Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

This paper draws upon a broader piece of research on assessment in higher education, particularly focusing on issues regarding the fairness and effectiveness of the assessment methods and their implications for the learning process. The perceptions of undergraduate students are analysed taking into account the effectiveness and fairness of both traditional and learner-centred assessment methods, as well their influence on the learning process. In total, 624 students participated in this study in five Portuguese Public Universities in different areas of knowledge and programmes. Data were collected through questionnaires. Findings suggest that assessment is seen as more effective and fairer when it is done through the use of learner-centred assessment methods rather than by traditional assessment (e.g. written tests or exams). The students also claim that they devote more time to study when assessment is performed through learner-centred assessment methods than by traditional ones. The most used assessment methods are written tests and oral presentations in group. However, differences in the programmes were identified as well as differences according to gender. Implications of the findings for assessment and for the teaching and learning process are discussed.     

Organisational culture in higher education: mapping the way to understanding cultural research

This article examines the complexity and multiplicity of perspectives in studying organisational culture in higher education settings. This multiplicity of conceptualisations of cultures has purportedly been derived from the different points of view of many disciplines, which have made the study of culture and cultural research enigmatic for neophyte researchers in particular. In view of this, this article aims to put those varied points of view together to build a hybrid composed of cultural definitions, manifestations and university culture, using semiotics and functionalist perspectives, and elements of various methodologies used in conducting cultural research. The latter is grounded on the premise that the epistemology, theoretical perspectives and methodology used influence the strength of research designs that ultimately contribute to the production of legitimate knowledge. It is expected that this proposed hybrid mode of understanding and researching culture can become a model for studying culture and organisational culture in higher education sectors for professionals in general and for those undertaking PhD studies (neophyte researchers) in particular.     

Organisational culture and values and the adaptation of academic units in Australian universities

This study explores connections between the organisational culture and values of academic units in Australian universities and their efforts to adapt to external environmental pressures. It integrates empirical findings from case studies with theories of organisational culture and values and adaptation. It identifies seven dimensions of academic unit’s organisational culture and values that influenced how case study academic units adapted. Then patterns of heterogeneity and homogeneity within these dimensions are noted and their associations with different modes of adaptation are discussed.     

Raising the achievement of Portuguese pupils in British schools: a case study of good practice

The aim of the research was to study the experiences of Portuguese heritage pupils in British schools. The main findings from empirical data suggest Portuguese children are underachieving at the end of primary education but the case study confirms that in good schools Portuguese pupils do well and have made huge improvements over the periods. The findings show that the case study schools have adopted a number of strategies to overcome some of the barriers to achievement including parental engagement, effective use of a more diverse workforce, developing an inclusive ethos and curriculum, effective English language support for Portuguese pupils, monitoring performance of Portuguese pupils and good and well‐coordinated targeted support through extensive use of teachers, teaching assistants, learning mentors and Portuguese classes. The study argues that the worryingly low‐achievement levels of many Portuguese pupils in British schools have been masked by Government statistics that fail to distinguish between European ethnic groups. Policy implications for all concerned with school improvement are highlighted in the final section.     

The relative quality and cost-effectiveness of private and public schools for low-income families: a case study in a developing country

The “mushrooming” of private schools for low-income families has been widely noted in the literature; however, very little is known about the quality of these schools. This research explored the relative quality of private unaided (recognised and unrecognised) and government schools in low-income areas of Hyderabad, India. A preliminary census to locate unrecognised private schools – not on official lists – was conducted. Data were collected on achievement and background variables for 3,910 pupils from a stratified random sample of schools. Using multilevel modelling shows that pupils in private unrecognised and recognised schools, when controlled for age, pupil's IQ, and class average IQ, achieve higher scores in mathematics and English than equivalent pupils in government schools. There is no significant difference between private and government schools in pupil achievement in Urdu. The achievement advantage for private schools did not arise because of greater resources available, at least in terms of per pupil teacher salaries.     

Teaching and learning cultures in higher education: a mismatch in conceptions

ABSTRACT

Instructional approaches in higher education that foster learning based on internal values are required with the enrollment of wider and more diverse audiences. The current study explores this challenge with a focus on the relationship between students’ learning cultures and the way instructors’ view them. We interviewed 76 students and six instructors at an established academic institution. Data comprised of 210 students’ and 146 instructors’ utterances that were analyzed using mixed methods. Findings revealed a mismatch of instructors’ conceptions about the learning culture of the typical student, potentially leading to compromises in their teaching practices. We provide evidence that reciprocal relations exist between cultures of teaching and learning, contributing to the wicked challenges of rethinking the role of teachers in reinforcing passive learning cultures in undergraduate education. Adoption of internal-based values teaching approaches can help break this feedback loop.     

高职公共英语项目导向教学模式理论研究

项目导向教学模式是根据专业及课程特点,积极探索和采用理论与实践有机结合的教学模式,是能有效地适应高等职业教育人才培养的模式,满足人才培养目标。主要从项目导向教学模式的内涵方面,论述了在高职公共英语教学中应用项目教学法,教师角色和学生角色发生了转变,实现高职人培养目标的要求。     

Developmental dyslexia in an orthography of intermediate depth: the case of European Portuguese

Fifteen Portuguese children with dyslexia, aged 9–11 years, were compared with reading and chronological age controls with respect to five indicators related to the phonological deficit hypothesis: the effects of lexicality, regularity, and length, implicit and explicit phonological awareness, and rapid naming. The comparison between groups indicates that Portuguese children with dyslexia have a phonological impairment which is revealed by a developmental deficit in implicit phonological awareness and irregular word reading (where younger reading level controls performed better than dyslexics) and by a developmental delay in decoding ability and explicit phonological awareness (where dyslexics matched reading level controls). These results are discussed in relation to the idea that European Portuguese is written in an orthography of intermediate depth.     

论高等教育的公益性与私益性

高等教育的公益性与私益性是可以相互转化的,是政策选择的结果。公益性始终是高等教育的本质属性,但在资源不足的情况下,高等教育的私益性生产是不可避免的。大力弘扬高等教育的公益性、正确引导高等教育的私益性是全社会的共同要求,也是政府、高校和社会的共同责任。     

The impact of role conflict,role ambiguity and organizational climate on the job satisfaction of academic staff in research-intensive universities in the UK

This study focuses on academics in research-intensive universities in the UK and explores their perceptions of organizational climate, role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. The findings suggest that the universities have multiple organizational climates. Three organizational climate types – the Clan, the Hierarchy and the Adhocracy – were associated with lower levels of role stress. However, the Market climate was associated with higher levels of role conflict. Only the Clan-type climate was directly related to high levels of job satisfaction. It appears that despite the changes in the styles of management in universities, the collegial/Clan climate is still a very important contributor to the satisfaction of academic staff.     

略论高校文化安全

高校文化安全是国家文化安全中一项重要内容，关系到大学生的政治观念、民族文化、道德评价的培养，同时涉及到高校文化成果和高校文化传播的安全等诸多方面问题。本文提出高校文化安全问题，有利于高等教育部门从国家安全的角度出发，加强维护高校文化安全的意识，使代表我国先进文化的高等教育在众多的外来文化当中保持教育的独立性和安全性，在教育和防范两个方面保证我国高等教育的方向和质量。     

日本公私立高校公平竞争探析

日本高等教育的大发展很大程度上是通过发展私立高校实现的,其私立高校在政府资助、师资竞争、生源竞争上已处于与公立高校相对公平的竞争环境。日本私立高校发展过程是一个由"压制"到"承认"再到"扶持"的演进过程,公私立高校公平竞争的实现经历了较长的时期。立法、国民经济长期稳定的发展和较强的经济实力是实现公私立高校公平竞争的前提和保障,而政府的资助受私立高校自身情况(如数量、规模、层次、质量),以及国家经济发展水平与实力、立法时间等多种因素的制约。     

Transnational academic capitalism in the Arab Gulf: balancing global and local,and public and private,capitals

This article contributes to the emerging theoretical construct of what has been called ‘transnational academic capitalism’, characterised by the blurring of traditional boundaries between public, private, local, regional and international, and between market-driven and critically transformative higher education visions. Here we examine how these issues are reflected in higher education policy in the Arab Gulf, asking: what kinds of capital are being constructed and traded? By and for whom? What is the relationship between higher education competition, governance and the public good? We find contradictory trends, which we see as strategic ambivalence pointing to country-specific readings of similar regional markets and attempts to hedge bets between rival forms of apparent capital. The exploration offers a counterpoint to more widely cited examples, hereby helping to shape new paradigmatic ‘glocalised’ understandings of this field.     

Anticipated developments: East Africa's private universities and privatisation of public universities in the global context

Abstract

The growth and development of private universities has been one of the most dramatic features of African higher education in the last two decades. Using the three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as a case in point, this analysis examines the extent to which developments in the region echo international trends, as well as how they illustrate contrasts. The analysis focuses on three key themes: (a) growth and historical antecedents; (b) institutional developments in terms of continuity and innovation; and (c) internationalism. While only relatively recent phenomena, private universities in East Africa and the increasing privatisation of public universities mirror developments in other parts of the world with a longer tradition of private university developments in terms of growth and historical antecedents, continuity and innovation in institutional development, as well as in internationalism. However, there are some situations in which the East African case is exceptional.     

Successful Women Researchers in the Social Sciences: A case study of Catalan public universities

This article examines the factors which contribute to the success of female academics engaging in research in social sciences. The data were obtained through a series of interviews carried out at public universities in Catalonia with women, all of whom were the heads of research groups recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government). These results reveal several aspects relevant for women academics, at both the individual and institutional levels, in terms of employment opportunities, management of research programmes, development of teaching strategies and individual time management. This should assist the development of institutional policies and practices within higher education to help women build successful research careers.     

国学传统文化在高校德育教育中的现代价值

国学教育越来越热门,其中蕴含着丰富的德育价值、文化价值和社会价值。国学作为大学德育教育重要的文化内涵,对高校学生思想道德修养、文化自信以及社会责任感的培养等具有重要作用。同时,在高校德育教育实践中,应积极发挥立德树人教育功效,注重国学教育对高校教育尤其是高校德育教学环境、高校德育教育环境和高校德育教育生态环境的有机融合渗透,进一步提升高校德育教育实效。     

Values in Post-compulsory Education--the divide between public statements,private discourse and operational practices

This article is a set of reflections based on research into the secondary school/further education college interface over the past five years. The research highlighted a number of issues relating to values and management in post-compulsory education. These issues will be explored in the article. The setting up of the quasi-market in post-compulsory education has led to a tension between liberal democratic and economic instrumentalist values. For example, the officially stated policies may emphasise collaboration between school and colleges yet at the operational level school leaders accuse colleges of 'poaching' pupils and college leaders accuse schools of 'hanging on' to pupils. There exists a discrepancy between the market-led managerialism which leads to young people being treated as commodities and the alternative market view of young people as potential or actual clients with educational or training needs to be met. There also exist alternative discourses on the nature of young people themselves which reflect value positions. The same young people perceived themselves as adults making rational decisions about their own futures. It is important that leaders and managers in post-compulsory education consider these differing value positions.     

Addressing plagiarism in online programmes at a health sciences university: a case study

Plagiarism continues to be a concern for all educational institutions. To build a solid foundation for high academic standards and best practices at a graduate university, aspects of plagiarism were reviewed to develop better management processes for reducing plagiarism. Specifically, the prevalence of plagiarism and software programmes for detecting plagiarism was investigated. From that information, best practices for responding to plagiarism were developed and a process to enhance academic integrity was instituted. The results were impressive, the incidence of plagiarism offences reduced by half in three years, and by 75% among the English as a second-language student population.     

论高校思想政治工作中的传统文化教育

随着我国高等教育的快速发展,高校思想政治工作的重要性越来越明显,随着市场经济的发展,我国的社会生产力有了很大的提高,但西方文化中的消极价值观以及我国市场经济和高校改革的负面影响对大学生世界观、人生观、价值观形成产生着一定的冲击。在这种复杂的条件下,传统文化教育在思想政治教育中的作用显得尤为重要,在高校思想政治工作中开展传统文化教育是新形势下培养品德高尚的合格人才的重要举措。     

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.