Gender segregation in the employment of higher education graduates

This article examines the employment and placement in the working life of Finnish higher education graduates (i.e. graduates from universities and polytechnics), focusing on gender equality. It reports a study on gender segregation in higher education and working life, considered in relation to Nordic gender equality policies. The data were gathered via a questionnaire administered to graduates in business and administration (n?=?1067) and in technology (n?=?1087), three years after their graduation. The results showed that men were able to secure permanent and full-time employment more often than women, and men achieved better correspondence between their degree and their employment. However, gender divergence manifested differently in polytechnics and universities; thus a higher (Master’s) university degree seemed to have a compensating influence on the effect of gender. Despite Nordic equality policies, female and male graduates were placed in the labour market according to tendences of gender segregation.     

Gender matters in higher education

Much of the research in higher education has treated student bodies as homogeneous groups with a consequent neglect of any consideration of gender differences. To test the validity of such research a questionnaire was administered to 255 psychology students. The results showed some important differences in responses between the genders. In particular, the female students reported attaching more importance than males to pre‐course aims, rated various learning activities as more valuable and interesting than males and reported more improvement in nine of the 12 skills surveyed than the males. The males rated experiencing less difficulty for various aspects of the course than anticipated than did the females for 11 of 12 potential difficulties listed. As a consequence, it is suggested that researchers ought to be wary of conducting research into various aspects of higher education without considering potential gender differences.     

论高等教育中学科专业的性别隔离

学术界关于高等教育中学科专业的性别隔离主要有两种解释:一是生物本质主义的解释,它主要以两性的生理差异和心理差异为认识基础来阐释学科专业中的性别差异;二是女性主义的解释,它认为,学科的性别隔离是社会意识形态、权力系统和利益基础在学科领域的表现,是社会文化建构的结果。女性主义的阐释为解决这一问题提供了新的思路和策略。     

Gender segregation in higher educational attainment in Australia 1978–94

In this paper the extent and change of the gender segregation ofcourse completions across fields of study in higher education over theperiod 1978–94 in Australia is measured. It is argued that similarforms of measurement are appropriate in documenting changing patterns ofattainment in higher education by gender, as those which are used formeasuring occupational gender segregation. The issues relating to themeasurement of gender segregation are briefly explored. Over the period1978–86, women and men exhibited a more integrated distribution ofcourse completions, as measured by the Karmel and Maclachlan index of(occupational) segregation. Although women continued to raise their share ofcompletions over the period 1987–94, there was little change in theextent of gender segregation in aggregate, and segregation increased inMasters and Bachelors courses. Reference is also made to the impact ofchanges in the Higher Education Contributory Scheme in 1996 on the gendercomposition of undergraduate course completions. Policies designed toattract women into atypical Higher Education courses are explored.     

Gender,teaching and academic promotions in higher education

Teaching is increasingly being considered for inclusion in academic promotions in a number of universities. This raises questions about how teaching is appraised in relation to research; and which teaching criteria contribute to promotions outcomes. This article investigates these questions from a gender perspective by statistically analysing the actual promotions outcomes by rank levels at a South African university where teaching and research have been equally evaluated in academic promotions. The findings show that, overall, there was no statistically significant difference in promotions success rates between males and females and that more females achieved excellence in teaching with higher scores than males. Two of the 10 teaching criteria analysed – ‘ongoing study of tertiary education’ and ‘special recognition of teaching’ showed statistically significantly higher scores for females with high effect sizes, pointing to the importance of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in academic promotions for women. This study has implications for closing the gender gap in the senior ranks of universities.     

Gender and higher education experience: a case study

This research seeks to contribute to current discussion of gender differences in experience of higher education. Its specific focus is to compare the assessment of various university services by male and female students. The research sample consisted of 9793 students who participated in three University of Western Sydney surveys in 2004 and 2005. The results suggest that, first, female students place higher importance on the majority of the university’s services than do male students; second, as female students advance through their studies, they appear more demanding about the quality of services, while male students remain comparatively tolerant; and third, while all students consider that some areas warrant improvement, this is significantly more so for female than for male students. Specifically, the key areas for improvement from female students’ perspective are the relevance and instructional clarity of the course and efficiency of administration. It is recommended that, considering the current trends in higher education across gender, a sharper focus on these areas for improvement action could help the university ensure equity and better manage competition.     

Gender and the 2003 Quality Reform in higher education in Norway

The Bologna Process in Europe aims to develop a coherent and compatible European higher educational system. In Norway, the Quality Reform in 2003 was the first step on implementing the Bologna Process. Internal quality assurance systems have produced several publications on internal indicators, such as student progress and teaching staff work loads, of the Quality Reform. To our knowledge, possible gender differences of these changes have yet to be evaluated. We therefore analyzed data on grades from the University of Oslo before and after the Quality Reform with regard to gender differences. Data on examinations from 1990 to spring 2007 (495,334 examinations) were analyzed using relative percentage graphs. The results show that female students have benefited more than males from the change of system: for several disciplines, male average grades were better than female average grades before the change, and female average grade were better than male average grades after the change. Male students show greater intrasex variability both before and after the introduction of the Quality Reform.     

基于场域理论的高校三维权力结构分析

布迪厄把社会场域里竞争的资本划分为社会资本、文化资本、经济资本,三者在场域中为争夺制度高位和权力资本不断进行博弈和竞争,在高校这一特殊场域中社会资本与行政权力、文化资本与学术权力、经济资本与市场权力的相互转化与竞争最终将形成象征性资本,象征性资本则是行政权力、学术权力和市场权力的合力.     

Lessons from the field: computer conferencing in higher education

Abstract

This article explores the tensions between the potential of computer conferencing as represented by theoretical models and its actual uses in higher education. An overview of the literature highlights major themes that run throughout this body of research, including claims that the medium: 1. provides a democratic environment due to the equal access afforded to participants; 2. enhances active learning and collaboration; 3. shifts the role of the teacher from classroom leader to facilitator of learning; and 4. encourages more thoughtful participation due to the text-based, asynchronous nature of interaction. Against this backdrop, case studies of courses taught through The New School for Social Research's on-line programme provide empirical data that challenge many of these claims. A discussion of teaching practices related to student participation and perceptions of computer conferencing is also offered to serve practitioners and teacher education efforts.     

Gender inclusion and horizontal gender segregation: stakeholders' strategies and dilemmas in Swedish teachers' education

This paper contributes to our knowledge of teacher educators' strategies for, and dilemmas with, working with gender inclusion in teachers' education. It illustrates how gender is constructed and reconstructed in teachers' education. The study revealed that teachers' education is not only – as earlier described – a highly feminised field, it is also a discipline that is permeated by horizontal and vertical segregation typical of higher education. The study analyses how university teacher educators experience and handle consequences of this horizontal segregation, building on interviews with subject representatives at a Swedish university. The results exemplify how university teachers reflect on gender policies and their own roles when working with teacher students. Heteronormative patterns also become visible in strategies meant to facilitate gender equality and desegregation. The author argues for the need to include university teachers' perspectives in future strategies for developing gender inclusion in university education.     

院校研究:高等教育研究的新领域

院校研究是高等教育研究的一个新领域。它在二战后的美国逐渐发展起来 ,并对其他国家和地区产生了较大影响。院校研究以单个高等学校作为研究对象 ,旨在研究特定院校的特定问题 ,在研究方法上力求科学的程序与形式 ,其作用可概括为管理的科学化 ,理论的实践化     

Gender, equity and the discourse of the independent learner in higher education

The ‘independent learner’ is a key construct within discourses of educational policy and practice in the UK. Government policy statements stress the importance of developing learner independence, and higher education pedagogical practices tend to rest on the assumption that students are independent learners. This paper draws on research with undergraduate students in a post-1992 university to offer a critical appraisal of the discourse of the independent learner. The paper examines students’ perceptions of independence in both their first year of undergraduate study, and in the later years of their degree courses. Support for learning and issues related to asking for help are discussed. Whilst students tend to both expect and want to be independent, it is suggested that dominant constructions of the independent learner are gendered and culturally specific, and as such are inappropriate for the majority of students in a mass higher education system.     

Gender differential in self-assessment: a fact neglected in higher education peer and self-assessment techniques

This paper analyses student cross-assessment with a gender perspective in three different courses along several academic years in an engineering school in Spain. The aim of this study is to contribute to a wider understanding of the hidden effect of gender in higher education by testing if gender has any effect on the way students assess others and themselves. Previous research has demonstrated sex differences in self-image and self-confidence, which are both closely related to self-esteem and same- and other-sex esteem. It follows that gender effects might be expected in investigations on peer and self-assessment (PSA), as both techniques are closely linked to self-image and self-confidence. But a critical review of the literature on PSA with a gender perspective reveals that findings on this field are inconclusive, thus more research is needed. The analysis of the results of our study reveals that women judge themselves too harshly. As the literature on PSA does not show great concern for gender issues, some tentative suggestions are proposed to support PSA with gender-awareness sessions.     

Mapping the field of stratification in higher education: the Finnish experience

In formal terms, Finland has a comprehensive higher education system. There are 20 institutions of higher education in the country, all owned by the state, and one of the central objectives in higher education policy has been to establish all of them on an equal footing in terms of basic resources and status. Not until the 1990s has a shift taken place towards the official injection of a competitive element into higher education policy.During recent decades, the state's grip on the steering of the universities has been tightening; but the shift towards increased competition means a shift towards domination by market forces.This article examines both the changing tasks of the university, and the fact, despite the egalitarianism of official democratic higher education policy, of stratification. The aim of the article is to analyze the diversification linked to the selection function of the Finnish higher education system, and thus to create a basis for the investigation of changing higher education policy.     

高师院校田径教学模式改革探析

高校田径教学应树立以学生发展为本的课程观,摆脱传统的教育思想影响,引导学生质疑、探究,促进学生在教师的指导下积极主动地、富有个性地学习田径知识,培养学生的创新意识及实践能力.     

跨文化视野下的高校德育变革

随着国际交流日盛,异质、异域文化的冲击已日益为人们所关注。德育是孕育于教育“母体”之中的有机组成,因此,思考跨文化教育理论对当前高校德育的借鉴意义,在跨文化视野下寻求高校德育的变革,是高校德育当下必须回答的问题。跨文化视野下的高校德育,应树立“包容”与“扬弃”的目标观,走向跨文化的“公正”与“共生”。