Academic Environments in Detail: Holland’s Theory at the Subdiscipline Level

Studies of change in colleges and universities often consider faculty support a key influence on the success of academic reform efforts. Scholars, however, have given relatively little attention to the role of disciplinary environments (e.g., culture, values, and habits of mind) on educational innovation and change. Using data from 1,272 faculty members in 203 engineering programs on 39 campuses, this study examined whether engineering faculty from different academic environments (defined by Holland’s typology) vary in their responses to changing curricular and pedagogical requirements. Findings suggest that the broad disciplinary groupings often used in higher education research fail to capture the subtleties of within-field variations in faculty values, customs, and dispositions relating to curricular and pedagogical change and provide moderate support for using Holland’s theory for studying organizational change.     

No Downturn Here: Tracking E‐business Programs in Higher Education*

As the fortunes of e‐businesses fluctuate, what is the state of e‐business educational offerings? The present study attempted to explore this question by investigating the number and nature of e‐business programs available in colleges and universities. Results were compared to previously published findings on e‐business education. Data were collected from program web sites. Master's and bachelor's degree programs based in North America and elsewhere in the world were examined. Despite the “dot‐bomb” economy, the present data suggested large increases in all foreign and North American bachelor's programs between the start of the fall semester of 2000 and November 2001. The number of North American master's programs appeared to increase dramatically during the year 2000 and at a lesser rate afterward. Findings also suggested that bachelor's and foreign master's programs involved more technical e‐business courses than the North American master's programs. The educational and economic factors possibly underlying these trends are discussed.     

英国高校创业教育发展：效果、特点与启示

英国高校创业教育由20世纪60年代发展至今,取得了显著的成效,形成了鲜明的特点。如：政策支持,教育资金有保障;三位一体,共建创业教育网;高校支持,创业教育环境优;结构完善,教育课程种类多;方法灵活,学习模式重实践;等等。这些经验值得我国高校创业教育借鉴。     

The Results of the 2009 Elderhostel Program in Taiwan

Since 2008, Taiwan's Ministry of Education has sponsored a number of short-term residential educational programs aimed at senior citizens and administered by local colleges and universities. In 2009, the Ministry of Education named a project the Elderhostel Program (notwithstanding the lack of involvement by the United States organization, which owns the English name as a trademark), and commissioned 28 colleges and universities to provide five-day residential educational programs to senior citizens age 55 or over. The present study analyzes the results of the 2009 Elderhostel Program. A total of 560 questionnaires were sent to the 28 schools, each of which randomly selected 20 participants to be respondents. A total of 380 of the questionnaires were returned, and 365 (or 65%) were selected. Three conclusions were drawn from the present study: (a) in general, participants were satisfied with the programs they had attended; (b) most were willing to participate in similar programs in the future; and (c) most report being happier after the programs. Based on these findings, suggestions for the Ministry of Education, colleges and universities, educators, organizers, and policy-makers who work with senior citizens are proposed.     

University Rankings as Instruments for the Reform of the System of Higher Education in the Global Context

An analysis of the rankings of university's in parts of Russia shows how the presence of regional scientific and innovative clusters can improve the competitive positions of these institutions. universities. It finds that clusters can act as the main breakthrough mechanism for advancing Russia's universities in world rankings on the global scale.     

Bridging the Gap Between Academic Gerontology and the Educational Needs of the Aging Network

Colleges and universities have failed to meet the long-recognized, growing need for nonacademic-credit gerontology education. With the explosive growth of the aging network, other organizations have readily responded to the fast-growing market. Results of two needs assessments over a 5-year period demonstrate employers' higher support for noncredit gerontology educational experiences over for-credit academic degree programs. The Professional Development in Gerontology Certificate Program at Kennesaw State University, which has grown substantially over the past 7 years, is a viable model for easy adoption by other colleges and universities who wish to meet community needs for gerontology noncredit education.     

加快教育信息化建设,促进高校教育教学改革

高校进行教育信息化建设,既是高校教育教学改革发展的必然趋势,同时也是一个挑战。该文首先从提高认识、更新观念上入手,对高校进行教育信息化建设的措施进行了详细分析,包括软、硬件平台和网络设施的改造和数字化校园的建设等,最后着重分析了网络学习空间教学的来源、内容和组成。教育信息化不仅能有效激发教师的积极性和创造性,而且能有效地增强学生的学习兴趣和自主学习能力。     

DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS AND THOSE WHO WORK WITH THEM

The results of a community college's efforts to develop a range of educational services for the aging are presented. Cultural, educational, and recreational activities provided within a college setting and through a network of neighborhood centers are described, as well as continuing education and in‐service training programs for persons who work with the elderly. The processes and problems involved in planning, organizing, and administering such a comprehensive program for the elderly in an educational institution are described and discussed.

The authors attempt to demonstrate that a wide range of opportunities exists for colleges and universities in most localities to develop a variety of services that can enhance the quality of life of the elderly. Their central message is that it is possible to accomplish a lot with quite limited resources if available resources are used well. A variety of educational services to a large number of older persons and to people who work with them was generated by a small initial grant. This grant enabled the college not only to begin to identify the educational needs of the elderly in a particular locality but also to locate a wide range of available resources (money, people, facilities) that could be used immediately to provide services.     

A UNIVERSITY'S MULTIDIMENSIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: FROM CONCEPTION TO BIRTH

Individuals in various colleges and universities may dream of their institution's having an educational program designed to serve older adults. Starting such a program is not a simple process. With many demands currently being placed on the educational dollar, administrators are often hesitant to begin new programs. An educational program for older adults is usually not a high priority. I describe how such a program came into existence in a large land‐grant university. Factors that were important to securing administrative support are discussed, along with how the various program dimensions have evolved. The organizational structure is described, indicating how the university is trying to use a membership‐driven format. The factors discussed here should provide other higher education institutions (both 2‐year and 4‐year institutions) with some guidelines as to how they might begin educational programs for older adults.     

Challenges of engineering higher education in a transitional economy: a Russian experience

Education and training serve as critical elements of advancement of a nation’s economy in transition. The restructuring of the power engineering industry in Russia has called for a fast implementation of new management system in electric power engineering and radical training of professional managers at different levels in organizations. Management training in electric power engineering in Russia has been implemented by (1) preparing highly professional managers in higher education institutions and technical universities and by (2) improving the management skills of practicing managers in technical universities and educational centers of different power energy companies. This article reports the experience of introducing a new discipline ‘Management in Electrical Engineering’ at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) and reflects on training managers in electric power engineering at higher education and corporate educational centers.     

普通高校非学历教育产业化办学初探

本着重阐述了普通高校发展非学历教育的必要性，指出作为教育产业的一个组成部分，非学历教育应该走产业化发展的道路，并初步提出了普通高校非学历教育产业化办学应遵循的原则和规律。     

ARE GRADUATES OF BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAMS IN GERONTOLOGY EMPLOYED? A REPORT OF A NATIONAL SURVEY

Educators and potential students have questioned the employability of gerontology graduates from the increasing number of educational programs in this field in the United States. This study sought to determine the employment of bachelor's degree gerontology graduates, as well as their reaction to their curricula. A national sample of 303 graduates from 17 of the 20 colleges and universities offering bachelor's degrees in gerontology responded to a questionnaire on employment and curriculum needs. Results indicated the majority are employed. Graduates believe they acquired their jobs because they had a degree in gerontology and that a bachelor's degree in gerontology, in contrast to some other degrees, was valuable to their career. There is evidence of needed curriculum additions, especially in the area of business management and related skills. Salary levels representing different areas of employment are summarized. It was concluded that these graduates evidenced a wide variety of career opportunities and if choosing again would repeat their degree choice in gerontology.     

美国大学教师发展的组织化历程及机构

美国大学教师发展源于上世纪60年代初期,最初是由一些私人基金会组织资助的零星项目.经过70年代美国高等教育的发展与调整,美国一半以上的大学和学院设立了与教师发展相关的项目,并且建立起大学教师教学发展机构.80年代之后,大学教师发展机构的职能越来越多元化,并建立起大学教师发展联盟组织.     

Maternal Quality Standards for Children's Television Programs

On the basis of telephone interviews carried out among a random sample of mothers with children between three and 12 years of age (n = 357), this study investigated the standards mothers use to evaluate the quality of four types of children's television programs: cartoons, news programs for children, educational children's programs, and dramatic children's programs. A factor analysis resulted in a list of seven types of quality standards that, in mothers' eyes, children's programs should satisfy. The three quality standards mothers considered most important for children's programs were: (a) comprehen‐sibility, (b) aesthetic quality, and (c) elicitation of involvement. Additional standards were: (d) entertainment, (e) innocuousness (absence of detrimental effects), (f) credibility, and (g) presence of role models. According to mothers, credibility was a standard that should be fulfilled primarily by news and educational programs for children. For news programs, aesthetic quality, entertainment, and the presence of role models were thought to be minor considerations. Less‐educated mothers were more concerned about the entertainment value of children's programs than better‐educated mothers. As compared to mothers with older children, mothers with younger children were more likely to consider innocuousness important, and to view credibility as unimportant in children's programs.     

WHAT UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS THINK OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

This article examines the tenets of today's two contemporary traditions in Islam, neo-traditional Salafism and liberal or progressive Islam and analyzes how they cultivate a typology of Islamic religious education. The typology under study clarifies the meaning of tarbi yya and ta`dib in Islamic educational philosophy and demonstrates the place of these goals within a continuum of critical versus noncritical talim (teaching) in Islamic religious education. The purpose of this typology is to provide both scholars and practitioners a theoretical framework for thought and reflection about their pedagogic methods and scholarly work.     

Continuity and change: The teaching and research of Islam in South(ern) Africa

Abstract

Despite being minority religious communities in the Southern African region, Muslims have carved out for themselves a unique identity within a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, and a multi-religious region. As a result of the variety of Muslim education programs and institutions that the community had set up over the past few decades its representatives made an interesting contribution towards the region. In the discipline of ‘Islamic Studies’, which began as a minor subject within the field of Oriental and Missiological studies respectively at the beginning of the 1960s, underwent remarkable changes by the mid 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s when fully-fledged programs were designed and mounted at specific Southern Africa's universities. The continuities and changes that took place from the mid 1970s onwards were as a result of the growing interest in this discipline. The essay's objective is to discuss the study and research of ‘Islam’ undertaken by individuals in the Southern Africa with special focus on South Africa where there have been major developments in the Muslim educational circles for more than a half a century (circa 1960–2010); it, however, employs ‘identity’ as a significant analytical tool in scholarship and the production of knowledge about Islam within the Southern African context.     

Employing the Urban Education Typology Through a Critical Race Spatial Analysis

The urban education typology put forth by Milner (Urban Educ 47(3):556–561, 2012) offered a conceptual demarcation of three different, yet interconnected types of urban school districts (i.e., urban intensive, urban emergent, and urban characteristic). Nearly one decade after Milner’s seminal urban education typology, few empirical or conceptual articles have operationalized this typology across multiple school districts in one region. We enter this scholarly space to reaffirm the typology and its utility in identifying the conditions that create varying educational inequities and transformative opportunities. Through a critical race spatial analysis, we attempt to capture, crystalize, and expand Milner's typology by examining a multitude of data points and intentionally drawing on geospatial data from five linked school districts in Harris County, Texas. Our findings, as viewed through lenses of Critical Race Theory and the Chicana Feminist conceptual framework known as borderlands, accentuate two major implications; (1) while there are physical spaces of restriction inside and around schools and school districts, regularly school districts contend with identical challenges despite their urban education typology categorical classification; and (2) when employing the urban education typology, it is imperative that researchers deeply contextualize the physical, temporal, historical, social, and racialized spaces that schools and school districts exist in.

     

BOOK REVIEWS

Women students are one of the fastest growing populations on today's community college campuses and universities. Because of the number of female undergraduates over 25 continues to grow it is important for community colleges to become aware of the various reasons women participate in various stages of their lives. It is imperative that educators address the characteristics of women learners who participate and what programs and/or courses will best meet the needs of the women learners. By recognizing the appropriate programs for adult women students the community college will continue to be the leader of meeting and assisting women in their educational goals.     

Science on Saturday Morning: children's perceptions of science in educational and non‐educational cartoons

The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to strengthen the implementation of the Children's Television Act of 1990, which requires broadcasters to air educational and informational programs for children. Some broadcasters have opposed such measures, arguing that not enough children will watch educational programs. This argument assumes that children distinguish between educational and non‐educational programs, find educational programs less appealing, and consequently are unlikely to watch them. The present study tests these assumptions directly, through a comparison of two animated programs set in prehistoric times, Cro (an educational program about technology) and The Flintstones (a non‐educational program). Results indicated that Cro’s technology content was salient to children but, contrary to the above assumptions, children did not distinguish between the programs on the basis of their educational content, and both programs were highly appealing.