Technological challenges and students with disabilities in higher education

This article is based on a previous Spanish study, which aimed to analyze the existence of barriers and aid for 44 students with disabilities enrolled at University. A qualitative methodology was used to collect data. The results analyze both the support and the obstacles provided by new technologies, the opinion students have of technologies in education, and how they affect their academic lives. Some of the training requirements of the faculty members regarding the pedagogical use of these technologies are also described. The conclusions display the university as an institution with potential for improvement, where certain technological limitations persist, thus leading one to believe that as an institution, it must exercise self-criticism and implement measures to facilitate an inclusive education.     

Conceptualizing higher education students as social actors in a globalizing world: a special issue

This introductory essay describes an analytical framework that locates students, staff, and institutions within both local and extra‐local patterns of stratification and clarifies our theoretical understanding of ethnographic data concerning student perceptions and practices in higher education. The essay introduces four articles based on ethnographic research that utilizes such a framework.     

Studaxology: the expertise students need to be effective in higher education

Students in higher education have to develop two types of expertise; the first refers to the mastery they want to acquire within a well defined occupational or disciplinary domain; the second relates to the deep level learning needed to achieve that mastery as an expert student or studax. Research has indicated that in solving a problem any expert simultaneously has to draw on four types of knowledge. Where the personal organisation of these four leads to effectiveness, this brings about the quintessence of expertise - experiencing problem solving behaviour as intrinsically motivating, or rewarding in itself. This intrinsic motivation integrates experiences of competence (through declarative knowledge), causality (through procedural knowledge), creativity (through situational knowledge) and self regulation (through strategic knowledge). The same will then necessarily hold for the student who proves, by experiencing this very same effectiveness, to be the studax or deep level learner higher education needs.This paper describes a theory - studaxology - which explains to the student, on the basis of what is being experienced while studying, how to become organized as a person within the study environment, so as to succeed in the required task. Studaxology's core is a 3 × 3 matrix of study experiences, based on that number of sources of variance, empirically identified by means of factor analysis of Likert-type items in study inventories. Its central experience of intrinsic motivation brings together four pairs of complementary experiences (ability vs. difficulty, effort vs. relevance, intention vs. demand and time perspective vs. discipline), with each pair constituting a basic component of intrinsic motivation, and as such reflecting a specific form of metacognitive knowledge. Adequate interpretation and use of the 3 × 3 scores on a similar study inventory enable the studax effectively to meet deep level learning that optimal functioning in higher education demands. Factor analyses of students evaluations of lecturing behaviours can also be fitted into a 3 × 3 matrix equivalent to that of the studax. It is argued from these analyses that the essential prerequisites for achieving studaxological expertise stem from an appropriate initial vocational choice (which will help to produce an internally well-cohering 3 × 3 matrix of experiences) and are further enhanced by an equivalent matrix of lecturing behaviours designed to support students' own study experiences.     

Belonging to higher education: inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

The college experience in Iceland has traditionally been reserved for those who have passed the matriculation examination and meet the admission requirements of higher educational institutions. Since 2007, the University of Iceland has offered a Vocational Diploma Programme for people with intellectual disabilities in inclusive settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the diploma programme as well as exploring students’ sense of belonging to the college community. The diploma programme is located at the School of Education and students trained to work at pre-primary schools, after school clubs and within the field of disability such as self-advocacy. Inclusion has been achievable by adapting the general curriculum and learning outcomes to individual needs, flexible teaching methods and the cooperation between academic faculty members, programme coordinators, student mentors and the diploma students themselves. The diploma students receive academic and social support from student mentors who are other undergraduate students at the School of Education. The collaboration with student mentors has proven to be valuable, expanded diploma students’ social networks and contributed to a sense of belonging. Regardless of various attitudinal and structural hindrances, there is much evidence that the diploma students are not only tolerated but welcomed at the School of Education and belong to the college community.     

Access to higher education for rural-poor students in China

China is now facing significant challenges in funding its rapidly expanding higher education systems, though it has experienced enormous economic growth in recent years. Equity has become a serious concern in Chinese higher education system. This article tries to identify the causes and implications of under-representation of the rural-poor students in China’s higher educational institutions: academic and social preparedness, institutional funding arrangements, the admissions policy, and the socioeconomic background are significant factors that determine an individual’s opportunity to access to higher education. Also, a brief discussion of possible policy recommendations is presented.     

Political economy of higher education: comparing South Africa to trends in the world

Education is one of the major linchpins of economic, social and political development of any nation. Recent evidence suggests that higher education can produce both public and private benefits. Thus, the role of the state in making education policy, and funding education is indeed critical, and cannot be left to be determined by market forces alone. Nevertheless, the trend of inadequate government funding for universities, loss of autonomy, infrastructural decay, falling academic standards, politicization and privatization of education, etc. appear to be a worldwide phenomenon and not just restricted to the developing world. South African higher education shows much promise with respect to knowledge production and dissemination, to contributing to social equity, economic and social development and democracy, and to the development needs of the Southern African region and the African continent. However, higher education in South Africa is under considerable stress from domestic and international trends that are redefining the nature and role of public sector post-secondary education (PSE) institutions worldwide. The paper will outline the role of PSE in the knowledge economy and the impact of the neoliberal context on the evolution of higher education in South Africa and the world. Given the significant developmental implications of investment in higher education, the authors argue that relegating this important public policy issue to the market forces is likely to promote inequality in the society, along with negative consequences for socio-political stability, economic sustainability, and knowledge generation.     

Financing higher education in an imperfect world

This paper explains why under laissez-faire the financing of higher education is both inefficient and inequitable. It is argued that a government-run scheme of income contingent loans (ICLs) for higher education would achieve superior outcomes. We advocate a refinement of existing ICLs schemes. Following Apps, Long and Rees (2014), the paper proposes a piecewise-linear repayment schedule that serves both equity and efficiency objectives.     

Special needs students in higher education

The topic in this paper is how former special needs students with academic competence from upper secondary school succeed in education on a higher level. The study concentrates on students who at their start in upper secondary education were registered with problems of concentration, difficulties in reading, writing or mathematics. The main part of this paper will base on qualitative interviews with nine former special needs students. Seven out of the nine informants were registered with reading and writing difficulties. However, it is also possible to compare these informants with longitudinal data from a larger group of students who have been followed prospectively since spring 1996. Theoretically the study is based on life course research with special emphasis on social transitions. In transitional processes between different educational arenas gatekeepers＇often play important roles. This study will examine how such gatekeepers, e.g. teachers, may facilitate or obstruct these transitions for a vulnerable group like former special needs students.     

Missions and structures: Bringing clarity to perceptions about globalization and higher education in Canada

In perhaps the first empirical investigation of the impact of global forces upon U.S. and Canadian community colleges, I examine their missions and structures, noting alterations associated with globalization. In my examination of Canadian colleges, I find that global forces, such as international economies, international political struggles and their consequences, and global communication systems, do affect these institutions. These forces are influential in altering college behaviors, including changes to institutional mission and institutional structures. That is, colleges are increasingly oriented to the marketplace, more responsive to public demands and preferences, and increasingly more directed by provincial governments to serve both political and economic priorities.This paper is based upon a multi-case, qualitative, longitudinal study of seven (7) community colleges, four (4) of which are Canadian colleges. The purpose of the study was two-fold: first, to identify and analyze actual institutional behaviors of community colleges as they adjust to demands inherent in the globalization process; and second, to identify the evolving development of the community college as a social institution, specifically by focusing upon the actions and conditions that have led to mission alteration.     

Resilience in higher education students: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

The health, wellbeing and employability of university students are key considerations within higher education. In response, interest in student resilience is on the rise. Reviews of contemporary resilience literature highlight both conceptual and methodological weaknesses, issues which hamper attempts to design effective resilience interventions. To inform the design of a student resilience program, to be piloted at three Australian universities, a scoping review of resilience specific to the higher education context was undertaken. Searches of three electronic databases (PsychINFO, CINAHL and ProQuest) were conducted. Seventy-two peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 and 2017 were included in the review. While the review reaffirms the conceptual and methodological issues found in previous resilience research, it provides a useful critique of key issues in relation to university student resilience and interventions to enhance students’ resilience. Recommendations for educators and researchers are provided.     

Part-time students in transition: supporting a successful start to higher education

The transition into higher education is a critical time for all students. A positive early experience provides a strong foundation for future academic success whilst a negative experience can be destabilising for a new learner. To date, research has primarily focused on full-time undergraduates in order to explain the reasons for high attrition rates at the end of the first year. Less is known about the experiences of part-time undergraduates despite the fact that they make up over one quarter of the total student population (HESA, 2015). This article reports on a study to investigate the initial experiences of a group of part-time undergraduates who have chosen to undertake a degree at a small study centre run by one university. Using a mixed methods research approach, the research captured the lived reality of the experience and identified the contributing and negating factors that can influence a successful transition. Perceptions of the level and type of support provided for students during transition were gained from both staff and students. The findings confirm a heterogeneous group. Despite being highly motivated, the early transition period was generally characterised by a sense of trepidation and self-doubt as students took their first steps in higher education. The research highlights the complexity of the initial decision-making process for part-time students and the barriers they face. It concludes that a flexible but unified approach, involving tutors and the wider support services, is needed, as unique students require unique responses to their transition needs.     

走向世界:21世纪中国高等教育研究的选择

2 1世纪 ,中国高教研究只有走向世界 ,才能确立在世界学术界的地位 ,才能为世界高教研究做出更大贡献。以学科改造、方法改造和队伍改造为重点的高教研究科学化改造 ,是中国高教研究走向世界的前提条件 ,高教研究的国际化是中国高教研究走向世界的有效途径。     

Identifying students with dyslexia in higher education

An increasing number of students with dyslexia enter higher education. As a result, there is a growing need for standardized diagnosis. Previous research has suggested that a small number of tests may suffice to reliably assess students with dyslexia, but these studies were based on post hoc discriminant analysis, which tends to overestimate the percentage of systematic variance, and were limited to the English language (and the Anglo-Saxon education system). Therefore, we repeated the research in a non-English language (Dutch) and we selected variables on the basis of a prediction analysis. The results of our study confirm that it is not necessary to administer a wide range of tests to diagnose dyslexia in (young) adults. Three tests sufficed: word reading, word spelling and phonological awareness, in line with the proposal that higher education students with dyslexia continue to have specific problems with reading and writing. We also show that a traditional postdiction analysis selects more variables of importance than the prediction analysis. However, these extra variables explain study-specific variance and do not result in more predictive power of the model.     

发挥优势彰显特色推进远程高等教育建设发展

优势与特色,在远程高等教育建设和发展中的作用和影响基于确立院校之本、推进教育创新、汇聚教育力量、调动教育潜力、强化品牌效应和促进教育可持续发展。分析陕西远程高等教育的基本优势,大致表现为与社会联结优势、数字信息优势、系统网络优势、教育资源优势与变革创新优势。教育基本特色,可呈现为职业教育特色、信息传播特色、教育模式特色、社会文化特色与文明建设特色。进一步发挥优势彰显特色。需要切实加强远程高等教育的建设,要确立和完善教育理念,推行校本调研与管理。扩大教育开放,深化教育改革,推进教育创新和改进工作作风。