Graduateness: an empirical examination of the formative function of university education

The formative merits of university education are at risk of being reduced from graduateness in the sense of broad academic cultivation to professional training with a strong emphasis on employability. The difficulty in opposing this trend is the absence of a clear framework for academic cultivation. The aim of this study is to construct a model that uses the formative function of university education as a starting point, that distinguishes graduateness from employability, and that integrates theories on reflective thinking, scholarship, moral reasoning and lifelong learning. This approach offers the possibility of making use of insights from established theoretical traditions in the study of the intellectual development of students. For this study, a questionnaire was developed to investigate graduateness, or intellectual cultivation, among students in a research university. Structural equation modelling revealed that the expected structure was confirmed by the data. Reflective thinking has the strongest influence on lifelong learning; however, scholarship and moral citizenship are also important elements.     

Revisiting lifelong learning for quality improvement in ODL institutions in Africa

Abstract

Among the challenges in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) generally and specifically within the African sub-region, is the difficulty to harness resources to regularly mobilize senior and mature academics as complacent learners to embrace continuous professional development, as a way of improving the quality of their academic performance. In order to change their conservative academic practises in many of the transformed African Tertiary Institutions (ATIs), this paper argues, that irrespective of the status and the long years of service of such academic staff members, it becomes pertinent for them to consciously engage in lifelong learning process. This is important because majority of such lecturers of ODL Institutions came from the contact (F2F) institutions with little or no experience of ODL best practices.     

Citizenship education ‘goes global’: extra-curricular learning in an overseas campus of a British civic university

Active citizenship is increasingly being framed in the context of lifelong and life-wide learning. However, research on young people’s participation in and experience of different forms of civic practice, particularly in informal settings in different sociocultural contexts, is scarce. Consequently, little is known about how these experiences shape their learning about active citizenship, their understanding of the self and their relationship to society. This paper reports findings from a small-scale qualitative research on students’ experiences of participation in extra-curricular activities (ECAs) in a UK Transnational Higher Education institution in China, in relation to the development of active citizenship and lifelong learning capacity. The findings suggest ECAs can provide opportunities for students to accumulate knowledge and develop skills, attitudes and values that underpin the promotion of active citizenship, while developing habits and skills essential for lifelong learning.     

Virtual Teaching Dispositions in an Open Distance Learning Environment: Origins,Measurement and Impact

An understanding of the key characteristics and implicit competencies underlying online teaching is essential to distance education institutions that embark on the assertive use of technology in their tuition development and delivery. The Virtual Teaching Dispositions Scale (VTDS) assists in investigating professional teaching dispositions associated with effective online instruction. It was initially validated among academic staff members at a residential university in the United States of America (USA). Strong support was found for the construct's cognitive, pedagogical and social presence that served as the conceptual foundation for developing the scale. The aim of this study was to validate the VTDS among academic staff members of an open distance learning (ODL) institution and to make suggestions for improving online teaching in this environment. This study highlights the need for interventions aimed at enhancing academic staff members’ experienced level of virtual/technological presence.     

Asian lifelong learning in the context of a global knowledge economy: A task re-visited

This article revisits and reinterprets my previous paper. It is a snapshot of the lifelong learning system building in selected Asian countries, reflected in the mirror of the Asian Financial Crisis in the 1997s and the aftermath of that event. I reconsidered the arguments (1) the economic recession had delivered a global dimension of lifelong learning to the re-shaping of the local education system beyond local attributes; (2) and that the divergent tradition of adult education in this context was to meet the global market standards. Additionally, (3) I tried to further the discussion about the relationship between global forces and the lifelong learning system in the context of a knowledge economy, but with a number of different approaches. I argued that the lifelong learning system under the global forces of capitalism, as per the Asian experience in the 2000s, can be apart of a knowledge economy itself, not a tool of it, and in this sense, a knowledge economy sets the conditions of a lifelong learning system as an embryo of its attributes.     

Lifelong learning to empowerment: beyond formal education

Abstract

This paper discusses the relevance of lifelong learning vis-à-vis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and stresses the need for an approach blending formal education, non-formal and informal learning. The role of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in moving beyond formal education and the importance of integrating pedagogy, andragogy and heutagogy in lifelong learning are raised as key factors in ensuring that education and learning can generate positive externalities and impact livelihoods. Through a case study in the agricultural sector, this paper analyses the role of lifelong learning in empowering smallholders of backyard poultry enterprises in Kenya and argues that lifelong learning needs to be placed in appropriate social and economic contexts to generate outcomes and impacts such as empowerment.     

International organisations and the construction of the learning active citizen: An analysis of adult learning policy documents from a Durkheimian perspective

Abstract

The article analyses how citizenship is conceptualised in policy documents of four key international organisations. The basic assumption is that public policy has not turned away from adult learning for active citizenship, but that there are rather new ways in which international governmental organisations conceptualise and in some cases seek to operationalise active citizenship in the context of their thinking on lifelong learning. We argue that the language of citizens and citizenship continues to be an important thread in the publications of these organisations. The theoretical framework of Emile Durkheim is referred to since his work helps to explore and address the changes. The analysis of Durkheim draws attention to the crucial role of intermediary bodies which serve as a restraint on both individuals and state.     

合作学习对转化小学"学差生"的实验研究

为探讨在我国小学课堂教学中以合作学习来转化学差生的可行性,本研究采用不等组实验组控制组前测后测实验设计,通过为期12周的教学干预,以《同伴关系问卷》、《自尊量表》和《儿童社交焦虑量表》为测量工具,考查合作学习对提高学差生学业成绩,改善他们的同伴关系、自尊和社交焦虑等社会性因素的影响。结果显示:与对照班相比,进行合作学习的学差生的学业成绩有较大提高,其中,数学成绩达到显著水平,同伴关系得到改善,自尊水平显著提高,社交焦虑水平显著降低。由此表明合作学习是转化小学“学差生”的一种可行的有效的方法。     

Lifelong learning characteristics,adjustment and extra-role performance in cooperative education

Many organisations hire students from cooperative education (co-op) programmes. These organisations are interested in students’ performance, particularly in their extra-role performance. Previous studies show that socialisation processes play an important part in establishing adjustment and performance. It may also be the case that students’ approach to learning (their motivations, attitudes and strategies) influences the socialisation process, and consequently adjustment and performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of co-op students’ lifelong learning characteristics on two organisational socialisation outcomes (role understanding and social acceptance) and three types of extra-role performance (proactive, adaptive and prosocial). Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey of undergraduates (n = 1698) enrolled in co-op who had just completed a work term in a new role. Regression analyses showed that lifelong learning characteristics influenced both forms of adjustment, and all three forms of performance. Further mediation analyses showed that both forms of adjustment partially mediated the relationships between lifelong learning and all three forms of performance. These results suggest that co-op students’ lifelong learning characteristics play an important role during organisational socialisation and subsequent extra-role performance. Implications for future research and for practice are discussed.     

Testing two path models to explore relationships between students’ experiences of the teaching–learning environment,approaches to learning and academic achievement

The study explores the relationships between students’ experiences of the teaching–learning environment and their approaches to learning, and the effects of these variables on academic achievement. Two three-stage models were tested with structural equation modelling techniques. The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) and the Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) were used to assess approaches to learning and student’s experiences of the teaching–learning environment, respectively. These two constructs were then used as either first- or second-stage variables within the path analysis. The model using approaches to learning as a mediating variable showed the best fit with our data; variations in our students’ experiences of the teaching–learning environment appear to give rise to their approaches to studying, which subsequently affect their achievement. The deep approach shows no detectable influence on academic achievement in this sample, neither there are any direct effects of experiences of the teaching–learning environment on it. The indirect effects of these experiences on achievement, acting through the strategic and the surface approaches, are related to two aspects of the teaching–learning environment only, namely congruence and coherence in course organisation, and integrative learning and critical thinking. The finding of a reciprocal relation between approaches to learning and experiences of the teaching–learning environment supports previous conclusions about the association between these constructs. The indirect effect of experiences of the teaching–learning environment on achievement, acting through approaches to learning, shows those approaches as a dynamic construct that varies in line with experiences of the teaching-learning environment, and so influences achievement.     

智慧教室环境下大学生学习环境偏好与学习策略的关系探究

为探究智慧教室环境下大学生学习环境偏好与学习策略之间的关系,文章以华中地区H大学在智慧教室环境下学习的本科生为研究对象,通过"智慧教室环境偏好量表"和"大学生学习策略量表",调查了大学生在智慧教室环境下的学习环境主要偏好、学习策略整体水平以及两者之间的关系,结果发现:大学生对智慧教室环境持积极认可的态度,智慧教室环境下大学生的学习策略处于中等水平,大学生学习环境偏好与学习策略显著正相关。此结论表明,改善大学生对智慧教室环境的偏好对于提高其学习策略水平具有重要意义。     

Perspectives of lifelong education in Portuguese higher education: a critical analysis of learning outcomes

ABSTRACT

Nurturing students’ continuous learning is a current trend in the higher education agenda. Curricula and academic contents should enable students to take part in stimulating learning experiences, as well as promoting both developing and training opportunities in the course of their lives and careers. Despite the relevance given to lifelong learning in the educational system, there are still some open questions: how this concept is understood and put into practice by higher education institutions? The paper aims to analyse the conceptions of lifelong learning as reflected on the learning outcomes proposed in a sample of study programs. A qualitative methodology and a data-driven approach are adopted to explore the content of the learning outcomes proposed in 10% of total study programs submitted to quality accreditation, since 2009. Generally, results reveal that higher education institutions are committed to the lifelong learning paradigm, particularly in master and PhD degrees. Students are expected to ‘invest in personal and professional development through life’, to ‘develop learning competences through life’, as well as to ‘foster lifelong learning’. This study provides a better understanding of the range of perspectives and the relevance given to lifelong learning as a valuable learning outcome.     

Optimising the blended learning environment: the Arab Open University experience

This paper will offer some insights into possible ways to optimise the blended learning environment based on experience with this modality of teaching at Arab Open University/Jordan branch and also by reflecting upon the results of several meta-analytical studies, which have shown blended learning environments to be more effective than their face to face and online only counterparts. Three key elements will be presented as important ways for improving the blended learning environment: forging genuine collaborative partnerships between institutions in terms of the team-writing of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) material, adopting a more theoretically based instructional approach, such as the cognitive apprenticeship (CA) model, which emphasises making thinking visible and developing a comprehensive understanding of blended education in order to help students achieve their educational goals.     

学生情绪智力与学习自控力的关系研究——以漳州市三所中学高一、高二学生为例

采用问卷调查法,以漳州市三所中学434名高中生为调查对象,运用《情绪智力量表》和《学生学习自我控制量表》进行测试。结果发现：1）高中生的情绪智力不存在学校、性别、年级和专业的差异;2）高中生的学习自控力存在学校和年级的交互作用;3）情绪智力与学习自控力具有中等水平的相关;4）高中生的情绪智力、学习自控力与学业成绩都达到中等程度的相关,学习自控力对学业成绩具有较好的预测作用。     

大学生学业自我效能感、自尊与学习倦怠的关系再探

目的：探讨大学生学业自我效能感、自尊与学习倦怠的现状及三者之间的关系,为减轻大学生的学习倦怠水平提供对策。方法：采用大学生学业自我效能感量表、自尊量表和大学生学习倦怠量表对184名在校大学生进行调查。结果：大学生自尊水平普遍比较高,学业自我效能感及学习倦怠总体处于中等水平;大学生自尊、学业自我效能感及学习倦怠存在在显著的性别及城乡间的差异;大学生自尊与学业自我效能感及其两个维度成显著正相关,与学习倦怠及其三个维度成显著负相关;学业自我效能感与学习倦怠总分及其行为不当、成就感低两个维度成显著负相关,但与情绪低落这一维度相关不显著;自尊与学业自我效能感对学习倦怠具有很好的预测作用。结论：自尊与学业自我效能感能很好地预测学习倦怠,可以通过提高学业自我效能感、培养高自尊的方式来降低大学生的学习倦怠水平。     

How to encourage a lifelong learner? The complex relation between learning strategies and assessment in a medical curriculum

Abstract

To foster lifelong learning skills, we need new didactic approaches with aligned assessment methods. Therefore, we investigated whether the outcomes of a project assignment show a different relation to learning strategies than a longitudinal knowledge-based assessment. We studied learning strategies of first year students of medicine and biomedical sciences (n?=?248) and performed hierarchical regression analyses for the learning strategies and grades of the longitudinal knowledge-based test and project assignment. Scores of students, measured with the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Likert scale 1–7), were relatively low for critical thinking (3.53), compared to rehearsal (4.40), elaboration (4.82), organisation (4.69) and metacognitive self-regulation (4.33). Knowledge based tests showed a significant relation to elaboration (p?<?0.01). For the project-based assessment, we did not find a significant relation to any learning strategy (p?=?0.074). Explained variance of the grades was low for all learning strategies (R² < 0.043). Different types of assessment did not discriminate between students with high or low scores on learning strategies associated with lifelong learning. An explanation is that the curriculum is not aligned with assessment, or students do not benefit in terms of grades. We conclude that, if assessment is to drive lifelong learning skills, this is not self-evident.     

Primary school student and teacher perceptions of competency-based learning / Percepción de alumnado y profesorado de Educación Primaria sobre el aprendizaje de los estudiantes basado en competencias

In the search for an educational system that enables students to achieve the best academic results, it is extremely important to explore the perception of the main educational agents: students and teachers. Therefore, the objectives of this paper were: (a) to analyse primary school student and teacher perceptions of students’ competency-based learning; (b) to assess the possible differences between them; and (c) to test hypothetical models for predicting learning according to their perception. The participants were 8,513 students from 58 schools and 1,010 teachers from 110 schools. Overall, both teachers and students reported high scores of perception. However, the perception of the students was higher than that of the teachers, except for the digital competence. While the results showed differences in perception between both prediction models of competency-based learning, both groups perceived the competences of autonomy and personal initiative, digital competence, social competence and citizenship, and lifelong learning as core elements of their perception. In this regard, initial and ongoing teacher training in innovative pedagogical models is needed to enable the development of these competences, which are predictors of perceived learning.     

班级心理环境的调节作用

为探讨班级心理环境、学习态度和学习成绩间的作用机制.采用《班级心理环境问卷》和《学习态度问卷》对480名学生进行施测.采用多元逐步回归分析的方法验证班级心理环境、学习态度和学习成绩间的作用机制.结果显示班级心理环境对学习态度和学习成绩具有调节效应。     

研究生个人学习环境重构初探

研究生的个人学习环境在社会化学习理念和Web2.0新信息环境下越来越向复合型和多元化发展。面对终身学习和非正式学习的挑战,研究生学习者只有不断寻找适合自己学习场所、资源和工具,重构个人学习环境,才能获得可持续的学习能力。文章为此提供了研究生个人学习环境重构的原则、方法、工具和例证。