National higher education policy and the development of generic skills

This article explores the contribution of higher education to the development of numeracy and literacy competencies. To control for other post-schooling determinants of generic skills, the analysis is confined to adults aged 20–24 years who have completed or who are enrolled in tertiary studies. The quality of incoming students is controlled for by estimating the average PISA score attributable to this cohort using a truncated distribution approach. Average tertiary competencies are obtained for 31 countries from the OECD’s Programme for the Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The empirical findings are that the PISA scores account for most (70 per cent) of the international variation in PIAAC scores. Government expenditure on higher education is found to exert a small positive effect on PIAAC scores, at least for numeracy. The level of national research activity, as measured by research publications, has a small negative effect on PIAAC scores     

Effects of Transactional and Transformational Governance on Academic Teaching: Empirical evidence from two types of higher education institutions

The article considers the importance of examining how members of university governing bodies understand and perform their roles in the politically complex context of contemporary higher education. While a growing body of scholarly literature is devoted to the study of university governance, much of this work neglects the human aspects of decision‐making in the presence of the competing interests, societal expectations and government intervention currently besetting universities. This article argues that, given this context, understanding of the factors impacting on university governing body effectiveness will be greatly enhanced by interpretive analysis of qualitative data obtained from university governance practitioners themselves.     

Blended learning in higher education: professional development in a Hong Kong university

ABSTRACT

Online learning has become a ubiquitous part of the educational landscape and how teachers are supported in developing approaches to teaching online is a fundamental aspect of the students’ learning experience. Based on the implementation of a professional development course on becoming an online teacher offered in a blended learning mode at one university in Hong Kong, this article proposes that offering this type of professional development in a blended mode is very effective in facilitating enhanced usage of the university’s learning management system. In a blended mode, teachers are actively engaged with blended learning and were found to make more extensive use of features/tools in Blackboard after they attended the professional development course. Results support that offering professional development in a blended mode provides teachers with an authentic student perspective, at the same time as they take guided steps in the teacher’s role in blended learning.     

Self-care and entrepreneurism: an ethnography of soft skills development for higher education staff

Despite the ubiquity of staff soft skills programmes, few studies have examined why and how academic and corporate services staff utilise these programmes for self-care/governance. This study reports on findings from an ethnography of soft skills learning and development programmes (LDPs) in a UK university, focusing on interviews with programme participants and facilitators. Results suggest that, as social worlds with neoliberal directives, LDPs promote various self-governance activities in the form of entrepreneurism and novel, corporate versions of self-care. Time on LDPs was seen as a chance to, ‘put oneself first,’ examine career options and cultivate sought-after attributes, including self-confidence and assertiveness. Social networking and performance management also emerged as significant issues. Career development was important for all participants; however, perceptions of how to realise this differed. Based on our findings, we propose three types of work-related performance – ‘career nomad,’ ‘reluctant entrepreneur,’ and ‘course hopper’ – constituting a typology for understanding social worlds inhabited by contemporary university professionals. Our study suggests that self-care ‘technologies’ have multiple, competing functions in continuing professional education. While LDPs can help professionals navigate paths through increasingly challenging organisations, their entrepreneurial ethos and content reflect the market interests they serve.     

德国应用技术大学办学模式的启示————-以不莱梅应用技术大学为例

依据不莱梅应用技术大学办学经验,从办学定位、培养目标、学科专业、教育教学、师资力量、产教融合等方面研究德国应用技术大学的办学模式,认为我国地方本科高校转型发展必须借鉴德国应用技术大学的成功经验,找准办学定位,优化专业设置,深化教学改革,加强政府、企业和高校的三方联动,提高师资队伍素质,创新办学模式。     

试论高等教育发展研究

作为时代主题的发展和多重视角下的高等教育发展问题,决定了高等教育发展研究具有重要价值。如何建构一个适宜的分析框架,是当前高等教育发展研究亟需解决的问题。基于发展理论、发展理念、发展战略三个关键性支点而建构的高等教育发展研究的分析框架,需要还原高等教育学研究的多学科性,即广泛借鉴多学科的研究方法,批判吸收各种流派的理论成果。     

Assessing the contribution of collections of case studies to academic development in higher education

The purpose of this article is to provide a critical review of the motivating factors, processes and outcomes pertaining to learning‐centred curriculum reform in higher education. A case study example is provided from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Although academic units on university campuses tend to present many unique contextual challenges, and are at different stages in curriculum re‐design, useful lessons can be learned across settings without “re‐inventing the wheel,” or falling into similar implementation problems. A flexible framework, guiding principles and strategic approach to developing and implementing learning‐centred curricula are provided to assist academic developers. Curricular reform has implications for learning communities, planning, assessment and programming in higher education.     

高等职业教育应在改革中谋发展

高等职业教育担负着为社会主义建设培养建设者和接班人的使命，发展高等职业教育对我国经济建设有着战略性的重要作用。高等职业教育的发展，必须树立和落实科学发展观，以人为本，创新工作思路，正确处理规模和效益的关系，坚持改革，在改革中谋发展。     

高等职业教育应在改革中谋发展

高等职业教育担负着为社会主义建设培养建设者和接班人的使命,发展高等职业教育对我国经济建设有着战略性的重要作用。高等职业教育的发展,必须树立和落实科学发展观,以人为本,创新工作思路,正确处理规模和效益的关系,坚持改革,在改革中谋发展。     

What hinders teachers from translating their beliefs into teaching behaviors: The case of teaching generic skills in Vietnamese universities

This article re-visits the relationship between teacher beliefs and teaching behaviours and analyses factors influencing the translation of teacher beliefs into teaching behaviours using the case of developing generic skills for university students. Through interviews with 16 teachers of skills subjects and 25 teachers of specialised subjects of the Business Administration programs in six different Vietnamese universities, it was shown that there was an indirect relationship between teacher beliefs and their teaching behaviours. The analysis showed that institutional leadership and teachers' personal motivation could strongly influence the translation of their beliefs into actual teaching behaviours.     

Curriculum development for quantitative skills in degree programs: a cross-institutional study situated in the life sciences

Higher education policies are increasingly focused on graduate learning outcomes, which infer an emphasis on, and deep understanding of, curriculum development across degree programs. As disciplinary influences are known to shape teaching and learning activities, research situated in disciplinary contexts is useful to further an understanding of curriculum development. In the life sciences, several graduate learning outcomes are underpinned by quantitative skills or an ability to apply mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning. Drawing on data from a national teaching project in Australia that explored quantitative skills in the implemented curricula of 13 life sciences degree programs, this article presents four program-level curricular models that emerged from the analysis. The findings are interpreted through the lens of discipline-specific research and general curriculum design theories to further our understanding of curriculum development for graduate learning outcomes. Implications for future research and to guide curriculum development practices in higher education are discussed.     

论应用技术大学的创业教育

应用技术大学创业教育要立足于区域经济社会发展需要,并应针对当前存在的认知偏差等问题,积极探寻解决路径,既要紧密结合学科专业特点,又要把握工程、生产实践需求,开展对外交流,走出一条以深化理念认知为先导,优化人才培养方案,强化师资培养,完善创业实践平台,为区域经济建设和社会发展培养应用型、复合型、创新型人才的有别于研究型大学的创业教育之路。     

台湾科技类大学办学模式研究及启示

台湾科技类大学隶属于高等职业技术教育体系,同时又是台湾高等教育体系不可分割的重要组成部分,其建立和发展基于台湾经济发展需求,在服务台湾地区产业转型升级和产业技术进步等方面起到了关键作用。大陆部分地方本科高校目前正积极向应用技术类型高校转型,了解台湾科技类大学办学模式建立的时代背景,汲取和借鉴其办学经验具有重要的现实意义。     

Perceptions of higher education in Brazil in the first decade of the third millennium

This study aims at reflecting upon the Brazilian higher education situation in a context ot deep change regarding the contemporary way of life. This study stems from evidence generated from field research. The expansion of the higher education system in Brazil, for historical, political and economic reasons, has taken place mainly by means of private institutions following logic close to a market one, according to some theoretieians. The general objectives of this paper are to reflect upon the situation of the Brazilian higher education at the end of the first decade of the 21st century and to investigate the advances of the ＂research is learning itself＇ （Lucchesi, 2002） paradigm from its conceptual set through an analysis of the official discourse from higher education institutions. This paper aims at verifying whether such discourse has been translating the intention of rendering such paradigm concrete. By means of the analysis of the discourse manifested at advertising messages from the private higher education institutions, this study aims at understanding what they now believe to be the model for teaching and learning capable of meeting the Brazilian youth＇s needs. The authors have observed that the relationship between teaching and learning is promised by the private higher education institutions. Therefore, the scope of this study is the persuasive content of the message from the private higher education institutions to conquer new students.     

对当代高校教育管理的理性思考

高校教育管理工作是保证高校教学质量的重要基础,一直受到政府、社会和高校的高度重视,但是目前的高校教育管理工作还存在一些问题,本文阐述了高校管理的体制现状,分析了一些突出问题,并提出了相应的解决措施。     

高职英语分级教学模式探析

从高职英语教学现状及英语学习动机方面探讨了高职英语实施分级教学的必要性,分析了分级教学模式的可行性与利弊,进而指出了实施分级教学时应注意的问题。     

应用型本科院校国贸专业实验教学模式探索

面对严峻的就业形势和生源减少的艰难局面,应用型本科院校急需改革当前的教学模式,加快实验教学体系的建立,提高学生的创新和实践能力,突出"应用型人才培养"的办学特色。文章结合教学实践,分析了当前应用型本科院校国贸专业实验教学的现状,为应用型本科院校国贸专业实验教学体系的建设提出了多条对策建议。     

高职学生职业技能与人文素质统一发展的思考

高等职业教育人才培养的核心任务是使学生获得面向某类职业岗位群的专业知识和技能。在此同时,注重培养学生的人文素质,加强学生对社会价值的认知和理解。只有两者统一发展,才能培养出适应社会发展需求的高素质、技能型人才。     

高等教育质量与高水平大学建设

高等教育质量是一个具有时代性、相对性的具体概念。高等教育从精英教育向大众化教育蜕变,其种类与性质处在不断的演化之中,标准呈现多元化多样性。高等教育的发展与经济社会发展相适应,在这个大前提下,才能获得高质量的高等教育。创办高水平研究型大学,是深圳经济社会发展的迫切需要,是提高深圳高等教育质量的必然举措。     

Three theses on teaching and learning in higher education

In our article, we explore the possibility of formulating theses about teaching as one way to use research as a basis for educational action. The theses are formulated from current educational research on teaching and learning in higher education. We also explore the potential for action and the consequences derived from the theses. With our theses, we criticise less complex ways of using research for educational purposes. Through theses we can suggest directions for action without prescribing certain methods or procedures and provide answers without reducing the teachers' possibilities for choice or diminishing their responsibility for their actions. Our exploration is an invitation to a collaborative exploration of theses on teaching and learning in order to broaden and deepen our shared basis for educational action.