education as a process of self-formation within conditions of disequilibrium in which student subjects manage their lives reflexively, fashioning their own changing identities, albeit under social circumstances largely beyond their control.
Abstract: In research in cross-cultural psychology, international education is largely understood as an “adjustment” to host country norms and institutions, a notion that prioritizes social order and stability. The student is seen as in deficit in relation to these norms. The student’s home country identity becomes seen as a barrier to be broken down. In contrast, this article sees higher education, and within that international education, as a process of self-formation within conditions of disequilibrium in which student subjects manage their lives reflexively, fashioning their own changing identities, albeit under social circumstances largely beyond their control. International students form their self-trajectories somewhere between home country identity (which continues to evolve in the country of education), host country identity, and a larger set of cosmopolitan options. In piloting their pathways they draw on multiple identities and fashion new forms of hybrid identity. The article highlights the need for int...

309 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a competence approach was taken as a first step to link the worlds of education for entrepreneurship and for sustainability because they postulate that both, apparently different, worlds can reinforce each other.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, Completing college: Rethinking Institutional Action, the authors discuss the importance of completing college and the role of the institution in this process. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 280-282.
Abstract: (2014). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 280-282.

BookDOI
23 Jul 2014
TL;DR: Learning in Landscapes of practice as discussed by the authors is an exploration of the future of professional development and higher education in higher education, which is grounded in social learning theories with stories from a broad range of contributors who occupy different locations in their own landscapes of practice.
Abstract: If the body of knowledge of a profession is a living landscape of practice, then our personal experience of learning can be thought of as a journey through this landscape. Within Learning in Landscapes of Practice, this metaphor is further developed in order to start an important conversation about the nature of practice knowledge, identity and the experience of practitioners and their learning. In doing so, this book is a pioneering and timely exploration of the future of professional development and higher education. The book combines a strong theoretical perspective grounded in social learning theories with stories from a broad range of contributors who occupy different locations in their own landscapes of practice. These narratives locate the book within different contemporary concerns such as social media, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary and multi-national partnerships, and the integration of academic study and workplace practice. Both scholarly, in the sense that it builds on prior research to extend and locate the concept of landscapes of practice, and practical because of the way in which it draws on multiple voices from different landscapes. Learning in Landscapes of Practice will be of particular relevance to people concerned with the design of professional or vocational learning. It will also be a valuable resource for students engaged in higher education courses with work-based elements.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored the relationship between student value and higher education, and, via a study in one United Kingdom business school, suggests how this might be better understood and operationalised by adopting a combined qualitative/quantitative approach.
Abstract: In the global university sector competitive funding models are progressively becoming the norm, and institutions/courses are frequently now subject to the same kind of consumerist pressures typical of a highly marketised environment. In the United Kingdom, for example, students are increasingly demonstrating customer-like behaviour and are now demanding even more ‘value’ from institutions. Value, though, is a slippery concept, and has proven problematic both in terms of its conceptualisation and measurement. This article explores the relationship between student value and higher education, and, via study in one United Kingdom business school, suggests how this might be better understood and operationalised. Adopting a combined qualitative/quantitative approach, this article also looks to identify which of the key value drivers has most practical meaning and, coincidentally, identifies a value-related difference between home and international students.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that faculty not only model their teaching after previous instructors, but also draw upon a varied repertoire of knowledge and prior experiences, including knowledge derived from their experiences as instructors, student experiences as students, and from their non-academic roles.
Abstract: An oft-cited maxim in higher education is that “faculty teach the way they were taught” because they receive little formal training in teaching before entering the classroom. However, little is known about the origins of faculty knowledge about teaching or the role their prior experiences play in the development of their teaching practices. In this exploratory study, we interviewed and observed 53 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics faculty at three research institutions. Using qualitative analysis methods (i.e., thematic and causal network analysis), we find that faculty do not only model their teaching after previous instructors, but also draw upon a varied repertoire of knowledge and prior experiences. These include knowledge derived from their experiences as instructors (46 respondents), their experiences as students (22 respondents), their experiences as researchers (9 respondents), and from their non-academic roles (10 respondents). In-depth analyses of two faculty members elaborate on the relationship between these varied types of prior experiences and how they interact with other factors including beliefs about teaching, instructional goals, and features of the organizational context to ultimately shape their classroom practice. The results suggest that instead of assuming that faculty lack any knowledge about teaching and learning, professional developers and policymakers should instead acknowledge and build upon their preexisting “craft” knowledge as professional teachers. Future research should focus on relationships between specific types of knowledge and teaching practice and how these varied experiences influence identity formation.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the experiences of first-generation college students who attend large public research universities and found that the first generation students experience a sense of belonging and satisfaction in regard to their educational experience.
Abstract: For most college students, the journey toward degree attainment is typically filled with a combination of challenges and successes; however, the educational pathway to a college degree can be more arduous for some students, including first-generation students. Our study explored the experiences of first-generation college students who attend large public research universities. More specifically, how do first-generation students experience a sense of belonging and satisfaction in regard to their educational experience? What might be the relationship between first-generation students' sense of belonging on campus and their mental health? And what is the role of college counselors in helping first-generation students to persist toward graduation? The number of first-generation students on college campuses continues to increase (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Jehangir, 2010a). According to Pryor et al. (2010), approximately 20.6% of entering 1st-year students currently self-identify as first-generation students, totaling more than 4.5 million first-generation students enrolled in higher education institutions. Demographics seem to indicate that first-generation students and other historically underserved student populations (e.g., immigrant groups, low-income students, students of color) will look to higher education opportunities to improve their financial situation (Conway, 2010). College success, especially attainment of the baccalaureate degree, serves as the primary means for first-generation and underserved populations to improve their socioeconomic status (Suarez-Orozco, Suarez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008). A postsecondary education is increasingly necessary in today's society; the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as described by Rothkopf (2009), predicted that 63% of the 18.9 million new jobs that will be created by 2014 will require some postsecondary education. It is important to define and describe first-generation students because there are multiple definitions in the higher education literature. For the purpose of this article, first-generation status is defined as neither parent having earned a bachelor's degree; this is also the definition used by the federal TRiO grant programs. In our study, college students were considered first-generation even if their parents had some postsecondary education and/or an associate's degree. On the basis of data from the U.S. Department of Education and National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (2003-2004; National Center for Education Statistics, 2007), there are certain characteristics that compose a profile of first-generation students. First-generation students are more likely than their non-first-generation counterparts to have additional characteristics that may disadvantage them as they pursue their college education. For example, first-generation students are more likely to be older, come from minority backgrounds, and have a disability (Bui, 2002). Additionally, first-generation students are more likely to be nonnative English speakers, immigrants (i.e., have been born outside of the United States), single parents, and financially independent from their parents (Bui, 2002). Additionally, as described by Engle and Tinto (2008), first-generation students tend to hold low-income status, which is defined as having a combined household income under $25,000 per year. First-generation students are also more likely than non-first-generation students to have delayed entry into postsecondary education after high school, live off campus, attend college closer to home, attend part time (i.e., not taking a full load of credits), and work full time during enrollment in college. Often, first-generation students are nontraditional, female adult students (over the age of 24) who are returning to college to start or finish a degree program. Although institutions of higher education have generally done a better job of promoting college access to first-generation students, college success as measured by persistence and graduation rates (i. …

Proceedings ArticleDOI
05 Mar 2014
TL;DR: The authors' is one of the first long-running attempts to show that gamification can be used to teach technically challenging courses and is correlated with an increase in the percentage of passing students, and in the participation in voluntary activities and challenging assignments.
Abstract: Technical universities, especially in Europe, are facing an important challenge in attracting more diverse groups of students, and in keeping the students they attract motivated and engaged in the curriculum. We describe our experience with gamification, which we loosely define as a teaching technique that uses social gaming elements to deliver higher education. Over the past three years, we have applied gamification to undergraduate and graduate courses in a leading technical university in the Netherlands and in Europe. Ours is one of the first long-running attempts to show that gamification can be used to teach technically challenging courses. The two gamification-based courses, the first-year B.Sc. course Computer Organization and an M.Sc.-level course on the emerging technology of Cloud Computing, have been cumulatively followed by over 450 students and passed by over 75% of them, at the first attempt. We find that gamification is correlated with an increase in the percentage of passing students, and in the participation in voluntary activities and challenging assignments. Gamification seems to also foster interaction in the classroom and trigger students to pay more attention to the design of the course. We also observe very positive student assessments and volunteered testimonials, and a Teacher of the Year award.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of an English-medium instruction (EMI) program for undergraduate students at a major university of finance and economy in mainland China is presented, where the authors make a critical analysis of national/institutional policy statements and interviews with professors and students to uncover EMI-related language ideologies, language practices, and language management mechanisms.
Abstract: With the relentless internationalization and marketization of higher education in the past decades, English has been increasingly adopted as a medium of instruction at universities across the world. Recent research, however, has shown that despite its various optimistically envisioned goals, English-medium instruction (EMI) is not without problems in practice. This article reports a case study of an EMI Business Administration program for undergraduate students at a major university of finance and economy in mainland China. Informed by Spolsky’s language policy framework, the study made a critical analysis of national/institutional policy statements and interviews with professors and students to uncover EMI-related language ideologies, language practices, and language management mechanisms. Findings evinced a complex interplay of these three constitutive components of language policy in the focal EMI program and revealed considerable misalignment between policy intentions and actual practices in the classroom. These findings raise concerns about the quality and consequences of EMI in Chinese higher education. The article concludes with recommendations for further research on EMI policies and practices in China.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the content of university entrepreneurship education and its impact on students' entrepreneurial intentions and find that what is offered is not necessarily the most demanded in entrepreneurship education as lectures and seminars are provided more, but networking and coaching activities are expected more by the students.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Owen et al. as mentioned in this paper presented a four-dimensional analysis of background check policy in higher education, focusing on three dimensions of organizational policy: planning, practice, implementation, and evaluation.
Abstract: Introduction This article is the second of a short series of works designed to articulate the results and research approach I utilized in my study Analysis of Background Check Policy in Higher Education. In my first article, Evolution of Background Check Policy in Higher Education (Owen, 2014), I present the majority of my data collection and analysis results which aligned with Cooper, Fusarelli, and Randall's (2004) "technical dimension" of organizational policy which consists of understanding the "planning, practice, implementation, and evaluation" or what Cooper, Fusarelli, and Randall refer to as "the nuts and bolts of policymaking" (2004, p. 43-44). Within this technical dimension I was able to provide a recreation of Policy 8.1 as a formal written document through analyzing all the revisions and changes Policy 8.1 experienced throughout all four of its releases (June 2005, October 2007, November 2009, & May 2010). In a subsequent article, A Four-Dimensional Study of Background Check Policy in Higher Education (accepted for publication as of the date of this writing) I present my data collection and analysis results of Cooper, Fusarelli, and Randall's remaining three dimensions of organizational policy (as described in this article). This article focuses specifically on the research development, design, and overall approach I utilized in addressing my overall research question: What were the most important events and policy modifications, over approximately the past ten years, that influenced and challenged the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) administration to consider, adopt, and revise a formal background check policy? In this article I explain a) the approach I used to address relevant positional and political considerations associated with my study; b) the four research design questions I utilized to develop my research process; c) the conceptual framework I adopted which served as a basis and focus informing the methodological design and influencing the selection of data-collection instruments; and finally d) an explanation of my data analysis technique which involved the use of interviews and relevant documents associated with Georgia Institute of Technology's Background Check Policy and Program (referred to as "Policy 8.1" throughout the remainder of this article). Overall, this study was designed to attend to the concerns expressed by the AAUP (2006) regarding a lack of systematic studies on extensive background check policy in higher education. The main purpose of this study was to examine the history and experiences of Georgia Tech's adoption of background check policy with particular emphasis on what was learned and improved as the policy evolved and changed. Through a constructivist lens and under the iterative tradition, this policy analysis addressed my research question using descriptive and evaluative coding of four types of documents associated with Policy 8.1. As my coding progressed, I categorized codes that share similarities, threading them into groups that logically and intuitively fit together. Working with these categories/groups, I searched for patterns and emerging themes through analytic memo writing. This allowed me to structure a re-creation of the experiences and challenges that influenced related constituents of Policy 8.1 to consider, adopt, modify, and improve formal background check policy. This study offers a documented experience for higher education policy makers and HR professionals at other universities to use as an analogous situation in order to formulate more informed decisions regarding the use or non-use of same or similar policy. Positional and Political Considerations Dewalt and Dewalt's Degrees of Participation Kathleen and Billie Dewalt (2002) argue that "the degree of participation, membership role, and the amount of emotional involvement that ethnographers bring to the field will have an important impact on the kinds of data collected and the sort of analysis that is possible" (p. …

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An analysis of the barriers and enablers of IPE across the different stakeholder levels reveals five key “fundamental elements” critical to achieving sustainable IPE in higher education curricula.
Abstract: The effective incorporation of interprofessional education (IPE) within health professional curricula requires the synchronised and systematic collaboration between and within the various stakeholders. Higher education institutions, as primary health education providers, have the capacity to advocate and facilitate this collaboration. However, due to the diversity of stakeholders, facilitating the pedagogical change can be challenging and complex, and brings a degree of uncertainty and resistance. This review, through an analysis of the barriers and enablers investigates the involvement of stakeholders in higher education IPE through three primary stakeholder levels: Government and Professional, Institutional and Individual. A review of eight primary databases using 21 search terms resulted in 40 papers for review. While the barriers to IPE are widely reported within the higher education IPE literature, little is documented about the enablers of IPE. Similarly, the specific identification and importance of enablers for IPE sustainability and the dual nature of some barriers and enablers have not been previously reported. An analysis of the barriers and enablers of IPE across the different stakeholder levels reveals five key "fundamental elements" critical to achieving sustainable IPE in higher education curricula.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A TAM3-based model is proposed – with the inclusion of two additional variables: personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology and perceived interaction – to study the factors influencing the acceptance of e-learning systems.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For example, Herrara et al. as mentioned in this paper examined confidence and background variables (e.g., gender, minority status, parental occupation) as predictors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major choice.
Abstract: Using national freshman survey data, the authors examined confidence and background variables (e.g., gender, minority status, parental occupation) as predictors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major choice. Logistic regression analyses revealed that students were more likely to choose STEM majors if they had strong confidence in mathematics and academic areas and had parents with STEM occupations. Although female students were unlikely to choose a STEM major, African American and Latina/o students were equally as likely to choose a STEM major as were White or Asian American students. Findings suggest that students' confidence level in their academic and mathematics abilities makes a significant difference in their initial STEM major choice. Study findings could assist educators, counselors, and policy makers in their efforts to promote student choice of STEM-related majors and careers.A continuing challenge for the United States is to produce America's future scientists and engineers. Although the nation is becoming more dependent on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates to support its technology-based economy, fewer American college-bound students are entering STEM fields of study in higher education (National Science Board [NSB], 2005). Moreover, the percentage of high school students who express interest in becoming a scientist or engineer has sharply dropped, which may lead to fewer than 2% of U.S. high school graduates eventually receiving STEM degrees from 4-year colleges and universities (National Academy of Sciences [NAS], 2007). The result is a diminishing pool of STEM graduates with the expertise necessary to promote international economic and technological advancement. In the context of national policy analysis, the General Accounting Office (GAO; 2005) called for recruiting U.S. citizens to STEM majors to secure STEM human capital for the U.S. labor pool.With warnings from the NSB (2005) and the GAO (2005) concerning the strategic crisis in domestic STEM education, there has been a heightened research interest in STEM career and major choice areas. Much of the educational research concerned with STEM tends to focus on STEM career aspiration, school career guidance, strategies to stimulate STEM interest prior to college, or college persistence and degree completion in STEM fields (Atkin, Green, & McLaughlin, 2002; Fouad, 2007; Herrara & Hurtado, 2011). Yet, little research examines matriculating undergraduate students' choice of a STEM major.Demographic issues, such as gender and race, have also been heavily examined in STEM-related studies (Chavez, 2001; Fouad, 1995, 2007; Francis, 2000; Herrara & Hurtado, 2011; Lee, 1998, 2002; Perrone, Sedlacek, & Alexander, 2001; Sax, 1994). Likewise, student ability and confidence in math and science and their effect on STEM career interest development have been reported in many studies, especially with respect to women and minorities (Fouad, 2007; Hackett & Betz, 1989; Luzzo, Harper, Albert, Bibby, & Martinelli, 1999). Nevertheless, a gap exists in the literature on female and minority student confidence in mathematics and academic abilities and how such confidence (or lack thereof) relates to STEM major choice. Therefore, this study investigated confidence and demographic factors associated with the choice of a STEM major, focusing on U.S. citizen, full-time students matriculating into 4-year col- leges and universities. Specifically, we addressed the following questions:1. How do background factors such as gender, minority status, parental socioeconomic status (SES), parents with STEM occupa- tions, and academic preparation affect a STEM major choice?2. How does academic confidence affect a STEM major choice?3. How does mathematics confidence affect a STEM major choice?STeM Workforce AdvancementTo alleviate U.S. STEM graduate shortages, the GAO (2005) presented recruitment strategies related to (a) international students, (b) women, and (c) minorities. …

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A much more extensive quantitative analysis of the research on active learning in college and university STEM courses than previously existed is provided and the results that emerge have important implications for the future of STEM teaching and STEM education research.
Abstract: The quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States has long been an area of national concern, but that concern has not resulted in improvement. Recently, there has been a growing sense that an opportunity for progress at the higher education level lies in the extensive research on different teaching methods that have been carried out during the last few decades. Most of this research has been on “active learning methods” and the comparison with the standard lecture method in which students are primarily listening and taking notes. As the number of research studies has grown, it has become increasingly clear to researchers that active learning methods achieve better educational outcomes. The possibilities for improving postsecondary STEM education through more extensive use of these research-based teaching methods were reflected in two important recent reports (1, 2). However, the size and consistency of the benefits of active learning remained unclear. In PNAS, Freeman et al. (3) provide a much more extensive quantitative analysis of the research on active learning in college and university STEM courses than previously existed. It was a massive effort involving the tracking and analyzing of 642 papers spanning many fields and publication venues and a very careful analysis of 225 papers that met their standards for the meta-analysis. The results that emerge from this meta-analysis have important implications for the future of STEM teaching and STEM education research.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the taxonomy of the three European higher education models, namely the Humboldtian, Napoleonic, and Anglo-Saxon models, is presented.
Abstract: Over the last few decades, globalization and ever-increasing demands of the knowledge-based economy have caused higher education in most countries around the world to undergo significant transformation. Notwithstanding the dramatic changes in higher education, it is clearly noticed that the influence of the European higher education models is still present despite the fact that the American model has then become dominant on higher education in Europe or even worldwide. The changes have been seen in the evolutionary roles of universities, which share the common trend from traditional missions of teaching and research to the third mission for economic development. Despite various viewpoints about the third mission, the common one concerns the entrepreneurial role of university for socio-economic development, underlying the concept of entrepreneurial university in which the collaboration between university and external stakeholders is emphasized. This paper is aimed to present a review of the taxonomy of the three European higher education models, namely the Humboldtian, Napoleonic, and Anglo-Saxon model, which is followed by a discussion on the emergence of the Anglo-American model of higher education. The paper then presents the third mission in relation to the roles of a university in developed countries, which is followed by the elaboration on the transformation from mode 1 to mode 2 in knowledge production, and a pathway toward entrepreneurial universities.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Opportunities and Challenges of Massification in Large Class Pedagogy as discussed by the authors is a special issue on large class pedagogy, which takes stock of the emerging literature on this subject.
Abstract: In introducing the special issue on Large Class Pedagogy: Opportunities and Challenges of Massification the present editorial takes stock of the emerging literature on this subject. We seek to contribute to the massificaiton debate by considering one result of it: large class teaching in higher education. Here we look to large classes as a problem in promoting student learning, quality education, and consequently as a challenge to socio-economic development. That said, whilst large classes do pose very specific challenges, they also hold promise and opportunities for innovation in support of student learning. Here we consider the contributions to this special issue from a cross section of disciplines and higher education environments.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the use of interactive features of e-learning increases the motivation of the undergraduate students for the learning process.
Abstract: The information technology educational programs at most universities in Egypt face many obstacles that can be overcome using technology enhanced learning. An open source Moodle e-learning platform has been implemented at many universities in Egypt, as an aid to deliver e-content and to provide the institution with various possibilities for implementing asynchronous e-learning web-based modules. This paper shows that the use of interactive features of e-learning increases the motivation of the undergraduate students for the learning process.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the existing research on the relationship between students and teachers in higher education and highlighted the weaknesses and gaps in prior research and the importance of addressing the multi-dimensional and context-bound nature of teacher-student relationships.
Abstract: This article reviews the extant research on the relationship between students and teachers in higher education across three main areas: the quality of this relationship, its consequences and its antecedents The weaknesses and gaps in prior research are highlighted and the importance of addressing the multi-dimensional and context-bound nature of teacher–student relationships is proposed A possible agenda for future research is outlined

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate six ranking systems, Shanghai ARWU, Leiden University, QS, Scopus, Times Higher Education and U-Multirank, according to six social science criteria and two behavioural criteria.
Abstract: University rankings widely affect the behaviours of prospective students and their families, university executive leaders, academic faculty, governments and investors in higher education. Yet the social science foundations of global rankings receive little scrutiny. Rankings that simply recycle reputation without any necessary connection to real outputs are of no common value. It is necessary that rankings be soundly based in scientific terms if a virtuous relationship between performance and ranking is to be established, the worst potentials of rankings are to be constrained, and rankings are optimised as a source of comparative information. This article evaluates six ranking systems, Shanghai ARWU, Leiden University, QS, Scopus, Times Higher Education and U-Multirank, according to six social science criteria and two behavioural criteria. The social science criteria are materiality (rankings must be grounded in the observable higher education world), objectivity (opinion surveys should not be used), externality (ranked universities should not be a source of data about themselves), comprehensiveness (rankings should cover the broadest possible range of functions), particularity (ranking systems should eschew multi-indicators with weights, or proxy measures) and ordinal proportionality (vertical distinctions between universities should not be exaggerated). The behavioural criteria are the alignment of the ranking with tendencies to improved performance of all institutions and countries, and transparency, meaning accessibility to strategy making designed to maximize institutional position. The pure research rankings rate well overall but lack comprehensiveness. U-Multirank is also strong under most criteria but stymied by its 100 per cent reliance on subjective data collected via survey.

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, three principles guiding the development of two-year postgraduate programs in technological design at the Institute for Continuing Education of Eindhoven University of Technology (EUT) are discussed as a contribution to the establishment of quality standards in this area.
Abstract: The field of Continuing Engineering Education comprises a diversity of course types, educational objectives and means, contents, organisational forms, types of students and teachers, in which 'quality' is a rather vague notion. In this paper 'quality' is considered a result of deliberated choices, decision–making and adaptation of wishes and possibilities between parties involved, and is restricted to selected educational means for the achievement of certain agreed objectives under specific circumstances. Three principles guiding the development of two–year postgraduate programs in technological design at the Institute for Continuing Education of Eindhoven University of Technology (EUT) are discussed as a contribution to the establishment of quality standards in this area. In accordance with these principles, a conceptual model for the construction, representation, comparison and evaluation of design education programs is discussed.